Spoiler:

The trouble with the shinobi world was that it wasn’t easy being a ninja. Some could become truly powerful and influential, able to shape the world with a few actions or words. Those were the kind that everyone strived to be. However, the reality was much different. Most ninjas were average at best, only good enough to reach the rank of Chuunin. They were the main workforce, taking the least dangerous of missions and keeping the infrastructure of the village together. Genins were only a stepping stone in comparison while Jounins consisted of the very skillful, the more powerful portion of the ninja population.

And yet, even death is around the corner even for those of the lowest rank. From enemy villages to unspeakable creatures, all it would take was one mission to end a shinobi’s life. The life of a shinobi was filled with trials and tribulations.

“I don’t want it to be my fault that my team dies. I just know it’s going to happen in the future.”

Fraught with hardships and perils.

“And what if I die? I don’t want to die. There is so much I want to do. I want to get married, have a family, and raise three kids.”

Besieged by both boredom and excitement.

“It’s better for everyone that I just leave. They would be better off without me. I would only get in the way.”

And she knew intimately how boring it could get. After all, that was the reason why she had quit being a genin all those years ago. It was simply too boring at the stage she was at, though now, she had a new motivation to keep going forward.

It still didn’t make this easier.

“Shut your whining already.” There was a limit to how much self-pity she could endure listening to. She got it already. The guy thought he was useless. She sighed.

How in the world did she get this kind of job?

Oh right, the younger sister blah blah was worried blah blah sent someone to stop him blah blah. And that someone was me. Before the mission had started, she had to listen to the whole sob story. A ten minute epic that was sure to bring about the sympathies—and maybe tears—of those listening to it. Of course, for someone like Ciera, it was a useless effort. Nonetheless, a mission was a mission. She couldn’t quite complain, especially since most other missions were kind of already like this too.

So that’s why she caught him here, on the road to the village’s gate. Luckily, she had flagged him down before he was close enough, and he had been unassuming enough that he didn’t run on first sight. Now, she was listening to his sob story, a fifteen minute epic that probably wouldn’t stir the sympathies of the listener quite as much as the younger sisters. Still, she was sure there were some suckers who existed just for the purpose of being led along by such a story.

She was a storyteller, after all.

“Okay, so here’s the deal. Your sister is worried about you. And rightly so, because while you did get to Chuunin, you’re not very smart, are you?”

Kiya Satoha, the Chuunin, bristled at the comment, but he didn’t deny it. In fact, he affirmed it. “…no.”

“You didn’t have to agree.” Ciera sighed. This was going to be harder than she expected. “Okay, listen. “It’s because of that personality of yours that you’re not thinking straight. You’re too caught up in yourself to think things through.”

“I did think it through! Everyone will be better off if I’m gone.”

“Maybe they will be, maybe they won’t. I don’t know,” Ciera said. “I don’t know them. What I do know is that you didn’t quite think everything through.”

“Why do you keep saying that? I thought it over and over. This is the best way.”

“You said you wanted to live, to have a family, right? You think that will go over well as a missing-nin?” Ciera pointed at the ninja’s face. “Do you understand just what being a missing-nin entitles? It means being hunted for the rest of your life. You know Kirigakure would never let a shinobi leave without permission. They would send hunters—special jounins—to take you out and bring your corpse home. Do you really think you can escape them? Fight them?”

Kiya visibly faltered as he was shuddered again and again from each point, like they were bullets that were piercing him through. His shoulders sagged, and he slouched over. “…no.”

“It may be dangerous to be a shinobi, but it’s suicide to leave the village. I think you should go home and think more on it.”

“…okay.”

They parted in silence after that.

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WC 829/600

Again? Seriously? Here she was, standing once more in front of runaway candidate of the year, Kiya Satoha. Once again, his sister ran to Ciera and told her that her brother was planning on running. Again. It hadn’t even been a week. Had he really thought that much on it?

“I’m a genin, you know. You shouldn’t be making me run after you all the time,” Ciera said tiredly, looking at the other ninja once more. He was wearing a pack on his back, filled to the brink with items sticking out of the top.

“I have decided to leave and nothing you can say will stop me this time?”

“You really want to die?”

“No, but it’s better than getting my teammates killed!” Kiya’s face twisted with agony as he remembered what he had done only a day ago. “I screwed up and almost got them all killed. I can’t take this anymore. I don’t want them to die because of me so it’s better for me to just disappear. Even if I get killed by hunter-nins, that will be fine, because no one would be hurt because of me.”

Seriously? Like seriously seriously?

“If it bothers you that much, why don’t you be a teacher or something?” It was just an off-hand comment, one that she didn’t really think on. Despite that, it seemed to have caught the Chuunin’s attention.

“A teacher?”

“Well, yeah. It’s a stable, death-free job where you can feel that you’re doing something useful with your life instead of worrying all the time about a mission going bad and your teammates dying because of you. You’re Chuunin-ranked so it should be fine. So how about it?”

While the ninja made a show of thinking it over, it was already obvious from Ciera’s viewpoint that he had made up his mind.

“I think that might be a good idea.”

“It’s a great idea,” Ciera said to emphasize it. “It’s safe, stable, and worry-free.”

“You really think I can be a teacher?”

“Well, you know what they say. If you can’t reach the top, become a teacher and help others reach the top.”

“You know what. I think I will try that.” Kiya seemed to become more excited.

“That’s good,” Ciera said. It seemed this repeat mission was going to be over a little sooner than she thought it would be. “So…you won’t attempt this again, right?”

Kiya nodded his head.

“Okay, then head home and tell your sister the good news.”

“I will do that. Thanks for your help. It has really opened my eyes. If you have time later on, come visit me if I become a teacher.”

“…I suppose I could do that,” she lied.

After a few parting words, the two left each other once again. For Kiya, it was with a new enthusiasm for the future. For Ciera, it was to get away from this boring mission.

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WC 1344/600