All in a Day's Work

E-Rank Missions:

It starts when Kasane is asked to clean out the attic.

Her father has a whole host of scrolls tucked away up there, which she never seemed to touch, but when Kasane runs a finger along the paper, there’s no dust at all. Nevertheless, she starts scrubbing the floor, cheerfully humming a tune that’s been stuck in her head all morning. She heard a woman singing it in the street and now it’s been playing on a loop in her mind.

The attic isn’t just some overstuffed, cramped space that’s been abandoned and forgotten about, like the attics in her friends’ houses. Her father has made it nice, like the rest of the house. She’s had to push a thick, fancy rug back in order to clean the dark wooden floor, making it shine underfoot. The walls are decorated with paintings and wall-hangings, including her mother’s favorite poem, which she wrote out by hand personally after hearing it read aloud.

In her mother’s neat, flowing writing: 'I knew a girl with copper veins, who broke away and took great pains, but lifted up her silt-soaked heart, and bought herself a fresh start, hung from the wall on scroll-paper, curling up at the ends.'


Kasane keeps humming, absently pushing the rug further up, eyes on the poem before her. Her mother always says she wrote it just before Kasane was born. She still calls her daughter her ‘fresh start.’ She never talks about what came before.

The melody cuts off when her hand touches a warm spot on the floor. She frowns, pushing the rug all the way back to examine the space. One of the wooden planks is pulsing gently with warmth. Kasane is familiar with the sensation. It’s what happens when you imbue a surface with chakra. It lives off that energy, ebbing and flowing like a tide. If it’s particularly strong chakra, it can last decades. This feels… old.

Kasane scrapes her nails gently against the wood, frowning to herself. If she didn’t know any better, she’d say something was invisibly sealed under the floorboards, and then covered by a rug. She could pry up the floorboard and take a look, but whatever it is might be rigged to explode when uncovered, unless you keyed in the right chakra signal. She likes her face the way it is. Unexploded.

However, Kasane didn't have the time as she had a couple of missions to attend too. Exiting from the attic, she looked outside the window and into the distance. The sunrise from behind the mountains as light rays consume the darkness. The clear blue sky spread widely with no clouds to cover the magnificent view that the morning brought upon Tanbogakure. With the change of scenery, the night guards changed with the morning guards as everyone began their morning routines. A peaceful morning was like no other, calming and tranquil, Kasane couldn't ask for a better way to get her start. She walked towards the kitchen as she was wearing her normal attire. Upon arrival in the kitchen, she turned off the stove that she let set on low while working in the attic, letting the teapot calm down from its boiling point. Kasane looked around the cabinets until she found the teacup and a bag of apple tea. She poured the water into the cup, ripping the plastic around the tea as she grabbed it by its string and began to dip it on her mug.

Kasane was going into the village to meet at the newly opened tea shop. She first passed the new training grounds as the radiant sky formed overhead, with the sounds of clashing steel and fists in the background, as the training grounds were especially lively on that particular day for a reason Kasane was unaware of. The Yuki took in the smell of an entire grassy field, like a muted version of freshly cut grass. It was a small piece of nature that people in the Rice Village had grown accustomed to. Hardly could one walk a step in the village without seeing some lush, green plant growth. 

She was given a string of assignments, and she had a mission partner as well. The recurring gentle breeze kissed her face, which was usual for any space in the Land of Rice. As she entered the business district, the current was carried with the scent of cooked food and smelled of different dishes as the day had begun for most restaurants. The streets started to fill as people started proceeding about their days. Taking a sip of the tea she brought with her, she approached the tea Shop. She was taking a seat outside of the shop on a wooden bench. Kasane then proceeded to wait for her companion to appear. She wondered what mission the other wanted to start with. Kasane had no problem with whatever they decided to do.

"Hey, are you the one I'm supposed to meet up with?" A strange, unfamiliar voice called out to her. Looking in the direction of the source, she came face to face with a man that was just a little bit taller than her. Dark hair and eyes to match.

"I assume so, I'm Kasane. You must be Zakari," she said as she raised up from her sitting position.

"Oi, I am." He said with a bright smile and offered a small handshake which she intercepted with her own.

"Pleasure to meet you," Kasane said warmly as she released his hand.

"The pleasure is all mine. How about we get going," He said as he looked her over, as if he was trying to study Kasane.

"Alright, how about we do the research part first. We can study the monument in the town square but the park." Kasane said, leading the way. His response was a short, "okay."

Their walk towards the park was mostly quiet but every so often one of them would chime up about something to initiate small talk. It wasn't long before they got their destination. Zakari study the architecture but then moved on to another one while Kasane stood there, absentmindedly looking at it. The refreshing spring breeze shaking the blooming leaves of the trees surrounding her. The voices of the children playing nearby. Kasane relished in these pleasant sounds of peace, a welcomed change from the usual voices torturing her.

As if nothing ever happened, she bathed in this little moment of quiet. Maybe things are alright after all. Maybe she can keep this up. Of course, she can. Even at this moment, it seemed believable enough. 

"An appreciator of the fine arts, aren't you?"

Kasane shakes out of her slight stupor. Absorbed in her thoughts, she was staring at the statue placed in the middle of the quaint little park. A robust man that looked like he was in his fifties was standing next to her. His full, white beard was not too far removed from that of Santa Claus, which gave him a slightly silly, yet at the same time reassuring appearance.

"Hikinari. An immeasurably talented young sculptor born in this very town, he was destined for greatness. Caught a bad case of the TP, back when there still was no medical ninja in Tanbogakure. In remembrance we put his finest work right at the center of our park. This is his legacy!"

"...mm." Kasane was still a bit taken aback by the sudden interruption of her thought process and needed a few more moments to switch into socialization mode.

"You have an eye for art, miss?"

"Not really, but it is a nice piece of work."

"Right?! Look at the realistic tenderness of the flesh, and how majestically the cloth drapes over it! Hikinari truly had an eye for details, and his hand was delightfully skillful."

"Yes, anyway, I've got to going. Got to head to patrol training. Thank you for your time." She said with a bow, and instantly left the area but not before she gathered Zakari, who found himself cloud gazing in the center of the park.

For the next few hours, the duo found themselves in patrol training. It was easy enough but the amount of paperwork they had to do would bore anybody in a sleep even most genjutsu couldn't do that. Then they had to spar with each other to find out if they were physically capable of capturing, let alone, subduing targets and criminals. Let's just say that the passed with flying colors. After that, they had to head to the rice fields and help them through gathering rice and planting new ones. Which Kasane absolutely hated. She would rather be in the heat of battle, not in the heat of digging up rice and plating them. Not only that, they had to package them and set them on a wagon so they could be sent off.

After finishing all three of these missions, Kasane has had enough of the day. Turning in her report to her superiors officers, she said her goodbyes to Zakari and went home. Not before the man asked her out on a date, which she reluctantly agreed. All in days' work.

[EXIT]
TWC: 1,529/1,500
Claiming: +15 to Vigor Stat
500/500 to Water Release: Mouth Shot
1,000/1,000 to Water Release: Water Needles
+3,000 Ryo
+15 AP

Kasane Yuki wrote:
[EXIT]
TWC: 1,529/1,500
Claiming: +15 to Vigor Stat
500/500 to Water Release: Mouth Shot
1,000/1,000 to Water Release: Water Needles
+3,000 Ryo
+15 AP

Approved!