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My string of missions lead me to this moment. Another mission which I felt, while tedious; was beneficial to the village. We'd hired a lot of local talent to help with rebuilding Konoha. The war had caused so much damage, it was hard to look at this place without feeling pity. Well, I wasn't from Konoha initially so I guess that's why I felt pity. If this had been my home village, I'd no doubt be filled with rage. Perhaps if I utilized that in this building effort, then perhaps I'd make it through.

I didn't have any complaints when it came to physical exhertion versus paper work. Most of the missions accessible to Genin were of the physical variety. Thus, I'd be instructed to head to the northern quadrant of the village. In the distance, I could see the mountain that our village was built up against. All around this area, homes were just ruined. Supposedly, there was another genin assigned to this quadrant so I'd be working with him to build homes. Around my waist were basic construction tools, all I had to do now was get to work. My eyes spotted what was once a pet store, the glass was shattered, the roof needed repair, the door was non-existent...we really couldn't let the village stay like this.

For the start of my construction I'd begin by clearing away the broken glass. It may have seemed like I was further vandalizing, but I intended to get a new glass panel up for this store. Besides, being able to smash things helped for me to ignore the feeling of pity. I also made sure to wear gloves, I didn't feel like getting lacerated today. Once I finished breaking down all the glass I looked at my handywork. Now about making that new glass panel. I'd need to head inside and get to work. Thankfully there was plenty of materials for this village-wide restoration project. I sat around moulding, then cooling, and finally measuring the glass.

From there I proceeded to install the glass panel. It protruded outward slightly, giving a hexagon feel. This would allow the shopkeep to place things on the display. I'd then need to figure out something in regards to the door. Certainly a traditional slide out door wouldn't suit a shop, so I'd have to take measurements for the doorway and cut out the necessary wood. The hinges were also examined or rather lack thereof in this case. For this new door, I definitely wanted something sturdy but how. Perhaps three prongs instead of two would do the trick.

"In relation to the village, how far is this cave?" I questioned because for such a route to exist, it meant that it could be a potential weak spot in our defense. He moved over to me and whispered, my eyes widening considering the distance relative to the village. Simply put this cave seemed to veer off from the Valley of the End. We'd need to explore it in order to see what potential this had. Thus we entered the cave, which seemed to be decently lit at first. Thankfully the plotter had a flashlight.

The cave felt a lot like an intricate maze, I couldn't help but note the potential for trapping people in here with doton jutsu. In fact, as we traveled, I was wondering if this cave had been naturally made or if it was developed via Doton. It certainly caused our path to become further downwards, so it seemed as if this was naturally made, at least partially. Certain contours definitely felt constructed. The parts that weren't were rough and didn't seem to be traversed quite as often. Closing my eyes for a moment I focused on the sounds around us.

I could hear our footsteps due to the echo, but I could also hear a strange sound. At first I wondered if there was an underground source of water but that didn't seem to be the case. Thus we'd persevere, our pathway seeming to rise. The end of the cave seemed to be near yet far at the same time. There were many potential paths we could have followed also. Plotting this out would have taken months, of that I was sure.

Once we finally caught a glimmer of light, we'd run and sure enough we reached the other side of the cave. At that point the sound I heard was a bit cleaer, it was rushing water. However it was very far away...yet it sounded so much clearer when we were inside the cave. Looking further ahead, I started to realize what was going on. This route was a branching path to the main road the merchants took. Though nobody would ever really go through a cave, at least not a civilian.

"To think that route extended so far..." I couldn't help but mention that to my comrade on this journey. Alas, we'd spent so much time, by the time we returned back to the group it'd be nightfall but I'm sure the plotters greatly benefited from this new information. [End]

Finally, I received a useful mission; one that aided in the rebirth of Konohagakure no Sato. A healthy village Hidden in the Leaves meant good things for the Daimyo, the man whom assisted my family during the war. Supposedly Whirlpool had since recovered but rumours of the new world were just that; rumours. However the chuunin exams were coming up, they would be our first voyage to the New World since the war devestated the lands. I myself wouldn't be participating, my own growth had barely begun and there was far too much work to be done for me to chase after a worthless promotion. Especially not with so much dangers right in our own backyard, my left arm flailing out to indicate to the Village plotters to cease movement.

