Overcooked Rice [E and D-rank Missions]

Escort Service:

Don’t Shoot the Messenger:

Troll Toll:

With Tanbo now the subject of a village “assimilation” Reizo would find himself at the borders of Rice Country. Alone again and without any real aim or goals at the moment, the Kumo Jounin turned Tanbo Chunin turned C-rank Missing Nin wandered the borderlands in search of work. He wasn’t fond of being labeled a Missing Nin, but without a village to his name that’s all he could be now. Reizo decided to hit up the local mission boards to see their postings that were available in the country’s borders to find the kinds of work a dastardly criminal such as himself could be hired to do. Perhaps he’d be tasked with robbing the homeless, or killing a local lord’s dog. Maybe he could get paid to literally take candy from a baby.

Reizo navigated the local cobblestone roads and eventually reached the crossroads and marketplace that everyone knew housed local thugs and vagabonds of all sorts and varieties. There were numerous beggars on the streets and small gangs of youths and pickpockets. Reizo remained vigilant among these types, not wanting to become the victim of some hapless thief or murderer. To be safe, he weaved the hand signs to open the Mind’s Eye to give him the fullest idea of who was around him. The vast majority of the chakra signatures around him were extraordinarily pitiful, no better than untrained children or a house pet. They might look like ruffians, but there was a reason they roamed in groups.

Being alone and dressed in his unique Akatsuki-patterned cloak, Reizo was subjected to a lot of eyeing and gawking as he made his way down the street to the central postings board. The criminal scum around him nervously shifted away from him but never broke their gaze on him. It was clear they were either hoping he’d drop his guard so they could all ambush the lone shinobi, or they were scared because they hadn’t seen a shinobi dressed like that in many years. The blonde shinobi noted that pretty much everyone in the marketplace was under the age of 30, making him one of the older ones even at just 24. Not too many people make it to old age in this part of the world, after all.

Around the mission board, people were crowded about trying to grab ahold of what valuable jobs they could find. Pretty much all of the high stakes missions were grabbed first as they promised riches and a quick escape from poverty. Reizo could sense that these people were desperate, but they were also so weak that accepting these kinds of tasks would’ve been a death sentence. The man chose to stay quiet and mind his own business, however, aiming to stir as little arousal from the group as possible.

Reizo casually pushed past some of the teenagers towards the front and managed to get a good view of the few job postings left from that morning. They were all very simple, menial, and fairly pointless tasks that he was vastly overqualified for, but he needed the money and even these E-rank missions seemed to pay somewhat well.

Reizo snatched a tiny ad in the bottom left corner of the board that seemed to be neglected. It was an escort mission for a woman looking to make her family reunion in a nearby town. It was an area Reizo was quite familiar with as it was near the rice paddies he found himself in when he first arrived in Tanbo. The C-rank Missing Nin took the job posting as well as the D-rank mission next to it that was asking for somebody to help perform toll-duty at a private crossroads. Both missions seemed unbearably boring, but for 3000 ryo between the 2 of them plus a bonus commission for his rank, how could he possibly say no? Plus they weren’t dangerous nor criminal unlike many of the other listings, which was a big win for Reizo as he didn’t want a criminal record attached to his name, even though he technically already had one just by virtue of joining Tanbo and immediately abandoning it.

Reizo slipped out from the crowd and made his way towards the woman’s address. It was around 5 pm and though the sun was still out, the first signs of dusk were painting the azure sky. He had to make good time or else he would be late. The ad had been sitting on the board all day, yet nobody had taken it. Usually that was a bad sign, but the shinobi remained optimistic. After all, this should be a fairly easy task and it paid quite well for how simple it was.

As he approached the house, Reizo caught the silhouette of a hooded figure climbing out of the window of a neighbor’s house. The short man looked to be middle aged and quite ugly to boot. His teeth were out of alignment and several were missing, he had a hairy mole above his lip, and he had these huge creepy eyes that made him appear he was high off some drugs. In his arms was a package wrapped in a tablecloth. The man and Reizo exchanged eye contact, with Reizo burning his gaze right through the suspicious man. The goblin then scurried up to the shinobi and in a heavy Brooklyn accent said, ”You din’t see nuffin kid, you got that? Here, take this and be on your way.” The man put the package under 1 arm and pulled out 1000 ryo from his hoodie pocket, offering it to Reizo in exchange for his silence. Not quite sure what to make of this scenario, Reizo was torn. Should the man get caught, that would make Reizo an accomplice, which he certainly wasn’t looking forward to. On the other hand, Reizo still hadn’t deactivated his Mind’s Eye and could tell the 2 were totally alone. Deciding he really needed the money, the shinobi nodded his head and without saying a word, accepted the payment and turned away from the odd man, as if to say “you’re free to go”.

