A Day Of Shopping [Mission / Solo]

Food Shopping:

The sound of birds chirping and people talking filled the afternoon air of Sunagakure's streets. People of all sorts were going about their business, living out the hustle and bustle of day-to-day life. This was the same for Inuzuka, Kaito, who as of now was preparing to undertake his first mission. He kept a lazy stride as he waltzed through the streets of the housing district, still rather tired from the training he had performed the previous night with Arantima and the breakfast get-together the two of them had at the Wind Demons' Guild shop. He was grateful, of course, just worn out from being tired and his body aching all over.

'I really do hope to be an awesome Shinobi like him someday...' Kaito thought as he let his body slip into autopilot. He was still a bit perplexed by knowing that Arantima, who couldn't be but a few years older than himself, was so skilled. 'And here I am just learning how to properly control my Chakra and do Ninjutsu.' He looked at the palm of his right hand in which he had successfully used the "Earth-Style: Wall Jutsu" and the "Body Flicker Jutsu" for the first time during their training the previous night. The sensation truly was something out of this world. He kicked up some dirt with his foot. 'I've still got a long way to go before I can hope to be in the same league as Tima...'

Before long Kaito arrived into a large market square; the destination of his mission. It was here that he was meant to meet an older lady and assist her in carrying her groceries home after her shopping spree. It was menial work, but Kaito couldn't bring himself to complain. It was only his first mission and he would have to start somewhere.

'Someday I'll be able to look back on this and reminisce on how simple life could be.' In the center of the market stood a grand black fountain at the edge of which Kaito could see an old lady keeping herself upright with the help of her cane. She looked rather feeble and stout. 'That must be her.' Rubbing the sleep from his eyes and making himself appear more awake and attentive, Kaito walked up to stand beside the lady.

"Excuse me, Ma'am." He said softly, looking down at the frail woman before him. The lady slowly turned her body to face his, her cane wobbling weakly in her hands. "My name is Kaito. I believe I am supposed to assist you with your shopping today?" The lady pondered for a moment and looked Kaito up and down before locking eyes with the young boy and frowning.

"You're late, sonny boy." The lady snipped, taking her right hand and tapping violently at a watch upon her left wrist. "I distinctly told them I needed you here at 1:00 p.m. sharp. It is now 1:38." Kaito was taken aback by the lady's attitude towards him, but he kept a level head.

"I could've sworn the request said 2 p.m., Ma'am. I mu-"

"Well, you must've read it wrong, whippersnapper!" The old woman shook her fist up at Kaito. "I'm old. I don't have time to waste waiting around for folks who can't be bothered to arrive in a timely manner."

Kaito tilted his head in confusion. He knew for a fact that the mission dossier stated he was to meet her at the market square at two o'clock on the dot. Wanting to make a good first impression he made sure to leave the Wind Demons' Guild shop early enough to arrive, as the lady put it, "in a timely manner".

'Well, that did me little good...' He thought as he pushed the air from his nostrils and shook his head in agreement. As much as he wanted to leave the lady to do her own shopping and go back to sleep, Kaito knew he had to suck it up and take the nagging for what it was worth. 'A Shinobi's job is to assist those in need...'

Kaito cupped his hands together behind his back and bowed before addressing the client again.

"My apologies for being late, Ma'am. I'll make sure it never happens again." He said, putting a fake smile upon his face. "Where will we be starting our shopping today?"

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After what seemed like the longest five hours of Kaito's life, the lady was finally finishing up her extravagant shopping spree. 

She made a point of stopping at all of the shops in the market square at least twice and sometimes would stop to talk to a friend of hers’ who also happened to be shopping as well. These conversations happened three times throughout the excursion and lasted at least thirty minutes apiece. Kaito didn't dare attempt to go sit at the fountain while she talked either. The first time he tried he received a sharp crack at the back of his knees from the old hag's cane and lectures about how "young people these days are so rude and inconsiderate" and how "if she ever had an attitude like his she would've gotten thrown off of the top of the clefts leading into the village". 

Kaito couldn't help but chuckle internally while receiving the latter lecture.

'By who? The first Kazekage of Old Suna?' He asked himself, taking all of his energy and focusing it on keeping his composure. He really did want nothing more than to drop the bat's groceries and head home but kept reminding himself of his father's words. 'A Shinobi's job is to assist those in need...'

