[Mission] Painter Guild's Plus One!

Walking into town, Akihiko was met with a large crowd of villagers performing what he assumed to be their everyday routine. It was presumed because it was Akihiko’s first time entering into Sunagakure and it was most obvious that these villagers were working with purpose. He was surprised to see all the different activities that were being carried out before him. There was a mother carrying two children, one in each arm, as one clung to her leg fearing to be left behind. On the other side of the main road was a blacksmith hammering away at an anvil trying to unbend a weapon that looked to be very unbendable. It was most shocking to see all the materials of commerce being carried around with vases, rocks, food, and the like.

Akihiko saw a short stall a way off with a woman tending the shop. She was placing an assortment of art supplies across the counter. She tended them with care, as if they were clearly of value. They did not seem all that valuable to Akihiko. They simply looked like regular tools used to make art, as he was familiar with. He had drawn in his free time quite a bit when he was younger and bored. Akihiko made his way over to the stall to chat with the woman. It was possible that she could provide Akihiko with work or at the very least show some of her more interesting art pieces.

“Hello, how are you?”, asked Akihiko

The woman looked up from her stall, halting her task.

“I haven’t seen you around here. Your clothes…seem foreign.”, said the woman.

“Yes, well I am a wanderer of sorts. I see that you have a variety of art supplies here. Need a hand?”, asked Akihiko

The woman stopped in thought, putting her hand to her chin making it clear.

“Actually, I could use help getting these in order. Do you know who I am?”, she asked.

Akihiko looked at the woman and shook his head, not knowing.

“I am the branch officer of the Painter’s Guild. I am tasked with setting up a branch of our guild here in Sunagakure. You can see why just by looking around you”, she explained.

Akihiko’s face would show indifferent, but on the inside, he was interested.

“Alright, I will give you a hand. Seems like honest work to me.”, said Akihiko.

The woman nodded.

Akihiko took over the woman’s duty while she went around a nearby house. The art supplies he was touching varied in shape and size. His hands moved quickly with purpose, as he had an eye for managing things. He cleaned and repainted the supplies, returning them to their pristine condition. He put the brushes on the right side of the counter on top, from short to tall. Next, he put the paint on the left side in the same order. On the bottom he lined up the different canvases, separating the blank ones with ones with exquisite art. They were pictures of Sunagakure’s night skies, rare clouds, and strange animals on sand dunes. He finished up his work quickly.

(WC: 508)

The branch officer of the Painter's Guild returned from around the building where she had disappeared to. She approached Akihiko once he was done with the task of repainting and repositioning the supplies that she had on display. Her eyes lit up at the site of her stall that now stood out from all the other ones nearby. She was one happy branch officer and one happier vendor, as she knew business was going to be booming today. Already a man holding his daughters hand started making their way to their stall like two magnets.

“There is nothing that brings the guild more joy than spreading our art with the world”, said the branch officer.

Akihiko blushed at his accomplishment and rubbed the back of his neck in obvious embarrassment.

“I am glad I could be of help, ha-ha”, said Akihiko modestly.

“Oh, you have been more than helpful. Here, take your payment. Also, I have another job lined up for you if you are willing”, she said.

Akihiko accepted his payment from the branch officer and a piece of paper that she had held.

“Of course, I will. I am in dire need of the payment.”, said Akihiko.

“Great, on that piece of paper I handed you is the location of the paint buckets and the location of a house that needs repainting. It was a mission given to our guild, but all hands are on duty right now. Thanks for your help.”, said the branch officer.

Akihiko bowed to the branch officer then headed to the location that was sure enough written on the paper that he was handed.

On arrival of the location of the paint buckets which was in a small type of shed, he noticed that there were several different paint options and brushes. In confusion, Akihiko looked at the paper again and turned it over to see if there were any additional notes. In small handwriting he could see a small message that read: “Any color works. Have fun. ” A small smirk crept across Akihiko’s face, but only because no one was there to see him. He folded the paper and put it into his pocket along with his payment that he had been holding.

