Restaurant Rehab (Mission/Solo)

Restaurant Rehab

It was a late evening in the hidden village, and it would just about be starting to get cold were it not for temperature regulators around the village. The crowds in the streets were beginning to thin, leaving only those who either working or going out for a pint. There was one person who didn't fit the mold, however, and that was the young Ray Koutaishi. He walked around the darkened streets feeling... Happy, content. He'd received word from Sarah that the clinic was doing well and that nothing major had happened yet, and he'd sent back a letter with a small amount of money and a thank you for the update. There was another reason he was happy though; he'd finally done it. He'd finally learned his first Paper Release Jutsu, after 8 years of constant practice he'd finally done it. He so desperately wanted to just practice shooting his paper shuriken over and over again in the training grounds, but that wasn't what he was in Sunagakure for. He wanted to learn how to save people's lives, not end them.

Ray was out tonight for no particular reason, he was simply drifting with the breeze so to speak. He gave a short nod to the few people who passed him with a smile that quickly turned awkward when he realized that he had no idea why he had just done that. Gosh, being in a good mood made him act weird and it only exasperated his social awkwardness. In his coat pocket, his fingers began doing the motions one would do to fold an origami crane one-handed; a nervous tick he'd developed as a young kid when his father had made him practice with paper daily. If he actually had paper with him right now he'd be churning out origami creations like a factory.

"Oi, kid!" Ray blinked at the rough voice that came from nowhere and he whipped around to come face-to-face with a lanky gentleman in a white shirt and jeans. His hair was slicked back with gel but was done so in such a way that it actually looked fashionable rather than trashy. He smiled at Ray, showing sparkling white teeth, "How would you like to earn some cash?"

Ray's mind bluescreened at the implications of what the man had said and he stood completely stock still for several seconds. He'd had quite a sheltered upbringing and he had absolutely no idea how to deal with situations like this. "U-um, excuse me?" He stammered out, his eyes wide.

The stranger came to the realization of what he'd just said and he quickly held out both his hands in front of him as a gesture of apologizing, "Oh! Truly sorry, mate, didn't mean anything like that." He laughed nervously and Ray sighed in relief, "I just meant that my restaurant here is currently going through a renovation and I need some extra muscle. You look like the sort of fella' to do this sort of thing so I was just wondering if you could maybe lend a hand? I'll give you, say... 2000 Ryo for the job?"

Ray's eyes boggled again, but this time for a different reason. 2000 Ryo? That was insane! With the previous embarrassment completely wiped from his mind, Ray nodded slowly in disbelief. If he were a cartoon character his eyes would have turned into dollar signs. Thankfully he was just a normal, realistic guy.

"Excellent! Please, come through here and I'll introduce you to the others." The man said, gesturing to the door beside him. When Ray stepped close the man offered a hand, "I'm Tao by the way, and you are?"

Ray clasped the hand with a strong grip and nodded as he had before, only this time without the innate awkwardness. "I'm Ray Koutaishi, sir."

The man let go of Ray's hands and walked through the door, expecting Ray to follow, "Please, call me Tao. My dad is called sir."

Ray chuckled with good humour, "Okay, SI-Tao." He caught himself just in time.

After being led inside the restuarant Ray saw that nearly all the chairs had been stacked up on the tables and the carpet had been rolled up and put to one side, leaving the two to walk on the hardwood floor. Further inside Ray could see several newly-framed (He assumed, he really had no way to tell) leaning up against the wall in the hallway towards the kitchen. Tao led him further into the restaurant until he arrived into the kitchen, where he saw a bunch of people who were already working on renovating it. It was clear to the young Koutaishi that the kitchen section was the place that was in main need of an refurbishment. As he went and spoke to the other workers about what they needed him to do, Ray silently thanked the gods that he'd never eaten here. The kitchen was in a right state.

To gauge how comfortable Ray was with this kind of work, the first duty he was assigned was a simple clean-up job. Tao gave him a mop, bucket, duster and some rags to go clean everything up. The first place he went to was the bathrooms and Ray had to say that they were in a sorrier state than the kitchen had been. He held his jumper up over his mouth to try and prevent the nasty smell from reaching his nostrils but he still ended up retching a few times as he went about his buisness; mopping the floor, dusting out the cobwebs from the corners. By the time he was done with the bathrooms the young doctor took a step back to admire his handiwork. Oh, it was still in a sorry state with cracked mirrors, shatttered stall doors and the like, but at least the smell and grime wasn't making him gag anymore. He collected the cleaning supplies, gave them a wash, and stepped through back into the main restuarant.

Tao, who was in the middle of the room, saw the now much cleaner bathroom behind Ray as the door closed and he gave the young Koutaishi a small nod of appreciation, "Cheers son, I'd say that job deserves a raise. Here's some extra Ryo for your time." He put 2000 Ryo into Ray's hand with a winning smile and then put another 100 on top of the stack, "Go get yourself something nice. Thanks for the help son!"

Ray waved goodbye to everyone and exited the building with a small smile on his face.

WC:1113

Claims:
D-Rank mission completed
10 AP
2100 Ryo
11 stats into Vigor
250 words for Mark Seal
500 words for Basic Medical Ninjutsu D-Rank
350 words into Storage Displacement

Approved