Bread Run

Bread Run:

Ishii groaned as he suspended the four baskets of bread on his outstretched arms, two to each outstretched limb. He wasn't strong, and the pressure that had been placed on his arms was pure torture to say the least. Yet still, he was expected by the Hogokage to deliver these baskets to the elderly of the village. Ishii hadn't yet left the bakery where he had picked up the bread, so he still had a bit of time before he had to begin his endeavor across the village to deliver the bread. He set the baskets down on the counter of the rather amused baker, and plucked the mission request from his belt to find the location that he was supposed to deliver the bread. "Now... what do I have to do to complete the mission? Deliver the bread... Complete the mission by the end of the day... Where are the locations?" After those words left Ishii's lips, the color drained from his lips, and he collapsed to his knees. There were  four locations that were all located on opposite sides of the village, and Ishii would have to walk to all of them.

He began the walk to the closest of the four locations, being an hour away from the bakery. Ishii's arm felt like it would break the entire time from both the strain of holding his arms in the air like he did, and the weight of the baskets digging into his skin. It got to the point where his arms were both trembling violently when Ishii shifted the baskets off of himself. Eventually he arrived at the door of the drop off location, and rang the doorbell. It wasn't anything particularly impressive, being nothing more than an apartment in a run down building. The walls seemed to be composed of aged gray concrete that had cracked with age, and wooden slats seemed to be placed where glass windows normally would be. The apartment that Ishii was at looked even worse, with the door being covered in numerous scratches, and the wooden slats being broken in certain places. A strange, foul scent of rot wafted out from the broken window, and Ishii practically gagged from the scent. "It's just awful... how can anyone live like this?" The voice chuckled in Ishii's head. "I suppose that it isn't pleasant, is it? I wonder what it must feel like to experience sensations like you do, in the world that you reside in." Ishii held it together and composed himself. He knocked at the door and waited for the occupant to come out and take one of the baskets from him. "That's right. You wouldn't know what it's like to experience sensation like I do. Normally it would be nice to smell, or to taste, or to feel like I do. However, right now it's practically overwhelming. Just standing out here like this makes me want to vomit." The voice fell silent after that. It was a little bit longer before the sad old woman who owned the apartment came to the door. Ishii handed over her basket and wished her a good day before returning on his journey, sighing as he put the baskets back onto his aching arms. "I have to wonder. How does it get to be like this? This place... it's so dirty. I don't know how anyone could live here." The voice responded once again in Ishii's head. "It truly is a tragedy Ishii. Consider yourself fortunate that you didn't end up in a similar position. I've seen it before in this world of yours. Those that cannot support themselves tend to suffer. This woman that you met, likely wasn't the one who hired you for this mission. If I had to guess, it would likely be a child or spouse who wanted to ensure that she had something to eat. She probably doesn't have the strength, or the money to go to the store and get it herself." Ishii winced at that, finding the story both plausible. and yet hard to believe. "This person you mentioned. Would they not wish to care for this woman? The idea that such callousness could be present in our village is... difficult to believe. Mayhaps she simply has more money than her apartment would leave us to believe?" The voice paused for a moment. "Perhaps. It is certainly possible that this may be the case. However Ishii, don't shy away from the idea that cruelty may exist. There are many in this world who lack a critical sense of empathy, and make the world because of it. It becomes necessary to do callous acts from time to time, and it is your duty as a shinobi to harden your heart so that you can perform these acts. To refuse is to deny your duty." Ishii paused for a moment before leaving the apartment complex behind for his next drop off location. "Harden my heart? I don't believe that leaving an old woman in such a condition is something that is required of me as a shinobi. If that is what being a shinobi entails, then I suppose that I am no shinobi. I can be a ninja without hardening my heart in such a way. My nation, my leader, myself, all of these things strive ever higher in the long and arduous road for moral wisdom. Cruelty and indifference is antithetical to that goal, and directly against what we stand for." When the voice spoke again, it was in a sad, low tone. "You will learn soon enough what it is that being a shinobi entails. That road to enlightenment is sadly lost to you Ishii. Try as you may, you will never reach it, and never attain it. What is required of you as a shinobi forbids it, and I believe that deep down you know this. Yet enlightenment is never something that you've addressed before, never been something that you've strived to accomplish. It causes me to wonder. Why do you care so suddenly? Could it be that you search for an excuse to rid yourself of the harsh realities that you one day face? To justify the continual naiveté that you find yourself living within? If that is to be the case, it will be all the harder for you to grapple with that moment when it comes to rid yourself of your moral woes, and kill that innocence that you cling to. You have sacrificed much by becoming a shinobi, you know that much. Your goal is no longer enlightenment Ishii, it now becomes your duty to defend others while they attain theirs. Such is the duty of a Hoshigakure shinobi."