Looking at the paint options, Akihiko decided he wanted to use the color red. He picked up the paint bucket, a roller, a brush, and a pan. He decided that if he was told to have fun with painting the house, he was going to have fun. He carried the items with him out the shed, trying to remember what the directions on the paper had told him to go from there. He remembered at that moment and headed to the location of the chipping house.

When he arrived at the house, he was amazed at the shape it was in. The outside walls made of sand were full of chipped paint. He knew the elements here were rough. It was a wonder on what kind of owner would bother with paying someone to paint their home at this location. Akihiko placed his items on the ground nearby then folded his arms. He knew he was forgetting something important and looking at the wall reminded him of what that was. Akihiko forgot that he needed a scraper to smooth out the wall to reapply a healthy coating of paint. What was he to do now?
 
Looking around the premises, Akihiko found a kunai that was buried in a rock. He tugged it out of the rock easy enough. He flipped it in his hand doing a couple of tricks with it as he usually did when he had weapons on hand. Akihiko figured that this kunai would have to do for removing the chipped paint. He promised to himself that he would return it to where he found it once he was done with his work. He would have to be extremely careful to not ruin the wall while trying to get the more rigid chipped paint off the wall.

He got to work right away, scraping the chipped paint from underneath with the kunai. Pieces of chipped paint kept falling to the ground, some of the chipped paint getting carried with the wind into the unknown. The work took longer than it should have, but Akihiko was satisfied with the results. The wall looked pretty smooth and was definitely a passable job. He went back to the stone where he had gotten the kunai from and buried it back into the hole where he had pulled it from.

Going back to the spot where he had left his items, he picked up the roller. Akihiko let the paint spill into the pan then put the roller in getting it nice and wet. He applied the paint to the first wall of the house, the one closest to him. Making sure to go in straight lines, Akihiko went from the top to the bottom, moved to the next section of the wall and did the same. The wall was covered in red paint. Akihiko took a few steps back to admire his work.

Re-wetting the roller with fresh paint, he went back to work on the next three walls. Getting his practice in with the first wall, Akihiko worked quicker than before without losing the efficiency. He successfully made the whole house red. Sweat was pouring from his brow, landing on the sand. Akihiko saw the beads of sweat fall from his face. He wiped the sweat off his brow and got a stripe of red paint across his face. He knew he got himself too when he looked at his hands after which were covered in red too.

An elderly lady approached Akihiko with a clean rag.

“T-Thank you, ma’am”, said Akihiko.

He quickly wiped his face and hands off onto the rag.

“You did a great job, my husband will be pleased”, said the elderly woman.

“You think?”, asked Akihiko curiously.

“Yes! We wanted a house that would stand out. Red was a fine choice”, said the elderly woman.

The woman handed Akihiko his reward with a smile. Taking the reward, Akihiko returned the rest of the items back to the shed.

(WC: 1,015 | TWC: 1,523)

The road ahead of Akihiko all looked the same, all sand no matter which way he turned his head. He tried his best to snap out of it, but he was surely hypnotized by it. He felt like a walking zombie, his head bobbing every which way, with his arms extended from having to carry the art supplies that were on him. It was nights like this that made Akihiko missed the company of others more than anything. He was used to having his father by his side or his father’s merry band of mercenaries. Now, Akihiko had no one to talk to, not even an animal. He thought of making a rock with a smiley face on it, but there were no rocks, only sand.

It was unknown to Akihiko how long he had been venturing for before he walked right into the place he needed to be, the shed. He bumped into the door and fell on his ass. Luckily the paint bucket fell flat on the sand, not spilling any paint over the top. He stood up and rubbed his eyes with the hand that clutched the roller, brush, and pan. He opened the door that was left unlocked, as it was when he arrived the first time. The painter’s guild was way too trusting of the villagers here. Akihiko wasn’t saying Sunagakure was exclusive to thievery, but rather it was past no one these days to steal easy goods that laid right in front of their eyes.

