Mission Start!:

What a bother. Another set of bills on the way, another menial job to perform. This was slumming it, in every sense of the word. Still, it was all for the best. After all, it was for king and country and all that. And if he did not do the grunt work, how could he be expected to ever graduate up to things that actually mattered. So, in the end, it was in his best interest to slum it. That's what he told himself, even as he wrapped his ninja band around his waist, swaddled his head in cloth, and put on an outfit that was so far removed from his usual attire, so as to ensure that nobody he was trying to impress on the side ever had to know that darling Kenchiro Nagakin ever had to work for a living. Sure, bills had to be paid, but the common man did not need to know that.

From the look on his employer's face when he arrived, Kenchiro could tell that his choice of wardrobe was having an effect. From his employer's leap backward and high-pitched shriek, he could tell it was unexpected and not altogether wanted. However, all it took was a few moment's silence to let the poor fool soak it in, during which time the Genin made sure to make as few moves as possible that looked like it might lead to slitting of throats. Finally, the employer gathered together enough of his wits to speak. "You... you're the ninja I sent for?"

Kenchiro nodded, still wondering whether speaking would risk giving himself away.

"Oh." And, with another awkward pause to seal the absurdity of the scene, his employer finally got to a state of mind to talk business. "Um, my name's Gen. I'm the one who signed the contract. Well, I guess... I guess you'll do. I mean, you certainly look like a bona-fide ninja." Gen wisely took Kenchiro's silence as license to continue. "I need you to deliver some things for me. Just a handful of parcels. I got them right here." He indicated a pile of objects on the front desk.

Kenchiro looked them over with a hint of chagrin. Letters, a box, a teddy bear, chocolates and... was that fish? He was going to deliver fish? He was going to smell like them going home! It was a good thing that a face-wrap hid emotion, because Gen proceeded to give him instruction. "There's a list of addresses to go with it; look over it carefully. Also, I know it's not exactly the ninja way but... could you make sure you're seen? When people hear a mysterious masked shinobi occasionally works courier, it will make my service a novelty. It should certainly drive up business, and then... well, I can handle the rest, obviously."

Obviously, Kenchiro thought. Suppressing a sigh, the ninja gathered up his parcels, strapping the barrel of fish to his back before running off to work.

Clearly, the barrel was first to go. It simply would not do to lug around the thing all day and risk throwing out his back. Luckily, the storefront it was destined for was easily enough found, and the owner took it without much trouble. From there, the rest of the deliveries were unoffensive enough that Kenchiro could deliver them like a proper ninja. It was after the first letter delivery that the Genin began to notice the attention he was getting. Indeed, the sight of some stranger, dressed like an assassin from an exotic adventure novel, flying along the rooftops, landing in front of households only to hand off a letter and disappear over the roofs again had to be a potent image.

From that point on, Kenchiro decided to take as much advantage of the air of mystery as he could. He made it a point to hand letters off directly to their owners rather than an impersonal visit to the mailbox. He handed off the parcel with all the gravity of a knight handing his lord a boon. With a bit of guesswork, he figured the box of chocolates to be destined for a romantic target. With that in mind, Kenchiro made it a point for the box to appear in the recipient's room, and doubly so made sure that he passed it on without her being any the wiser as to his coming and going. The teddy bear was actually easy to pull off, since it involved coming across as non-threatening long enough to hand the present off to a criminally adorable little girl who, even for someone who lived in a town of ninjas, was surprisingly accepting of the whole thing.

Eventually, after the last letter was delivered and there were enough interested murmurs about the strange figure buzzing around, Kenchiro felt that a hasty retreat was in order. He made his way back to the post office by the fastest, subtlest route he knew, and there he met up with Gen, whose mood seemed to be less ambiguously happy to see him now.

"I just started hearing about you from my customers. They were certainly... interested when you came around. I like it; it's just the sort of novel buzz that draws people in. I get the feeling you did more good than harm with your presence here today." Kenchiro decided to say nothing, smirking a bit as the man backtracked. "Oh, don't worry, sir. Good or ill, you've done me a service worth every Ryo I paid, and I don't intend to leave you in the cold. Let your masters know you can expect your payment shortly."

Kenchiro nodded, before turning without a word and hopping back up to the roofs, off to disappear like a masked stranger into the night. Or, to just go home and get out of his vaguely fish-smelling outfit. Probably the latter.