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Post by kagami on Aug 11, 2013 19:08:15 GMT -5
Silence, both all encompassing and nowhere to be seen at the same time. Amazing how that worked. No matter as that would soon change. Dark hues scanned the ceiling for signs of something different, but it was always the same. White and patterned into squares, unchanging for as long as the boy lived there. He rose from his bed and proceeded to get dressed though he would have preferred to sit around all day and not be bombarded with the noise of the village. It was loud, too loud, and most of it could be discerned. Random chatter about this and that but rarely anything of interest, not that the boy eavesdropped on others, but conversations that could be overheard were rarely of any satisfaction and it would have been better off it people had just kept their mouths shut.
Alas, people had an unyielding need to speak and there wasn't much anyone could do about it, and as for being lazy that too was out of the question. The Genin had been assigned a mission today and would have to see it through. Apparently some woman had lost her cat and somehow saw that enough reason to enlist the help of shinobi. Amazing how trained killing machines could still be relegated to such acts. Then again, Kagami was little more than a Genin and these were the types of things that those in his rank were tasked to do. He didn't like it, but at the end of the day it would be money in his pocket and another notch on his missions belt. There was another silver lining to this as it was a solo-mission so there would be no annoying tag alongs to worry about. Not that finding one stray cat could be all that challenging to begin with but being forced to walk around with someone else would be far too annoying.
Kagami dressed and exited his abode quickly and the bright sun of Hi no Kuni shone upon him. It was warm, but not unpleasant. No wonder the cat had ran away, it wanted to enjoy conditions such as these. A joke? It was rare that the boy made one, but it couldn't be helped in this situation. The details in the report said that the cat frequented either the Hot Springs or the Marketplace. Odd, Kagami assumed most cats didn't like water, especially if it was steaming hot. He decided to check out the Hot Springs first as it was probably the last place one would check for a cat, and so his mission began.
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Post by kagami on Aug 11, 2013 19:09:46 GMT -5
It was roughly noon and those were not enjoying lunch were in the middle of their daily activities which made the streets not as crowded as they would have been a half hour ago though it was little relief as the boy had to make his way through all of the throngs of people that were in his way. He kept his head down to avoid having to look anyone in the eye , especially those who were feeling particularly chatty today. Kagami thought back to the night before when he was attempting to figure out just how about he was going to about performing this mission. If he would have left earlier in the day most, if not all, of the crowds could have been avoided. However, since all he had to do was find a cat the Uchiha hardly counted this as a time worth him getting up early in the morning, which brought him to his current predicament.
Mr. Nickels was the cats name, probably due to its silver coat. Well the woman definitely had earned a point for creativity though as this wasn't the first time she had lost this feline she quickly lost that point. Perhaps a leash would have been a decent investment even if it did look odd on a cat. It took about twenty minutes for Kagami to reach the Hot Springs, the large building cloaked in a warm steam. Making his way inside the boy pulled out the scroll containing the mission details and handed it to the owner, letting them read over it as to not charge him for entering the establishment. After a few boring minutes and odd looks Kagami was finally granted entrance and he began the search. There was an immediate problem, however, as the springs were split into male and female sections and the owner only let the boy inside on the stipulation that he wouldn't cross into the women's section. Definitely annoying, and though Kagami could have held a straight face and told every woman that he was there looking for a cat the chances of something not be thrown at him were slim to none, and he didn't want to deal with angry females on top of finding a lost cat.
The only option at this point would be to hope that the cat was on the men's side of the springs and if not then the marketplace would would be the only option left. Perhaps it would have been a good idea for the people who were tasked to assigning people to this mission to pencil in both a male and a female. Granted, Kagami wouldn't have wanted to be a part of that pairing but if there was no other choice then at least they would have been able to check everywhere instead of being stuck on one side, when the target was potentially on the other. With a sigh the boy entered the men's side of the spring...
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Post by kagami on Aug 11, 2013 19:10:52 GMT -5
The heavy steam presented a challenge in getting a decent view of the place and if he were going to find this cat then every nook and cranny would have to be checked up close and personally. There were only a couple people actually in the spring, as it was mid-day and most were in the middle of working. They were so content in their relaxed states that they hadn't noticed a fully dressed boy enter the springs, a small victory. Kagami began looking around the larger rocks that were placed sporadically around the medium sized pool of water, most were coated in a thin layer of condensation but perfectly capable of holding the weight of a lone cat. Initially there was nothing, with each passing stone there was more of nothing. It only took about ten minutes to check the entire area, and at the end of that there was no cat in Kagami's possession.
