Sometimes on missions Takashi really missed his Ninneko. Having someone to care about would make Takashi think twice before making risky moves. A Ninneko would be help in almost every mission. Both as eyes and a weapon. However, Takashi has been doing just fine so far without a Ninneko. And this mission was one that a Ninneko had no way of helping. Only the boy's inherited Sudon element was help here. Some sensory ninjas had trouble detecting movements underground, but a blind boy with Sudon element was just like a mole, and a mole he needed to catch.
The farm was hard to find without some guidance. Maybe the cat would come handy here. Takashi did find the farm thanks to locals, whom he asked for directions. Some didn't even realize that the boy was blind, since he has formed a habit to look people in the eyes judging by the sound of their breathing. And rarely anyone notices that he has no blood vessels in his eyes in the small duration of a conversation.
Once he got to the farm, Takashi was greeted by a couple of elderly. "Hello there, little boy," said the man who was obviously even shorter than Takashi. "Welcome, welcome. Do come closer!" said the woman and encouraged Takashi to come closer and listen to the mischief caused by moles, "they eat our crops, they leave roots without soil and most of all - they don't go away!" the lady shortly explained the situation that was already briefed to Takashi once he came closer. There was a question however, that couldn't be answered at the briefing:"So, what have you tried to do about the problem?" The answer was pretty obvious though:"Nothing. We can't do much against an underground inhabitant at our age. That's why we hired you, little boy."
While making his way to the farm, Takashi had come up with few ideas to deal with this problem: catching every little critter by hand (that would prove very hard since Takashi isn't too good with hitting moving stuff); making traps for the critters (that would prove very expensive, if he were to buy the traps himself); drowning the critters in their own environment (this would result on Takashi doing some extra work to remove all the water from the field).
But first came the inspection of his workplace. There currently were growing some crops on the field, however very scarce. There also were some scarecrows that Takashi first mistook for a real person. Of course he was freaked out when he hit someone whose figure was like a human's, but it didn't move nor breath. But what really mattered was underground. Takashi took his bare foot out of the sandal and placed it onto the cold ground. Vibrations from the ground could be felt instantly. There was more than just one critter going about. Takashi felt those things running around, which meant that tunnels were already made and they were open in all directions, all over the field.
The best approach here was with no doubt to use water. So he went back to the elderly and inquired:"How do you water the field?" The old lady answered immediately:"Oh, we did it regularly before this problem. We used a hose that was connected to water pump from the local well. If you need it, the hose is in the back storage. The pops can show you," the old man nodded after this and lead the way to the storage. "Can you help me with setting it up?" politely requested Takashi. Some would have thought that it was impolite, since he was getting paid anyway, but Takashi didn't mention a thing about his disability. The man's good heart made him help and Takashi wouldn't have whined if the old man would have refused to help.
When the hose was set, Takashi found the biggest empty hole beneath the ground using his foot to navigate. The hole was where the mole family (or gang) spent their nights and stored food. Flooding it would rob the critters of their resources and force them to find a new area to live. Hopefully, not another farm nearby.  So, Takashi stuck the hose in the ground and let loose the water valve. The stream of water was steady and the tunnels were filling hastily. If Takashi would have been touching the dirt with his bare feet now, he would also feel the critters running around in havoc. But they all just ended digging out of the ground and running across the field - a rare sight that Takashi couldn't witness. He didn't even know the fate of those critters.
Draining the field was something that Takashi didn't request the elderly couple to help with. He found a spade in the storage by himself. And then just made some pits for the excess water to flow to outside the field. He first attended to the parts of field that were most drenched in the water, and then slowly moved to the sides of field, digging a small river for the water to flow through.
As this was done,removed the hose from the water pump and took back the spade to the storage. Also a scarecrow fell down on the field since it's footing was gone. Takashi picked it up and inserted it back in the ground before going to report mission's progress to the elderly couple.
As the boy entered the house, he noticed a strong smell of something very familiar. Tea. The old lady had prepared a tea:"Oh here you are, boy! We hope you're doing great! Here, have some tea before you continue your work." The couple really were very nice. And the tea was wonderful. It didn't lack flavor and it was very sweet - just how Takashi liked it (although he liked all teas equally). "Thanks. Also I'd like to report mission success! Those critters are gone, and you can get back to gardening whenever you feel like it!" he said with a satisfaction. The elderly couple were delighted to hear that they can get back to their hobby.
1043
[Exit]
C rank mission 1000/1000