A Busy Day

Leafy Greens:

Valuable Assets:

Give A Dog A Bone:

That's Not Snake Oil!:

Vaera's Stats:

In the early morning, things were typically more peaceful. Rays of sunshine had banished the dark of night, leaving only the all-encompassing curtain of vibrant blue sky above. The bulk of the crowds had yet to make their way into the village center. The noise of the city was yet to reach its cacophonous peak.

However, there were those who were active at this time. In particular, Vaera Vael stalked one of the many parks throughout the village, lengthy stick in one hand and a bag in the other. With no small amount of complaints uttered out loud to nobody in particular, she was hard at work picking up the leaves that had fallen onto the ground so that they could be processed into fertilizer for the village. Why was this such an important task that she needed to be up early to get it done?

That was a good question, and one she was still asking herself.

No matter her personal feelings on the job, however, she still needed to be paid. That meant work. That meant being up early, and combing the parks for leaves to fill a bag. It still sucked, though.

"I want to go hooo~ome!" She whined, leaning on her stick with what was hopefully not enough weight to break it in half. A brief wind ruffled her skirt some, but between the well-fitting top above it and the fishnet covering her arms and legs, she was hardly at risk of seeming immodest because of it. She casually brushed the hair from her face for a moment, and glanced into her bag to see that it was only one-third full. Another pathetic whine escaped her throat before she returned to her work.

WC: 287

The empty streets of Konohagakure blurred together around Ichika Zukumiki. Each hurried step echoed down shadowed alleyways, and every block brought the young genin closer to her destination, Memorial Park. Mornings always had a strange way of sneaking up on her—today was no exception, especially with her mother out of town on business in the north.

"Sorry I'm late!" she huffed, taking a moment to catch her breath before hefting the rake from her shoulder and joining her fellow genin. "I'll get started over here."

Keeping to the far side of the park from her fair-haired counterpart, the teen worked in contented silence. For a relatively menial task, picking up leaves had a certain hypnotic charm to it. The simple act of raking them up into a pile, shoveling them into a bag, and doing it all over again scratched a certain itch. Perhaps, Ichika thought to herself as she moved from pile to pile, it had to do with the certainty of the work, something typically lacking in the lives of even younger shinobi and kunoichi.  

In what felt like mere minutes an hour passed, and the task was done.

"That wasn't too bad," rolling up the sleeves of her hoodie, she approached the other genin. "My name's Ichika, by the way, Ichika Zukumiki—it's nice to meet ya!"

Her mother would have chided her for the informality, not to mention the off-gray leggings she wore, but what the matriarch of the Zukumiki household didn't know wouldn't hurt her. After all, one couldn't very well be expected to wear a kimono everywhere, it simply wasn't practical. Plus, coming off as a snob to someone she would be spending much of the day with didn't seem like the best of ideas.

WC: 292

Ichika's Stats:

It wasn't long after that another kunoichi showed up to help with cleaning the park. To tell the truth, something about having another person to share the monotony and boredom with helped to make it go faster, and before she knew it, her bag was nearly full. Although, she mentally kicked herself for not accepting a rake like the other girl had, instead of taking the stick she'd been picking up leaves with.

She'd thought it'd have been easier on her back at the time...

It was while she was tying off the bag of leaves for the return trip that the other girl had approached her, and introduced herself as Ichika. Vaera returned the open friendliness with a soft smile, and shook the hand she had been offered while giving her own name in response, "Vaera Vael. Same." A quick glance at her companion's outfit appreciated the simpleness of it, though it certainly wasn't flashy. She could admit that it did look comfortable, though. That had to account for something.

"They roped you into this too, huh?" Her smile had turned to a casual grin, and she carefully hoisted her bag up and over one shoulder so that it'd be just that little bit easier to carry. However, a brief grimace and odd look betrayed the stem of a leaf that had poked through the material and was digging into her skin; a problem that was easily rectified before she was ready to leave. "I guess it's not the worst thing we could be doing." Her chuckle was just about as soft as the rest of her.

WC: 268
TWC: 555

"Yeah, it could definitely be worse," she agreed with a shrug and matched her companion's chuckle with a wry grin. A previous mission had her rooting around in the trash for a bride-to-be's lost ring. This job certainly smelled much better and, it would seem so far, included much better company than the flea-ridden alley cats she'd teamed up with on her ring hunt. "Plus, we're getting paid, can't complain too much—"

Somewhere in the village, a clock struck ten sending muted gongs throughout the park and scaring a small flock of birds from a nearby tree.

