[Mission] Dog Walker

Spoiler:

Amount of missions available were abundant. But Joji was stuck doing the minimal at most. The chores of village weren't going to solve themselves. The problems in the village couldn't be bother with by the Jounin. But it still got under his skin. He was dressed in a long black t-shirt with long sleeves. A grey vest of his shirt and his headband displayed over his head.

Recently becoming a Genin, he had thought he would be fighting ninja or gaining data on enemy territories. But that was a faraway dream till he proved himself ready. For now...it was dog walking. He was standing outside the 'Happy Puppy' dog groomer. And he was waiting for a partner today. They were supposed to be walking some dogs. Helping out a manager at the store with his dogs today.

"Waste of time." He said.

Suguru tallied up the Ryo coins in his hand once more, raking through his pockets with his free hand. It was either buying dinner or getting the magazine that caught his eye. Between the Hot springs being mostly empty at this time of year or the prospect of not eating for the rest of the week, Suguru reckoned it would be best to not have to suffer either.

The thought of trying to sneak off with a couple of eggs and a magazine wouldn’t be too much of an outlandish feat, but his thought stopped there. He was no longer some urchin running around doing meager jobs. He was a trained shinobi, albeit lowly ranked, he did not have to resort to such to survive. Not only that, the payout of a mission would probably be able to allow for a side snack.

Despite the chilly wind, Suguru was dressed in a short-sleeved shirt, it’s stains mixing in with its pattern, and a light pair of black trousers. He made his way towards the administrative building, basing his guess that if that was the place were one would probably find some mission board. Albeit the building was central and visible in the village’s skyline, it took Suguru quite a while to find the way, mostly due to a hungry absentmindedness.

It didn't take long for the other Genin to make his appearance. I couldn't be bothered to be stuck with all these dogs. Mans best friend, well not his friend. Joji liked his personal space, animals such as dogs cared not for your space. They shed hair, they licked, and they ultimately left destruction in their wake. All for the sake of companionship. Even humans were messy, he could not see the actual use for them. Maybe in time. Flipping his black hair backwards, his pale eyes were front and center for the other Genin to see. He seemed pretty normal at first glance.

"Joji Hyuuga nice to meet you." Then he would point towards the building in passing. "The manager is inside waiting for us. The mission is pretty straightforward. We're going to help out the manager and walk his dogs for him." Then the duo would turn around and walk to the dog groomers entrance.

After much meandering, the cold wind covering up any distractions Suguru might have been sidetracked by. With labored breath, he finally found himself in front of his destination, more by luck than by direction.

As he got closer, the looming building‘s shadow bringing in a colder chill, Suguru could see the wooden frame of the mission board, a singular piece of paper hanging, flapping lightly in the wind. He could see a singular figure standing in front of it. Chopped spiky hair, not too well built but neither too gaunt.

As Suguru was slowly making his way towards them, he found himself facing Joji, and before he could reply anything past a stammer, he was already following him, mission brief in hand.

Suguru didn't say much and he followed Joji as they finally were tending to the Happy Dog Groomer request. Joji pushed the door open, and he was immediately smacked in the face by a giant dog. It tackled him to the ground and began to lick his face. A German Shepherd puppy, but he was large for a puppy. Joji pushed the dog aside as it was renewed with energy. "I see you've made your first friend already."

The manager came from around a large desktop counter. Behind it was was a secretary helping control the swarm of dogs at their hands. As Joji got up from the ground while patting the Shepherd on the head. "We are just gathering the dogs up for you both. I want to thank you all again for helping out. I have a client with a large number of dogs they bring. This would help tremendously." Joji could see about 6 dogs in total. Which would have been a handful for Joji. He peaked at the other dogs, and they were all medium sized. But there was help, he turned around to the manager.

"Well me and Suguru here can handle this for you no problem." Then he turned to Suguru, "Alright you pick three? I believe the German Shepherd has already chosen me." He joked as the dog was sniffing all around his legs and his tail was wagging.