Once the man departed out of the range of Reizo’s Mind’s Eye, the blonde proceeded towards his client’s house, somewhat ashamed that he was so desperate for money that he allowed a criminal to walk freely. It definitely weighed on his conscience, but he knew he really needed the money. With no village to call his own, he was desperate and borderline destitute.

Finally, Reizo arrived at his client’s house. It was a small ranch-style shack. Only one story and a very simple design. It was made primarily of wood and mud and was so quaint and quiet, the Missing Nin wondered if he were even in the right place. He expected somebody offering 1000 ryo for a simple escort to be of affluence, but this home looked like it had hardly been refurbished in over 100 years. Double checking the ad, he concluded that he was in the right place. He began to walk up to the porch when an old lady, probably in her 80s, opened the door. She walked with a cane and was hunched over quite severely from her old age.

”Oho there. So you’re the one who accepted this young lady’s contract this time? I haven’t seen you before around these parts, I take it you’re new to these borderlands? I may not look it, but I’ve been occupying this house here for nearly 120 years now. Born here, married, widowed, and raised 3 generations on my own. Ohohoho. I can’t wait to see my great grandkids now. The youngest, it’s her 50th birthday and I don’t want to be late. Well, let’s get going! We’re supposed to be there by 7,” the old lady chattered. She surprisingly still had her wits about her despite being over 100 years old, and the fact that she could still walk astonished Reizo. ”You don’t look a day over 80. You’ve really lived here for 120 years?” Reizo asked, bewildered by the strange immortal before him. ”Oh, only 118 years and 9 months. You seem like a bright young lad. You remind me of my husband back when we first met oh… must’ve been 99 years ago now. He was so bright and strong back then. Of course now he’s long gone. I’ve been widowed for nearly 60 years but never remarried. Perhaps I’m just waiting for the right man ohohoho!” the old lady would remark, slowly stepping down the 2 stairs of her porch, unassisted. Is she flirting with me…? Reizo thought to himself, nonplussed at the prospect of getting hit on by a woman nearly 100 years his senior.

”It’s not too far up the road, but my great grandson refuses to let me go anywhere without an escort. He’s always so worried about my health, but I promise I’m just as fit now as I was when I was 100! Back in my day, I was a great kunoichi you know? Of course now I can’t replicate even a fraction of how I could move back then, but I credit those days with my longevity. If you stay fit, you too could live to be as old as me ohohoho,” the lady would ramble. She sure did like to talk, and the shinobi figured she was just lonely. Perhaps this was the reason none of the other missing nin had taken up her contract? She was sweet but surely she could be troublesome to take care of at this age.

The pair made their way down the road, exchanging stories of their past missions and lives as a shinobi. ”It’s not too much further. I appreciate the company, but before you go, I have to ask. This outfit of yours, I’ve seen it before… though I’m having a hard time placing where, could you do me a favor and remind me?” the lady questioned. Reizo was a bit hesitant to answer at first- the Akatsuki were notorious back in their day, and he wasn’t sure if it would be good to remind such a sweet old lady of bad times. However, they were already nearly at their destination, and he knew he would almost certainly never see this lady ever again, so he told her about Maku Jemuzu and Youka and Akihana. Perhaps it went against his best judgment to be so candid, but he felt he had made a friend in this old crone.