One of Ishii's arms were able to get a break as he travelled the two hour journey over to the next drop off point. By alternating between each of them, he was able to reduce the pressure that the baskets exerted over them. That of course didn't change the fact that Ishii was still in a large amount of pain from hyperextending his arms outwards for such a long period of time. Yet eventually he reached his destination. This one was yet another run down apartment complex with chipped paint on the walls. However, unlike the last one, they appeared to be renovating, as some of the building appeared to be closed off while construction was occurring. The people there seemed to be chipper as well, and were more than happy to point Ishii in the correct direction to deliver the bread. They appeared to be stationed near the top of the complex. So with great difficulty, Ishii dragged himself up a nearby set of stairs to the top of the building, where the apartment awaited him. Just like before, Ishii knocked and waited for a response from the owners, and before long a nice elderly couple opened the door to take the bread from Ishii's sore arms. He wasn't sad to see it go. What had struck him about the pair most was that as opposed to the other apartment that he had been to, this couple seemed to be happy. Their apartment had not yet been renovated, and the building around them seemed to be almost as worn as the old one. Yet their apartment seemed cleaner, nicer than the last. There was no strange smell, not broken wooden slats for windows. Ishii wondered if that was what companionship did. If spending time with another could be the difference between a life of misery and luxury. "It would be nice, wouldn't it? To have deep, personal bonds with others. I suppose that I don't have anything like that yet, do I? Outside of my mother and this voice that has taken residence in my mind, I don't think that I've ever truly become close with anybody. Mayhaps one day that will change." The voice didn't respond this time.

The last two locations both happened to be temples and places of worship. Of course, they had both taken a different approach to honoring the ancestors and the gods above, but Ishii noted the similarities between the two. The reverence with which they held their beliefs. The look in their eyes as they prayed to whatever it was that they believed lay beyond. They were hungry for knowledge, and it was this hunger that drove them to seek out answers in the universe, to find the truths to that which nobody could ever fully know. They wanted guidance, and to know what was right in this life. When Ishii looked upon them, he almost found a reflection of himself. He too was once in a position where he needed guidance, to know who he was, and where he had come from. Yet he now knew who he was, and what awaited him. He wondered if they felt the same. Ishii delivered the bread to both clients in the temples, both of whom were older men that held a high standing in their faith. Ishii paid his proper respects, and left. His arms were aching profusely from the need to extend his arms for as long as he did. He supposed that he didn't exactly have a difficult job carrying them as he did, but it didn't change the fact that it caused him some minor agony from his weak physical strength. Taijutsu certainly wasn't any specialty of his, nor would it be any time soon. What would it be like to carry that much raw strength in ones limbs, Ishii would never know. Ishii walked back through the streets of Hoshigakure as the sun began to set from the sky, and people began to return back to their homes for the night. All that was left for Ishii was to turn in his mission report, and he would be free to do as he pleased. Although judging by the sound in his stomach, that thing was likely getting dinner.

After informing his superiors of his success, Ishii found himself in a nearby ramen shop. The place was nearly deserted for the time being, which left him some time to think and reflect on what had occurred today. Somehow he felt... something. Ishii couldn't quite place his finger on what it was that he felt. "It wasn't the most pleasant mission. I can't say for certain why they keep taking me on missions where all I do is carry equipment. After all, I'm not strong. Placing me in a position where physical strength is required would be quite foolish." Ishii got a strange look from the ramen shop owner. Ishii shrugged, and slurped down on some noodles. He didn't much mind. The voice spoke up in his head, and Ishii nearly dropped his chopsticks out of frustration for what it had to say. "It's foolish to place you in a combat situation as well. You don't have any relevant skills that would justify placing you into a higher ranked mission. It makes sense that they couldn't in good conscious give you more to hand than this." Ishii was about to speak up, to get angry, to tell the voice to be quiet, but he paused. The voice wasn't done speaking. "I'm not blaming you Ishii. Don't worry. I'm willing to teach you."

Word Count - 2048

Exit Claims:

Approved