Renovation [Solo]

Spoiler:

It was a slow day for Koutaku, so he’d taken his time with things for once. He’d woken up late, drowsier than usual, and so taken his time getting up and prepared for the day. The weather was somewhat gloomy, more overcast than usual, and he’d had a rather heavy breakfast some hours prior. Declining a sparring session with his uncle, Koutaku had instead chosen to engage in some studies in the library where he’d pored over a veritable pile of tomes on jutsu theory alongside his two shadow clones. That had taken the longest, but it had been both incredibly informative, and quite relaxing as he’d gone largely undisturbed for the duration. When he’d finished perusing the various books in his clan’s hidden library, Koutaku had emerged for a light lunch before finally deciding to head out. It was rare that he gave himself a day off like this and he’d enjoyed it. Still, despite his recent gains, Koutaku felt that it just wouldn’t do to laze about for the rest of the evening. As such, he made his way to the mission center, occasionally greeting others as they acknowledged him on the streets.

After his work at the burning building, he’d become significantly more recognizable on the streets, nonetheless he didn’t let it go to his head. Smiling as he hummed slightly to himself, Koutaku eventually arrived at the center where he greeted the elderly guard who sat outside at his post as he entered.

“Well, you’re looking to be in a rather good mood,” the clerk said, eyes dull with boredom as he raised a brow in the genin’s direction. The man didn’t exactly have the most glamorous job and beyond that he wasn’t particularly prone to engaging in conversation. Perhaps, despite the fellow’s boredom, he too was in a rather good mood.

“It’s been a slow day,” the Iouchiryo replied with a shrug, smirking slightly. The man huffed, giving Koutaku a side-eyed glance before shuffling the newspaper in his grip and gesturing with his head at the rightmost side of the counter. There was laid out a rather dusty sheet of paper. Raising an eyebrow himself, Koutaku walked across to the document and began to scan its contents. It was a mission contract, but one that was surprisingly banal--even for a D rank assignment. Shrugging, Koutaku picked it up, folding it swiftly, before depositing it in a pocket.

“Thanks Kurosawa-san, this’ll do just fine for today.”

The man only grunted in response, turning the page of his paper without even glancing up at the shinobi as he exited the building. Saluting the guard with a wink and a smile on his way out, Koutaku leisurely made his way across town to the address denoted on the mission assignment sheet. Normally he would’ve run, but honestly, he wasn’t in a hurry and the weather just...didn’t make him feel like being terribly active. After all, despite the cloud cover, it was surprisingly humid.

After about twenty minutes of walking, his gaze bouncing between people and streets--remaining vigilant despite the lazy nature of the day--Koutaku finally arrived at his destination. Before him stood a rather fancy place, or well...it looked like it would be when it was finished. The building was large, seemingly having already had a second floor built, with its signs covered in cloth and scaffolding as various construction workers and artisans moved about the site. Nodding to himself, Koutaku carefully made his way under the archway and through the doors, where he was immediately thrown into a frenzy of motion as he was forced to dodge around a series of workers as they each went about their unique tasks.

Shaking his head a bit, the shinobi made his way through the restaurant, navigating the bustling atmosphere and the numerous obstacles that had been put in place so that the many contractors could go about assembling the new features of the place. After perhaps a minute, Koutaku managed to find the manager--who was engaged in a rather fierce conversation with what could only be the person in charge of the various workers on site.

“You have to make sure they place everything level, and that they don’t damage anything of value! The symmetry is incredibly important to our aesthetic!” The owner exclaimed.

Looking somewhat annoyed, the foreman allowed the man to go on for a moment until he saw Koutaku out of the corner of his eye, and a brief expression flashed across his features. The owner didn’t even notice.

“I understand sir, as I said before, if anything is out of place, you can point it out, and should there be any damages they’ll be subtracted from the cost of renovations. Now, I seem to have someone to attend to, so excuse me for a moment. I’d hate for them to botch something due to my own distraction.” He gave the owner a sarcastic smile, but the man just huffed and walked away, moving around the restaurant to fuss at the various workers instead. The foreman rubbed his temples and walked up to Koutaku.

“You rescued me there,” the foreman said, giving Koutaku a once over.

