Confidence and Aide[Solo/Mission]

Missions:

It was bright and early and Hayato had set off to the village from his humble farm house. The sun was just starting to peak above the horizon and light his path. He walked to the village slowly, but surely weaning a straw hat he recently acquired to keep the sun from his eyes and his usual kimono and hakama combo. They were dark blue and gray respectively. He wondered if he should invest his money into more clothing. His thoughts wandered to Kato, Hanzo, Mikaela, Yamato and Asahi. They all had a very unique style. They stood out from the normal villagers at least. Hayato couldn’t be picked from a line up of average everyday villagers if you didn’t see his katana, weapon pouches and headband. That’s a good thing isn’t it? Hayato was sure the academy taught him that ninja should blend into the crowd and sometimes needed to do stealthy infiltration type missions. He was sure his comrades, the wonderful fellow shinobi they were, would all be able to dress for the occasion. The question still remained.

Hayato had a full day ahead of him; he had multiple tasks to complete. He would help with the rice harvesting across the village in a small role. Every citizen, Shinobi or not,  had to play their part. There was a required training for the glorious duty of gate guarding he had scheduled for today. Lastly, Hayato had somehow been roped into setting up a few stalls for the festival. It was suggested that a few of the helpers would be required to stay and help man them during the festivities. Hayato hoped it wouldn’t be him, but he wouldn’t complain. Serving the village was his duty as a shinobi and that wasn’t always going to be very glamorous. It wasn’t always fighting opposing forces and stealing coveted information. It was usually chores that required able bodies and steady hands. Things a government needed civil servants for. Hayato nodded as he approached a nearby group of farms. Yes he was truly a civil servant.

He walked up to the leader and pointed to his headband displaying the village’s sigil. I’ll be taking the rice to port today… He announced to the men. They nodded, trusting the boy at face value. Rather stupid he thought, but he probably wasn't the first or the last shinobi who would be by today This was one the larger paddies. There were many people rustling around winnowing, threshing, and all manner of processes. Two large men led a horse drawn cart stacked high with rice out of a nearby shack. They handed Hayato the reins. “Take this over to the docks and make sure the trade process goes well. This batch is in exchange for a large supply of fruits. It’s important for the festival.” The nervous man wrung his hands as he explained the task to Hayato.

Don’t worry sir. I am a more experienced genin and a fellow farmer. Your crop is safe with me… Hayato was becoming more well spoken. He imagined the image of the person he wanted to sound like as he talked. The “fake it till you make it” idea. The nervous man seemed somewhat comforted by his words.

The boy was pleased with himself as he hopped into the cart and bid the horse to move. The cart rocked forward and they trotted towards the village gates not too far away. The trip was about the same as it usually was for Hayato except there were a lot more people. People carrying rice, more people in the fields, it was a bit more bustling then the sleepy, empty, lonely, perilous trip he made every morning while in the academy. Children waved to the boy on the horse, a common act for people so young, and he nodded to them as he rode past. There was a line at the gate he had to sit through since he had goods to be inspected. Another quick flash of the headband and a look at the insignia on the cart let him get through rather quickly.

He took the cart around the outskirts of the village to the docks, and found the business partner waiting for his arrival. There was a man who looked rather well dressed and a bit uncomfortable, he was likely the fruit merchant, and another man dressed similarly to Hayato with a scroll and a board to write on. Hayato stepped down from the cart and asked his question. Shall I leave the shipment here? The village official nodded “Before you go please open a bag for our customer here.” Hayato would oblige. He lifted a bag of rice from the cart and placed it gently in front of the well dressed man. He opened the bag revealing the cash crop. The fruit seller nodded and Hayato closed the bag. “That will be all. Thank you for your help shinobi.” That was all Hayato needed to know to leave; he disappeared from their field of few at top speed. He leapt on top of a few clustered buildings in the dock area.