He placed the roller and pan back into the corner where he found it. Turning around, he raised the brush that was still in his hand. He took the lid off the top of the bucket and dipped the brush inside. He licked the tip of the brush out of curiosity, squatting over the paint bucket. Placing the lid back on the top of the bucket, he kept his one hand on the top, while he used the brush in his other hand to draw a smiley face on the bucket. The face looked like two upside down seagulls and a boat under it. Behind his smile was a need for the ocean.

Akihiko brought the bucket and the brush inside, placing them next to the rest of the supplies he had put neatly in the corner. Closing the door, he begun to lay down. There was one open window in the shed that had a good view of the sky. He laid on his back with his arms behind his head to give it the support it needed. It was a starry night, quite beautiful even for someone who has seen many a starry night. Akihiko’s eyes blinked less and less until he blinked no more. Falling asleep to the count of the stars, he had no intention of waking up anytime soon.

Being kicked awake was not fun. Akihiko squirmed under the many sandaled feet that stomped on his once contently sleeping body. He tried throwing his arms up to cover his face and extremities, but this led him to hitting his head against the ground every time he was kicked. He wondered what type of person would kick a kid when he was down for the count.

“Get up! Get up! Get up!”, ranted a man.

“I am trying to! AH! Can you stop!?”, pleaded Akihiko.

A bucket was thrown at him, presumably the painted bucket.

“S-Stop! ARGH – “, said Akihiko.

He was soaking wet; it was definitely the paint bucket that was thrown.

“What are you doing here? Thief! Freeloader! Get up! Get out!”, shouted the man.

Akihiko rolled out from the barrage of feet. He sprinted to the doorway, but only got a few steps in. The paint had gotten everywhere including on the floor and on his feet. When he got to the doorway, sure enough he slipped on the paint which was green. The sand that he landed on was not the worst thing to land on, but it sure was hot. It took him a quick second to stand back on both his feet in pain.

“I-I am sorry”, said Akihiko.

He bowed several times, turning a 180 to leave the area.

“Hold it.”, said a feminine voice.

Akihiko looked up to see the branch officer that had tasked him with painting the house. She was more beautiful than he had remembered. She had a hat with a cute paint bucket with cartoon eyes, a brown ponytail that went out the back of it, bright orange eyes, a paintbrush necklace, and an hourglass build. His eyes were not going down, and it really felt to him that they should. ‘What was the branch officer doing here? Oh, right it was her shed.’

“What is it, Eruru? Don’t you see that I am trying to chase this scoundrel out?”, asked the man.

Akihiko took note of the branch officer’s name, but more importantly…

“Why aren’t you wearing your poncho!?”, asked Eruru accusingly.

Eruru tilted her head questioningly.

“I took a shower?”, said Eruru rhetorically. “And this man here was hired to paint a house for our guild, Sanshin.”

The man scratched the very top of his head.

“Is that right? That would be my mistake then”, said Sanshin in a laughter.

Akihiko did not find it funny.

Eruru grabbed Akihiko’s hand, bringing him in close. She took out a rag, licked it and started to wipe the paint off of his face. This was behavior that he was not used to especially from someone who he had met only yesterday. He turned his attention to Sanshin who made no reaction about Akihiko getting his face wiped. Apparently, this was typical for Eruru by his expression. Eruru grabbed his face turning it towards her so she could wipe it better.

“There.”, stated Eruru.

Eruru took her hands off of Akihiko and took a step back.

“So – uh. What now?”, asked Akihiko rubbing his arm.

Sanshin came up from behind Akihiko, wrapping his arm around the back of his neck.

“Now, you can handle a task for us.”, said Sanshin.

“I don’t know…”, said Akihiko reluctantly. His head hurt.