”Maku, you say? Oh my, he was such a handsome one! I remember him, he came by Rice Country and I got to see him, though I was much too shy to meet him! What a handsome guy! If I were 100 years younger, maybe then…” she began to blush as she recalled her memories. Somewhat disconcerted by this turn of conversation, Reizo abruptly stopped to notify his client of their location. ”Madame, it would appear we’re at your grandchildren’s place, so I’m afraid this is where we’ll have to end our little conversation,” Reizo stated, quite professionally. ”So we have. Well, it was a pleasure meeting you. Please do stop by again soon mister… I’m sorry I’ve seemed to have forgotten your name sonny,” she would reply. ”Reizo. I guess we never introduced ourselves. I’m Reizo Shoyu,” he would answer. ”Such a manly name! You can tell all your friends about how you met the great Madame Natsuki! Ok Reizo, be safe out there! Thanks again. Here’s your payment, as promised, and a little extra tip for being such a gentleman!” she would exclaim, handing Reizo his payment as well as a few thousand extra ryo [OOC, rank bonus ;)]

Pleasantly surprised by her generous offer, Reizo profusely thanked the old lady who insisted he accept it. Reizo made sure to watch as she made her way into the house before embarking to his next mission at the border crossroads where he would serve as a toll guard for the night.

After grabbing some quick dinner at a nearby dumpling shop, Reizo would make his way to the tollbooth stationed at the crossroads of Rice Country and Hot Springs. Taking his position at his station right at 9 pm, Reizo would diligently await any passerby so he could shake them down for the crossing fee should he need to. It was a fairly uneventful night. A group of teenagers and a couple of vagabonds would pass through, and all were wise enough to pay up, knowing the local crime boss who was overseeing the tolls. One extraordinarily tall gentleman caught Reizo’s attention. He was at least 7 feet tall and made Reizo feel puny by comparison. It was clear the man was attempting to ignore the toll instructions and pass without paying.

”Excuse me sir, you need to pay,” Reizo would announce to the man. The man was dressed in a tuxedo with a cane and top hat to boot, making him appear even taller than he already was. He would turn to face Reizo. ”I’m sorry, do you know who I am? Do not make such requests of me, knave, or I’ll have you strung up like the criminal you are!” the condescending man would retort. ”Don’t care, didn’t ask. You need to pay. I don’t know you, but clearly you don’t know who you’re dealing with either. I won’t ask again,” Reizo said, growing impatient. His shift was almost over, and he’d been up for nearly 24 hours at this point so he was quite irritable and not in the mood to argue or fight. The other man scoffed as he unsheathed his cane sword, clearly not amused by Reizo’s threats.

The man’s reach was tremendous, especially with the addition of the cane, but he was clearly not well trained and his height seemed more cumbersome than anything. Reizo easily dodged the man’s first swing, and ducked the man’s attempt at a lunge. Forming the handsigns Ram > Dog > Bird > Snake, Reizo would easily close the gap and give a firm shove to the man’s abdomen with his right hand. The man now frozen in place as the paralysis seal took effect, he became enraged.

”Undo this sorcery this instant! The council of lords will not stand for this! You will be punished severely for this insubordination!” he would quip. ”I really don’t give a shit, I just want to get paid and go to sleep. You can stand here the rest of the night until somebody comes to undo the seal, I’ll be taking my payment now,” Reizo would say, searching the man’s person for his wallet before extracting just the amount needed to pay the toll and nothing more. Putting the wallet back in the man’s tux, Reizo would return to his post and wait til dawn when the crime boss would come to collect the night’s payment.

At 5 am, the crime lord would arrive and count Reizo’s earnings for the night. As promised, Reizo was paid and no further questions or words were exchanged about how the fees were secured. Reizo would then leave his post as his shift had ended, now curious as to what the hotsprings would be like and if there were any lands or villages beyond it that he could explore. It was then that the C-rank Missing Nin decided that he would make his way to the Hotsprings and then the lands and waters beyond to possibly find his next calling as a shinobi.

[EXIT]

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Claims:
2641 / 2000 words needed for all 3 mission completions

E-rank Escort Service mission complete
1000 ryo + 2000 ryo C-rank completion bonus
5 AP
E-rank (Don’t) Shoot the Messenger mission complete
1000 ryo + 2000 ryo C-rank completion bonus
5 AP
D-rank Troll Toll mission complete
2000 ryo + 2000 ryo C-rank completion bonus
10 AP

Total = 10000 ryo, 20 AP

26 Stats, all going towards speed
Genjutsu Release Mastery (Handsigns) [500/500]
Taijutsu Infusion (C-rank) 1000/1000
Throat Chop (C-rank) 1000/1000
Jotun Grip (C-rank) 141/1000

Approved