Next he needed to go to the gate. He looked at the sun and it still hadn't fully risen yet. He had plenty of time. He felt like a true shinobi as he ran across building tops and ran up the village wall. The wind in his hair felt good. He had truly mastered the surface walking technique. He felt like he could stand on the wall’s side all day, but he soon made it to his destination. The village gate. He landed on the ground near the end of the line to out process and walked into the small building that allowed guards to pass through to the outside. A large shinobi with a scar running across his face stopped him. Hayato looked at the man, observing his features. He had long spiky black hair and a large frame. He wore mostly black with his gray flak jacket being the only color. There was a kunai strapped to his leg by a bandage, and a sword on his back. He also carried a few pouches for other gear. His Tanbo headband was almost covered by his spike bangs.

“Halt, what is your business here kid?” He was ready to act, but looked calm and confident. Hayato lifted his head and showed the guard his headband. I am here for gate guard training. Hayato Yuki, reporting for duty… He had stopped hiding his last name from fellow shinobi of the village. His small sample had told him that it was fine for him to be a Yuki. No one here seemed to have a deep love of old Kirigakure and there weren’t any shifty organ hunters around. In Fact, it seemed that transplants were completely forbidden without reason.

“What kind of introduction was that kid?” The season guard asked. “Louder and with more pride you’re here to serve your village as it’s first line of defense have some guts!” The man raged at Hayato.It certainly took the boy by surprise. He was proud to be here, but he wasn’t a loud person. Despite that he would try his best HAYATO YUKI, REPORTING FOR DUTY SIRRRRR! Hayato took a deep breath and yelled as loud as he could.

A few people turned and stared at the unusual pair. The seasoned guard looked pleased. “That’s more like Yuki! HaHaHa!” The man patted him on the back. “I’m Satoshi Horimiya, you will call me Captain Satoshi!” Captain Satoshi beamed. “Now come with me into the guard house, kid.” The captain turned towards the small house next to the gate and Hayato followed after him.

“This is where you go for your breaks!” The captain barked. Hayato looked around as the captain opened the door for him. It was a simple house with a few tables and a couple of beds. There was a chest with a few snacks sticking out of the draws. The tables had a few dice and cards on them. It did seem like a well used place. Hayato nodded silently, but the captain took offense to that.

“Didn’t I just say you need to be loud and proud? Give me a sir yes sir!” Captain Satoshi’s voice boomed.  

“Sir yes sir!” Hayato said as loud as the captain had boomed. “Better keep it up kid.” Captain Satoshi then went into a monolog about the guard house when you could rest and how shifts worked. It made sense, but Hayato hadn’t really thought about all that went into running a full shift of guards. I was pretty cool. Next Captain Satoshi brought him over to the booth and Hayato followed him in and watched him do his job during this shift. Hayato watched the man closely, seeing how he greeted villagers, examined goods, and checked their Identification. It was pretty straight forward manning the booth, but it did involve a lot of talking. Hayato wasn’t sure he liked it, but he wanted to be useful to his village so he persisted.

“Here we have a visitor, Yuki!” The captain said to Hayato as a man approached asking about entering for the festivities. “When you have a visitor you have to get this form filled out no matter what, got it?” Captain Satoshi raised an eyebrow looking at the boy as he handed a paper and pen to the man under the partition and one to Hayato. Sir yes Sir! Hayato had learned his lesson. He was starting to feel like he was in the academy again. “Good look it over so you know what is required and then I’ll show you how to give a badge or temp Id.” Hayato read the paper. It had simple information like where did you come from, how long will you stay. “This Information is important to Tanbo’s safety, get it? We can’t just have rouge combatants from aggressive villages waltzing in unaccounted for. We check the bingo book too, but only extremely harsh criminals are rejected. Tanbo is a place for everyone.” Captain Satoshi finished his explanation and showed Hayato how to give a temporary badge to someone. “Understood sir!” Hayato responded.

