Mission Briefing:

"I fully understand“ , yawned Eishi with a simple nod. "My objective is to track down Kiya Satoha before he does something remarkably unhealthy. Is that all, sir?“
The giant polar bear, elegantly dressed in the Mizukage's formal attire, roared behind its small desk before sticking out a long blue tongue in an edacious attempt to lick the flying rainbow fish that was circulating the cave for quite some time. Observed from above, this bizarre scene was rather comic, yet Eishi was giving no indication of taking the presented matters lightly. No indication at all. The boy was familiar with the basic principles that constituted a shinobi’s life and thanks to his Academy lectures he knew well that missions were to be carried out with swift precision regardless of their topic. Especially when they were a debut.
“Is he okay?”, asked the nearby mirror when the Yuki representative made a humble step towards the exit. “Could he be dead?”
“Excuse me? Who are you referring to?”, Eishi asked, bedazzled by the weird reaction of the mirror. The hole in which he took his briefing was clustered with junk: pieces of glass, old furniture, some Kiri magazines, propaganda papers, explosive tags, pictures of shy dogs, etc. But for all this stuff to talk…well, that was unheard of, although it somehow made a distant sense.
“Well, it’s not raining, so I guess…he’ll be fine…”, continued the mirror. It was a large and ugly item that was hanged on a stalactite for the purpose of…something. “Let’s go, Seiki. A drunkard never walks alone.”
“Wait…why are you not reflecting my image? And my words?”
Silence.
Oh no. Could it be…
“Am I…”

Eishi opened his eyes in a blind panic. Snap! He had fallen asleep under the tree near the target’s house, and it was already late afternoon. The windows of the building were closed, no lamp was switched on, not even a flicker of light.

The troubled nin has left the perimeter, and the genin had let him escape…
---

WC: 345

"So...you finally found me. Took you long enough", sighed Satoha and eyed the empty chair in front of him. "Would you like something to drink?"
"N...no, thanks, bro...", Eishi struggled for breath. "I'm...cool...ye?"
"How did you know that I'll be in this locale? Oh, don't tell me, I have a fairly good guess. You have been following me for the last couple of days, haven't you? My sister probably reported my plans to the Mizukage and you were assigned a mission to hound my every step until I try to leave the village. Is that it?"
"Kind of...", shrugged Eishi while sitting at the table. "Is the orange juice any good?"
"Could be. I prefer grapefruit. It's an import. They deliver it by sea."
"Nice, nice."
"Yeah."
"So..."
"So?"
"It's a little bit awkward, isn't it? Reminds me of a joke. Two ninjas walked into a bar..."
"And?"
"...and the first one said, "Hey. What's the difference between the cow and the chicken?". To which the other guy replied, "I dunno. What's?". "The cow looks bigger."
"..."
"..."
"Looks bigger? Is that it? The cow LOOKS bigger?"
"Well, it was funnier when I first heard it..."
"...oh, who am I kidding?! It's hopeless!", the troubled nin bursted into an unexpected hysteria of tears. "My whole life I've spent around idiots and they only seem to multiply. What's the point of it all?"
Eishi shuffled uncomfortably. "If you are talking about me, you should probably keep in mind that I am still here, and..."
"Nobody recognizes my talent. I'm just too good for..."
"...it's really not the correct way to...
"I want out of this damned place! My talent has no value in here..."
Are you really sure about that?", Eishi broke the cycle with an arduous expression, his voice changing to fit the new modulation.
"Huh?", stopped Satoha. "Wha' was that?"
"Are you really that certain of your abilities or are you simply projecting your insecurities on other people?"
"Wh-...what do you mean?"
"What I mean is...", Eishi took his time to formulate his thoughts carefully, "...that you are actually believing, and by that I mean deeply believing, in your own lack of skill. So you've built a defense mechanism, something to lock your own fears in, presenting them as a very strong sense of worth. It's your hurt ego that does the talking, am I wrong?"
"I..."
"No, of course I am not wrong. It's written all over your face. I know, because...I've seen others like you. Talked to them. Could be the reason I was assigned to this very mission, being good with people. Interesting, isn't it? Come now. Don't pretend to be something you are not. Just...let it go. It will feel...better, I promise you..."
---

WC: 484
TWC: 829

"...and then he said, "You are of not real use to us. Go play elsewhere." I felt so humiliated, and..."
The boys were casually walking along a nearby canal, hands in pockets. They've spent the last couple of hours sharing life stories and getting acquainted with one another. It was a pleasant relationship for they had much in common - the main difference being Eishi's stubborn character that defined his strong will.
"I completely understand. My father never really believed in me, but I happened to prove him wrong - graduating at the top of my class and all that. Sometimes what we can do and what we can achieve isn't really measured by other people's opinion, that is - what they think of us, ye?"
"No, I guess not."
The two genin ceased their stroll and leaned on a marble parapet that was specifically built for a very old bridge (or - at least - built for what was left of it).
"...but you are you, Eishi. You are gifted, I mean...being a Yuki and having that special shinobi blood in your veins. Me? I am a nobody. And I fear that I'll never be something more. I am not destined for greatness."
A gentle breeze dragged tiny drops of water that probably got lost during the long voyage towards the stony ground. It was quiet.
"Destiny is overrated...", sighed Eishi. "It's all choice." He yawned in his palm. "And I simply chose not to give up. Leaving a good working ninja system is definitely not going to solve your problems. Using it to your advantage, to fight on, to improve your way, on the contrary, is going to help. You see...it's easy to give up when you feel pain. But sweating over your goals...now that's something. And it always, always, absolutely always pays off. Especially here."
Both remained silent for what seemed like minutes, listening to the distant voices of bountiful commerce and gossip. It was already late, so the sailors were finishing their job before going home. The bay was not far from the boys' location.
"Eishi..."
"Yeah?"
"If...if decide to work real hard, do you promise to help me? In case I...lose my way again..."
The white-haired kid smiled.
"You can count on me, buddy. That's what friends are for, ain't that right?"
Now it was Satoha's turn to smile.
"Besides...you already are pretty awesome. I mean...you noticed that I stalked you. Was pretty cool. The way you deduced the situation. Keep on it. Perhaps one day you can become an awesome investigator."
"You really think that?", the troubled nin's eyes widened.
"Yeah! I am sure of it.", Eishi replied.
His new friend's face curved and bend into all kinds of unnatural shapes while the boy was giving his best to grit his teeth and swallow his feelings.
"Now, now...all these emotions...", tried to comfort him Eishi.
"...thank you...for...helping me...this...off...my shoulders...and...I really feel..."
"I know. No need to say it. After all, you have your sister to thank. She really loves you. And...come to think of it...she's probably worried sick for you. You should probably go to her now."
"And you? Do you have any plans for tonight?"
"Me...guess I'll stay here for a while. To think."
Satoha nodded and without saying a word, turned his back towards the parapet.
"Just don't fall asleep, okay? Heh. See ya around."
With a leisured step he walked away.
"Ye...yeah. I won't...", Eishi yawned. And gazing into the distance ahead, he smiled again.

Satoha was smiling as well.
----

WC: 621
TWC: 1450

[Exit]

A) 1450 - 750 = 700 words left (D-Rank mission completed)

B) 700 - 600 words for additional ryo => +150 ryo (mission reward: 150, bonus reward: 150 = 300 ryo in total).

C) Training:

Speed from E-0 to E-1 (100 - 75 = 25 words left)