“So honestly I’ll let them pay you just for that. However, just so Mr. Prissy over there doesn’t catch on, how about you go help out some of the men, yeah? Just ask and I’m sure they’ll let you hold nails or boards in place or something. Let me know when you’ve helped a few of them and I’ll give your document the sign-off.”

Chuckling lightly, Koutaku replied, sounding amused, if thankful. “I appreciate that, but I could use with a bit of activity today and it’s honestly no trouble.”

The foreman smiled, “Good man, still, we’ve mostly got things handled so just go help out for a bit and that’ll be plenty. Got too many bodies in this place anyways.” As he said the words he glanced at the owner as he heckled another of the Foreman’s men.

“Honestly, if you could keep him distracted...or better yet, get rid of him, that’d be an even greater relief.”

A sly grin slipped its way across Koutaku’s features. “I’ll see what I can do.”

The foreman clapped him on the back and then headed off to go supervise a couple of men who seemed to be having a dispute about how to go about aligning something properly.

Koutaku on the other hand, headed over to the owner, handing a few men a board or some tools on his way there.

“Sir,” he said, respectfully addressing the man to get his attention. The owner turned, eyed Koutaku a moment before a look of relief crept onto his features.

“Ah, finally someone truly competent!” The owner exclaimed, drawing glares from the workers in earshot.

Koutaku nodded his head once, “I got the contract you and these…contractors signed,” Koutaku said, affecting a subtle tone of distrust. Oddly, the workers ignored him, instead glancing at the foreman, then away. They seemed to be far sharper than the owner was giving them credit.

“The mission directory thought that I could better assure the quality of the renovations than anyone else. Besides, I’ve got an eye for these things, and a love for fine dining. I’d hate for a place like this to be affected by shoddy craftsmanship.”

The owner nodded emphatically, a smile on his lips. “That’s such a relief...ah, I didn’t catch your name….”

“Koutaku Iouchiryo,” he supplied.

“Iouchiryo-san, thank you. It’s wonderful to have someone who shares my appreciation for detail and...the uppercrust, if you catch my meaning.”

Internally, Koutaku cringed, but he didn’t allow the motion to reveal itself at all, instead nodding as if the man had said something truly wise.

“Of course sir. Since I’m here to supervise, why don’t you enjoy the time off, yes? I’ll make sure none of these ruffians damage your property.”

Beaming, gratitude spilling off the man, the owner eagerly agreed.

“Ah! A fantastic idea. I’ve so much to do besides supervising this lot. I really appreciate this Iouchiryo-san. Please do come by sometime when the renovations are done. I owe you a meal.”

Koutaku bowed his head once, and the owner smiled genially then wove his way through things. Koutaku noticed that several times, as he walked, the owner would bump into someone, kick a box of nails, or displace a tool causing no end of frustration for the workers. He shook his head as he watched, but was relieved--both personally and for the sake of the workers--when the man had finally disappeared out the door and down the street.

Letting out a breath, Koutaku relaxed and took to straightening things and making everything run as efficiently as he could manage. Recognizing the various patterns of movement through the space, the tasks that needed doing, and the tools that were required for such, Koutaku got to work. Over the course of perhaps an hour or so, he optimized the placement of obstacles and tools while also removing chairs and tables as necessary to make navigating the worksite much more smooth.

When he was done he brushed his hands off. As he headed for the foreman, the various contractors gave him respectful nods, clearly understanding what he’d done and having taken no offense. Further, things had sped up considerably after his adjustments and so as he came to stand beside the foreman--who was looking over some trickier detail work--the man gave him a smirk and another clap on the back.

“Well done boy. I reckon you’re ready to go though. Hand it over.”

Koutaku chuckled, and unfolded the document from its place in his pocket as he extracted it. The foreman promptly signed off on the task’s completion and gestured him out.

“Now git boy, as I said, there’re too many bodies here already. Thanks for getting rid of the owner, the man was a right pain. Always underfoot I swear. Not sure how he did it.” Shaking his head, the foreman turned away to call out an order to someone else and Koutaku smiled and made his way from the restaurant. He’d have to check the place out in a few weeks when the work was done. He was sure that it’d be worth the wait.

Spoiler:

Approved