One of the saving graces to the disastrous shopping trip, however, was that the last shop they visited was the one belonging to his mother, Akira. She ran a small convenience store selling a wide variety of items but particularly focused on home goods. Nothing too fancy such as weapons or armor but either way Kaito always liked the homey atmosphere of the store and the almost family-like bond that the customers shared with each other.

"How is your first mission going, Hun?" Akira asked from behind the counter as she readjusted his green smock. Kaito waited at the counter in the store while the old hag of a client was going about her business, picking up any and all items she passed it. Kaito huffed before laughing lightly and setting the six paper bags he was lugging around on the ground at his feet, his arms straining from having carried them for hours on end.

"This lady is something else, Mom. I swear."

"I'm sure it's not that bad, Dear." Akira laughed as she rested her elbow upon the counter and placed her cheek into her open palm. Just as she did so the client rounded the corner, no items in hand just like the last four shops they visited.

"There's nothing here worth buying." She said simply. "Come on, Boy. I want..." The lady came to a sudden stop, looking at the ground at Kaito's feet with malice. "Why are my bags sitting on the ground!?" She shook her cane angrily at the bags sitting on the ground. Kaito's eyes went wide. He hadn't seen her rounding the corner from the back of the aisle otherwise he would have picked them up long before.

"My apologies, Ma'am." Kaito replied. He hurriedly scooped the bags up into his arms, making sure to also take care of them so the paper material would not rip. "My arms were getting tired, that's all." Kaito realized too late that he chose his words incorrectly as the cane met the back of his knees again, the sharp pain muffled by his capri-styled pants but still echoing throughout his legs. 

"Well I don't go around throwing your belongings on the ground, now do I?" The lady began walking towards the entrance, mumbling to herself as she did so. Akira, who was fuming from the lady's comment about her products, rose a finger at the lady. Kaito could tell his mother was about ready to tear into the bitter old hag. He shot Akira a look that showed he was pleading with her not to argue with the client. Akira lowered the finger with a huff and simmered down as she crossed her arms menacingly.

"Sorry you couldn't find what you needed. Have a great day."

The client did not bother to reply. She just snorted but the sound of it was almost completely drowned out by the bell clinging as the door opened outwards, the lady carrying herself outside with the help of her, what Kaito called, "whacking stick". Kaito held back for a moment, looking over at his mother.

"See what I mean?" He chuckled. Akira sighed.

"Just take your time with her, Kai." She said as she started ringing up the next customer in line. "She comes in here sometimes but never buys anything. I’ve heard from some people that her son owned the storefront before I bought it a few years back. He was killed in a robbery and she has been bitter ever since."

The story struck Kaito like a bullet. It was something that he knew too well, the loss of someone close them him. The void and the anger that follows can consume a person, even the kindest of souls, and corrupt them into something they aren't. It happened to him when he lost Kawomaru.

"I understand, Mom." Kaito replied with a nod. At that moment, Kaito heard a loud commotion followed by the sound of a woman screaming from beyond the door leading out into the market. "What the heck was that?" He asked, his head waving around frantically."

"I have no idea but it sure sounds like your mission client, Kai." Akira replied, her face full of concern.

"Oh, crap!" Kaito exclaimed, running out the front door in a flash. Outside he could see the client yelling at the top of her lungs and shaking her fists in the air wildly. He couldn't make out what it was she was trying to say, it was all too jumbled together in anger, but it was very obvious that she was upset.

'What the heck happened now?' He asked himself with a sigh of defeat. It was only his first mission and not only did it have a rocky start but it was also shaping up to have a horrific ending...

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Kaito ran out into the center of the street where the old hag stood. She was still shaking her fists and yelling at the top of her lungs as though she had completely gone senile. A large crowd of people formed a half-circle behind her at a distance, all trying to get a glimpse of the show before their eyes.

"Hey! What happened?" Kaito asked as he approached the lady, sitting the bags of groceries down gently on the ground beside him. Kneeling down beside the client, Kaito could see tears welling up in her old eyes. He tried to concentrate but with the client having a breakdown and the people watching making tremendous amounts of noise he could barely hear himself think. "Will you all get out of here!?" He barked, glaring above the lady's shoulders to address the bystanders. "Can't you see that she needs some space!?" As though they seemed to notice the sternness in Kaito's voice, the crowd slowly started to disperse and go about their personal business.