I carefully examined the surrounding forest, I was positive that we weren't alone in this little venture, wild animals aside. I'd take a few steps forward before performing a simple seal. Bunshin no Jutsu, a simple academy technique that was useful for decoys and bait. My clone and I would seperate going left and right respectively. Nothing seemed to on the right side where I investigated, until I noticed some footprints. They weren't an adults footprints which made me confused, who let kids wander out of the village on their own?

Well I was sent to aid the village plotters so I wouldn't keep them waiting for long. Casually walking back to the main road, I'd report my findings. "Seems some kids have been out and about by themselves. While following a wild goose chase will be of detriment to our mission, if there is a new discovery that's been found in these forests, that might be worth our trouble, ne?" I suggested though I didn't really care much either way. This was just another mission, which meant another ryo in my pocket.

"Certainly we've done a fair bit of plotting thus far through conventional means, so let's solve this mystery."

I kept a straight face but I was certainly surprised that the lead plotter would indulge this. Perhaps their job was getting a bit tedious and any excuse to slack off was humoured. Regardless I'd proceed to lead the way for the plotters. Each of them had charts and maps ready to do their work. Having a genin ninja to offer protection and a bit of muscle. As it turns out the footsteps ended at the base of a tree. This tree had a makeshift ladder built, so these kids weren't academy students at all. I decided to examine it carefully, mostly for pranks.

"Thought so." I stated as I utilized my knowledge of seal jutsu. I'd be releasing my Scythe and with a quick swing, several water ballons would fall. The plotters couldn't help but laugh. "Looks like we're about to discover a rare sight." I myself wasn't convinced, kids attempted to hide the most simple of things but he climbed up first and I scaled the other side of the tree. As we looked out though, we realized there was a conencting tree. This tree had a little bridge, I decided to cross it first just to make sure there weren't any pranks. Thankfully they weren't so cautious. However these bridges connected to more trees and there were actually treehouses as well.

I simply raised my eyebrow, perhaps the kids had found something in these forests after all.

There was one more thing that I needed to learn from this technique; limitations. I wasn't able to channel and effectively use more chakra than what I refined around my palm. I mentioned previously that extra chakra was a waste, the reason is because I could not seem to tap into that amount of chakra. Thus I had no doubt that this was a jutsu I could grow over time. Bigger wounds would require more chakra, as well as precision. The amount of focus I had kept just to restore the individual cuts along his upper torso was immense. I was grateful that there was only a bit left to do along his legs.

I sat down on the arm rest of the two seater couch, examining the remaining cuts and bruises. I also needed to take a break, I had been channeling my chakra consistently in order to grasp this technique. Real world application seemed to have done me good, thus I was now a Medical ninja, at least in terms of jutsu knowledge. If I wanted to prove myself to the village, I'd need to pass some tests and actually save lives. For now, I could relish that I fixed up this young man, even if he did need to drop his shinobi obsession. It was just surprising that he wasn't more giddy. It almost felt as if the "babysitter" before me, was only...hours apart schedule wise...

"So, who was your last babysitter?" Curiosity did kill the cat after all. He stared at me with the biggest grin I'd ever seen..."Hotaruko! my jutsu ceased immediately and I had to facepalm. "That hyper-active...kunoichi....friend of mines...." I was struggling to put words on the fact that I knew the genin whom babysitted all too well. "We're...acquainted." I whispered, which only made the man-boy more excited. Something about wanting to play with both of us sometime. I would have rolled my eyes but my job was to keep this boy entertained.

"Alright...let's finish up." I said before doing more handseals. I'd then get back to work on finishing up his leg, he was now good as new thanks to medical ninjutsu. Though he wouldn't ever know that he was my "test subject" for learning said jutsu.

[END]

Unlike my previous mission pickups, the client was awaiting an unsuspecting genin to walk into the tower. In this case that genin was me. I looked at the grin the secretary had, my face fell flat. "Guess I just volunteered, so what's the situation?" I had to try and resume a straight face. This woman wanted a ninja to babysit her son, I thought that this was a rather expensive job for a civilian. Surely there were teenage girls running around who could do some babysitting. Upon arrival at the client's house, the big picture was starting to make more sense. This...grown son, I estimated about sixteen at least, was a shinobi-otaku. Yes, you heard me right...an otaku, I was strongly considering abandoning this mission.

