Posthaste (Mission)

[Kildred]

Mail was something people took for granted sometimes, and this was a mission that Usio understood that problems with. Kusagakure in particular had problems with couriers, being that the village was still being repaired and people often relocated while work was being done on various buildings. As such, actually delivering any and all mail had become quite an undertaking for the average postman. Without the specialized courier nin that they had before, it fell to the ninjas with no other missions to deliver the letters and packages that came to the post office. While it was always nice to be able to help the village directly, he couldn't help but feel upset.

Too much work? Sure, it was one mission, but there could be more down the line with certain prerequisites. The assistant certainly couldn't foresee the village's upcoming needs, unless he was some kind of seer. If that was the case, he would undoubtedly be working in some kind of higher position than an assistant in filing and accounts payable. As angry as he was, he couldn't let it interrupt his workload. Taking a deep breath, he cleared his thoughts and made his way over to the post office. There, he greeted the postmaster and presented his mission slip. After receiving a satchel filled with letters and packages, Usio left the building and made his way towards the first district.

[Kildred]

The first district was an area that was left mostly untouched by the warfare that had plagued the land. It didn't make delivering letters any easier, however. People often left this area to other spots as it wasn't very bright or kept up. With so much emphasis being spent on the rebuilding effort, the portions of the city that were still in relatively good shape dropped in quality. This would likely change once everything was fixed up, but until then, the area would just have to suffer. Of course, this wouldn't be the case if the civilians themselves took it upon themselves to clean up a little, but who was he to judge? Digging around his satchel, he grabbed the bundle marked 'District One' and checked through the recipients.

After going from house to house, it quickly became apparent that a vast majority of people had already moved. This meant he would have to note who moved where and mark their new address for future deliveries. Only four letters were successfully delivered in this district, the rest being filed away into the other districts for his deliveries over there. He kept them in a separate casing, to prevent any confusion on his behalf. After shuffling the appropriate letters around and shifting the small packages to more maneuverable positions, he made his way to the next district on his list. Hopefully this one would be more accommodating to his mission.

[Kildred]

Usio made his way into the second district with a bit of confidence. This was the main shopping area of the city, and happened to be where his parent's shop and farm was located. He was fairly knowledgeable about everyone who lived here, and felt that most of the letters here would likely reach their intended recipients. The first stop was, ironically enough, his family's shop. Stopping in with a quick hello that was not reciprocated, he dropped off two letters and made his way out again. Again and again, his parents seemed to brush him off like some second-grade worker. Were they just over-worked, and ignorant of their actions?

Walking out of the store, he checked over the next set of letters. He recognized the name, and went over to say his hellos and deliver the post. However, upon entering the building, he came upon the sight of someone new moving various furniture around and setting up a glass case, possibly for baked goods. After questioning him, the man explained that the previous tenet moved to the fifth district a week ago. If it was a week ago, it would've been when he was much busier with the missions he was doing than with his farm work. It made sense. Checking through his letters, he managed to grab a few addressed to the man and his family. After noting his previous and current address, Usio went on his way.

[Kildred]

The rest of the second district seemed to be the same as he had remembered it. There were very few people who actually moved to another area, which made his current job all the more easier. He kept up with his notion of writing down the addresses of the people he delivered to, just in case. Finishing up, he moved ahead to the third district. This one had the most plentiful plant-life, which made keeping it in check quite a pain. However, this was the district closest to the Atrium where the Kusakage resided. Appearances were important to any visitors to the village, so upkeep was held in high regard to this area. Even still, he could see others at work sweeping the streets and pruning the various plant life that hung from the buildings.

Here, it seemed that many people, in lieu of moving to a separate district, simply lived in different floors. Makeshift entrances, though not lacking in aesthetics, allowed entry from various points where stairs had been crafted. It was quite an ingenious solution to the temporary housing situation. As nice as that was, it made delivering the mail that much harder. Buildings hadn't been designated different codes for separate families, so he had to double and triple-check buildings for whomever was supposed to get a letter or package. It was exasperating, and by the time he actually finished, the sun had started dipping in the sky. He only had one district left to deliver to, so he took off running to the fourth.

[Kildred]

The fourth district was the one that housed most homes that people lived in, and was where most of the rich families that were pivotal to Kusagakure's regrowth lived. The main problem with this area was that the ones who weren't wealthy lived in homes without much in the way of appliances and furniture. While it was an odd thing to have such a disparity between incomes in the same area, that wasn't what the problem was. Without appliances and furniture to worry about, the lower income families thought nothing of picking up and switching homes with another family at a whim. This district was truly the bane of the post office.

As he moved from house to house looking for the correct people to deliver the letters to, Usio didn't bother jotting down addresses. These people would likely move again in the next week. Instead, he wrote a suggestion that any person or persons who changed locations multiple times in the span of one month would be required to pick up their mail at the office themselves. It took the better part of the afternoon, but he finally finished delivering the last of his mail. He had a particularly hard time delivering to the Suji family, given his extreme dislike of them, but at least the butler was somewhat tolerable. With his satchel finally lightweight, he made his way back to the post office.

[Kildred]

Usio walked down the street towards the office, twirling the satchel around. It was satisfying, being finished with such a daunting task. Granted, he didn't know it was daunting when he undertook it, but that made the victory all the more sweet. Grabbing the bag and holding it as he walked in, he placed it on the counter and moved to see the postmaster again. After he got his mission slip signed, he pulled out his paper with the addresses of everyone he was able to record. "I don't know if this'll be of any use, but I wrote down some of the new locations of some of the recipients. Also, a suggestion about those in the fourth district." The postmaster checked it over once, and gave hi some non-committal answer about looking it over.

Shrugging, Usio left to head back to the Atrium. His job was done, and he couldn't care less if they used his notes. He was off to get paid and maybe grab a bite to eat afterwards. He hadn't had any meat for a while, and it'd be a splendid surprise to his folks too. As a matter of fact, he was in such a good mood, he might even challenge Ujiyasu and some others to a game of mahjong. He was never that good, but it was nice to have a friendly game now and then. Plus, he really did need the practice. The last game he played, he couldn't even grab a yaku worth anything. Not even a han. With a grin, he set off to see the Assistant.

-Thread end

[KEITH]

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