“Good kid, do you have any questions?” Satoshi asked as he handed the badge off and waved the man goodbye. “Yes sir! Do you have any important tips for a new guard?” Hayato asked. “Yeah I do kid! Always stay sharp! Additionally, always be loud. Being present makes it easier for your fellow guards to notice if someone approaches the gate and then you stop talking. If you’re too quiet someone will come check on you often. So be loud so everyone knows you’re okay! Kapeesh?” Captain Satoshi gave Hayato a friendly nudge as he finished his tips. It made lots of sense to Hayato. Hayato nodded profusely and gave a hearty Yes sir thank you sir! to which Captain Satoshi smirked.

“Now come on kid, our shift here is over let me show you the watchtowers and you’ll be free to go” Captain Satoshi announced as the guard that would replace them came right on time. They walked up the wall to the top of the watchtower.

“Here your only duty is to stay sharp and use these signals to let people know if you see something dangerous or suspicious.” He went through the signs and had Hatyato repeat them. After he was satisfied they watched over the rice paddies together. Captain Satoshi was nice. Hayato had enjoyed his enthusiasm and pride. After they climbed down Satoshi waved him off. This took about 2 hours. Not very long at all. It was time for Hayato to head towards the stall area being constructed for the festival.


Having village shinobi set up and tend to festival stalls was a testament to Tanbo’s peace and prosperity. The Village was a buzz with people enjoying their time together. Between the talking to neighbors about the coming event, and the children laughing in the streets the joy was infectious. Hayato was ready to go and get to work. He arrived at main street and noticed there were many shinobi and plain workers putting up wooden stalls. There was hammering and yelling, but even with all the hard labor everyone seemed happy. Content to work towards a great cause. Every little cog works to make a great event.

Hayato saw a small bin of tools and a little stand with a young woman sitting next to said bin. He walked over and asked her about how he could help.

“Ah, another young shinobi come to help with the festivities? Just grab a hammer and start putting in nails! Or if you’d rather you can use the stack of wood to supply the builders already at work.” The lady sounded pleasant, but she’d done it at least a hundred times today. Hayato took a lesson and decided to speak up more. Thanks you ma’am! He would say with a bow before he grabbed some tools and a little bit of wood. He walked around and sat with an old man who he saw struggling to build alone. Hello sir, would you let me assist you? I’ve brought more wood as well!  Hayato asks. The old man nodded as Hayato went to work. He wasn’t the greatest builder, but he had a few skills from repairing around the house and the village smithy.

He helped the man finish the little stand. It wasn’t too bad looking after he put in a few nails and listened to the old man's directions. The man's name was Touya. He was going to be running this stand as a goldfish catching game. He had a simple tank that was watertight ready to place once the stand was ready. Hayato was determined to see his new friends stand ready for the festival, so he got to work with extra effort. He was hammering furiously and painting with precision. Touya had already made the outline for what he wanted to have on the stand. It was easier than he expected and with him and Touya combined they did it all in just about 3 hours. The stand was colored red and white with a large golden koi picture on the top of the stand. Next Hayato would help him collect water to fill up the tank. Hayato wished he knew how to perform water release, but alas he would have to simply go to a nearby well with a couple of buckets. He carried two buckets on a long rod and made the trip. There was a line, many people needed water. This is gonna take a while… The boy thought as he waited patiently.

Eventually, he was able to fill about 6 buckets of water. This was the amount that was necessary for the tank to be completely filled. Hayato was finally able to relax as Touya filled the tank with his precious goldfish. Hayato watched the man add what he assumed was fish feed to the water.  I guess we’re all done here Touya-san…phew Hayato was stronger than the average human, but he was still not one for huge feats of strength and he had done a lot today already.

The sun was about halfway down in the sky Hayato observed. In an hour or so They would divide up the stalls between a few participants. He had heard while he was working that the plan was to have a few shinobi work in supporting roles, running stalls when citizens needed a break and helping with additional hands wherever needed.

