Mission name: Sword Maintenance
Mission rank: D
Objective: Clean and maintain a swordsman's blade
Location: Kumo (general)
Reward: 150 ryo
Mission description: A wealthy and once great (not really, but he likes to tell everyone he was) swordsman can't be bothered to find time to clean his prized katana these days between drinking and attending parties. However, he still needs it to be shiny to impress the slow-witted people with whom he associates. Perform maintenance on the sword and polish it up for display. Submitted with the mission was a special request that only swordsman who could appreciate the true value of a masterpiece like his precious blade and his unmatched grace need apply. While the second point may prove to be an impossibility, the first stands. Only shinobi who have taken the kenjutsu specialty in some form may participate in this mission
Mission details: The owner of the blade (appearance is entirely your choice) is an enormous waste of perfectly good oxygen. He fancies himself a samurai, but has never actually participated in a fight and only has a sword because he comes from a wealthy family. Will brag about fights he has never been in. Upon arriving to maintain the sword you will be informed that you need to have the blade ready for presentation in less than an hour as he is throwing a party and needs to show off his sword.

The previous day Kiriya didn’t get a mission letter and he decided to relax the next day. He woke up feeling a lot rested than usual but didn’t go for his usual jog around the village. He wasn’t going to do anything today. Kiriya was falling behind in some subjects at the academy. The precise subjects he was falling behind on were history of the shinobi world and mathematics.

Kiriya made himself a quick breakfast and as soon as he ate it he started studying. He wasn’t very fond of the shinobi history but he loved mathematics. As he was studying for about an hour and a half someone knocked on the front door. He quickly opened it and saw the courier. The middle aged gave him a letter saying it was from the administration office. It couldn’t be anything different than a mission letter but he had never received one at this particular time of the day. Kiriya opened it and read what the mission details were. He had been appointed to clean a wealthy swordsman’s sword. The worst thing about that was he had to hurry. He had to arrive at his house in thirty minutes or so.

He quickly grabbed his mission clothes and ran through the house leaving it. The house was located in the wealthiest part in the village. Kiriya somehow doubted that the supposed swordsman was really a swordsman. He didn’t know any swordsmen that came from wealthy families. Simply because, those families didn’t have to make their living from fighting. As he arrived at the designated place he saw a big house. It had to be triple the size of his own house. As he walked through the front door he was greeted by a servant. The lady quickly showed him the sword he had to clean and left the room.

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WC - 316

The room was relatively large with all of the walls covered by large paintings. A person could guess from a mile away that the owner of this house was from a wealthy family. From the beginning Kiriya thought that the swordsman story was a little fishy but now he was certain. Nevertheless, he was appointed to assist in the maintenance of a rather peculiar sword. As he looked around the room he saw his target. A large katana was laying inside a glass case. The sword was made of Damascus steel which was very hard to come by in these parts of the country, but someone with a house like this would definitely find the resources to buy it.

Kiriya took a closer look at the katana, continuing the examination for about a minute. He couldn’t find any traces of battle or any kind of fighting on the sword itself. Kiriya was starting to get frustrated, why was he here? The blade he was holding in his hands was in a perfect condition. While he was contemplating the subject he heard footsteps outside the room and quickly left the sword in its case.
The footsteps became louder and louder until they came at a stopped in front of the room. Suddenly a rather chubby guy came into the room. He was wearing a traditional Japanese kimono, which looked like a samurai outfit. From the looks of the kimono Kiriya could tell that it was primarily used for presentation of wealth. The man started walking slowly toward him. His little eyes were all over Kiriya. Kiriya felt he was being judged by the clothing he had.

“So they send you, eh? Perhaps you could do the job. My name is Kumagai Hiroji. You must have heard of the Kumagai clan. We’re, of course, the wealthiest family in the village, but enough about me. Your task is to clean the sword and you must do it fast. It needs to be ready for presentation in one hour. What is your name young man?” The tone he was talking with symbolized nothing but despise for Kiriya.

“My name is Kaminari Kiriya. The sword you have here has one of the best craftsmanship I have ever seen. The Damascus steel isn’t very widely spread in this part of the country.” Kiriya couldn’t help his tone, he was utterly despising Hiroji.

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WC - 316 + 400
= 716

“So they have heard my complaints. I specifically said to the Administration building to send someone who could see the masterpiece that is my sword. You cannot possibly fathom to imagine how many battles I have survived thanks to it. It has saved me countless times. I have been into battle more times than you would ever fight in your whole life. Well, enough about me. You must clean it and it must be in perfect condition. If you do anything to damage the blade you will not only get kicked out but you will have to pay for the damages on the sword. Enough meaningless chatting now, get to work!”

The only thing that Kiriya hated more than thugs and criminals was guys like this. Wealthy enough not do anything meaningful with their life but arrogant enough to talk like everyone is below them. If he wasn’t on a mission he would definitely have left until now. But the most valuable thing for a ninja, after his skills, is his reputation. Kiriya took a deep breath and nodded at Hiroji.

As Kiriya started to clean the sword Hiroji would intercept him and tell him how to do a better job. Hiroji wasn’t helping him the least, the best thing he could do was to close his fat mouth and let Kiriya do his job. After some time Hiroji finally calmed down. After that he started talking about the countless times he was in battle. Kiriya wasn’t sure if the stories were made up from his own mind or he had read them in a book. But he knew that it would be very difficult for someone to come up with that kind of a story. Kiriya had the feeling that Hiroji called the administration just because he needed someone to listen to his made-up stories.

After what Kiriya thought was an eternity passed he finished cleaning the sword. The fat, wealthy guy was closely looking into his hand the whole time.

“I didn’t think you would do such a good job. You have earned your money. If I need someone in the future I will be sure to ask for you. The servant will come in a second to show you the way out.” The words of Hiroji came out of his mouth with his same despicable tone. Slapping his right sweaty arm on Kiriyas’ shoulder and grabbing the sword.

As soon as Hiroji left the room the same young lady came and showed Kiriya the exit. Kiriya gladly followed her and hoped that he would never see the face of Hiroji.

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WC - 716 + 438
= 1154

[Exit thread]
WC needed for mission - 750
Mission reward - 250 ryo (150 ryo + 100 ryo for 400 extra words)
Words left - 4