Whilst Joji hurried ahead, Suguru hesitated for a bit, a staggering step the best he could. He wasn’t too good with people and he had barely read the mission brief, yet a second body meant that the mission could be completed with greater haste and that meant getting something in his belly quicker. What’s the worst that could happen? It’s not like he was paired some hairbrained gal. In fact, Joji seemed to be rather confident and that was enough to put Suguru’s mind at rest.

The distant sound of barking was enough to push Suguru back into reality, speeding up to match the gait of his newly met comrade. It seemed that they were approaching some kind of dog sanctuary, and with a quick glance to the crumpled mission brief he had stuffed in his pockets, he got an idea of what was going to go down. A rather mundane mission, yet a good one to attempt on an empty stomach. The last thing he wanted was to exert himself and end up fainting from hunger. He steeled himself against the growing hunger pangs; this wasn’t going to take too long.

Suguru entered the dog riddled doorway, careful to avoid the fate Joji has suffered, albeit his stench of dirt and sweat seemed enough to keep them at bay. One glance at the secretary was enough for him to recognize her, a rather well-endowed woman and a regular attendee of the hot springs; unfortunately, that also meant she probably could recognize him too, so he swiftly retreated outside with the first three leashes he could grab.

Suguru, who was quick to act, stood back as Joji was flat lined by a dog. The Genin didn't say much but he seemed to have noticed the secretary behind the desk. But he didn't say anything to her that would capture her attention. He quickly stepped forward and grabbed three leashes and was quick to exit. Joji grabbed the leash of his new friend and walked to the other dogs. After grabbing them as well he said to the manager, "We'll take them for a quick walk. You guys take care of the traffic."

"Thank you very much. It will help us out greatly." The managers said in return. Joji ran towards the door with the dogs leading him. They were ecstatic to get outside and run wild. Despite the cold weather, nothing deterred the animals. "Hey Suguru wait up." The Hyuuga said running with the dogs to leave the building as well.

Safely outside, Suguru let a sigh of relief out; managing to evade a possibly very hairy situation in the nick of time, using good old shinobi haste, which left him some time to content with the images this chance encounter brought up from his misadventures in the Hot Springs. A very fine rack indeed, a top contender in both shape and size.

As Suguru absentmindedly started in the distance with an ever-hungry look, Joji soon made his way out, with three dogs of his own, their incessant barking bringing him back to a rather clothed reality. Suguru never had much trouble with animals, and even when sleeping outside the city, it seemed that wildlife went out of its way to avoid him, nothing apart from the lulling sounds in the background of chirping birds and the occasional snapping branch signaling any life amongst the trees.

By the looks of it, they seemed to be rather tame and sedated, unlike the ones with Joji seemed to have had a brush with. That was more than fine with him. A quick and easy mission; quite literally a walk in the park. Waiting to make sure Joji sorted his dog pack out, his mind dipping back to that ever-lovely image once more.

The dogs were filled with an energy that Joji couldn't match. First of all he found these chores below him. But at the moment he was only an E-rank ninja. Genin by regards but hardly anyone to mention their distaste for things. But he could certainly feel like that within his own head. He had yet to combat any real ninja. Even with his Byakugan that would still would be a bad move as it was a dangerous world out there. The Hokage had been missing for some time now and he was rumored to be inredibly strong. He found himself not caring entirely about the Hokage in general because of his Uchiha lineage. But it was pressing matter when the village he served, suffered. A great leader he was, unifying the Land of the Earth and the Land of Fire.

When he was done with these troublesome chores. They would eventually see his worth and send him to the field. He needed some more training under his belt. He tried to control his dogs to keep pace with Suguru. "Not my first choice of mission. But if we do enough of these. I bet they'll send us on real mission."

Suguru walked with a carefree gait, his mind embroiled in the steamy memories of the sights seen before. This activity was enough to bring his blood pumping strong once more, his skin unfeeling to the chill winds that blew. It was simply due to the seemingly subdued temperament of the hounds and sheer luck that the leashes not coil and send him tripping down into a nasty fall. From the back fo his mind, Suguru heard Joji’s words, riding on the chill winds which brought him once more to the grey day.

