Mission Taken – Way of the Blacksmith (D-Rank):

“Always such a sleepy head you are… if I didn’t know better I’d be worried you’re sick.”, came her great grandfather’s voice from the doorway: he had apparently been knocking for some time but Gemma had slept through it, even when his knocking had grown louder. Gemma yawns softly and blinked as the words spoke her up, lifting herself up on her elbows and peering towards the doorway at the elderly man standing there, a smile automatically forming across her face. ”Good morning, Grandad.”, Gemma would respond, only glancing towards her alarm clock when her grandfather began to chuckle at her – it was minutes away from noon. ”Oh! I overslept through my alarm!”, she exclaimed, immediately throwing the covers off of herself, the coolness of the room assaulting her where her nightshirt and shorts didn’t cover her.

“Up all night studying again?”, her great grandfather asked, glancing at the book open on the floor and then back to his grand daughter with a knowing smile. “Get washed up, lunch will be done soon – unless you want some breakfast, we saved you some in case you wanted that instead.” Her grandfather closed her bedroom door afterwards, returning to the kitchen where her great grandmother also was, and leaving her to get ready which she did with haste. Thankfully her bedroom had its own full bath which she made use of with a quick but hot shower that left the bathroom full of steam and the mirror fogged up – not that she really cared. Halfway through her stomach began to grumble and by the end of it it was roaring despite how fast she had gone. She dried quickly, dressing in the outfit she had picked out the night before and tossing her night clothes into the hamper – making a mental note as she did so to do laundry at some point that evening. Her bed was likewise made quickly but well enough to look decent. Picking up the book from the floor, the only thing out of place in her otherwise clean bedroom, she glanced through it for a moment as she attempted to remember where she was. Sighing and chalking it up to being a lost cause she closed it up and added it to her desk where the others were before heading into the kitchen, the smell of food having crept beneath her door.

She found her grandparents sitting at the kitchen table which was covered in different dishes. She kissed them both of the cheek before sitting down and grabbing herself some food, not really paying attention what all she was grabbing. “So what are your plans for today, Gemma?”, her grandmother asked her, causing her to pause in the middle of taking a bite of food. ”I figured I would head to the mission board and see if I could snag something up to do...”, she responded before taking her bite and chewing it. “Ah, to be a Genin again… I remember doing the same thing in my youth.”, her grandfather responded with a chuckle and a glint in his eyes that spoke of mischief of times passed. Gemma was going to ask but she found the food in front of her far too delicious to be distracted from, eating with haste once more – something which used to worry her grandparents and which had made them wonder if her mother had deprived her of food too as part of her abuse but something they had realized was just simply something Gemma did. Gemma finished her plate off with haste, enjoying the sensation of having a full stomach, before heading into the kitchen and rinsing her plate off before leaving it in the sink. She kissed both of her grandparents on the cheek before heading to the door which she reached just as her grandparents called out in unison, “Be safe, dear.”. Gemma smiled to herself as she paused and glanced back, ”I will, I promise!” She was out the door a moment later, closing it behind herself as she headed to the mission board – taking to the rooftops when the streets got to be a bit too crowded for her liking so that she didn’t waste any time.

The choices were slim pickings, something she hoped would change in the future, but in the end it was settled that she would help one of the local blacksmiths who needed some more materials in order to make some kunai for Genin fresh from the Academy – a D rank, but it would pay well enough. She took her assignment and left, heading directly towards the blacksmiths shop as to not waste any time, arriving just in time to catch him grumbling as he stoked the fire of his forge. ”Hello sir, my name is Gemma, I’ve been sent here to help you.” The blacksmith looked up at her, squinted for a moment as if he wasn’t quite sure what to make of her, and then shrugged his shoulders – help was help after all, and provided he got his supplies he wasn’t going to complain. “Good good. This is the list I need – you can get the pelts and such from the local tanner down the street, the ore you’ll need to hit up the mine for. They both should have what I requested waiting. Might want to take the wagon outside to help you carry it all.”, the blacksmith spoke, handing her the list he had spoken of as he did so which Gemma took. She glanced over the list when the blacksmith finished speaking and nodded her head in understanding. ”Will do, sir. I’ll be back with everything on the list.”, she waited to see if the blacksmith would say anything else, which he didn’t as his attention was turned back to his forge, before she headed outside, grabbing the handle for the cart and pulling it behind her as she headed towards the mines first – they were further away after all.

Getting to the mines took a while, mostly due to the bulky cart she pulled behind her – a cart she found to be surprisingly light and well built, something she assumed the blacksmith had done himself. Yet, make it the mines she did, only to find that just as the blacksmith had said his order was waiting. She handed the list over, watching as the merchant checked it over to ensure everything was there that was on the list before handing it back to her and grunting towards a pile of stone. Gemma made quick work with loading up the cart, thankfully with the help of several men who had been nearby and had caught sight of what she was doing, stacking it all neatly and evenly so that she wouldn’t have trouble later on with the cart tipping on her or shifting wrong, and also ensuring that there were room for the pelts the blacksmith required. ”Thanks guys!”, she called out before heading back towards the market, aiming to hit the tailor up on her way back since it was a nearly direct shot.

The trip to the tailor was uneventful thankfully, the cart nicely packed and handling the trip just fine, meaning she had no issues with the ore she carried. She arrived outside of the tailors shop, parking the cart out of the way before heading inside. She waited patiently for the tailor to finish with another customer before handing over the list and watching the tailor disappear into the back after handing the list back to her. She waited nearly five minutes before the tailor came back out with several packages that were wrapped carefully. “Here you are, dear. Exactly as he ordered.”, the tailor spoke as he handed them to her. ”Thank you, I’ll deliver them right away.”, she responded before heading outside and placing them in her cart as well.

With her cart full of the supplies that had been requested she made her way back to the blacksmith at a decent pace, tugging the cart behind her as she went. She arrived to find the blacksmith outside sipping what looked to be some tea and popping the last bite of a sandwich in his mouth. She tugged the cart over, parking it nearby the wall. “Thanks, lass.”, the blacksmith responded after giving it a quick peak to ensure everything was there. ”You’re welcome.”, Gemma responded politely before giving a polite nod of her head and heading off back to the mission board to seek out her payment.


Word Count: 1,420 / 750
Ryo Gained: 150 + 150 (600 extra words) = 300 ryo