Dirty Work

Missions:

Malik awoke again in yet another random large tree, his neck and shoulders were stiff from the awkward position he had slept in. I really must stop sleeping in the wild, the least I could do is afford to rent a room somewhere. This is getting quite frustrating… He had slept surprisingly well considering everything. It was an exceptionally foggy day today, a normal human eye could most likely only see ten meters ahead through it all. This was perfect for the large man, he had been tasked with a mission by a local crime boss and having some cover worked very well for him. There was a chill in the air, but Malik could barely feel it. He wore his usual loose white tracksuit pants and soft white shoes. His bare chest, chiseled enough to grate cheese off of, shining in the morning mist.

Malik scratches his head, his long silver hair in a tangled mess due to the perspiration of the elements. Yawning and looking around, he slowly hopped down from his makeshift tree house, although most houses included a roof… He was in a small forest area in Haven Country, there was not much wildlife around here and even less humans. This was how he preferred it, although it meant finding food was quite tough at times. “Oh well, better get to hunting. I can not shake down poor village peasants on an empty stomach.” Well, technically he could, but he would like kill them due to being hangry. Malik began to scour the surrounding area, he would look for anything that moved to fill his belly, he was not the fussiest person around. When they lived off the land, beggars could not afford to be choosers.

After roughly 20 minutes of searching, he finally found something. Twigs that had been snapped in a direct path, with small hoof prints accompanying them. It looked to be the markings of a young deer, alone no less. Perfect for him, one individual target made for easy pickings here. Malik removed his shoes to avoid any noise and began to follow the prints. He took it nice and slow, it was still the early hours of the morning so he was in no rush to get to his mission yet. Another 30 minutes passed until he noticed the tracks becoming clearer, his prey was close. Slowing his breathing slightly, Malik slowly pushed forward, staying low (at least as low as such a large man could) and kept his eyes peeled. It was incredibly difficult to hunt with such low visibility, he could barely see the twigs and crunchy leafs he would almost step on.

Suddenly, Malik heard the sound of slurping. It was faint at first, but it was joined by an unmistakable running of water. There was a river or stream just up ahead and his prey was thirsty… Slowing his approach, Malik drew a throwing axe and creeped forward. After roughly 20 meters, he finally saw what he had been following all this time. A fairly small deer, its head dipping down into a decently sized stream, its back facing him. It would occasionally lift its head to peer around, before dropping it once more and continuing to drink. The perfect scenario for him, his prey was simply asking to be cut down here. Taking a moment to get his balance right, Malik was about to throw his axe directly at it, but then had a change of heart in place of a better idea.

With a wild grin on his face, Malik calculated the distance between himself and the deer, it was roughly eight meters away. This will be easy… Putting away his axe and with a sudden lunge, he jumped forward with ferocity, arms outstretched. Landing on the deer’s back, he wrapped his large arms around its neck and began to squeeze. The deer shrieked in surprise, but was unable to handle the weight of its 105 kg attacker. Instantly dropping, all it could do was kick and flail, but this did not last long. In mere seconds, Malik squeezed and twisted, snapping his prey’s neck with ease. Its body went limp as it took its last breath, Malik was not the kindest person around, but this deer did not deserve a slow and painful death. It would sustain him, so the least he could do was end its life quickly.

For the next thirty minutes, he would skin and prepare the deer’s carcass, lighting a bonfire to cook it on. It did not take long, and once the meal was prepared, he dug in and savoured every bite. Malik did not live a glamorous life and venison was one of his favourite meals. It was simple, just as his way of living, and that was more than enough for him. He ate in silence, thinking about the tasks he had ahead of him. The Missing Ninja had been requested to spend several hour at a small bridge that separated two minor villages. Apparently some local crime boss had taken control of it and was using it to collect taxes from anybody who wished to cross.