“Come on. Don’t be like that”, said Sanshin. He puffed his chest.

“I don’t know”, repeated Akihiko showing his general disinterest.

Sanshin looked at Eruru for some support.

“There is a big payment if you do!”, added Eruru.

“Okay, I am in.”, said Akihiko, “Only because I am in dire need of ryo.”

Sanshin let go of Akihiko, beckoning him to follow.

They arrived at one of the bigger buildings there in Sunagakure. Akihiko would never suspect the Painter’s Guild to have a magnificent building like this at their disposal. They had to have gone through quite a lot to be able to afford this building. He found it odd that he met Eruru at a humble stall on the street when she could be selling her goods in here. There had to be a good reason for her not using this building and staying on the street. ‘Maybe it was a marketing strategy?’ Akihiko was unsure at this thought.

Entering the building, he could see an array of people inside. There was just as much movement inside this building as what he had seen when he first entered the main road of the village. It seems business was good for them. There was a series of bulletin boards set up that were flat and lined with a magnitude of papers that were thumbnailed onto them. ‘Were they mission requests like he was doing or some kind of plan? What was going on here?’ Akihiko attempted to open his mouth to get answers to the series of questions he had but was interrupted.

“Yes, Yes, and Yes”, said Eruru, “This is our guild’s headquarters. Here is the main lobby where we take requests.”

Akihiko looked from her, back to the crowd.

“And why did I find you at the street?”, he asked.

It was Sanshin that spoke this time.

“All of us here pitch in on sales in high density areas”, said Sanshin.

Akihiko nodded. It made sense.

“Well, what would you have me do?”, asked Akihiko.

The two of them brought Akihiko to one of the boards and grabbed the one that looked a little crumpled.

“This customer has been wanting us to make a statue, but it’s more complex than you would think”, said Sanshin.

“Alright. Let’s get on with it”, said Akihiko.

“I’ll get the art supplies, you boys can get the crafting material”, said Eruru.


Eruru took off, leaving Akihiko with Sanshin. The two of them eyed each other in awkward silence for a moment. This awkward silence was broken with a cough coming from Sanshin. He pointed to a direction and headed off down one of the many halls there at the guild. Akihiko followed Sanshin, trying his hardest to not get lost among the crowd. They went about five different directions on their journey to the material they had stored in the building.

Sanshin opened the door to a not so small closet. There were many shelves lined with different types of materials. Sanshin went up to one specific container, opening it up. He reached his hand inside to gather the contents. He then threw a glob of clay into the hands of Akihiko from across the room who caught it with ease. Akihiko never made a statue, so he was sure that he would fail at this task, but he was not about to give up without a try.

“Clay”, said Sanshin grabbing his own glob.

“I gathered as much”, said Akihiko.

“Oh, did you? Let’s see what you got then”, said Sanshin.


Taking out two strange devices, Sanshin placed his clay on one. The clay started to turn as if it were made of magic. Sanshin began molding the clay into an image of a man with a proud belly. The details of the man were extraordinary. He got the hair, facial features, clothes, physique, even a strange armband that looked like a weapon of sorts. Akihiko knew he was out of his league here, wondering now more than ever if he should bother competing.

“What are you waiting for?”, asked Sanshin.

“How am I supposed to compare to that?”, asked Akihiko.

Sanshin laughed for a moment.

“You’re not.”, said Sanshin.

“I’m not? Then – “, started Akihiko.

“You just need to make a pedestal for him, and I’ll do the rest”, said Sanshin.

Sanshin nodded to his feet, showing Akihiko how he operated the machine.

“Okay, I will try”, said Akihiko.

Akihiko placed his glob of clay on the unused machine. He started pumping it to make the top of the machine turn for him. He started to mold the clay into a circular pedestal. It was a difficult task, but Akihiko finished after some time. He got up to take one of the pics that were on the shelf. Going back to his seat, he started to carve designs into his circular pedestal. The end result was a little too small pedestal with perfectly symmetrical designs on the outside of it.

