CH_3.17 (076)

CH_3.17 (076)

Takuma stepped up to the front of the queue for one of the reception desks in Mission Desk Central. It was the reception desk assigned to him. Every mission assignment and completion submission happened on this desk.

"Good evening, Michi," said Takuma to the receptionist who took the evening shift. He handed her the signed and stamped mission completion receipt for yet another D-rank mission.

Michi, the brunette with a reddish tint in her curly locks, glanced up at Takuma and nodded. She was a woman of few words. Or maybe Takuma was wrong, and she was a socialite, but the constant stream of shinobi at her counter and the pressure of keeping the line moving made her not speak much on the job.

As he was needlessly contemplating and imagining Michi's life, the receptionist shinobi quirked one of her brows. "Your next mission—" she started.

"Ah, may I hold the next mission for a short while? I would like to take a few days of rest," said Takuma, interrupting. He wanted to do a few days of intense boot camp for the coming Ring fights. The weapon category fights differed from what he had in the academy and basic training. The tempo and intensity were harsher, yet every move was deliberate and thought after.

"You might want to take this; it's your first C-rank mission," Michi looked up at him. "If you pass this on, you might not get another for a few months. I'm fine with that if that's what you want."

"I will take that mission, thank you very much," Takuma said instantly. He was ready to exchange a couple losses in the Ring if that meant he could get going on his first C-rank mission. This could be the gateway to more C-rank missions and a chance to meet different chunin shinobi that he could add to his network, as Nenro had said. "So... what is the mission?"

"The details of the mission will be revealed by the chunin team leader in charge," said Michi as she drew up paperwork. "You're to report to the de-briefing tomorrow, and the mission will officially begin two days after that." She slid the introductory mission statement through the slot in the glass pane. "All of the information is present in the document. Your mission completion submission is filed, and the payment will reflect in your account in five to six business days. Good luck."

Takuma stared at the document in hand as he walked out of the queue feeling dazed.

His first C-rank mission, Takuma swallowed. He wasn't sure he would sleep tonight from tomorrow's expectations.

He read to the bottom, and his eyes widened when he saw the name in the team leader column:

Umino Iruka

———

.

Takuma looked at his wristwatch, which had no strap on it because he didn't wear it, and kept the timepiece in his weapons pouch. It was ten minutes before the meeting time, an appropriate time to arrive in advance. Ever since he had joined the Ring, he kept his schedule tight and strived to arrive five minutes before a commitment. But he wanted to be safe for his first C-rank mission and arrived earlier.

The location for the meeting was a large hall with seating inside the Shinobi Complex that shinobi used for all things from eating to catching up with friends to discussing joint missions. He searched for the reserved table in the arena and walked over to find two people already sitting at the table.

One of them he recognized as the chunin team leader, Umino Iruka.

"Good morning," said Takuma in greeting, his eyes briefly lingering at the horizontal scar that stretched across Iruka's face, cutting through his nose and the edges resting on top of his cheeks. "I presume you're Chunin Umino?"

"Good morning. You can call me Iruka," said Iruka, and the other person, a genin, nodded in return.

Takuma sat down at the table and observed the two people. Iruka was young; Takuma pegged him at maybe around sixteen to seventeen years old. Except for Itachi, who Takuma had met in passing, Iruka was the youngest chunin he knew. It was honestly surprising as the other genin sitting across Iruka and beside Takuma seemed to be older than Iruka by a year or two.

"My name is Takuma," he said and gave him his shinobi registration card for verification.

Iruka looked at the file in front of him and nodded.

The other genin introduced himself as Dai, and as far as first impressions went, the man was either aloof or taciturn. Whereas Iruka looked nervous, he hid it well, but Takuma could see that the young chunin lightly fiddled with the mission file, and his eyes darted between him and Dai.

Soon, the third genin arrived. A girl perhaps one or two years older than Takuma. She quickly introduced herself as Emiko and sat beside Takuma, placing him in the middle.

*Boom!*

A loud commotion explosion interrupted his thoughts.

"They're here," said Iruka through the earpiece.

Takuma undid the string holding the back flap on the carriage and stepped out. He looked over the carriage and saw a large cloud of smoke waft over the entire area.

"Smokescreen, be careful," said Iruka.

"Roger," replied Takuma. Emiko and Dai sounded their confirmations. Short-range comms were available in this world, but they only worked when a shinobi was standing still, jogging, or running moderately— the moment a shinobi tried to move freely, the earbud would come off, or the cable would disconnect. So while they were convenient, they didn't work all the time.

As planned, Emiko stayed at the back of the carriage as Takuma walked forward. Dai was to remain in the driver's seat in case the thieves tried to take the entire carriage with them. Iruka was there somewhere to provide backup, maintain coordination, and issue orders.

A figure appeared through the smoke, and they had a sword in hand. The man had his face covered with a bandana, and he tried to speak something, but Takuma stepped close to the man and dug a punch into their gut before he could say anything. As the man went down, another appeared in Takuma's vision.

"Fuck off!" yelled the man and swung the sword for Takuma, who sidestepped and decked him in the jaw. He dropped to the floor like a sack of potatoes.

Takuma heard the clinking of metal from the other side. He jumped over the carriage and landed behind another man, who stopped. A mistake as Takuma kicked him behind the knee, forcing him to kneel, and then delivered another kick to the head, snapping it to the side. Takuma turned away before the man hit the ground and faced the fourth man, dressed similarly to the others.

This one came to a screeching stop, and a gasp escaped him: "Shinobi!"

He tried to run in the other direction, but Takuma was already in the man's space, grabbing him by the neck. Takuma applied enough pressure on the carotid arteries, and it took mere three seconds of struggle, scratching at Takuma's hand, for the man to limp. He removed his hand and let the man kiss the floor.

The smoke began to clear up, and a fifth man appeared before him. Neither of them moved from their spots and looked at each other. The man had a sword on his back that wasn't even taken out; he tried to reach for it.

"Don't," said Takuma. "It's over now. If you don't want pain... just lay down on the ground with hands behind your head," that maneuver wasn't taught to him, but he assumed if it worked in one world, it would work another.

The man trembled, his eyes going to his companion who had been choked into unconsciousness right in front of his eyes.

"It's over," Takuma said, "do you understand? Nod if you do."

The man nodded.

"Then do as I said."

The man slowly got to the ground and put his hand behind his head.

"Good work, team. The thieves are under our control," came Iruka's voice.

"Well, that was easy," said Takuma.

Want to read ahead of schedule? Head over to Patreón []. Link here and down below.

Note: All the chapters will eventually be posted on public forums.