A simple, yet effective short term form of income for him, although Malik assumed it would not take long for a nearby village to request the assistance of some Shinobi. He was then tasked with taking a package given to him by someone at the bridge, and returning it, along with the “taxes” he claimed, to the local crime boss. A straightforward enough task, although he would have to sneak into the village to do so, something about tariffs and whatnot. He believed it was called Manga Town, a relatively unknown village in Haven Country. After finally consuming his well earned meal, Malik cleared out his little makeshift camp, cleared whatever track of his that he could, and made his way to the bridge.

The walk was approximately an hour from his location, it took him longer than it usually would have due to the extreme fog. It frustrated him now, but he knew this would be to his benefit later on. He did not encounter any people on his journey, most sane individuals would have chosen to avoid such a treacherous path in these conditions. He did see some wildlife on his travels though, mostly smaller creatures like rabbits and foxes, although he could have sworn he heard something monstrous sly overhead. It was something red and huge with powerful wings, a threatening roar, likes of which he had never heard before, accompanied it. Although he had never believed it in the past, Malik had heard the incredible tales of the Ancient Red Dragons of Haven Country. This encounter had made him a believer, although it was likely that he would come across as a fool if he ever repeated it.

He had actually followed the stream from earlier towards his destination. It had connected to a larger river roughly 40 minutes into his walk, with many similar streams branching off from it. At one point Malik had to stop and take cover as he heard several people walking towards him, talking in loud voices. They appeared to speak about Manga Town and something to do with a missing water source. Apparently it was some big mystery at the moment as to why it had suddenly dried up. Malik could not care less, his only concern was that of the tasks he had already been given. After waiting several minutes for them to pass him by and continue with their journey, he resumed his own path and pushed forward.

Finally, Malik arrived at his bridge, the locals had allegedly given it some name, but he had forgotten it. That was until he approached it and an armed man held up his tanto and called out. “Halt citizen, you approach The Great Killer Bee Bridge. This area is run by the office of Pal Pacino, the coolest boss in the Country. It is a toll of 150 ryo to cross here. Pay up or get lost.” The confidence in the man’s voice was instantly diminished as he witness Malik’s approach. The fog had clearly covered the brute’s size at first, which made his appearance that much more intimidating when he finally came into full view. “Bloody hell you are a big lad, aren’t ya? Look sir, I have been given a task here to collect the tax from anyone who crosses the bridge. I need you to pay up if you want to do so…” The man’s heart was not exactly in it anymore, Malik’s presence almost overwhelming him entirely.

With a condescending laugh, Malik looked down at the thug, his tanto was virtually shaking in his hand at this point. “Listen here kid. First, I am here because your boss is paying for me to be. Second, if you want to intimidate someone, do not back down straight away like a little chicken. Third, if you ever threaten me again, I will rip your face right off of your head, understood?” He crossed his arms as he awaited the man’s response. Nodding his head aggressively, the man barely managed to squeak out his response while sheathing his tanto. “Yep yep yep, that is my bad sir, you must be the Missing Nin that Boss Pacino mentioned. I would like to apologise most profusely for the mistake on my behalf! Your advice is absolutely noted on my part sir, I promise it will not happen again, I thank you in advance for keeping my face intact with the remainder of my head!”

Malik laughed once more, this “man” actually appeared to be around the age of 18 or 19, and was actually quite funny. Although he was certain this pathetic display was quite genuine, the boy was almost pissing himself. “Enough of that. I am here to collect this dumb toll money correct? Shall I cross to the other side of the bridge and collect it there, or shall I stay here with you?” Loosening up a little bit, the boy responded with a renewed confidence that surprised Malik, “This side sir, very few people travel from the other side of the river in this direction. Most traffic goes in through this way and continues into the neighbouring countries.” With a nod Malik took several steps forward and turned, so that he was standing side by side with the boy, he noticeably flinched as the giant approached him, before finally relaxing a little bit.