He wanted to check the other side of the springs, but knew that would cause an unneeded ruckus and had no desire to be the center of attention for a bunch of strangers. If it turned out the cat had been on the other side the amount of frustration experienced by the boy could not have been measure. It was an oversight that he had no control over though the record would show that he had failed the mission. Alas, not all was lost as there was still the Marketplace to investigate. It made sense, after all, since that was the place a nimble feline could sneakily grab something to eat without the owner not even noticing. At least he hoped that was the cat's mind set, though finding exactly where a small animal hid in the middle of a large area such of the marketplace would indeed be a challenge.
If it hadn't been for his shoes squeaking because of the water underneath them Kagami would have made a near silent exit, though the few people that were enjoying the springs were still far too relaxed to notice, or care for that matter. He headed out the front door and turned in the direction of the Marketplace. It was clear across the village and would take some time to reach, and the prospect of running was out of the question. The mission was nowhere near that serious and even if the Uchiha wanted to take the rooftops he couldn't be bothered to make the initial jump up there. So began the long, boring trek across Konoha.
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Post by kagami on Aug 11, 2013 19:11:56 GMT -5
More were beginning to head to various destinations for lunch and the streets were a tad clearer, though still too crowded for Kagami's liking. He had barely made it a third of the way to the marketplace and was none too pleased with how long this trek was taking. The various chit chat of the villagers served as nothing more than background noise while those running about tending to their daily duties were just pawns in the larger scheme of things. If everyone could have just taken a second to be quiet and think for themselves perhaps humanity would be better served. Alas that would never be the case and yet people seemed unphased by just how much they talked about nothing.
Granted, there was a time when Kagami was like everyone else, happy and enjoying the world for what it was worth, though that time had ended long ago. Death and desertion had caused turned a bright eyed youth to a cynical shell of a human being. He existed, though only barely. Life was no longer something to be cherished but a series of repetitive motions to be completed over and over again. He didn't form bonds with anyone as the end result was only pain and suffering, so why continue to bother with socialization? There was always a chance for change, though it would have to be gradual or not at all. The Genin lashed out at heavy attempts to make him sociable, he felt it as people trying to force him to become something that was not. It was partly the reason the boy had yet to be assigned a team, well, a new team. It wasn't like he wanted to be the bad apple of the group, no one wanted to, but being the product of the circumstances he was there was simply no trust in humanity left.
In due time the boy would reach the Marketplace, the smell of various produce entering his nasal passages. There was everything from wheat to corn to the freshest of fish, but that wasn't the reason he had ventured all this way. No, there was a missing cat to find. Hopefully this search would not take too long, as if there was one place in the entire village that was always packed with people it was here, and today was no exception. People needed food to survive, and this was the place to get it less they grew their on, and as such the next part of the search began.
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Post by kagami on Aug 11, 2013 19:14:39 GMT -5
So he had arrived, but that was only half the battle. Now came the interesting, and tedious job of finding a gray cat in the middle of a bustling part of the village. This was going to be much more trouble than it was worth and would surely involve having to talk to at least a couple people. No, that would have to be avoided at all costs. They had not been assigned this mission only Kagami, and he would see to it that he alone would complete the task. First the boy would check around the numerous buckets of grain, rice, and dried out fruit. He walked over and inspected them all, ignoring any comments from those who were selling the produce as they attempted to start some small talk; there was no time for it. It certainly seemed like a good place for a hungry animal to be. There were no covers on the baskets so it was basically like walking into a buffet line.
Sure enough there was no cat to be found, and so the boy moved on. He would head next to the seafood section, as it was a well known fact that all cats loved fish. Kagami, however, could barely stomach the smell of the stuff let alone eat it and just walking through that area made him a tad nauseous. He would need to work fast as to not get sick all over the place. There were various types of fish all packed in ice and displayed for people to see. The Genin couldn't have told you what any of the names were, and would have been able to do little more than tell someone what color they were. A faint ringing sound could be heard in the distance, it sounded like a small bell. The Uchiha tried to remember if the details of the mission listed anything about the cat having a bell attached to its collar though he couldn't quite recall. It was a better lead than nothing and slowly the boy made his way closer to the origin of the sound. As he approached a wooden case filled with ice and dead fish his hands readied themselves to try and latch onto anything that moved. Cats were deceptively nimble considering how lazy they looked in everyday life.
"Meooow!!!" Exclaimed a startled feline as it attempted to race past the Uchiha. Quick reflexes and just a pinch of luck landed the boy on the ground with a cat firmly in his grasp. Dark hues scanned the cat to see if it was indeed the one that had been lost. Silver coat, and a bell on the collar, this was indeed Mr. Nickels. A fair number of people were now staring at the boy as he raised himself from the ground and for the most part he ignored them. Why couldn't they just mind their own business? Whatever, the mission had been completed and all that was needed now was to return the cat to its owner.
MISSION COMPLETE
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