Eruru entered the room with the art supplies she had promised. The two boys greeted her with smug pride at their work. Sanshin reassured Akihiko that the smaller pedestal just brought out the qualities of the main statuette. Sanshin took their two clay pieces and walked out of the room.  He went to go put them in the furnace so they could gain the strength to not fall apart at the touch. He would then return with their pieces for Eruru to work on.

The whole process took nearly the whole day. This did not bother Akihiko, as he enjoyed the company of the two of them. They talked about the guild, their favorite pieces of art they had made, and at one point Akihiko had brought up training, but the two of them were not fighters. They were content, however on listening to Akihiko ramble on different techniques he has heard of and wishes to learn. At the end of the day, Eruru and Sanshin thanked Akihiko and gave him his payment.

Since it was too late for Akihiko to find anywhere to rest, the two of them gave him an extra room at the guild to rest at. The room had a bed, table, an art desk, a mirror, window, a lamp, and more. It was quite a high class room for him. He made sure to thank them.

(WC: 2,026 | TWC: 3,549)

Akihiko rose up his upper body, moving the sheets that laid over him in the same direction. That night had given him the best rest that he had yet to receive there in Sunagakure. This did not say much since his last rest was on the floor of the shed that had no bed or cushioning of any kind to ease his discomfort.  He stretched his arms upwards, keeping one arm straight while the other grasped onto the middle of the arm to help stretch it. To his surprise, he found that his arm felt improved in muscle. He had been going through rigorous work with carrying all the heavy supplies around the village and painting that house. This had excited Akihiko who always loved to train his body, to grow stronger. He wanted to be able to get the chance to visit the training grounds once he had gotten enough ryo to supply himself with decent quality gear.
 
The sun had barely risen, leaving a light glow through his window. Akihiko’s body was getting used to waking up at the crack of dawn. He did not mind this one bit, as he had been feeling well rested with only slight soreness from the constant working out. He knew that he would break free of the ill sensations of soreness once he got more exercise in. The only downside was that he would get tired earlier in the evening and he wanted to soak up all the time that he was able to.  What good was waking up this early if he didn’t get his extra minutes in?
 
Tossing the blankets that laid over him to the side, he lifted his legs up and placed his feet onto the ground. The flooring was made of earth with a nice decorative rug that had been placed over the center of the room. He went over to the window, turned the latch that kept the window secure, and opened it wide. He peaked out the window to see a couple of hawks flying through the air, delivering their letters to the villagers of Sunagakure. This made Akihiko reflect on how nice it must have been to be a villager who was always secure in their homes. This reminded him of Guren’s words back at the gate of the village. He had mentioned of Sunagakure’s reformation in policies over the course of time. Apparently, the village had been going through a darker age with unorthodox methods and shady ways. He did not see that so far, spending his time there in the village. He wondered if there was more to Sunagakure than what met the eye.

Turning around, Akihiko went to take a closer look at the art desk. It was of a unique design that he had not seen before. There were two lines in the middle of the desk, making a rectangular shape appear in the center. He looked at the bottom of the desk where there was a gear, a button, and two drawers. He pushed the button and a side drawer popped out. The side drawer contained a few brushes and pencils. The front drawers were most spacious with two canvases of different size, paper, and tubed paint. He turned the gear in the front to see what affect it would have on the table. Turning the gear made the sectioned part of the table rise up. He figured that this is where you could put your piece of paper or canvas on to make wonderful pieces of art. Akihiko thought of how the painter’s guild must be full of surprises with inventions like these.