"So Arashi is it, why don't you use your awesome ninjutsu and make me better? My last babysitter was too rough and now I've got all kinds of injuries."

I contemplated playing rough myself but he showed me the different cuts and bruises he received from his lat expedition. "Some genin just don't know how to handle themselves..." I mused before I concluded my analysis. "Alright, lay down on the couch, this will only take a minute." I instructed in a rather flat voice. Surprisingly I expected this teen to be more...hyper-active but he seemed a bit out of it. Still he followed instructions and I began to recall the instructions from that medical scroll. I'd carefully perform the handseals, this wasn't something one wanted to screw up. Once my hands began to flare up with restorative chakra, I knew the technique was a success.

I'd move my right hand over to his knee, gently touching the bruise in question. He squirmed a bit and my eyes looked directly into his. They were cold and focused, yeah he wasn't going to be messing around with me. Once he relaxed and wisened up, I'd continue to focus my chakra on the spot in question. The process was rather slow compared to what I experienced myself in Konoha's hospital. For me, it had been as if the wounds just disappeared but as I performed the technique, it was more like...well I guess it was slow. The bruise was returning to a healthy skin complexion, so it was most likely my inexperience that caused us to wait so long.

Of course I felt a bit more drained than usual after that performance, yet this man-boy wanted me to do more. Thus I found myself performing hand seals and activating the jutsu once more. This time it was his stomach area which needed the repairing. In fact there were several cuts and knacks, I was dreading how he got himself into this. "Take off your shirt." he seemed all too eager to do that, I realize I forgot my gender...and my age. It was definitely a face palm moment, though my suspicions were confirmed. He had cuts from wire markings all over his upper torso. I'd be doing this for a looong time....

The next staff member to get sick was the waitress Ayane. I arrived at her appartment thirty minutes after my visit with Mr. Takeuchi. To think that she too got food poisoning, Supa Ramen really needed to be more careful. Regardless I'd get her back in bed and begin my treatment. I'd focus on the handseals, wanting to get the memorization perfect. Jutsu needed to come naturally in combat, there was no room for me to shift through memories of scroll diagrams. I practiced it quite a few times until I got it into muscle memory. Then I'd begin to perform the jutsu for real, creating the same bubble as prior. Though this time I was able to create a much larger bubble. I drew my hands apart and stetched it out more, it seemed I made a discovery.

Naturally I'd have to alternate the size of the bubble as to fit the patient's body structure. Now then I'd place the bubble into Ayane's stomach as well. My chakra was emitting from all sides of the bubble, sending out pings not only through the stomach where the poison was, but the bloodstream in general. Patience and chakra control where the key, last time I used far more chakra which made the extraction sloppy. This time I would focus a steady stream and gauge my chakra flow. My teacher's said I was a Genjutsu type when I enrolled in the academy, yet due to my heritage all I knew were sealing jutsu, as well as my affinity to water. However, genjutsu types were good at chakra control and I guess I can vouch for that, I'm not one to waste chakra.

I'd send one last ping to confirm that all the food poisoning had been gathered. Then I'd carefully pull the bubble out of her stomach. Her eyes widened when she saw the poison floating around inside the bubble. I'd place it inside a bucket just as before, then hand Ayane a glass of water. "Plenty of fluids, you can return to work in three to five business days." I instructed before I sought a small reward for my service. "I understand the eggs went bad, can you tell me more about the batch and location. I fear Mr. Tanaka will accidentally use those eggs in the ramen." I explained before she spoke the answers I sought.

So it seemed that Mr. Tanaka was due for a batch of new eggs, yet Mr. Takeuchi and the other chefs were unaware that the previous batch was contaminated. Thus they had cooked up some staff meals with this batch, causing them to all get sick with food poisoning. The case seem pretty clear cut, though I had one more client to head to right before the shop. This would be the man on the cash register, how I parted with so much Ryo only to slip it into his hands.