Mission Details:

Rhys awoke with a powerful yawn. He stretched out his limbs and rolled out of his bed onto the floor. He did his morning workout with practiced ease before getting dressed for the day. He no longer lived in the animal sanctuary, but he still woke up an hour before dawn every day.

 He left his apartment that he had rented when he moved into the city. It was cramped but it was cheap, and Rhys needs all the Ryo he can gather.

  This is why Rhys found himself walking through the waning darkness to find the mission board. He had seen it in passing before, but this time Rhys was determined the first job he found and see it through! He would do this until he raised the money he needs.

  The top mission listed was...."Missing Cat"...

  "Well I did say the first job I saw.." Rhys grumbled to himself as the morning sun rose above the horizon.

  So Rhys started jogging through the village to find some rich little girl's cat. It wasn't long before he found himself at the base of the structure. He thought he could actually see the target, but it was probably just wishful thinking.

  He went through the main entrance to tell someone about his mission. Rhys figured it would be best not to get caught scaling a government building while wearing his ninja gear.

  So after making his intentions known he began to scale the stairs 2 at a time toward the roof access. He ascended quickly but stopped at the top of the steps to catch his breath before going through the door. He had to play this just right to avoid spoiling the cat. The flier said it was jumpy, and Rhys was no stranger to skittish cats. They would run usually, but this one has nowhere to go, so it would fight.

 After Rhys had collected himself he slowly opened the door. He didn't immediately step through it. Instead, he waited, giving the target time to adjust. After a long pause he cautiously stepped out into the growing light.

  Rhys could hear the target before he could see it. The cat was "meowling" and hissing at his approach. He looked over and saw the small creature perched on the dome at the highest point of the building. It would easily jump down to the roof but no further.

"Don't worry, I won't bother you any. I'm just going to rest here for a while if you don't mind." Rhys called out in a soft yet deep voice.

  Rhys came no closer. The target continued its threats but did not immediately act upon them. Ever so slowly Rhys sat down where he was. Now the waiting would begin.

 The big man sat down and leaned against the closed door. The target still stood in an attack position, it's hair standing on end and a low growl coming from it's throat. Rhys paid no attention to this and set out to do his very best to ignore the small creature. He pulled out the latest issue of "Ani-man", his favorite weepy novel. Rhys settled himself in to enjoy the periodical.

  Every so often Rhys would look out of the corner of his eye at the target cat. After about 5 minutes it had calmed down enough to stop growling, After 10 minutes it sat down, and finally after an hour it sat down accepting his presence for now. Rhys let the agreed disinterest sit for a while before standing and moving forward.

  Instantly the cat was back in attack stance, ready to pounce. Rhys had halved the distance between them before stopping once more. He sat down to once again earn the target's apathy. Rhys let out an exaggerated yawn, stretching, and laid down to take a nap. He didn't bother watching the cat this time. It would attack and he could catch it, or it wouldn't and he could catch some Z's.

  A few hours had passed. The morning glow had given way to the harsh rays of the noon sun. Rhys sat up with a groan, the roof was not an ideal bed. As he made his presence known he looked to the target. It too was waking up from it's cat nap. It seemed at ease until it remembered where it was and quickly turned to Rhys. This time however, it didn't even bother adopting it's attack stance. Instead, it just eyed the large man intently.

  There was a long silence where the pair just looked at each other. The moment seemed to go on forever before a deep rumbling sound shattered the silence. The deafening chorus of one thousand waterfalls emanated through the mid day air. The cat's ears parked up as Rhys chuckled at his growling stomach, it was time for lunch.

"You're welcome to join me if you'd like. I have plenty here." he said invitingly to his envious onlooker.

  The big man opened up the interior pocket of his jacket that houses his lunch. Rhys grinned with anticipation as he pulled out his bento box he had put together the night before. With practed ritual Rhys set out the contents before him.

  The meal consisted of two pieces of tamagoyaki for protein, two onigiri for sustenance, a scoop of his spiced pickled peppers for flavor, and four strips of dried fish, the bait.

  The ravenous Rhys set into his meal with vigor. He scarfed down the tamagoyaki covered in peppers promptly licking his fingers clean. He pulled out the bottle of sake he keeps hidden in his boot to wash down the savory food. He looked at his target as he took a long draught. The cat was staring at his good enviously, he could practically hear it's stomach growling from here.

"Mm, you really should try some of this. I made it myself you know?" Rhys called out with a bit of sake running down one cheek.

   Rhys went back to work on his lunch. He ate the onigiri at a more leisurely pace to help with digestion, and to drag out the tension between his target and it's target, his fish.

  After around five minutes Rhys decided that the torture should have done it's trick. He scooted the metal bento no containing the dried fish forward a meter towards the cat. It jumped a little at the sudden sound, but then pounced down to attack the food like only a predatory cat can.

   The cat inhaled the fish with gusto. The strips were gone in a matter of seconds. The cat sat there and cleaned itself, satisfied with it's feast. Then it turned to look at Rhys. The large man sat there smiling with one last strip of fish dangling from his hulking fingers.

  The cat cautiously approached him, practically crawling forward. Rhys sat there as still as he could manage as the target approached. After one minute that contained an eternity had passed, the cat was mere centimeters away. Rhys slowly lowered his hand setting the strip on the roof. The cat scrambled forward eating it whole.

  It cleaned itself once more before turning to look at the looming figure of Rhys. This was the moment of truth. The target would either accept his offering of food and trust him, or it would react with violence...it purred softly as it nuzzled his big hand. This is a spoiled cat and not a wild beast after all.

  Rhys chuckled lightly as he pet the fuzzy target. He gave it a good scratching before cleaning up the remains of his meal.

  After all was in order he picked up his newfound feline friend and headed towards the door. The little girl needed her friend back. It was not an auspicious beginning to his professional shinobi career, but it was a successful one. Rhys would take the win, and the ryo that came with it, and he would strive forward to achieve his goals!



1356 words for 300 ryo!