Cardboard Boxes Part Two [Mission]

[Yasui Iku]

[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=cellspacing,0,true] and i decided i was never coming down i try to laugh about it now but isn't it funny how everything works out i guess the joke's on me, she said Iku was feeling quite pleased with herself today. Her performance on her last D-Rank mission - where she had to move a ton of heavy cardboard boxes for an old lady - had been good enough that the woman, Ume, had requested her specifically when she needed someone to help her unpack. That was quite a success for her - Iku liked to think that she was a nice person, but in reality she knew she really wasn't all that nice. Most of the time she was rude, or sarcastic, or pissy, or sometimes all three. And her mouth got her in trouble a lot, even when she was talking to little old ladies. So, to have a client specifically request to have her back? That was awesome. She set out bright and early that day, to make sure she arrived at Ume's new apartment a little before the set time - she was sure that she was going to need all the time she could get, what with the sheer volume of stuff the old woman had. Iku would know - she was the one that had lugged it all over there. Hopefully, a lot of it was staying in the storage room where she'd put it - because seriously, there wasn't enough room in that apartment to unpack everything the old lady had. Iku arrived at the apartment to find the woman standing outside, waiting for her. "Hey, Ume-chan. It's nice to see you again." The genin pulled the elderly lady into a hug. Last time she'd done work for her, Ume had not only fed her but given her a paper bag of freshly baked cookies to take home - and they had been delicious. So she was really looking forward to this day, even if she did have to unpack. "Iku! I'm glad you were free. It's always a pleasure to have you." Ume said, and the girl grinned, sheepish. "I'm glad somebody thinks that." she murmured under her breath, too quiet for the woman to hear her. "So, ah, why don't we get started?" words: 354/1500 | tags: - - - | notes: - - - | credit: akemi of btn

[Yasui Iku]

[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=cellspacing,0,true] and i decided i was never coming down i try to laugh about it now but isn't it funny how everything works out i guess the joke's on me, she said "Oh, yes, yes - that would be good." Ume led her inside. "I've already got the furniture set up - two boys took that mission - and all the blankets and things like that,everything I could easily do on my own. We're not emptying any boxes in the storage room, for now - I've checked the labels on them and it doesn't look like I need anything that's in there. That makes this job a lot easier." Iku was quite glad to hear that - if they'd had to unpack everything, she would've been in the apartment until midnight. "Alright. Well, we should probably start in the room with the least boxes - that would be the kitchen, right?" Ume nodded in assent, and they headed to the little kitchen. "I'll get started on your fine china - where do you want me to put that?" The woman chuckled. "In the china cabinet, dear." And she felt a little stupid - where else would she put it? So the genin took the box of china over and set it down next to the cabinet, opened both, and began carefully placing the pieces. Apparently, the dishes were antique, a gift Ume had received from her mother when she turned sixteen - so, a very long time ago. After that was done, she moved on to the regular dishes while Ume sorted out one giant box full of silverware. What did one little old lady do with so much silverware? It was kind of ridiculous. Anyway, they finished the kitchen quickly, and moved on to the living room. Ume had a bunch of knickknacks that she'd collected over the years, and she wanted them on shelves and tables all around the pretty sizable room. Iku had to break out the little step ladder a couple of times to reach the places she wanted them, but eventually, every single knickknack - two whole boxes full of them - were neatly and artistically arranged. words: 683/1500 | tags: - - - | notes: - - - | credit: akemi of btn

[Yasui Iku]

