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Despite the outward appearance of the dog, the animal was heavier than he had anticipated. Its owner, Tojikano-san, must have pampered it with the most expensive dog treats in the world, but even that couldn't have stopped Snuggles from escaping. He had been gone from the Mission Compound for a few hours, but he could still hear the constant whining and ranting that could only belong to one person. He had to give it to that woman; no one else would be this stubborn about getting their pet back.

The door slid open as the Genin entered the building with the mongrel on his shoulder. The "thing" was still wailing on the desk, while the receptionist tried to remain calm and soothe Tojikano.

"MY POOR SNUGGLES! WHAT HAPPENED TO YOU!?" screamed Tojikano as she "ran" over to the teenager and snuggling the dog in her embrace. The sight was disturbing; Sei could have sworn that he heard Snuggles whimpered. To fear its owner's embrace even in an unconscious state, perhaps he would have done it a favor by killing the poor mutt.

"I found it sleeping outside of a store." That was a lie, but he wasn't sure if he wanted to tell her that he chocked Snuggles into submission. Thankfully, Tojikano was too distracted to even listen to the shinobi's explanation as to how he had found the pet. She caressed her pet as she walked out of the complex with both the receptionist and Sei watching the two leave. With their troubles over, the two took a moment to relax.

"I think I deserve a bonus." snickered the Genin leaning on the doorway. The receptionist mustered a snort in response.

"Not a chance, I had to deal with the hard part."

"Tch, don't come looking for me the next time that woman decides to show up at your doorstep again." The two looked at each other with a glare before laughing.

"OH PLEASE FIND MY POOR SNUGGLES!" The overweight woman had been whining on the floor nonstop ever since Seijūrō arrived at the Mission Compound to receive his next mission. The receptionist that had been trying to quell the woman looked up for a second and smiled when he saw the young Genin walk through the door. He gave the receptionist a glare but the receptionist's gaze stood firm. After a few seconds of eye contact, Sei relented and walked over to the man.

"What's the deal with her?" said Sei before the woman latched onto his leg and began sobbing on his pants.

"PLEASE HELP ME FIND MY DOG!" the receptionist coughed in order to draw their attention back to him.

"This here is Tojikano-san, Seijūrō-kun. As you know, she is one of our more affluent clients and she has come to us, looking for assistance in finding her dog. She has been very insistent on us helping her. I implore you to undertake this mission." Sei could tell that this wasn't the first time that this has happened. He almost felt bad for the receptionist for having to deal with people like "her" on a daily basis. Almost being the operative word, because the man was making him undertake this assignment. Knowing that he had little choice in the matter, Sei let out a sigh of resignation before speaking again.

"Very well, I'll take care of this as soon as possible." said the shinobi as he pried the thing off his leg. Perhaps it would be wiser to ask the lady for information before he threw her across the room.

"Now, Tojikano-san, do you know where was the last place you saw your dog?" he tried to keep a straight face and hide his displeasure. The woman was convinced and her sobbing had stopped for the time being.

"The last time I saw my poor Snuggles was when I left it with the caretaker. The idiotic man had taken Snuggles on a walk in the Southern Zone before it ran away! SNUGGLES IS A SMALL DOG WITH THE CUTEST YELLOW FUR! NOW STOP WASTING TIME AND FIND SNUGGLES!"

"Can this woman talk like a normal human being for more than a minute?" he thought before walking out of the Mission Compound and leaving the receptionist to deal with the woman until he got back.

"Southern Zone, that's not much to go on, but at least I have something to work with."

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.

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.

With one good churn, the last of the screws were placed back into its original place. He put the screwdriver back inside his bag and wipes the sweat off his forehead with his free arm.

"That's the last of them. Hopefully these light bulbs last longer than their predecessors because I don't plan on replacing them again anytime soon." said Seijūrō before sliding down the pole and gently landing on the ground. He yawned and stretched his arms out before looking down the block to see the lights lining down the street until it was too far. It had taken him almost five hours to complete the grueling task but it was finally accomplished. Aside from the random encounter with the genjutsu user, the evening had been rather uneventful. Yet despite the relative insignificance of his deed, he couldn't help but feel good about the task Sei had just completed. Perhaps it was those little things in our life that motivate us to keep on going another day.

As he followed the shimmering path of lights he had created, Sei was able to maneuver through the streets with ease. Within a few minutes, he was already back at the door of his apartment. He opened his door and took off his shoes before flipping the switch on for the lights. But nothing happened. The irony of the moment hit Seijūrō like a brick hitting the pavement from the roof of a building.

"Oh you have got to be kidding me!"