(WC: 604 | TWC: 4,153)

Footsteps could be heard going up the hall to Akihiko’s room. There was a knock on his door, drawing his attention. He moved away from the art desk that he had been messing around with out of curiosity and walked to the door. He slid his door open to find the person on the other side was none other than Eruru. She was wearing her painter guild uniform with her paint bucket hat, and a one-piece stylish smock. It was the same thing she had been wearing before except newly cleaned with no wrinkles to be spotted. She looked overly enthusiastic as if she was excited for what was to come this day.

“Good morning! We got a room reserved for you with a bath all drawn up and ready to go”, said Eruru.

Akihiko looked down at himself. He was still covered in dried paint and clay.

“Ah – Thank you.”, said Akihiko embarrassed.

He looked back at his bed that he now noticed was covered with dried droppings of miscellaneous dirt.

“Don’t worry about it. You’re not the first guest we have hosted here. You have seen the main lobby.”, she said.

She beckoned a person behind her to go into Akihiko’s room. She was clearly a hired maid. She had new sheets and cleaning supplies in her arms.

“I’ll take you to your bath. Follow me”, said Eruru.

The two of them went down the hall to another room. It was much like the room that Akihiko had been in, but bare of all the furniture. The only thing that laid in the middle of the room was a single tub filled with water. There were a few tubes of body supplies on the floor next to it and a half curtain that shielded the bath from the direction of the door. Eruru entered the room first, grabbing clothes and a towel that hid on the other side of the door on a rack. She brought them to the curtain, drawing the curtain out to cover the door. She then placed the towel and clothes separately on top of the curtain for Akihiko to grab once he was done. She bowed to him, leaving him in peace. “Enjoy”, she said.

Akihiko made sure the door was shut, locking the door from any unwanted entries. He went around the curtain, shedding his clothes. Looking down at the water he could see the steam coming out of the tub. He dipped his hand in and sure enough the water was warm just the way he liked it. Letting his body enter the water he sighed in comfort. Akihiko did not get a chance to bathe in a while so, this was a welcomed chance for him. He lowered his body to the point where only his nose was out of the water.

It was no surprise that Akihiko let himself enjoy the bath for a long time. After about forty minutes or so, he took ten to twenty minutes to really clean himself up. He used the body supplies as they were provided for him. He wondered how the people of Sunagakure used to bathe. He bet they cleaned themselves without using much if any water. He bet there were poor areas that were still like that too. Most villages have an area that looks torn down from neglect or some source of violence that might had occurred.

(WC: 562 | TWC: 4,715)

He got out of the tub dripping wet, as there was nothing else that could be done to dry his feet when they were submerged. Grabbing the towel, he made sure to wipe down his whole body from head to feet. It would be rude to leave a trail of water all across the building. It was bad enough that someone was going to have to clean the room that he was in, although it looked like this setting was done on purpose since the guild had hired a maid to have cleaned his room once he had left.
 
Akihiko placed the towel back on the curtain divider where he had grabbed it from. The new clothes that were folded over the divider next to the towel, to his surprise, looked much like the clothes he was wearing. He put on his new muscle shirt, baggy pants, and arm warmers. The clothes felt much lighter on him than the previous ones he was wearing. He wondered if whether that was because of the material or the lack of excessive grime that had clung to his clothing. Either way he was grateful for the gift, feeling refreshed. The painter guild must have a contact with an individual with great sewing skills for her to match the details they had mentioned off the top of their heads.
 
Slipping on his sandals that he had left by the tub, he looked around the room for a brush. Sure enough, there was no sign of one. He parted his hair as best he could with his hands instead. It was all the same to Akihiko. His main goal was not to have his head hurt from his hair being all tangled up. His hair was long, so it was prone to this. The blue tips of his white hair touched slightly past the base of his shoulders. He would have to consider getting a hair cut sometime, but in all likelihood wouldn’t bother with getting a trim.

It would be disrespectful for him to leave his clothes sprawled all across the floor, so he picked them up himself. There really wasn’t a place to put them. Instead, he hung them up on the rack by the door where Eruru had grabbed his new clothes and towel from. He figured that they would easily be spotted, and no one would have to bend their back over trying to pick up after the mess he had made. Once he was done, he went to reach for the door.
 
