Zunair's Ramen Mission

Sat Nov 20, 2021 3:05 pm

Spoiler:

Zunair, entered the highly acclaimed ichiraku stand, looking for the shop owner as he requested someone help him in assisting his shop during the busy hours. A relieved smile made its way onto his rather guarded young face as he saw the shop owner, and Zunair pulled himself on one of my high chairs before the counter. He tapped the counter lightly.

"So...Do I need only come at lunchtime?" The mint-eyed Hyuuga asked.

He watched as the shop owner nodded. "That is mostly when I will need your hand the most. Can you wash dishes, do some deliveries on foot, and quite possibly...cook?" He asked Zunair as he served him some tea.

"Don't worry; deliveries and helping with the cooking won't come unless we get our hands very full. That's rare." He gave Zunair one calculating look before taking a sip of tea.

"I can cook." The young Hyuuga said. "And I can deliver ramen thirty minutes faster than someone on a bike."

"That's good." The owner said. "Your name?" He inquired.

"Zunair." Zunair noticed that he gave a start and looked at him again. He was busy sipping the tea the owner supplied him, all the while Zunair’s mint-like eyes rested upon him.
"Aren't you...from the Hyuuga Clan?"
Zunair nodded.
"Yes." He said.
The shop owner then smiled again. "I hope you don't mind me asking, but don't your missions as a ninja would provide you with more money than working for me?"
Zunair shrugged. "Contrary to popular belief, sir, missions rarely head a ninja's way. Most of the time we have no choice but to lounge around hoping for that opportunity to come. It's hard to budget things if you rely on one job only."
"I see." The shop owner wrote down his name. "So, 2000 Ryo is all right with you?"
“Of course, as that was alrighty stated in the mission detail,” Zunair laughed. "All right, deal."
“However, I could probably use you all day when you come because my store has been very busy and it’s hard to find help since the tax rate has been so high,” the owner said.
Zunair replied, “of course, and I understand.”
Zunair took the owner’s extended hand and shook it awkwardly, as he was not used to the whole ritual of it. "I could start tomorrow?"
"Aren't you in a hurry? Of course. Six in the morning sharp. I don't like latecomers."
Zunair smiled as he hopped off the high chair.

Zunair tried to be an enthusiastic employee as much as could be. During the first two days of his employment, Zunair would often get there before the shop opened, waiting for the owner to be let in. It didn't help that it was starting to get colder outside. Zunair thought, maybe he shouldn’t arrive so early; he might get a bad bout of flu due to the cold. The young Hyuuga ignored himself and continued with his routine anyway. The owner then let Zunair open the store since he was arriving so early, giving him the duplicate keys.

Zunair would try to have every pre-opening chore already done by the time the owner comes down. The young genin mopped the floors until they shone, wiped the tables free of dust, and even changed the curtains, maintaining that it was already dirty.

The owner came up and asked Zunair if he had breakfast before coming to him, and he said he did. But there were times Zunair came to him with a rumbling stomach. Zunair knew that the owner heard his rumbling stomach because, during one of those days, he took Zunair aside before officially opening and supplied him with the first ramen for that day. Zunair didn't exactly say thank you, but the glimmer in his mint-eyes and smile were seemingly enough for him.
“So, where are your parents, young one?” The owner asked Zunair.
"My mother’s dead and father is always out on missions." He said bluntly. Maybe too blunt for a fourteen-year-old like him.
“Well, anyway, I have something for you.” As the owner took Zunair aside and gave him an apron – his mint-like eyes grew wide in horror as he saw that the apron was pink, in which, the owner apologized for not having anything else – and told him that if we both wanted this business to flourish, he should be more cordial to the customers. The owner told him that there was nothing wrong if he could smile and that his hair would very likely get in his way.

