It was a fairly normal morning in the Village Hidden in the Leaves. The birds were up and about, singing to one another over the loud hustle and bustle of the village's occupants who went about their lives. In the midst of it all was Takao Kimura, a life long resident of Konohagakure who also happened to be a genin. With the news that he was now in a genin squad, as well as the upcoming Chuunin Exams, the need for proper preparations was greater than ever. After all, he was planning on signing up, but he didn't have very high hopes for success. He was untrained, inexperienced. Hell, he hadn't even been on a mission before. That's where today was different from any other normal day.

Any other day, Takao would be at home or strolling around the village's landmarks and sight seeing. The village was beautiful after all, even despite living there he still found himself enthralled by the beauty of the village. Takao might even have been doing some training to stay in shape, but today was different. He'd decided to take on his very first mission. It was a simple D rank, nothing special or worthy of bragging, but it had sentimental value. This was Takao's first big step in the direction of taking the life of a shinobi seriously.

Takao, who was currently making his way through the bustling crowds towards the village docks, had been assigned to help a crew of merchants unload their most recent cargo. Takao was running a little late, which was something to be expected of him. It was normal for him to sleep in or partake in an unhealthy amount of naps throughout the day, and today was no exception.

Only minutes later, Takao stood at the foot of the docks. He approached the merchant ship he would be helping on, which sat in the bay of the docks in clear sight. Standing on the docks beside the ship was an older looking man with a very distinct scar across his right cheek. Accompanying the scar was the common uniform for merchant captains, a tunic and tan trousers. That was his man. Takao approached the captain and stood just in front of him.

The both of them stood there silently for a moment, eying the other up and down. “I'm the ninja they sent to help unload your shipment.” he said, standing just in front of the captain his both hands in his pockets. He received a raised eyebrow in response.

“Yer late.” the captain said briefly.

“Better late then never. I trust you still need the help?” Takao replied, a nod of the captain's head received as answer. The captain showed him onto the ship and where the cargo was stored. Most of it was on the deck of the ship, though there were a few crates left over in the lower storage decks that he would have to fish out.

Takao wasted no time in getting to work. He wasn't sure what was in the crates, but he didn't have enough interest to ask. The smell that seeped through the wood reminded him vaguely of fish, perhaps a shipment of fresh fish. The crates themselves weren't very large but still had weight to them, and the mission was proving to be a chore. Takao slowly transferred each of the crates, one by one, from the deck of the ship onto the docks. He took extra care in maneuvering around the deck, as it was a minefield of dangerously misplaced ropes and such. Despite his best efforts, he'd still gotten his foot caught a time or two.

“That's quite the vessel you have,” Takao said as he set one crate on top of another. By now he'd taken off his coat and tied it around his waist, the heat of midday proving itself to be just too much for his dark clothing. “Have you ever considered cleaning the deck? I'm not much of a sailor myself, but it seems like a hazard for you and your men to maneuver while at sea.”

“Ah appreciate the concern, boy-o, but my crew an' I work just fine with what we got.” the Captain responded while supervising the transferal of crates. Takao shrugged off the reply and went about his work. All of the crates on the deck had been unloaded, leaving just the few left below deck. He was escorted by one of the crew to the lowest level of storage and aided the man in removing the last of the crates. While below, he could hear the commanding voice of the Captain ordering around the rest of the crew.

Moments later, Takao had finished unloading the last of the crates. They had all been stacked neatly against one of the dock houses and were prepared for further transportation, but Takao's job had been finished. With the job done, he headed off to the Administration Office for his pay.[right]