"Speaking of getting paid," she slung her bag of leaves over her shoulder and turned back towards the village proper with a few strides. "We should get a move on or we'll be late for the next job."

One mission down, and three left to go—the two genin had a busy day ahead of them, and it was only just getting started. Late the previous day, the assignments came down from the kage's office and, while she had hoped for more impactful set of tasks, Ichika was happy to pitch in where she could. To get to the top one had to pay their dues or risk falling into a deadbeat obscurity.  

"Follow me," she called out without looking back. "I know a shortcut!"

If Vaera chose to follow Ichika, their path would wind past Ichiraku Ramen before taking a sharp turn through the Uchiha district. From there the teen dipped, ducked, and ran through a few alleyways until they ended up mere steps from the composting station. Fortunately, all the pair had to do was leave the full bags out front for the staff to deal with, nothing too tricky.

"Alright, what's next?"

---
WC: 292
TWC: 584

Ichika was right, she guessed. Picking up the leaves had taken them longer, so now, they had to hustle to get to the next job on time. Without voicing her complaints, though she certainly did think how much of a pain it was to have to run now with the bag of leaves carried over her back, Vaera followed after the other genin.

Keeping up wasn't an issue. In fact, it almost felt like she could've gone faster, if it weren't for the shortcut she was trusting the girl to lead her through. In only a few minutes, much less time than if they'd gone the long way around, the pair had reached the composting station with time to spare. Dropping her bag beside the door, Vaera heaved a small sigh and arched her back and raised her arms to stretch after all of that.

"Next is..." It took her a moment to recollect what their next task was, which conveniently timed itself with when she was done stretching. "Feed the homeless, I think. There should be supplies outside the hokage's office." This time, Vaera didn't wait for Ichika before she started walking towards the hokage's office. She hardly wanted to run around all day, and besides, they had plenty of time to get there. It was about the time they passed by Ichiraku Ramen for the second time that she tried to start up a conversation, mostly pertaining to food, but her feet never stopped moving.

It took longer than if they'd ran the entire way, but the pair did eventually come to the hokage's office, and spotting the supplies resting beside the wall was no difficult task. The food and water were even separated into individual meals for them already! So, she gathered up her share of the load into an open box, and off they were again onto the next task.

This job was no less monotonous than the first, but just for the fact of being on the move and talking to people had Vaera in higher spirits than simply picking up leaves. If one thing became apparent over the next couple of hours, it was that she loved to talk. She never really stopped for longer than a few minutes at a time, and her smile never left her in all of that time. More than a few times, she had to be reminded of the job itself, lest she stay and chat with someone for longer than she could afford.

Finally, the last of the snacks and water had been handed out, and Vaera held her empty box aloft to block the sun from her face.

"Much better than picking up leaves." She repeated through her wide grin.

WC: 454
TWC: 1,009

Moving through the streets at a much more leisurely pace than before, the two teens fell into a conversation on the topic of food. At first, it revolved around Ichiraku's cuisine, most of which Ichika found to be a bit too spicy for her liking. Though, soon the focus shifted to deserts where Ichika and Vaera discovered a shared passion for the sweeter things in life. In her younger years, Rui, Ichika's mother, brought her daughter small sweets back from her frequent business trips, and now the treats reminded the raven-haired genin of a simpler time.

The next job, though it took a bit longer than the first, flew right by with Vaera as company. Not typically the biggest talker, Ichika ceded much of the conversation to her fair-haired companion. It drifted from inane topics, like the weather, to the more political ones, with the recent freeing of Konoha from the yoke of the Mist Village. This, along with the more informal chats with the homeless of Konohagakure, extended the mission beyond the time it should have taken. However, Ichika didn't mind in the slightest, even if she did have to almost drag Vaera away from the last couple of conversations—having someone to chat with made the whole experience a bit more enjoyable.

That said, the one topic Ichika avoided was that of the background of the mission itself. The Leaf Village, while not the economic powerhouse it once was, had wealth to spare. And yet, all it could do for its homeless population was to feed them. Perhaps it was the naivety of youth, but there had to be something more that could be done.

"Much better," she affirmed Vaera's assessment of the job with a nod. "We even have two left over for us."

Whether it was an administrative oversight or a thoughtful handout for a job well done, two meals remained in Ichika's box.

"Here," she passed one of the carefully wrapped bento boxes to Vaera. "We can eat on the way to the butchers, gotta keep our energy up somehow."