The two of them stood in silence for half an hour. Malik was bored and the boy was far too afraid to strike up a conversation with the larger man, instead waiting for him to begin. Finally, the boredom got too much and Malik spoke. “You do not seem to be the type to work for a gangster’s organisation boy, what convinced you to do so? Surely there are other career pathways for you?” Shocked at first, the boy took a moment to respond. “Well I guess you are right, I’m not really the combative type, but I do not exactly have many options… You see, I was taken from my family at a very young age. I was never told any details, but the boss’ family practically raised me, they have always looked out for me so I feel like I owe them. I was told that I was abandoned as a baby, but nothing ever more than that.”

For a moment, Malik’s heart seemed to soften for the boy. His circumstances were virtually identical to his own, “I too was abandoned as a child. Blamed for the death of my mother and booted from the clan before I could walk. I understand the pain that you feel, boy. But surely there is more that you could be doing with your life? You seem more articulate than an everyday brigand or criminal, you should try to find a safer line of work, even if it is still for your boss.” This seemed to stun the boy once more, Malik did not appear to be the sort of person to give out career advice, nor did he usually open up to others about his past. It seemed as if the similarities in their upbringings had brought something new out of him.

After a brief moment of silence, the boy whispered softly. “Varus…” Malik raised an eyebrow and looked at him, “What was that?” The boy repeated himself, slightly louder but not so much that it would offend the larger man. “Varus, my name is Varus… Just thought you would like to know, instead of just calling me boy…” Malik laughed at this, the boy, no, Varus had guts and he was actually beginning to respect him. “Very well Varus, you may not be a physical brute like myself, but you have the heart of a lion and I respect that about you. My name is Malik, I will do my best to keep you alive throughout our shift here together. The two of them laughed for a moment, until Malik heard a crunch up ahead. It appeared that somebody was approaching, and they had a wagon in tow.

Drawing his tanto once more, Varus cleared his throat and stepped forward. “Halt citizen, you approach The Great Killer Bee Bridge. This area is run by the office of Pal Pacino, the coolest boss in the Country. It is a toll of 150 ryo to cross here. Pay up or get lost.” He repeated his lines word for word to how he had initially ‘greeted’ Malik. There was an extremely disgruntled response from up ahead, as the wagon approached. A grizzled older man, most likely in his early 40’s walked in front of it. The wagon was being pulled by two donkeys, with a younger boy, no older than 10, seated at the front. “Put that butter knife away little boy, I am not paying your imaginary tax to your deadbeat boss. I have crossed this bridge for years now and have never done so, I will not begin now because of some stupid green brat!”

Malik decided to hang back at first, wanting to see what Varus was made of. The younger man did not back down, instead raising both his voice and his weapon towards the older man. “I will not repeat myself, pay up or turn around, this is your last warning.” With a growl, the man instead decided to draw two axes from his waist, the fog had concealed them slightly so both Malik and Varus were surprised. He began to approach the younger man and brought them down at him with ferocity. Malik was already on the move though. Varus had already jumped back to get out of range, avoiding the attack. In his rage, the old man had not seen Malik leaping over him, landing next to cart. The young boy’s eyes lit up in fear as the mountain of a man appeared next to him, and he screamed out when Malik grabbed him by the throat and pulled him from his seat.

The old man turned around and cried out, finally seeing Malik for the first time. He witnessed as the Missing Nin held his son by the throat, his little legs dangling and flailing in the air as he choked and gasped for breath. The man dropped his axes instantly and got down to his knees. “PLEASE NO, WAIT, I BEG OF YOU!” He brought his hands together and continued, “I WILL PAY, I SWEAR I WILL PAY DOUBLE, JUST LET MY BOY GO!” Malik looked down at the man in disgust, his weakness putting him off. After a moment of thinking, as the boy began to slowly lose consciousness, he responded. “No, double is not enough. You will pay 1,000 ryo or you AND your boy die.” The man just nodded profusely, tears now streaming down his face. “Yes, yes anything I will do it. Please do not harm him, I beg of you!”