Sliding the door open, he saw that there was not any movement there in the hallway. The hall was entirely empty with the exception of a young lady standing outside his door. How many maids could the Painter Guild afford here was beyond him. He looked to the other side of the hall hoping to be able to find Eruru there. He did not know this place and would get lost if he were to start walking around by himself. Again, the hall was completely empty, letting a bit of nervousness enter into Akihiko’s body.
 
The maid bowed to Akihiko.

“E-Excuse me. You are requested at the main lobby”, said the maid.

Akihiko’s back was turned to her, thus so too was his focus.

“E-Excuse me. It’s down the hall –“, said the maid.

Akihiko turned his attention to the maid, his face an inch from hers.

Her face turned red like a cherry.

“AHH!”, she screamed before slapping Akihiko.

(WC: 573 | TWC: 5,288)

His face turned a bright red, although all Akihiko could notice was the stinging sensation on his left cheek that had been struck. He rubbed at his face in pain, unaware why he had been hit by the maid or why she had screamed so loudly at him. He wondered if he had done something to offend her that he was not aware of. He wondered why her face changed to a bright red when he had looked at her. He thought maybe something fell on her or perhaps he stepped on her foot.

“I apologize. Did I step on your foot?”, he asked.

The maid sucked in some air and looked at him.

“No, you’re too close.”, she said sternly.

Akihiko took a step back into the hall.

“Oh, sorry. I was getting done, cleaning myself up. My clothes are there on the rack…”, he said.

The maid stomped her foot in anger.

“Do you think I am a maid!? I only came here at the request of Eruru. I am a member here at the guild like most of everyone else that isn’t in the front lobby, unlike someone here.”, said the woman.

Akihiko wondered what kind of mess he had just gotten himself into. He no longer wanted to be standing where he currently was. Nothing compared to a woman scolding him for a foolish mistake that he had not had any ill intentions behind. He quickly looked for a route of escape where he could set off to. This plan was apparently obvious to the woman because she hit him on the shoulder this time, angrier than before.

“Hey! Are you trying to run away from me after that!?”, she asked.

Akihiko rubbed his shoulder in a newfound pain.

“W-What? No…”, he said.

The woman scoffed at him and rolled her eyes.

“I can’t believe you. Why does Eruru want to meet with you is beyond me.”, she said.

He looked down in forced shame.

“Where was she again?”, he asked.

The woman crossed her arms.

“Unbelievable”, she said.

He stood there in awkward silence, a victim of a bad situation.

“She wants to meet you at the main lobby. That’s down the hall to the left. You should know the rest of the way from there”, she said.

The woman walked away leaving Akihiko standing by himself. He was not given a chance to say another word to her. There was nothing to do standing around, so he went to the area she had described to him trying to find Eruru. Going down the hall to the left he remembered the rest of the way to the main lobby because it was the way he took to get to where he was. He had made a few mistakes going back to the main lobby, but Akihiko went back going the other way each time, setting himself back on track. He eventually found himself back to the main lobby that was not nearly as crowded as it was yesterday. At one of the desks, the receptionist was talking with Eruru and Sanshin.

(WC: 500 | TWC: 5,788)

Akihiko walked up to Eruru and Sanshin with a big smile. He was excited to greet his newfound friends after the horrible interaction he had just gone through. He walked up to the lobby desk and leaned against the countertop. Eruru and Sanshin finished their words with the receptionist that was working at that desk. The receptionist nodded to them as if he were just given a task to complete and walked down the big lobby into one of the many hallways. Akihiko looked at them with a raised brow inquiring what was going on with the two of them.

Sanshin put his arm around Akihiko, sinking against the desk like he was.

“Hello, friend. Looking forward to another day of work?”, asked Sanshin.

He should have expected the two of them to have a task for him.