Hayato let the thought slip from his mind as he reached into his weapon pouch and pulled out a small wooden bento box. Finally a meal. He knew he would be able to eat plenty at the festival, but for now he would have this. He opened the box and retrieved his chopsticks. Hayato had rice, fruit, and pickled vegetables for lunch today. He tasted each of them and they were… satisfactory except for the rice which was delicious. Hayato gobbles up the rice quickly. It was still warm and perfectly seasoned. He would have to thank his mother later for packing such a great meal. He picked over the veggies and ate all the fruit. Once he was full he packed the box away in his pouch and took a quick walk around the festival area. Most of the stands were done now. There were carnival game stalls and food stalls all lining the main street of Tanbo. He spotted a few stalls that were dealing in particular types of sake as well. Hayato pursued the stalls as they made their final preparations. He also made sure to pick up any remaining trash around him.

He noticed the sun was setting and made his way to where the receptionist lady was sitting before. When he arrived he ran into a sizable group of shinobi, some chunin, but genin mostly. “Alright guards dismissed!” The lady proclaimed and then the older looking shinobi all scattered. The only ones left were genin. “Now as for the rest of you, you will be helping with the stalls. There are a few older people that need help.” She paused looking into the eyes of everyone present. “Keep an eye out for cheaters and help where needed.” She smiled gently, changing her expression from stern and serious to kind. “Now go out there and have a good time.” The woman pulled on a kitsune mask covering her face in the spirit of the Saturnalia. “Dismissed!”

The genin started wandering away from the group looking around for people that needed assistance as the sun started to fall behind the horizon. Hayato pulled on his red oni mask, adn set off to check on Touya’s goldfish stand. He was sure the old man would need a little bit of assistance.  

When he arrived, he saw many small children standing on their tippy toes peering into the tank. Hayato walked next to them. The fish looked even more brilliant underneath the lantern lights. The bright colors glimmered under the distorted lights. Touya was as he was before, simply waiting for someone to speak up. Hayato would be the one to do it this time. Touya-san, would you let these little ones play the game? I think they’d like a pet isn’t that right kids? Hayato would ask the line of 5 kids and they all nodded looking at Hayato with stars in their eyes.

Hayato stifled his giggle and handed out paper nets to each of the kids after retrieving them from behind the stand. Touya, like a silent machine, raised a perforated wooden board from the bottom of the tank preventing the fish from diving deeper. Hayato placed a long slab of wood in front of the tank to let the kids see more clearly. They each stepped up and Touya looked at Hayato with a smile. Hayato figured it was his job to start the games.

Alright, the game cost 5 ryo. You get 45 seconds to catch a fish and place him in one of these bags… Hayato announced the rule through his oni mask in a voice fitting a carnival announcer, and handed out small sacks filled with water to each kid. Are you ready?... On your mark…get seeeeettt….GO! Hayato started them off, and watched them scramble to catch some of the fish. He would keep a count in his head, but he was sure Touya was counting as well. He saw the man holding a small hammer next to a bell. The first kid in the line quickly broke his net. Hayato quickly gave the boy another one. It’s a game after all andhe knew Touya-san wouldn't mind if he gave the little ones a few more chances.20 seconds he thought as the time was winding down. All of the kids were struggling and laughing together. Hayato couldn't help but smile under his mask. Two more kids broke their nets as Hayato handed them new ones with only 10 seconds to go. 5, 4, 3, 2, 1! Ding ding ding. The bell rang out and it seemed that only one of the older girls had caught on of the elusive golden fish. Congratulations miss! You can keep that goldfish! As for the rest of you, good effort. Try again next time! Hayato got a few giggles from the kids. They had noticed his funny voice. All the little sniffles and forming tears turned into gleeful giggling. The kids eventually went on their way, but he was sure a few of them would come back to try again. The look in one boy’s eyes was unmistakable.

Hayato was prepared to stand at Touya’s stall all night, but the old man, but a hand on his shoulder and pointed over to a stand with a roaring flame and a long line. This stall looked like a food stand. The smell of yakisoba drifted through the air. The sounds of scraping metal and the roaring fire sang through the air. It was easy enough for Hayato to see they were doing a good job, but they simply needed a hand.