Truth be told, the idea of eating and walking while still holding onto the box from the previous mission worked out better in the Uchiha's head than actuality. Nonetheless, she suffered through the less-than-graceful juggling act and managed to scarf down the contents of her lunch before the pair arrived at the butcher shop.

Fortunately, the empty boxes came in handy at the butchers because the large man behind the counter was out of packaging materials. He also seemed less-than-enthused about helping pack up the bones and left the task to the two genin. Ichika, for her part, tried her best to keep her eyes from wandering too far afield while in the refrigerated backroom—the sight of dismembered animals and their innards did not sit well with her stomach. Meat was fine, tasty even, but she didn't much like the idea of attaching a face to her food.

"Um, stupid question," she tossed the last bone into her box, sealed the top with a few strips of tape, and glanced over to Vaera. "Do you know the way to the Inuzuka compound?"

Suffice to say Ichika didn't get out much.
---
WC: 537
TWC: 1121

Vaera had to do her best to conceal the small "Yay" that arose when Ichika pointed out the extra meals that were, supposedly, meant for them. What she could not cover, however, was the faint glimmer in her eyes as she accepted the small box and set about the most difficult tax of figuring out how to juggle it, the empty box, and a free hand to actually eat with. In the end, her ingenuity showed itself by flipping the empty box upside down and keeping one hand inside of it, supporting it like a table from which she could eat comfortably.

It wasn't the best or most comfortable way to eat, but once the food hit her tongue, she didn't care too much about that. Despite the particular dryness of the meal that'd undoubtedly been prepared that morning, it was still delicious after so many hours of work. That was to say nothing of the silence of their trip to the butcher's. It was rude to talk while eating, after all.

Once they'd arrived, it didn't take long to get set up in the back room to go about their job in peace. Well, relative peace. Not only did the two girls share their displeasure with seeing how the sausage was made, so to speak, but Vaera was quickly discovering she was under dressed to be in the refrigerated room. Her nearly bare arms and legs were quick to be covered in goosebumps, and after so long in the cold, she had to leave for several minutes to warm back up before returning.

However, they did eventually finish packing the meat into boxes. Then the next problem arose...

"I... haven't the slightest clue." Vaera laughed, still shifting the weight of the contents of her container around to get comfortable. "I'm sure we'll be okay. Let's ask." Whether or not Ichika had proven herself to be a more quiet sort didn't matter, as Vaera got the butcher's attention in her first steps out from the cold room. Fortunately, he did know where the Inuzuka compound was, and gave them brief directions on how to get there. Vaera returned his answer with a smile before guiding the other genin out the door in her own impromptu manner.

"See? Not a problem." She grinned a goofy sort of smile. The walk to the compound wouldn't be long, but still, she wasted little time in sparking up conversation again. This time, she avoided the topic of food; the grisly sight of butchered animals was too fresh in her mind. Before she knew it, they had reached the compound, and were let in and told where to drop off the boxes of meat and bones.

Of course, she couldn't leave before she played with the pups for a minute... or two...

Or five.


WC: 469
TWC: 1,478

Thanks to Vaera's more extroverted tendencies, the butcher sent the two girls off in the direction of the Inuzuka compound. On the way, the conversation, fittingly, shifted to cats, dogs, and other such cuddly creatures. Ichika, for her part, much preferred the company of cats to dogs—or any other animal for that matter. Something about whiling away the days in the quiet company of an animal that didn't need constant attention appealed to the genin.

That said, after delivering the bones to the Inuzuka, she couldn't help but join her companion in appreciating the clan's canine claim to fame. 'Just one more minute' turned into two minutes, then five, ten, fifteen, and, finally, twenty minutes passed before the pair reluctantly left the compound. Ok, so maybe dogs weren't all that bad either. Maybe, just maybe, it wouldn't hurt to spend one's days with both a cat and a dog, the best of both worlds as it were.

"This last one might be tricky," Ichika's gaze wandered over the various storefronts as the duo walked by them. "But I think there might be an easy way to get that merchant to give the money back without too much of a fuss, follow me?"

Ducking into a nearby alley, Ichika hid in the shadow of the far building and clapped her hands together into the dog seal. Momentarily obscured in a cloud of smoke, the genin's body grew a few centimeters upward and, in certain places, outwards. Replacing her more casual attire with the armor of Konoha's special forces and manifesting a porcelain wolf mask over her face, she looked every inch to be one of the Leaf's shadowy protectors. The only flaw: the eyes of her mask appeared to be a bit crooked if one looked at them too closely.

