Illuminating Possibilities [missions]

[Suzumi]

It was not the village that denied Suzumi a challenge. She did that herself. A Genin without an instructor, the girl did not believe herself fit to a true shinobi's style of work. Instead, she only accepted tasks others might see as menial. Her task for the day was to replace street lights.

name; Lost in the Dark
rank; d
description; Seems we had a problem with the last batch of lightbulbs delivered to the city. As such we’ve been experiencing sporatic blackouts at night when they’re on. This doesn’t bode well for the safety of anyone walking around at night. Your mission is to go around the city and change the bulbs with some new, error free ones we recently acquired.
reward; 25 experience, 500 ryo
minimum shinobi; one
mission status; interminable

Lugging around the large crate of light bulbs, Suzumi hardly made it a hundred meters before bumping into someone. With the top of the box extending just above her forehead, anyone in front of her not paying attention was bumped into. Despite the inconvenience, Suzumi continued on by walking backwards. Looking over her shoulder, she managed the foot traffic much more easily. She decided to walk one way down each street, coming back on the other side to finish where she started. By using a kunai to open the boxes and using one of her few shinobi skills to walk up the vertical poles, she made quick work of the first street. Still, walking backwards did indeed cost her some time and was beginning to wear at her neck. Leaving the crate behind and taking the lights a few boxes at a time was a possibility, but so was losing the crate.

Suzumi concluded it would be best to put the crate in her home to ensure it wasn't stolen. She emptied her bags of all equipment, filling them with light bulbs. Carrying five at a time, Suzumi found the lack of crate liberating as she wove in and out of pedestrians. Never losing momentum, always staying light on her feet, Suzumi replaced the lights rather quickly. Tossing the old bulbs in whatever trash bin was nearby, she found her way home and restocked. Again and again she did this, and while the new method was going to take several times longer, it was indeed more fun. After a few rounds, her legs started to burn, but it was welcomed.

It grew dark, but Suzumi refused to slow down. Confident that she could keep her fast pace, even more footwork was required as the night crowd came out. She lost no time, though, as it was easier to find the faulty lights now that they were on. As the streets thinned out into emptiness, Suzumi still kept on. While she could easily wait until the morning, she only had a few more streets left in the Western District. With the end in sight, she pushed through fatigue.

For a while, at least. With only thirty or so lights left to replace, Suzumi resorted to a brief stretch of walking to recuperate. It was only then that she realized she had worked straight through dinner. It was already too late for any shops to remain open, so she could not eat anything while walking around. After a couple rounds of walking, Suzumi noticed one of the streets she had replaced was dark again. Didn't I already get this street? Perhaps I'm just tired. A few more.

The street lights had been replaced, Suzumi found out. But then they had been broken. A square of four posts had all had their lights shattered within the last hour. After a moment's consideration, Suzumi decided to replace the lights again and get extras in the morning. Her superiors might be upset about it, but this option cost less energy for the night. It was truly late, and Suzumi began to fret about how tired she would be in the morning. Upon replacing the second light, however, Suzumi realized she had much more pressing concerns.

The light illuminated a pool of red around a dark shadow of a body. Suzumi jumped down to the body, staring at it in shock. She had never seen a dead man before. Something about it was odd. He was an old man, a kunai sticking out of his side. He is just like me. He just has a hole in him. Is that all it takes?

“Well this is unfortunate.”

The voice came from nowhere and everywhere all at once. As Suzumi crouched over the corpse, several shadows emerged from the alleyways. When it began they already had her surrounded.

[Suzumi]

“Suzumi-san, have you heard about the Kumo gang?” It was Suzumi's fifth day in a row to be in the missions compound, and the fifth day in a row that the clerk had tried to push a more difficult mission on her. “Well, they are a bunch of foreigners that have been dropping bodies in the street at nights.” He waved around a piece of paper with the details on it.

Ruffians!
Rank: C
Ninja needed: 1-3
Mission info: A group of miscreants and deviants have settled into the outskirts of the Western Zone of the village. Eight in number, the gang has left behind a string of robberies and murders in the small towns that have begun to spring up across the country. They are far from shinobi - they are, in fact, hardly as skilled as an academy beginner. Deal with them.
Specal Info: --

Suzumi did not take the paper, nor even look at it. “You know I'm not qualified,” she sighed. It was not simply a matter of confidence. In a moment of short sightedness, the clerk had failed to clarify that this “Kumo gang” was a gang that preferred to refer to itself as a spider. Suzumi had thought tat they were Kumogakure shinobi causing problems, something a single Genin was surely not ready for. She had thought the statement was a jape about her tendency to take safe missions. Upset, she left before the clerk had time to explain anymore.




“Ah, looks like we got ourselves a girl!” A man much larger than Suzumi mused. His voice was deep and alarming. It sent fear through her.

