It was early in the morning, and the sun was slowly shining through the dusty window of the Hokage's office. As soon as Nao came in, the lights started to burn inside the place. It lit up the scene of a disorder. His desk had completely disappeared under a mountain of papers. Scrolls, ledgers, tax documents, requests, complaints, and unfinished maps.
At the heart of this all was Nao, a newly appointed village head. His eyes, normally bright with the fightlust, now looked a little bit bored, a haunted expression of a scholar trapped in a maze of their own design. The past weeks have been a whirlwind. At first, there had been the Red River Virus that still haunted people to this day. Some of them woke back up, so day by day they got more people again, and you could see it on the streets as they slowly became busier. Then the weather phenomena that brought dispair on people. The downpour had flooded old mans hemlock's lower fields, leading to a midnight sandbagging mission that involved a lot of shinobi, too, and the very bewildered ducks... and just as the water had receded, the next thing happened.
But now, there was a wonderful silence. Nao took a deep breath, a determined breath, that rustled the topmost papers. Finally, a real opponent, the administration.
The first scroll, it was about the grain inventory. Straightforward work. He took his ink pen and started to create a soothing rhythm inside the still room. ' Barley: 40 yen... wheat 25... oats...' The pen was moving, but his mind was still buzzing with the remnants of the crisis. The tidy column of numbers started to fade. The ‘4’ in ‘40’ resembled a tiny man lugging a sandbag. The ‘O’ in ‘Oats’ had the glaring, offended eyes of the badger.
As soon as he noticed, he shook his head. Blinked a few times and slapped himself on the cheeks. "Focus... I have to focus."
The next thing.... A petition from the academy, asking for funds to get their classrooms redecorated. They argued that they, the children, would benefit from a fresh place and new equipment. Nao, who was more than enough around, knew that this would be a joy and well-timed thing. They didn't have many students at the moment, so this was the best time to change the place's colors, freshen up, and get some replacement equipment in for them. Yet he slowly felt a headache starting to throb behind his eyes. He reached for the village seal, a chunk of carved wood, and slammed it down. One official approved and handled, one down... rest to go. But the pile only seemed to grow.
The academy... that reminded him of something, how was the current hierarchy looking? He started to brush through some folders and started to read more and more through them. "I see... so they haven't even been around at all..." He muttered as he flipped through more and more reports of them missing in the fields. "This is saddening to see." He placed them to the side, so this now required attention.
He moved on to the map of the Crater city. Now that the funds had been there, the whole rebuilding had started. Yet... Lines crisscrossed the parchments like a spiderweb. One person opted to cut a straight line through a few small hobby gardens, while the other did a counter proposal, which would leave the north field with no easy access. Like this, the morning went on, and a rhythm emerged from this. The scratching of his pen on the paper, the thumps of the seals. The soft rustle of the papers being set aside. Rarely, some ticking on a keyboard started to form too as he was placing documents into the computer. Slowly building up that archive too.
At a smokebreak outside, he started to tackle the earlier problem he had placed to the side again. He slowly figured out the best course of action, one they had approved of in the past. "If you aren't around... then you make place for the new generation, huh..." He took another drag and looked to the steaming coffee beside him on the stairs. "It is such a waste of a day to do administration too..." He spoke once more and let his head lean back against the door.
Back inside the office, he started to work on papers once more, glancing at the other documents until he finally figured out he couldn't delay it any longer. Suzaku Keiji, a former sennin of the Hidden Leaf, and Uchiha Takeshi, another former sennin of the Leaf, were both now labeled as Jounin. Inuzuka Keiyaku was placed back under anbu, and Haku Yuki was placed back to medical shinobi. Those were the changes he had made right now. If they were to come back, they could grow back into their roles. Which he did hope for. He leaned back into his chair, that was done with a heavy heart. A sigh left the male before he addressed more and more other files.
The sun rose higher, the beam of light shifting across the desk like a slow sundial, now highlighting a pile of finished documents, neatly sealed and organized. The paper mountain was being terraced, arranged, and brought under control. The disorder was evolving into structure. As the church bell chimed noon, Nao set his pen down and leaned back, his chair creaking in agreement. He stretched, his joints cracking a gentle tune. The desk wasn’t clear; it probably never would be, but it was manageable. The silent, paper-driven engine of the village was now buzzing along, well cared for.
Gazing out the window, he observed the calm, everyday life his administration nurtured: kids chasing a dog, smoke wafting from chimneys, Gable and Marigold (he noted with pleasure) chatting amiably by the well, possibly discussing his new ditch proposal.
A smile crept onto his face. The floods would subside. The papers were everlasting. And for the first time, Nao, the village head, felt not overwhelmed, but prepared. He picked up the next scroll. It was the budget for the upcoming Berry Festival. He took up his pen, and the quiet, essential work of peace commenced once more.