'Jerks..." He thought, refocusing on the client before him. He looked her up and down to see if she was hurt anywhere but couldn't seem to find anything. Then suddenly it struck him. The lady was shaking both of her hands in anger, not just one like she had typically did with him all day. 'Her cane! Where is it?'

Looking at the ground surrounding them he couldn't seem to see it anywhere. Kaito closed his eyes and released the air from his nostrils. Why was it that nothing could seem to go right for him today?

"Ma'am..." He said softly, turning his head to face the client's. He locked eyes with her. "Can you please tell me what happened?" The lady slowly started to calm down. She lowered her fists and her erratic breathing started to ease. A tear dripped down her wrinkled cheek.

"Tho- those rotten kids... they t- took my cane..." She said, wiping the tears that were still welling up in her eyes. Kaito sighed, placing a delicate hand on the lady's shoulder. It was no wonder she hated kids. The local children must have pester ed her on a regular basis.

"Which way did they go?" Kaito asked, standing up and balling his hands into fists. He hated nothing more than bullies, besides death, because he had been bullied for the majority of his time in the academy. He couldn't let himself just be a bystander. "I can go get it back for you." The woman shook her head from side to side.

"Don't worry about it, Kid." She stifled through sniffles. She held out her hand to Kaito, the nasty look she had worn all day gone behind a mask of deep sorrow. "Can you please walk me to the fountain so I can sit and rest my old knees?"

"Sure." Kaito replied. He replied softly, taking the client's hand in his and smiling at her delicately. He walked her over to the fountain before hurrying back over to the middle of the street to collect the bags they had left behind. Kaito couldn't seem to get the fact that his mission client, a lonely old woman, was being terrorized by the village's youth. Just the very thought of it all left a horrible taste in his mouth.

'There has got to be something I can do to help...' He thought, trying to navigate the sea of ideas inside his head. Just then Kaito heard a chorus of laughter sounding off from one of the corner alleyways of the market. Glancing over, he could see a group of four kids playing with a dark-brown oak cane. They were hitting each other and throwing the cane around carelessly. Kaito's eyes narrowed. 'There those brats are now...' He thought, connecting two-and-two together. Looking back over at the client, he could see her looking down at the sandy earth below her feet. He waltzed over to the fountain and sat the bags down at the lady's side.

"Please excuse me for just a minute, Ma'am." He said with a bow before walking over towards the playing hooligans.

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[Word Count (Post) - 692]
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Kaito kept his head over his shoulder, looking back towards the fountain to ensure that the client did not see what he was up to. She had told him to stay out of things, of course, but he couldn't just sit idly by and let her be bullied. Within a few seconds, he was within arms reach of the children, who all took interest in him and halted their game. The four of them couldn't have been older than eight years old perhaps.

"What do you want?" One of them said bitterly. Kaito could see they were the one holding the cane in hand. They had it slung over their shoulder.

"Yeah! What do you want, old man!?"

"Old man?" Kaito asked, taking a knee so that he was roughly eye-level with the gang of children. "I only just turned thirteen the other week." Kaito maneuvered his head from side to side, making sure to lock eyes with all of the children for a few seconds each. One of them gulped, noticing the forehead protector that Kaito wore atop his head. "Ah. My headband. Do you kids like it?" The kids all shook their heads in reply, smiles starting to sprout upon their tiny faces. "Do y'all want to become ninja?"

"Well, duh!" The one retorted with a laugh, pointing the end of the cane at Kaito's face. "We are playing ninja now. This is my sword, see?" A smirk showed itself upon the boy's face. Something told Kaito that he was the leader of the small gang.

"I can see that, Kid." Kaito replied, pushing the end of the cane away from his face with his finger. He paused, locking eyes with the boy. "Look, I know that playing ninja and pretend is fun and all, I used to play it myself, but your "sword" is actually called a "cane". Older people use them to help them walk around." Kaito placed a firm hand on the leader's shoulder. "Do you see that older lady sitting on the edge of the fountain over there?" He asked, using his free arm to point her out with his finger.

"Sure." The kid replied simply. "That is old lady Akai. She is mean to us all the time." He showed off the cane proudly. "That's why we stole her cane from her today!" The other three children burst out into laughter. Kaito's grip on the child's shoulder grew a tad tighter.