Zunair didn’t realize he wasn’t even smiling towards the customers, so that was when he did start to smile and tie his hair into a ponytail every time he was in the shop.
"Ichiraku Irashai!"
This was the phrase Zunair uttered with all the cheerfulness he could muster every time customers went through our wooden door. Shinobi customers were often gaping openly when they found him there, clutching a small piece of paper and pen in hand, ready to take their orders. They did not expect an esteemed Hyuuga such as Zunair to work in a ramen stand. Zunair tried to ignore their stupefied looks and gaping jaws as if they never existed and waited for their order patiently, quietly.
"Hai, dozo...miso ramen and black tea for you!" Zunair exclaimed at the customer, taking his order and giving it to the owner.
Later on, that night, "Popular, aren't you, Zunair?" The owner joked as the Hyuuga entered the inner kitchen to help him with the dishes. He only glowered at the sponge he held as a response. The owner laughed. It seemed that he grew to understand my Zunair’s silence because most of the time, it was the only way Zunair spoke to the owner. Zunair’s little glances, smiles, and glares contained a myriad of information that wasn't so hard to understand once you got the hang of it.
Having the Hyuuga at the ramen stand soon apparently had its advantages. More people eventually came, and the owner was very happy. However, Zunair was too ruthless sometimes. In business, you could never evade circumstances like customers ditching their bills...playful Genins trying to get away with a free bowl while your back's turned...those sorts of things. Zunair was sharp as he chased a Jounin who so dared to skip his bill...
"Hey, you! Hey! Pay up!"
"Bug off, kid! I'm not paying for rubbish!"
Zunair’s mint-eyes flashed into the Byakugan and threw the round tray he was holding. The tray spun around in midair before slamming with a satisfactory crunch at the back of the insolent Jounin's head, knocking him out instantly. Zunair knew that was probably not the way to go about it but he was not letting this man cheapskate the owner, so he then bent over the fallen Shinobi and took the payment from his wallet before going back to the stand.
“So he ended up paying?” The owner asked and all Zunair could muster was a smile.
“It seemed to be a misunderstanding, he paid,” Zunair said and then went back to work.
Zunair was trying very hard to be cheerful. But there were times when his perpetual rudeness got the better of him.
"What? Is there a bug on my face?"
"If you're not going to buy anything, take your stupid fat ass off that chair for other customers."
"We're a ramen stand. Not a takoyaki stand. You dumb or what?"
"I. Am. Not. A. Woman."
"Get lost, jerk. If you don't have any money to pay for your meal, I suggest leaving.” Those are all things Zunair has ended up saying to the rude customers. However, Zunair knew very well how to keep his temper under wraps.
"Ichiraku Irashai!"
The other server is the one saying this phrase now. Zunair smiled slightly as his phrase was being picked up.
————————The Following Day——————
Ichiraku Irashai!" Zunair said as a customer entered the building.
The customer gave a start and turned wide eyes toward Zunair. "So it's true you're working here?" she said.
"What will you be wanting, Hana? Please, sit down."
Hana, Zunair’s cousin, sat down near one of the windows, steepling her fine fingers together and looking up at Zunair curiously as if he had grown an extra head. Zunair stood over her, paper and pen in hand.
"Well?"
"Hmm...let's see...barbecue and...the usual."
"In a moment."
Zunair then headed to the owner and gave him his cousin’s order. A few minutes later
"Order up!" The owner said.
Zunair heard him and jumped up and went to fetch Hana’s food and served it to her. Afterward, he left her alone as he tackled the pots and pans in the kitchen with the owner. And then they heard her call.
"Zunair! Hey, Zunair!"
"Oh, not again..." Zunair hissed as he hastily wiped his hands on his apron and went out to see to her needs.
Their following conversation soon happened:
"Hey, come on...I need money."
"What?"
"Yeah, well...my mother won't give me my allowance next week in advance, so..."
"Do you have any idea how much you owe me, Hana?"
"...remind me?"
"You owe me 5,678 Ryo!" Zunair's voice sounded pained. "And you haven't given me a single centavo back! I will not lend you another coin unless you pay up!"

"I promise I'll pay you back once I win -!"
"You are always making promises, Hana. Why not try paying up instead?"
"But -!"
"Hana, I won't be able to survive on your promises.”
"You're so mean -!"
"No, Hana. You're the mean one. You cause far too much trouble. For once in your life try being like a Hyuuga that you are and keep your promises – not pile them up on one another!"
There was a cry and crunch – as she slammed the door open. Then Zunair joined the owner by the sink a minute later, a steely frown on his face. Zunair refused to talk when the owner question him.
"Troublesome girl," Zunair glowered at the bubbles on his arms as torturously washed the dishes.

————————The Following Day——————

That’s when the owner of Ichiraku Ramen extended delivery services to customers, as suggested by Zunair that night when he had been finishing inventory before closing time. Zunair also suggested that we serve other side dishes like takoyaki and some sushi. By now the owner should have had increased his capital to cover some additional perks for our customers.
Zunair now has his hands full. He did delivery errands apart from his original waiter duties, and he also made sushi whenever someone wanted them because apparently, the owner could not make sushi worth a damn. Zunair’s nimble fingers rolled up the rice and wrapped them in seaweed – the way the hands of an expert moved. The owner asked Zunair how he learned to make sushi that fasts and that good, and he said proudly that he learned on his own plus he was a Hyuuga, so we good with his hands. So, Zunair taught the old man how to make sushi cause he knew he was going to be continuing there for much longer.
Aside from the ramen, the sushi was picking up popularity. However, the past few days were fun for Zunair, his job was finished. As he helped the owner the past week and improved his business. That’s when Zunair surprised him handing the owner his resignation letter. Even though it was a mission, it felt like he work there. Zunair then ordered a bowl of ramen and thanked the old owner for everything that they had shared. Now that the tax rate has been lowered, he should be good at finding the help he needs. He then gave back the keys he had to the owner.
“However, I’m gonna keep the apron just in case,” Zunair smiled at the old man.
“Of course, thank you for everything, Zunair, you were truly a joy to work with.” The elder replied.
“Thank you, sir, and if you need anything or any help in the future, just let me know,” Zunair said as the owner thanked him, in which Zunair left with a mission completed.

[exit]
[WC: 2,029/2,000]
Claiming:
4,000 Ryp
(+100 Ryo for Genin Salary)
20 AP
+40 AP (for maxed stats)
279/2,500 in A-Rank Hyuuga Valor
1750/1750 in B-Rank Storm Senbon

Sat Nov 20, 2021 10:12 pm

Approved

Zunair's Ramen Mission

Zunair's Ramen Mission

Re: Zunair's Ramen Mission