“Nothing beats some peace and quiet.” Suguru replied quietly.

It was a curt reply, but it was his honest thought. Why risk limb and life when one can simply earn a good wage, have a roof on one’s head and find a good pair to rest on at night?

“An awful lot of fighting is done to make sure we don’t lose that. Rather strange when you think about it.” He mused, giving a titbit of philosophy before his mind begun to fill with an imagined good bed, cushioned both with feather and flesh.

Joji listened to Suguru over the enthusiastic panting of the dogs. He had always thought that peace was only a byproduct. The fact that they had to be incredibly strong, face destructive enemies, and sometimes leave the village. To fully protect it. The people that actually won the war go through whats called an era of piece. Only because the enemies they had were to weak to continue. When powers that be find it necessary for war, it will happen. It never fails.

All this fighting was in their best interest for the moment. Making it apart of their life meant that they would never get comfortable with this peace. Or they could be threatened to lose it forever. The war between the Land of Fire and the Land of Earth was subject to that. "I believe we need to keep fighting. If we were to ever lose, this peace and quiet. Will be someone elses to enjoy. While we may get the bad end of the stick."

Joji reined in the dogs after they walked a suitable amount of time. Then they started to head back to the Dog groomers place.

Among the floating breasts that danced in Suguru’s mind, Joji’s words made way. He never thought of peace as a resource, like water or food. For one to have it, the other cannot. Although his mind was leaden with vistas of great rotundness and saltation, the brain cells that were doing the actual thinking, walking and talking realized quite an inconvenient thought. By this logic If Suguru had to get his life of peace and quiet, that would mean that he would have to “steal” it from someone else.

“Kind of removes the nice thing about peace, doesn’t it? Having to still fight; always being a loser even in peace. No chance of having a quiet life for everyone I guess.” Suguru half-mumbled. The hunger was getting the best of him, and along those floating images of female anatomy, sandwiches, drumsticks and all manners of food were sneaking themselves in his subconscious.

His pace slackened, and the hounds slowed suit, as if somehow understanding the mind of Suguru without any diction. The pain in his stomach draining his energy slowly and all he wanted now was just to get this over with, get a good dinner and sleep for a very long time.

(Sorry 4 da Weight)

Joji nodded as the Suguru spoke. "It sucks. But hey, in a world that sucks. Ninja stand on top. So if we want things to change. Gotta get stronger. Maybe we can make a perfect world. Doesn't sound achievable. But I'll be damned if we're the ones who lose out." They pulled over to the groomers building. It was still bustling with even more activity, the manager had been correct and foreseeing a boom.

The dogs were eager to return to their master, though friendly, they wanted to be around whom they were raised by. "This is why I like dogs. Cats would choose a new master within days of you leaving them. They don't care who takes care of them." Joji hated cats really because he was hyper-allergic to them. But no one knew that and he hid behind a veil of hatred for them instead. He walked into the building and returned the dogs back to the manager. A job well done.

[Exit]

His gnawing hunger now tethering him to reality; Suguru pushed onwards to keep pace, their destination now clearly in view. He remained silent at Joji’s reply, not only because his thoughts were now mostly filled with thoughts of his next meal, so prevalent that the smell of frying bacon seemed to be riding on the tail of the chill wind, but because he had no reply to such a leaden statement.

Albeit he always saw his dream of a quiet and peaceful life as one which was rather grounded in reality, especially when compared to some outlandish claims made by his comrades in the lines of “being the strongest ever” and such needlessly grandiose ideas, it seemed that with each passing day progress was nowhere to be made. Using the bustling activity to quickly sneak in unnoticed by the secretary and get his mission report stamped by the manager, Suguru set on course with a Ryu clanking in his pockets.

A good dinner, a well-earned magazine and a long nap all awaited him. He just had to walk to them now.

[EXIT]