Securing Assets:

---

Chigetsu didn't exactly have high expectations for D-Rank missions. He was fresh out of the academy, so being assigned to some trivial work as a 'mission' wasn't out of the ordinary. The wisdom of sending trained shinobi out to do manual labor would only be something Chigetsu questioned when the pickaxe was placed into his hand and he was sent down into the mines. Going down to collect raw material didn't sound like it would be too bad when he had first read it, but it was a very different feeling down in the caves itself. It was a relief that he wasn't attempting this alone though. There were at least a dozen or two other genin who came to attempt the mission at the same time. This must be coordinated somehow to ensure it isn't just one or two genin who come down to assist at the mines by themselves. Twenty genin working together surely were more able to navigate and work these mines than just one or two idle pairs of hands. It was sure to make the job much more feasible, even if it didn't change how unglamorous of a mission it was.

It was a job though, and jobs needed to be done. Chigetsu fashioned himself as a tool, and a simple spade was a tool just the same as a kunai was. Hard manual labor that contributed to Kirigakure was something he needed to grow accustomed to. He kept these thoughts running through his mind as the tip of his pickaxe clanged repeatedly into stone. The bits of ore that were still in this mine needed to be dug out of the very deepest depths, and because no tracks ran down that far it would all need to be carried up by hand. The group of genin that went in divided out the work because of this, rather than simply have each person mine out their required amount of materials and then make several trips up. Chigetsu and some others had been sent down to dig out as much material as they could, and another group would ferry up all of what they dug up to the top of the mine. While this division of labor probably made the entire job go a good deal faster, it also made things incredibly dull. Chigetsu had been smashing rocks for at least two hours in the same position, mining out a deposit with five others. With him down here still collecting material there was no telling how close to being completed they were, or if they were even making any significant progress. As far as Chigetsu knew this was the first two hours of a ten-hour shift of swinging this pickaxe around.

He really, really hoped it wasn't.

---

[wc:470]
[Part 1/???]

Pwshtung! The blade of a pickaxe struck down into rock. A spray of the foulest sort of air sprung up from it, where the dust was so fine that you could barely feel it in your lungs. It mixed together with the stench that had already soaked into the air. It was noxious. He breathed in. He couldn't cough. Bits of rock fell apart, crumbling away from the steel. There was something black down inside the bits. Was it coal? Lazily it was kicked in the direction of the pile.
 
♪ "Some people say a man is made outta mud~" ♫

Pwshtung! Steel crashed against rock. After that one, another ten made an identical sound. After so many times it became white noise. It had been harsh on the ears at first as if the pickaxe was crying. It wouldn't be surprising if he could fall asleep in an active mineshaft after this though. The idea of falling asleep here was actually getting sort of appealing. Chigetsu wondered if you could keep your body moving while still asleep. He'd have to remember to ask someone else if ninjutsu like that existed.  

♪ "In the Mist they're made outta whole lotta blood~" ♫

Pwshtung! He swung his arms again. Chigetsu wasn't looking, but he was pretty sure he hit a rock. That would make sense. Somewhere in the back of his mind Chigetsu was vaguely thinking about how he needed to train his endurance. If this was getting the better of him, what could happen in a real mission where something important was happening? These thoughts mostly stayed in the back of his mind, since the front of his mind was currently being bored into some sort of coma. It wasn't even like this was particularly hard work, just incredibly monotonous. Judging from the dulled groans coming from his sides with each swing, Chigetsu wasn't the only one with this opinion.

♪ "Blood and bone and skin and steel~" ♫

Pwshtung! He was a tool though. Training to be one. Aiming to be one. A pickaxe was a tool, so it was what he must be too. If Chigetsu couldn't sharpen his mind and body to retrieve ore from rock, then how could he really tear out a man's throat? They were one and the same. He had to adapt and repurpose himself whenever it was necessary. It could be a time not so far away that he would have to wrap his hands around the shaft of a pickaxe in order to save his own life or even the lives of others. Or even the life of his wielder.  

♪ "A heart that's a-weak and a blade that's strong~" ♫

Pwshtung! He really, really hoped if that ever had to happen that the pickaxe he would be using wouldn't sing. This one he was holding was already annoying him enough with its weird mining song that it had been singing non-stop. If he wasn't in the company of others it would have been a bit easier. Maybe it could be reasoned with? His reputation would probably suffer from being seen trying to reason with a pickaxe though, and so he relented to the singing. It was unfortunate that reputation was something he had to keep on his mind, but that was just the way it was.  

"Will you shut up already?" The kunai that was tucked snug in his belt pouch spoke up, its muffled voice speaking on Chigetsu's behalf. Apparently, it was just as annoyed by the singing pickaxe as he was. "Sing whatever pathetic songs you have on your own time. The mission always needs to come first, and elements that distract from it need to be eliminat-" "Well hold your horses there! Now, I don't recall askin' to be apart of any of yer ninja missions! You fellas just came over here, picked up me and my boys, and just started swinging us around!" "The mission was to collect ore, something a pickaxe is naturally suited for. Know your purpose, and more importantly know your place. Anything that can further the future of Kirigakure will be seized, no matter who it must be seized from. If it happens th-" "Seizing this and that, you Ninja are all the same. Ya'll never understand the plight of-" The pickaxe was dropped, clanging to the ground uselessly. "Hey now, don't you have any sense of common curtesy? What kinda fella just drops someone in the middle of talkin'?"

Chigetsu was about to rip his own eyeballs out.  Without so much as addressing the others who were with him, he would turn on his heel and make his way back up the mine shaft. It just wasn't worth it to stay any longer. Especially if he had to listen to the arguing of his kunai and that pickaxe. It was worse than the singing was. Seeing as his kunai promptly stopped speaking after he left the pickaxe it apparently was able to tell the sour mood Chigetsu was in. Either that or it had nothing left to say.  

Not that it mattered.

[wc:863]
[863 + 470 = 1333]
[Part 2/???]

It had been far too long since he had seen the sun. Even with it partially obscured by the mist, the sun was a gift from God. Just having natural light against his skin felt heavenly in a way that couldn't be described. The sudden brightness as it reached his eyes was blinding. Ascension. When he reached the top and was finally able to open his eyes, it would be then that Chigetsu saw that he was alone.
 
"W-Wh..." The male would reach up to rub at his eyes. The small pavilion they had designated as their meeting point was completely deserted. The collection of ore that had reportedly been collected in order to collectively turn in was missing. There wasn't a single ounce of it in sight. There were no signs of any human activity in the area, with the pavilion coated in dust and decay. It looked as if nobody had set foot in it for years.

Chigetsu closed his eyes tight. He had taken this as a mission, hadn't he? There were people he was mining with down in the caverns... He thought so, at least? ... The male was left trying to sort the thoughts around in his head. They must have left without him.

Slowly he made his way back to the village, promising to himself that he would never do this again. He just prayed that he wasn't going insane. Was it that the pickaxe had been playing tricks on his mind with some sort of genjutsu...? 

[WC: 257]
[WC: 1333 + 257 = 1590] 
[Mission: 1590/750 = 840 remaining]

Training:

Endurance E-0 -> E-1 [840/75] = 765 remaining
Endurance E-1 -> E-2 [765/150] = 615 remaining
Endurance E-2 -> E-3 [615/225] = 390 remaining 
Endurance E-3 -> D-0 [390/300] = 90 remaining

Perception E-0 -> E-1 [90/75] = 15 words remaining.

15 words wasted.