Satisfied, Malik dropped the child from where he held him in the air, a loud thud echoed as he landed on his backside. He ran back to his father as the old man pulled out the ryo he had been ordered to give. Several minutes later and they were on their way, as Malik and Varus retook their original places at the front of the bridge. Varus was far quieter for the remainder of their time together, he seemed to be processing what Malik had done in order to extract the ryo from their victims. Several hours passed, and many villagers and merchants came through. Each of them giving up the 150 ryo without a fight as they saw Malik’s figure standing behind Varus. Finally, the large man’s shift had ended and it was time for him to leave. Before he could, Varus walked to a bag he had concealed near the entrance and picked it up, before returning to Malik. “These are the goods you have been asked to smuggle in to see the boss.”

Malik took the bag and nodded to his smaller partner, who then gave him all of the ryo they had ‘earned’ together. “I… I wanted to say thank you, for what you said to me earlier. You are right, this definitely is not the right path for me. I will talk to the boss when I see him next, he is not unreasonable so he will at least listen to what I have to say. I will find a way to be more useful to him. Thank you Malik, meeting you has been eye opening for me. Stay safe, and hopefully we meet again.” He put out his hand for Malik to take. With a smirk on his face, Malik took and shook it, “Stay strong… boy.” He could hear the humour in Varus’ voice as he called out behind him, “Hey you need to pay the toll when crossing the bridge!” They both laughed as Malik made it to the other side, before continuing his journey along the river towards Manga Town.

After 30 minutes of walking, in which he followed the river, until it broke off into a smaller, but deep stream that he continued to follow, Malik noticed a something up ahead. It appeared to be some sort of rockslide, albeit not a large one. There were several boulders that had fallen onto the river, and a group of five villagers were attempting to remove them. They jumped up as Malik approached, “Woah there, please sir, we need some assistance here. The rocks have cut off our town’s water supply and we need help removing them so we can access it once more. You are a big man, surely you can make a massive difference here!” Malik was about to ignore them and walk past, until the man continued, “You will be paid handsomely and enter the village’s good books, please!” He had Malik’s attention at the word ‘paid’.

It took no more than ten minutes for Malik to help the villagers clear out the rocks. His size and strength really did make a large difference for them. Once the rocks were cleared, the villagers offered to accompany him the rest of the way. Knowing that this would mean he could enter without looking suspicious, Malik accepted, playing along with them and pretending to be interested in their thoughts and opinions. Upon arriving at Manga Town’s gates, they were greeted by the alderman who shook Malik’s hand profusely, thanking him over and over for his hard work. He shoved a stack of ryo into his palm for his efforts and opened the town up to him. Importantly, Malik did not have to get screened upon entry. After several minutes, Malik was finally able to rid himself of his company and walked towards the allocated meeting point.


It was a small pub near the centre of town, the door was open but only the bartender was inside, clearly it was not time for drinks just yet. As he entered, the bartender seemed to immediately understand who he was. “Ah, the hero of Manga Town approaches. Please follow the side door here, the boss is waiting for you!” It appeared that word traveled fast around here… Following the side door that he was instructed about, Malik entered a room and found himself face to face with a lone man, wearing an all white suit. He was sitting at the end of the room behind a large mahogany desk, he looked up and stretched out his arms. “There he is! The man I have been patiently awaiting! I hear you were sidetracked down the stream. I must say, you will hear no complaints from me about your work, I have plenty of money but I would rather not waste it on inflated water prices. Thank you for that.”

They talked for several minutes, Malik handed over the taxes and backpack he had been given, and in return, the boss gave him his fees. They shook hands and Malik went to leave, “Thank you again Malik, you seem like a reliable man that I can count on. You will be hearing from me again, I promise you that.” Malik nodded as he made his way out.

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TWC: 3,566

Claiming 6,000 Ryo
Claiming 30 AP

Using 259 WC to claim Block at C-Rank (741/1,000) from This post (3,307 WC remaining)
Using 2,500 WC to claim Eight Inner Gate: First Gate (807 WC remaining)
Using 807 WC towards Dance of the Larch at B Rank (807/1,500)

Using 3,500 WC to claim 35 points in Strength

Approved