STORE WORK. [M]

[Seijūrō]

SPOILER: Click to show

Name: Store Work
Rank: D
Description: Yeah, it’s as bad as it sounds. Turns out a wicked flu epidemic hit a bunch of different stores and their employee’s are out because of it. We’re gonna need you too go down there and do anything they need, from bagging to cashier to stocking. Remember, even jobs as unglorious as this help out the village in the long run.
Reward: 25 EXP, 500 Ryō.
Minimum Shinobi: One.
Mission Status: Interminable.

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Seijūrō let out a sneeze as he walked down the crowded streets of Kirigakure no Sato. He had been under the weather for the last few days, believing that it was fatigue from doing missions back to back. Just when he thought he was beginning to feel better, an epidemic was announced requiring people that were travelling in the streets to wear surgical masks to prevent the flu from spreading. Unfortunately, the report came too late and many of the shopkeepers had already come down with the flu, being more suspected to the illness due to their daily interaction with a plethora of customers. Even some of the teachers at the Academy had taken a leave of absence until they were fully recovered.

However, the task of handling the remaining students was delegated to several Chūnin whereas the Genin had to fill and work at the shops in the Market District. Not before long, Sei arrived at the footsteps of one of the larger supermarkets within the village. He had been to the store a few times before, but he preferred to support and purchase his produce from the local stores within his district. Even at the height of the epidemic, it didn't stop customers from frequenting the store.

Upon entering the store, the Genin was greeted by one of the employees: "Welcome to Yagura, do you need assistance with your shopping today, sir?" He could see that the store worker was also wearing a surgical mask, not surprising considering that the store didn't want their workers to contaminate their goods.

"Yes, I'm here to help fill in for some of the absentee workers." replied the Genin and he could tell from the look on the store worker was exhausted and haven't had proper rest in quite some time. He must be relieved to see that assistance has been sent to provide aid.

"Great, we've been struggling to handle the customers with our limited staff. You can get to work in the back and unpack the new shipment of goods we got." said the store worker before pointing to the far end of the store.

Sei gave a simple nod to show that he understood what he needed to do before walking past the man and going down the aisle. Shelves upon shelves of goods were neatly stacked on top of each other which made it convenient for shoppers to grab hold of what they want from the assortment of items. Some of the workers in the store were engaging in conversations with customers while others were preoccupied with stocking the products in their designated area.

He finally made it back to the back row and spotted a worn-out door which most likely led out to the back storage room. With a gentle push, Sei made it past the wooden obstacle to find hundreds of labelled crates in the back. He knew there was a bunch of work piling up, but he wasn't prepared for this.

"Time to get to work." said the Genin before cracking his knuckles before carrying out his duty.

[Seijūrō]

Sei had been cutting open the crates for a while now. The repetitive motion of opening the crate, removing its content, and disposing of the container was starting to get old. There was still quite a few crates that still required his attention, but before he could get to them he heard the door into the storage room open. The shinobi turned around to see that the same store worker that greeted him before was standing by the entrance with his arms crossed.

"Having fun?" said the man, teasing the Genin about the tedious assignment that he had been given.

"Hardly, now what do you want?" said the teenager as he shoved the box cutter deep into another cardboard box and slicing through the thin veil of tape.

"We need you out in front, one of the cashiers called it in, said he was starting to get a migraine." Sei could tell that the worker was not surprised that one of them had left for home already, but then again: what could he do about it? Sei left the box cutter on the crate before following the worker out through the door and back into the main section of the supermarket. He looked around and saw a considerable amount of people walking around. While the store had quite a few customers before; it seems that more people were coming in as the day progressed. He almost felt like one grain of sand in the desert as he stood amongst the crowd of customers.

"No wonder the store needed help." the Genin thought as he arrived at a vacant cash register. The worker then gave a long-winded lecture on how to operate the machine, pointing at several of the buttons before explaining what their function was. It was quite hard to make out what he was saying, but Sei felt that he was able to get the gist of what he was supposed to do.

"Now then, are you ready?"

"How hard could it be?" said Seijūrō with his confident smirk on his face.

"Good, I'll be opening up to this lane for customers in a moment." and with that, the worker once again disappeared into the crowd of customers. As he waited for the signal, the shinobi messed around with some of the buttons, attempting to recreate what the man had taught him moments ago. The speakers blared on as the sound of static echoed through the store.

"LANE 8 is now open for customers; please form a line in an orderly fashion." Just as the man had finished his announcement, a crowd of anxious customers had bum-rushed toward his register, trying to get there first.

The shinobi tried to stop the stampede and yelled, "Please stop fighting and get into a line!" But his words fell on deaf ears as the customers continued to struggle against each other, vying to be in front of the pack. How old do these people think they are?! Even the children back in the Academy behaved better than some of these adults.

"SECURITY!" Sei muffled through his surgical mask as he stood between the mob and the exit.

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[Seijūrō]

After the initial riot had died down, Seijūrō was able to regain control of his station with the help of a few other workers. And before he knew it, he was getting the hang of using the cash register despite having only been given a crash-course on the damn contraption. After a few hours of being the cashier, the number of customers began to dwindle and dwindle until it was finally closing time for the store. With a great sigh of relief, Sei rested on the counter with his head and arms. He felt a pat on his back and turned ever so slightly to face the person.

"Not bad, kid. Maybe you should consider working here full-time." Sei could see the grin on the worker's face even beneath the surgical mask.

"Thanks, but I think I'll pass." said the teenager, smiling back at the man before getting up from the counter. Being a store worker just wasn't his cup of tea, but he knew now that one cannot judge a person based on their profession alone.

"Are you coming back tomorrow?"

"Another Genin will take over for me tomorrow. I've been assigned to help out in a local restaurant."

"Well, it was nice having you here. I could only wish half of the other workers were as diligent as you were." Seijūrō was simply doing his job: nothing more, nothing less. As the lights began to shut down, the shinobi made his way out of the building just when the gates were closing. He could see some of the workers walking down the street, most likely going to home for a well-deserved rest. Sei could hear his stomach growl, having skipped his lunch break to finish opening the boxes before. It was late enough as it and most of the restaurants were closed at this time of night.

"I guess I'll go home as well then." and with that thought, the shinobi vanished into the night. The epidemic would come and go just like every other outbreak that had occurred in Kirigakure no Sato. He will continue to carry the burden for those who are unable to do so. Without this, the village would have stagnated a long time ago and become buried in the passage of time.

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【MISSION COMPLETE】

[KEITH]

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