"Well, what do you think?" she spun around to model the full transformation for her fair-haired companion. "Will it be good enough to fool that fraudster?"

Surely impersonating an ANBU operative wouldn't have consequences, right?
----
WC: 334
TWC: 1455
- 5 ap for using Transformation Technique

Much to her unfortunate dismay, the pair's time spent playing with the dogs did have to come to an end eventually. There was still one more job to do, after all. They couldn't simply abandon it to continue to play.

If only they had saved this delivery for last...

This time, however, it was Ichika's turn to take the lead on their mission. Ducking into a side alleyway, Vaera watched in curious silence as her companion transformed herself into one of the most imposing sights one could spot in the village: an ANBU agent. At first glance, it seemed like a near perfect disguise. The only flaw she could spot was the slightly crooked eyes, and even that took her a few moments to find. To be honest, she liked the idea. If they could intimidate the unscrupulous merchant into giving up his ill gotten gains, then that'd make it all the easier on them.

"Good idea!" Vaera smiled her approval at the other genin, then clapped her hands together and vanished in a cloud of smoke in similar fashion. The person who stood in her place was dressed alike her wolf-faced counterpart, though her mask was more akin to a cat. She hadn't changed her dimensions too much -perhaps another inch or two in added height to match Ichika's disguise, and her hair was now pulled up into a rudimentary ponytail behind her head. However, the mouth of her mask was slightly upraised at the ends, giving the impression of a smirk or a smile instead of the stone faced glare of the true thing.

"After you, Captain." She winked from behind her mask. This was Ichika's idea, after all. She would let her take the lead.


WC: 288
TWC: 1,766

Cat and dog, Konohagakure's newest ANBU operatives, emerged from the shadow of the alleyway to a new world. Unlike the forgettable figures of two genin, the two masked women drew attention. Countless pairs of eyes followed their progress towards the village gates, and a few smaller groups scattered at their mere presence. To some, the Leaf's shadowy protectors were heroes, to others villains. How strange, Ichika thought, the difference a simple change in wardrobe made.

Soon the pair arrived at the charlatan's shop or, more appropriately, their cart. Loaded with crystals, talismans, and bottles of varying colors, the cart seemed to be something an old hag might peddle their wares from in one of her mother's bedtime stories. The charlatan himself, however, appeared to be as far from a hag as one could be; dark hair, well-dressed, and piercing blue eyes—Ichika could definitely see why people may have fallen for his honeyed words.

"Hello there," she called out to the man, her tone more even than the steady staccato threatening to beat through her chest. "My friend and I heard you might be around here."

Mentioning her friend, she gestured to the transformed Vaera by her side.

"Oh, um, hi," the man stammered. "What can I do for two of Konoha's finest?"

"Well, I suppose you can start by refunding those you ripped off and...," she paused and glanced over at her companion as if searching for inspiration. "And, then you can clear out of our village for good."

"I don't know what—"

"Of course you don't, but you'll do it all the same," she now tried her best to match the tone her mother used to scold her with. "Or we could try alternative means of coming to an agreement."

"Right, right, right, I'll do just that," the dark-haired man scrambled about pushing his wares back into drawers. "No need for anything so drastic. No, no, not for little old me."

"And your previous customers?"

"Oh, that goes without saying; they will get their money back. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have some packing to do."

Without another word, Operative Wolf left the man in peace, returning to the same alley as before. Breaking her transformation, Ichika nearly collapsed; her legs shook, sweat dripped from her brow, and her heart continued its tap-dance against her chest. How did ANBU do it day in and day out? Lie, deceive, and trick; it seemed underhanded, and the Uchiha's body and mind rebelled against it—it all ran counter to the way she grew up.

"I can't believe that worked," she flashed a nervous smile seemingly at the blank wall across from her. "Vaera, let's never do that again. I don't think I'm cut out for undercover work."

Taking a deep breath to compose herself, she wiped the sweat from her brow and exited the alley as a raven-haired genin once more. The walk back to the kage building, for Ichika's part, was made in silence. With the sun falling in the sky and lanterns starting to flicker on across the village, she wanted nothing more than to go home to hot cup of tea and a warm meal. Today, for all its twists and turns, ended up being far better than the Uchiha could have dreamed.
---
Exit.
WC: 546
TWC: 2001

2000/2000 for Clan Pureblood
+ 1 word to the void, never to be seen again
+ 20 vigor
+ 4000 ryo for completing the 4 E-Rank missions referenced at the beginning of the thread
+ 20 AP for completing the 4 E-Rank missions referenced at the beginning of the thread