“Yeah, looks like the Kumo gang got a nice catch this time!” This man's voice was less intimidating, but his words were much more frightening.

The Kumo gang?! Instinctively, Suzumi reached inside her pouch, pulling out....a light bulb. Shit! My weapons are at home! The group of men went into uproarious laughter as they stepped onto the street with her.

“Look out boys, she is armed and dangerous.” While they laughed, Suzumi threw the light bulb high into the air. As the men looked up, she ripped the kunai from the dead man. On her feet, she held the blade up defensively.

“I'll go get help!” Across the street, someone's yelling barely reached Suzumi.

I have to keep moving. Don't let fear paralyze you. You are outmatched. Take out one and find a way to run. Stall until help comes. Possibilities flooded her mind. Throw the kunai. Climb a light post and try to jump onto a nearby roof. Use the kunai to shatter the light and use the darkness. Charge one with a close attack. None of them were good enough. She had to keep thinking.

And then the light hit the ground.

In an act that would usually shock the civilized Suzumi as dishonorable, the survival-mode Suzumi reached down and grabbed the old man's body. Yanking his arm with all of her strength, she flung the corpse at one of the men. She followed in its wake as it knocked the thug over. She jumped over him as he fell, darting for the nearest alley.

But someone was already there. Are they this fast?! She backed up as the man in front of her laughed. “Looks like you got caught in our web.” No, not the same man. Suzumi realized she never bothered to count her foes. The man in front of her and the man on the ground made two. Five more were behind her. That made seven. And then man dropping from the roof above Suzumi made eight. His yelling gave away part of his surprise. Suzumi reeled around as he dropped on top of her. She managed to avoid most of the impact, but lost her grip on her single kunai as her arm was slammed into.

“Eight...” Suzumi squeaked.

“That's right, baby. The spider has eight legs, don'cha know?” The group laughed again.

Web? Spider? She looked around her, taking in their clothing. They aren't shinobi.

The kunai was left on the ground. Suzumi did not need it. Instead, she sent her foot into a large crate next to her. Splinters shot out as the side was destroyed. Quickly, Suzumi grabbed the longest piece of wood still remaining and yanked it away. It was three feet long and as thick as a can. This'll do nicely.

The plan was immediately clear. She thrust the point of the plank into the groin of the man in front of her. He went down screaming, not even aware of what had happened until he was already on the ground. Suzumi turned around. With one on the ground, she had all seven on one side of her. Carefully, she stepped over the man squirming on the ground. Foolishly, the filed into the alley. Their numbers meant nothing. Eventually her back met the brick wall of a dead end.

“Ah, sweetie, looks like you've backed yourself into the nest of a spider,” the man in front chimed.

This time, Suzumi found her voice. “Having eight legs is nice...” She smiled, instantly seeing fear spread into the first man's face as he saw her teeth. “But it doesn't matter when the shark can bite them off one by one.” She leapt onto the face of the wall, dashing past all of them. She dropped down in the entry of the alley, all eight of the men between her and the dead end.

Despite this display, the men did not show defeat just yet. Before Suzumi could strike, one had picked up the fallen kunai. He pushed one of the men aside, launching it at Suzumi. She waited to react until the final moment. With a chakra-enhanced swing of the plank, she slapped the kunai back into the stomach of the man closest to her. Without hesitation, Suzumi thrust the plank over the keeled over man, catching the second man in the nose. As she waited for the next to approach, she assumed the practiced stance of a Kendo specialist. It seemed as though no one would approach until one of the men in the back gave another a shove.

They came all at once. She slapped one below the arm on one side, opening up the other side of his face for a quick follow up blow. The wood clapped against his cheek loudly, sending him sprawling. The next approached with one arm raised with a knife, the other holding his groin where Suzumi had struck it earlier. Using him as a buffer, she parried his wild swing and sent a jab above his shoulder into the man behind him. Still in pain from the cheap shot, the man posed no real danger. Suzumi took out another before finally dispatching the miserable man. They could only come two at a time at her, so even as they regained their footing they still could not approach her.

Slowly, the fight found its way in the back of the alley. With no more ground to retreat to, the men were grouped up as tightly as they could be. Without even room to swing, they finally caught on to how fruitless their attempts were. Instead of charging, they reeled back anytime Suzumi whipped at them with the plank. Suzumi leaned against the wall. To the men, it was probably some sort of mockery as she treated them casually. To her, it was a much needed break after a long day of work. She stayed slouched against the wall, occasionally lifting her wooden plank if the group started moving, until a group showed up to take the men away.

The next day, Suzumi walked into the missions office with a smirk. She explained her story proudly to the clerk, who regarded her with a smile. After her story finished, the clerk was kind enough to add a bit. “And then you realized you forgot to replace the last of the lights and went back to it.”

Until lunch that day Suzumi lugged around a big crate of lights, not caring about the occasional person she bumped into.

[exit]

[KEITH]

+30.

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