Hayato walked over to a busy looking bald man with large muscles, tanned skin, and a traditional twisted headband. “Kid the line’s over there! You can’t just cut ahead!” He said angrily though barely paying Hayao himself any attention. Hayato looked up from under the brim of his straw hat flashing his headband again. I’m here to help the stalls run efficiently…This line is going to cause problems for traffic and lose you money…What can I do to help? Hayato would say plainly stating what he thought was obvious. The man looked up from his craft glaring at the boy. Their eyes met for a moment. Neither gave an inch then the man smirked. “You’re alright kid, can you cook?” He asked with a raised eyebrow. Hayato nodded. He didn’t think that he was an excellent cook, but he took his turn making meals at home. When he first moved here, his mom didn’t have the energy to do much of anything so he took care of the meals.

The man nodded back . “Good, get back here and prep the ingredients with my assists.” He said, motioning his head to the back of the stall. Hayato went to the back of the tent where a young woman pointed him to a large pile of fresh looking cabbage heads. Hayato took a knife and began cutting it. Hayato was good with a knife. In a way it was similar to his sword. The monks taught that a weapon was the extension of your body and in battle it was your soul. The knife became a part of him as he cut the veggies into small strips. Done he announced to the assistant. The woman had just barely begun to cut some carrots. She looked annoyed and surprised at the same time. She came over and examined the finished product. She gave it the thumbs up. “Can you do the onions too?” Hayato cleaned the knife and got to work. He cut the onions, then green onions, and finally some mushrooms.

The assistant started to show signs of reluctant gratitude as she finished the carrots just as he finished chopping four different ingredients. “Good work kid now if you’ll help collect the orders I can get this line out of here!” The boss tossed him a paper pad and a pen. Hayato caught them with a bit of trouble as he wasn’t ready for it. After a bit of juggling he caught it and was ready to go.

Hayato walked to the far edge of the line and worked his way backwards. He wrote what people wanted in their noodles from the back of the pad forwards. It was a long process. He wasn’t sure how many times he wrote onions, chicken and cabbage. He figured the problem was the boss was making yakisoba to order instead of just serving his recipe. He worked his way down the line until he ran into another young boy with a pad working the opposite way.

They looked at each other and nodded before they made their way back to the stall. With an ample supply of prepared ingredients and most of the orders written in notepads the last thing Hayato could help with was serving food. Hayato started taking paper cartons of yakisoba over to the customers. It was easier as he just needed to call out the order names and go from the front to the back. He was working alone on this job, but it was okay. He had gained a bit of confidence as he worked today. It didn’t take him too long to reduce the line to just a few people, no more than any other food stall. The boss thanked him with some yakisoba for free. It was really good. He understood why people had waited so long for it. He stood up and was ready to go help more people when the woman from before tapped him on the shoulder.

“You’ve been working hard. Many of the other genin have been goofing off.” She said it with a smile, but Hayato saw a vein popping up on her smooth forehead.  “Why don’t you enjoy the night's festivities? The chunin will handle anything else that comes up. You’re relieved from duty mr…” She offered him a rest and was hoping he’d fill in his name. Yuki. Hayato Yuki Hayato did as she wanted expecting a reaction to his name, but he got none. “Right, Yuki-san. I’ll remember your name. You’ve done well here. I expect you’ll join our few chunin soon~” She said it in a sing-song manner and trotted off. Hayato hadn’t thought of promoting, but it was possible. He had taken on a good amount of missions, but he didn’t feel like his jobs had been that of a shinobi more of a civil servant. One day perhaps he would put his life on the line for the village, and people he cared about. Maybe he would kill in the line of duty one day. For now though, he would try to enjoy the twilight of the 100th Sake Saturnalia.

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[WC:4380]
[EXIT]
Claiming:
+ 86 AP from maxed stats
+ 1750/1750 Perfect Body
+ 1750/1750 Earth Shaker
+ 769 towards jab 1000/1000
+ 106 towards Lightness skill 111/1000
+ 45 ap from mission rewards
+ 9000 ryo in mission rewards

Approved my dude!  fun read