---

It seemed like another quiet night for the young shinobi as he leaped from rooftop to rooftop. The occasional breeze sent a refreshing chill down his spine, but it did little to keep the Genin from being distracted from the task on hand. Strapped onto his back was a bag filled with industrial strength light bulbs, which are used in the street lamps. Apparently the latest batch of light bulbs and light rods that we had received from Kaminari no Kuni were defective and has already begun to fail from their prolonged use. After an inspection, it was revealed that the village's suppliers had been cutting corners in their production in the last few months resulting in the lower quality goods.

Most people took the street lamps for granted, but during times when the fog would thicken to the point where visibility would drop to zero, the lights would be used for villagers to find their way about. The weather forecast stated that the fog will be particularly bad for the next few days, advising citizens to avoid wandering about even in areas where the street lights were functioning properly. For those who lived in the less prosperous districts, however, the villagers would have to stay inside for days until someone came and replaced the old light bulbs with new ones. Luckily for them, a mission was organized to resolve the problematic light bulbs before any more issues arise as a result.

"I think I see the first one."

Seijūrō dropped on top of the lamp post and reached into his bag for a screwdriver. There was no light being emitted from inside and needed a light bulb change. As he unhinged the screws from their position, the shinobi made sure to catch the screws in his hand otherwise it would fall to ground below. With one last twist he got the last screw off, the cover over the light bulb opened up allowing the Genin to replace the old one with the ones from his bag. As soon as the new bulb was fixed into place, it began to illuminate the surrounding area with great intensity. It was quite hard to maintain direct eye contact with the source causing Sei to cringe when the light turned on.

He closed the lid and began to tighten the screws back into place, bolting them down in order to prevent the cover from opening. There was enough trouble with the light bulbs as it was; he didn't want to expose them to the natural means of erosion.

"One down, thirty more to go." mumbled Seijūrō as he jumped off the platform and moving ahead to his next objective.

Seijūrō could feel the Hozuki was analyzing him as he looked out to the sea. It has almost become second nature for the shinobi to know when someone is examining him after years of girls chasing after him. Ekita went on great lengths to explain his abilities to Sei. There was never a moment of doubt in the Genin's mind that the Hozuki had a natural affinity for Suiton and his skills with wires will prove useful in team engagements. He could tell that the man's fondness for overwhelming his enemies will compliment well with Seijūrō's more calculated approach to combat.

"While others win their battles through a war of attrition; I prefer to be nimble and elusive like a wolf, using speed and cunning to gain the upper hand in confrontations. I have been trained from a very early age to embrace the art of kenjutsu, but as I developed as a shinobi I realized the repertoire I had was limited. To fight like a samurai when I was trained as a shinobi; I knew had to become something more." Seijūrō said, tapping the hilt of his katana before aiming his hand out into the sea like a gun and shooting a small stream of lightning out from the tip of his finger. The technique lit up the surrounding area momentarily before it dissipated into thin air.

"So I incorporated Raiton and other techniques to create a new form of Nintaijutsu." Seijūrō smiled as he turned to face Ekita after his little display to find a crow latched onto the arm that he was using to smoke.

"Well...that is peculiar."

It was an amusing sight, to say the least, but he knew it wasn't a coincidence for a random crow to land on Ekita. There was a parchment attached to the bird's leg, which the other shinobi quickly removed before reading its content and relaying the information to Sei.

He was...disappointed to hear that only one more individual will be joining them tonight. Not only that, but the team was one man short of a normal four man-cell, making this a three man team. Yet, the third man in this cell was nowhere to be found. Perhaps he was being too harsh, maybe he or she had forgotten about the meeting or never received the message. The former still meant that the third member was incompetent, unable to remember or follow such a simple command. The latter was unlikely, seeing as how Sei had found his message on his dining room table. If the upper echelon of Kirigakure no Sato wanted their message to be delivered; it shall be done. Either way, Seijūrō knew he was not going to bond well with this shinobi if he or she even shows up.

On the other hand, Seijūrō didn't mind that Ekita was chosen as team leader for the time being, although he had hoped to use this chance to lead a team. But there wasn't much of a team to lead and Sei figured that the other shinobi knew that as well. As the man expelled his last breath of smoke, Ekita told Seijūrō that he was going to ask him several questions about him. The teenager couldn't help but snicker at what Ekita after he mentioned bonding and talking more about themselves.

It will take more than a few questions to understand Fujiwara Seijūrō on a more personal level. Back in the Academy, the child had viewed his fellow peers as stepping stones. His rapid ascension in the rankings of the class created some animosity between Sei and some of the other boys in the class. He could understand their hatred for Sei because of his apathetic stance on teammates; but he could care less about what they thought. But as time went on, he opened up more to some of his classmates, allowing them to see the world through his eyes. They understood then that the child was different, having been raised and trained in the art of kenjutsu. It has been several years since then and Sei has changed quite a bit since his time at the Academy. And for the sake of forming a more cohesive unit, Sei will comply with answering the older gentleman's questions.

"Very well, Hozuki-san." said the Genin as the two of them waited for their third member to arrive. Tonight was going to be a long night.