[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=cellspacing,0,true] and i decided i was never coming down i try to laugh about it now but isn't it funny how everything works out i guess the joke's on me, she said After the knickknacks came a bunch of plants - they weren't in boxes, just lined up in the storage room - which was actually just a second bedroom that the woman didn't need. Iku had to arrange them so they would get the perfect amount of sunlight, yet not make the place look cluttered. The plants were scattered throughout the apartment. Everywhere there was a window, there was a plant or five. Iku was again amazed by the sheer volume of stuff that this old lady had. Did she ever throw anything away? It felt like she'd kept everything she ever owned, from when she was a little girl to the day she turned eighty-six. That was a lot of stuff. Once all hundred plants - okay, so there probably weren't that many, but it sure felt like it - were placed, there were a few miscellaneous boxes that Ume wanted to go through before they moved on. She didn't remember what she'd put in them, so she didn't know where any of the stuff belonged. There were only three of them, so Iku figured it wouldn't take very long. Ripping the tape off the first box, the genin opened it, looked inside.. and shrieked. "U-um, Ume-chan... there's a dead cat in this one." She picked it up by its tail and held it at arm's length. Oh god, it smelled. Iku thought she might puke all over the oriental rug. "It's a stuffed cat, Iku." The woman laughed at her, and the girl blushed. "I don't know why I never got rid of that old thing.. my mother had the poor thing stuffed by a taxidermist after it died. Put it one of the empty boxes and we'll take it outside and throw it out later." Iku was more than glad to dump the horrible thing. "I'm... going to go wash my hands... I'll be back in a minute" She shuddered and fled for the bathroom, giving her hands not one, not two, but three good scrubs with plenty of soap. God, that was nasty. words: 1043/1500 | tags: - - - | notes: - - - | credit: akemi of btn

[Yasui Iku]

[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=cellspacing,0,true] and i decided i was never coming down i try to laugh about it now but isn't it funny how everything works out i guess the joke's on me, she said After she scrubbed her hands raw, Iku went back into the living room and started picking through the box again. "I don't think there's anything important in this one. I'll put it in storage." She resealed the box, lifted it, and carried it down the hall, fumbled with the doorknob for a moment, then entered the room and stuck it on top of the shortest pile (the only one she could reach the top of). Then they took a break for iced tea and cookies - well, there were no cookies already baked, but Iku sat at the kitchen table and chatted with the old woman as she mixed up some dough and put a batch in the oven. Ume cast a glance at the girl, who was watching the oven intently. "Why don't you go move the rest of the miscellaneous boxes into storage?" she suggested. "Staring at the cookies won't make them bake any faster, dear." "Oh. Yeah. Uh, sorry." Iku stood, pushed the chair in, and headed back into the living room. She was going to have to make a new stack, since she couldn't reach the tops of any of them now. After studying the room for a moment, she dumped them in the last available corner, then went back to hang around the kitchen until the cookies were baked. "Are there any other boxes you need unpacked?" "Well, no, but the bedroom does need straightening up. There's a bunch of blankets that need folded and put on the closet shelf, and all my clothes need hung up. Could you do that for me, dearie?" Ume asked, testing to see if the first batch of cookies was done. She frowned and shook her head, then added a few extra minutes to the timer. "Yeah, sure. Is there anything special I need to do with any of it?" Iku asked. The woman shook her head, and Iku headed to the bedroom at the end of the hall. It was pretty small, with just enough room for Ume's bed and a nightstand. Piled high on the bed were stacks of old lady clothing, and there were blankets draped everywhere - airing them out, Iku assumed. She started hanging up the clothes first - mostly old fashioned dresses with floral patterns and stuff, dresses only elderly woman would wear; then there were a couple of kimonos that she was positive Ume hadn't worn in several decades, and a few other things. They almost completely filled the closet space, which sounded impressive, but really wasn't - considering the size of the closet. Then she folded all the blankets - some were small, and had probably belonged to grandchildren or something, and some were huge comforters, and there were a couple that looked handmade, like Ume had pieced together sections of old clothes to make a colorful collage of memories. "I'm done. Are the cookies?" Iku popped back into the kitchen and, to her delight, saw that Ume was packing cookies into a paper bag for her. "Awesome! Ume-chan, you're the best." The woman chuckled, handed her the bag, and shooed her out the door. "Goodbye, Iku." words: 1577/1500 | tags: - - - | notes: - - - | credit: akemi of btn