"You know that the main duty of a ninja is to protect those who cannot protect themselves, right?" Kaito asked, not moving his eyes off of Akai in the distance.

"Yeah, but sh-"

"But nothing. I know that you four like to pick on her often." Kaito's tone of voice quickly changed from his normal happy and laidback one to one of seriousness and darkness. He slapped a closed fist into his other open palm, flaring his chakra and mixing into it his emotion of dissatisfaction with the youngsters. This made his eyes and hair both turn into a fiery red color, and the chakra that exerted from the pores of his body also took this color. It swirled around him ominously, drawing up dust and some small pebbles from the ground at his feet. He had just the perfect thing to make these unruly children see sense. "You know I grew pretty close to the headmaster of the academy when I was there. One word from me and the four of you will never become ninja in this village for as long as you live."

The leader dropped the cane in shock, the thump of it hitting the ground sounding off lightly throughout the alleyway. All four of the children's expressions turned to ones of fear. Kaito's statement regarding being close with the headmaster of the academy was a lie, of course, but they didn't know that. He was sure the sight of his eye and hair color and his chakra swirling around him would be more than enough to scare some sense into them.

"Please don't do that, Mister!" The leader said, grabbing at the light-gray cloth of Kaito's sash with his petite hands. "We will never mess with her or anybody else ever again!"

"Yeah! Never again!"

Kaito glared at the four of them.

"Then I suggest you all go out there, return the cane, and apologize right now. If I ever catch wind of you harassing her again I will make good on my promise." With that the children took off in a rush, the leader picking up the cane before heading off. Kaito watched them run over to Akai and could see them bowing as they held the cane back to her. He could hear the faint sound of them apologizing frantically before running off out of sight. Sighing, Kaito unflared his chakra, turning his hair and eye color back to normal before he too walked back over to stand with Akai, who was now standing back up with the help of her newly returned cane. "Sorry about leaving so suddenly, Ma'am." He said once he approached. "I had to run to the bathroom." Akai smiled at him, the first time she had done so since the mission had started hours before.

"I know that you had something to do with those hooligans returning my cane, Kid." She said with a chuckle. "You can't pull one over an old badger like myself." Kaito frowned. Akai sure had her wits about her.

"Sorry I got involved, Ma'am. I know you told me not to bu-"

"Thank you." Akai interjected with a nod. "If anything, I should be the one apologizing. I've been a mean old coot to you all afternoon."

"No need to be sorry, Ma'am." Kaito said as he walked over to the fountain to pick up the groceries that were still sitting on the edge of the fountain. "I'm just doing my job, as all." Adjusting the bags evenly in his arms, Kaito turned back to Akai, a genuine smile on his face. "Let's get you home now. It's gonna get dark soon." Akai nodded in agreement and the cavalcade slowly made their way out of the market square and deep into the residential area of Sunagakure. The street lamps that lined the sidewalks all started to flicker to life, indicating the late hours of the night. Kaito reflected on the day he was about to leave behind him, remembering how much he thought his first mission would be a rather easy and uneventful one.

'I was sure wrong about that.' He thought as the pair came to a set of six steps leading up to the front door of a two-story home midway down the block. 'Things really don't seem at all what they appear to be, I suppose.' Akai proceeded to invite and lead Kaito into the home where he would set the bags upon the kitchen counter and place their contents into the necessary drawers and cupboards for the elderly woman. Before too long he was finished and preparing to leave for the evening. He had yet to stop by the mission council board to fill out the necessary paperwork confirming his mission as complete and so he could pick up his reward. Akai saw him out.

"Thank you again, Kaito." She said from the front door of the house, looking down at the boy who had managed to walk down to the bottom of the stoop. "You have really helped an old woman to reflect on her ways and work towards becoming a gentler soul." Kaito smiled back at Akai full-heartedly, his stomach filling with butterflies from the amount of praise the old woman had for him.

"Not a problem at all, Ms. Akai." He replied, taking a bow. "You have a good night now." The two of them waved their goodbyes before Akai shut the door gently behind her on her way back inside. Kaito then proceeded back down the street towards the Spire, looking to get his paperwork done before heading home to have a good nights' rest after his long day.

'Mission success...'

[Topic Exit]

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[Word Count (Post) - 1,354]
[Word Count (Total) - 3,785]

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