Wedding Day Disappointment

Mission:

Only a mere two days in the village, and Haruto was already getting sick of Ice Cube Valley. After his last job beating a man half to death, he'd gotten a reputation as someone who could get things done. Suddenly he was being offered membership in the local gang running this crummy place. Not his style. He wasn't necessarily opposed to the idea of running with a group, but he sure as hell didn't want to play pretend gangster with some yokels in the middle of nowhere. He figured it was high time he got moving again before they decided to get some funny ideas about... coercing him into accepting their offer. Bloodbaths like that never end well. But he Haruto knew he couldn't just leave out of nowhere. The local gang already had some men tailing him to make sure he didn't turn tail and run. Haruto needed some kind of excuse, a diversion to get him out of town. Another job, one that paid up front, but that he was expected to return to town after completing. That should do nicely...

Haruto had to do some digging, but eventually he found what he was looking for. Turns out that there were some other people in town who needed some work done. Most of it was petty stuff for little pay. Hunting expeditions who promised a cut of the money from the pelts sold, fishing gigs offering every third fish as compensation, that sort of thing. None of it struck Haruto's fancy, and he could feel his frustration growing ever higher with each crummy offer he'd received. He was a shinobi damn it, and he needed to make money somehow. Though one offer in particular really caught his fancy.

Haruto had just given up for the day when he'd discovered it. He'd wandered into the nearby tavern he'd spend his last few evenings drinking himself half to death in when he'd noticed the gang's toady. He was a short, fat individual who smelled of death. Ugly as sin too, and stupidly proud despite possessing less than two functioning brain cells inside his dense little skull. If he'd given his name, Haruto simply didn't care enough about him to remember. When Haruto entered, the pudgy little creature raised his arm in greeting, and a sickly grin spread across his face, revealing his few rotting teeth. Haruto winced as he walked his way over towards the bar. He really didn't want to talk to this guy, but fate seemed to have other plans in store for the young rogue. The man pushed himself up out of his chair and began waddling his way over towards Haruto, raising up a hand for the bartender to get the two some drinks. He settled himself right next to where Haruto was leaning, and gave his cheeky grin right at the rogue in question. He was so close that Haruto could smell the putrid breath coming from this guy's lips, and the rogue began to wonder how much trouble he'd get in if he laid him out flat right here.

"Heya buddy! I was wondering when I'd see you again. You thought any more about our little offer?"

"Go fuck yourself."

The bartender slid the two men's drinks over, one of which slid right into Haruto's waiting hand. He quickly raised it to his lips and took a great swig as the man beside him gave a great guffaw, laughing and slapping his hand against the bartop, making a great fool of himself.

"Man, you are funny! Guess you still haven't learned your manners yet huh? Well that's alright. I guess you just need more time to decide. In the meantime, I got another job for you eh? This one's real simple. There's a little place just a couple miles north of here yeah? A village called Polar Bear Respite. It's a little place, even smaller than this town here. Normally we wouldn't bother sending anyone out there, but this is a bit of a special occasion. Ya see, some lucky buck is marrying the boss' daughter. Pretty little thing, but that isn't important. Point is, we still need to deliver the dowry. That my friend, is where you come in."

Haruto was about to turn to the man and tell him to get the hell out of his sight, but something stopped him. Cogs and wheels began to turn in the rogue's head as he mulled it over. This could be perfect for him. He could just take the dowry and run, no need to wait for payment. He could just take the dowry and head in a different direction. Maybe eastward. The little man noticed the look on Haruto's face, and his smile somehow managed to grow even wider.

"That one caught your fancy, did it? Good. Payment is one thousand ryo upon completion. I'll have it waiting for you back here. Oh, and don't even think about running off with the dowry, or sneaking some coin out of it. It's in a little box, and we'll know if you open it. Try to run away with the dowry, and we'll hunt you and skin you like a dog. You understand?"

Haruto relaxed his face, letting it return to a state of bored neutrality. He couldn't act too excited, or he'd know what's up.

"Fine, I'll deliver that for you. First I gotta ask though. Why on earth would you want me to deliver it? I've just wandered into town the other day, and you have no way to prove that I won't try to run off with the money. Why not give the gig to someone more trustworthy?"

The pudgy man finally dropped his grin, and nodded along solemnly. He actually seemed to take this question a bit seriously it seemed, something Haruto found incredibly suspicious.

"Good question. See, it's a test of faith. If you pass, we can start giving you more... intense jobs. We know you're not only reliable, but loyal as well. If you fail, we'll just kill you and find someone better. Got it?"

Haruto didn't buy it. If he had to take a guess, he was either walking into a situation they considered too dangerous for one of their own men to handle, or it was a trap set for him. Either way it didn't matter to Haruto. They could try to track him all they wanted when he ran away, they'd never find him. The rogue gave a shrug and polished off his drink, motioning with his other hand for the little creature to give him the materials he'd need. With a sly smirk he reached into his thick cloak of furs and pulled out a small wooden box, with a note attached at the top. Haruto took it from his hand and looked at the top. Directions it seemed. Not as though he'd need them.

"You can start tomorrow. Until then, enjoy your drinks."

He walked off to some other part of the bar, and Haruto slipped the box into his own cloak. He spent only a little more time drinking before going back to his room, hoping to get an early night's sleep so he could slip out of the village before they realized he was gone. At the crack of dawn, Haruto left. He grabbed a single metal butter knife from the tavern on his way out, using it to pry open the dowry boxes lock, and peering inside. One thousand ryo. Awfully cheap dowry in Haruto's eyes, though he supposed that they didn't have a lot of money out here. Plus, his perception was likely skewed from the extravagant sums Haruto knew his biological father had sent another lord for marrying his legitimate daughter. Just the memory left a sour taste in his mouth. Haruto continued his trek east out of Ice Cube Valley, dropping the empty dowry box at the top of one of the cliffs that nestled the village below. He wouldn't need it.

"Good riddance Ice Cube Valley. I have better things to do than stick around here."

With that, Haruto headed eastward, towards the direction of the rising sun, just now beginning to cast an orange glow over the snow around him. It was a very pretty sight. Hopefully, it was also a sign of good things to come.

Word Count - 1391

Exit Claims:

Exit claims approved homie (guy really added 100 ryo like it mattered)