[Mission approval: https://ninpocho.com/threads/leaf-mission-request-center.52069/post-397189
WC required: 450 Words
WC: 1045 (Double Wordcounter)
Payment: 25.000 x 1.5 x 2 = 75.000 Yen
Topic entered / Topic left]
At the heart of this all was Nao, a newly appointed village head. His eyes, normally bright with the fightlust, now looked a little bit bored, a haunted expression of a scholar trapped in a maze of their own design. The past weeks have been a whirlwind. At first, there had been the Red River Virus that still haunted people to this day. Some of them woke back up, so day by day they got more people again, and you could see it on the streets as they slowly became busier. Then the weather phenomena that brought dispair on people. The downpour had flooded old mans hemlock's lower fields, leading to a midnight sandbagging mission that involved a lot of shinobi, too, and the very bewildered ducks... and just as the water had receded, the next thing happened.
But now, there was a wonderful silence. Nao took a deep breath, a determined breath, that rustled the topmost papers. Finally, a real opponent, the administration.
The first scroll, it was about the grain inventory. Straightforward work. He took his ink pen and started to create a soothing rhythm inside the still room. ' Barley: 40 yen... wheat 25... oats...' The pen was moving, but his mind was still buzzing with the remnants of the crisis. The tidy column of numbers started to fade. The ‘4’ in ‘40’ resembled a tiny man lugging a sandbag. The ‘O’ in ‘Oats’ had the glaring, offended eyes of the badger.
As soon as he noticed, he shook his head. Blinked a few times and slapped himself on the cheeks. "Focus... I have to focus."
The next thing.... A petition from the academy, asking for funds to get their classrooms redecorated. They argued that they, the children, would benefit from a fresh place and new equipment. Nao, who was more than enough around, knew that this would be a joy and well-timed thing. They didn't have many students at the moment, so this was the best time to change the place's colors, freshen up, and get some replacement equipment in for them. Yet he slowly felt a headache starting to throb behind his eyes. He reached for the village seal, a chunk of carved wood, and slammed it down. One official approved and handled, one down... rest to go. But the pile only seemed to grow.
The academy... that reminded him of something, how was the current hierarchy looking? He started to brush through some folders and started to read more and more through them. "I see... so they haven't even been around at all..." He muttered as he flipped through more and more reports of them missing in the fields. "This is saddening to see." He placed them to the side, so this now required attention.
He moved on to the map of the Crater city. Now that the funds had been there, the whole rebuilding had started. Yet... Lines crisscrossed the parchments like a spiderweb. One person opted to cut a straight line through a few small hobby gardens, while the other did a counter proposal, which would leave the north field with no easy access. Like this, the morning went on, and a rhythm emerged from this. The scratching of his pen on the paper, the thumps of the seals. The soft rustle of the papers being set aside. Rarely, some ticking on a keyboard started to form too as he was placing documents into the computer. Slowly building up that archive too.
At a smokebreak outside, he started to tackle the earlier problem he had placed to the side again. He slowly figured out the best course of action, one they had approved of in the past. "If you aren't around... then you make place for the new generation, huh..." He took another drag and looked to the steaming coffee beside him on the stairs. "It is such a waste of a day to do administration too..." He spoke once more and let his head lean back against the door.
Back inside the office, he started to work on papers once more, glancing at the other documents until he finally figured out he couldn't delay it any longer. Suzaku Keiji, a former sennin of the Hidden Leaf, and Uchiha Takeshi, another former sennin of the Leaf, were both now labeled as Jounin. Inuzuka Keiyaku was placed back under anbu, and Haku Yuki was placed back to medical shinobi. Those were the changes he had made right now. If they were to come back, they could grow back into their roles. Which he did hope for. He leaned back into his chair, that was done with a heavy heart. A sigh left the male before he addressed more and more other files.
The sun rose higher, the beam of light shifting across the desk like a slow sundial, now highlighting a pile of finished documents, neatly sealed and organized. The paper mountain was being terraced, arranged, and brought under control. The disorder was evolving into structure. As the church bell chimed noon, Nao set his pen down and leaned back, his chair creaking in agreement. He stretched, his joints cracking a gentle tune. The desk wasn’t clear; it probably never would be, but it was manageable. The silent, paper-driven engine of the village was now buzzing along, well cared for.
Gazing out the window, he observed the calm, everyday life his administration nurtured: kids chasing a dog, smoke wafting from chimneys, Gable and Marigold (he noted with pleasure) chatting amiably by the well, possibly discussing his new ditch proposal.
A smile crept onto his face. The floods would subside. The papers were everlasting. And for the first time, Nao, the village head, felt not overwhelmed, but prepared. He picked up the next scroll. It was the budget for the upcoming Berry Festival. He took up his pen, and the quiet, essential work of peace commenced once more.
[Mission approval: https://ninpocho.com/threads/leaf-mission-request-center.52069/post-397189
WC required: 450 Words
WC: 1045 (Double Wordcounter)
Payment: 25.000 x 1.5 x 2 = 75.000 Yen
Topic entered / Topic left]