“Depends on what is it. I am not going to clean any toilets around here”, said Akihiko.

Eruru giggled at Akihiko’s response.

“Not even for a rare barbeque meal?”, asked Eruru.

Akihiko perked up at this. He definitely would not mind some barbeque.

“Well. Do I have to?”, asked Akihiko exaggeratedly.

Sanshin smirked at the two of them, joining in.

“Just a few dozen”, said Sanshin teasingly.

Akihiko shook his head furiously. It was not worth it to him.

“No way! You’ll have to find someone else!”, yelled Akihiko.

Sanshin busted out in laughter, not being able to hold it in.

“Relax, we are just teasing”, said Sanshin.

Eruru giggled once more at Akihiko reaction.

“In all seriousness, we have a special request that we would be happy if you accepted.”, said Eruru.

Akihiko turned his head questioningly, similar to what a dog would do.

“There is a big billboard waiting outside. It’s supposed to be an official advertisement for the Painter Guild here. The thing is however we have yet to design it.  We would be happy if you would help us design it.”, said Eruru.

Akihiko thought about the offer and really had no reason to deny their request.

“I would be happy to help the two of you”, said Akihiko.

Eruru clapped her hands together in excitement. She grabbed a paper from behind the desk and placed it on top. She took out a writing utensil, passing it Akihiko’s way for him to sign the contents of the mission assignment. Akihiko in return viewed the paper reading over the contents of the mission he had been assigned to. It seems the mission has a useful checklist that could be used to help design the billboard. It asked for a logo, a motto, a mascot, three different colors, three dimensions used, and the painter guild title. He saw that Eruru and Sanshin’s name have already been signed onto the bottom of the paper. He was glad that he was able to work with the two of them again. He added his signature to the bottom of the contract.

Seeing that Akihiko was done signing his signature on the contract, Eruru took the paper back from Akihiko’s hands. She placed the paper back behind the desk where a stack of other papers laid neatly in place. Eruru started walking towards the exit of the large building they were currently in. Sanshin whose arm was still wrapped around Akihiko’s neck, stopped leaning against the desk and pulled Akihiko along with him. The three of them made their way towards the exit where the billboard would be waiting for them to work on.

(WC: 562 | TWC: 6,350)

Akihiko decided that he had wanted the logo to be a bucket with cartoon eyes with the words, “Painter Guild” encircling it. He worked with Eruru and Sanshin to paint this on the right side of the billboard, making sure it is big enough for everyone to see. The motto would say, “Let your creation flow” underneath the logo they had made on the right side. On the overhead, it would say “Painter Guild – Sunagakure Branch”. Akihiko thought this was fitting since the billboard was going to be used on the building here for Sunagakure. It would show that the Painter Guild liked operating within the village and found it to be their home here.

For the left side of the billboard, Akihiko made sure to gather a bunch of cardboard. Sure enough, the Painter Guild had a good supply of cardboard within their storage. He decided that the mascot he would use for the billboard would be a scorpion. The scorpion is a local creature that would again symbolize their location here at Sunagakure. By using cardboard, Akihiko was able to make the scorpion pop out from the billboard giving it a creative three-dimensional look.

Once the three of them were finished with the base design of the billboard, they began to paint it many different colors. The scorpion was brown, black, white and red. The logo and the words were a dark blue that was clearly seen as the background was green. The end result looked great, and the three of them were satisfied with the number of hours they had put into the whole project. Sanshin made sure that Akihiko did not leave unpaid. The three of them said their farewells until next time.

(WC: 287 | TWC: 6,637)

Claiming:
Painter Guild’s Plus One! (E-B) Rewards -> 16,000 ryo + 79 AP
66 stats -> 27 speed, 39 str
Whistle Trigger (2k WC)

Bull Rush B, A Rank (4k WC)
Shadow Shuriken Technique (500 WC)

[EXIT]

Approved