Ramen Delivery time!

What she was going to do today would be seen as demeaning to most teenagers that were in her position. One of the local ramen shops had been hiring, and being a good friend of the owner's daughter she had said she would work for the day to help with deliveries. Most kids would hate having to do this kind of work, especially those with her kind of abilities. They would want to go on 'real' missions instead of bringing food to others. The fact that she was getting to deliver food for the ramen shop known as 'Hoppe Ga Ochiru' allowed her to ignore all that. Helping out her friend's mom was an honor in her book, and gave her bonus points for everyone that knew what she was doing! After finishing her daily routine of rituals and meditation she would head off to the dumpling and ramen shop to find out what kind of deliveries she would have to do. It was exciting to think about, and a bit worrying. What if she had to do way more than she was prepared to do? Or what if it was for some creepy guy that tried to fondle her when he went to pay for the food? There were many possibilities, and she would only find out once she got there!

Upon arrival at the shop, Zaida would see Miko and chat with her for a bit. The general 'good morning' and casual chatting would be made with her before she told Miko what she was doing there. This would cause Miko to tell her how it was weird to see Zaida being the one working instead of the other way around. Normally Zaida was just there for some dumplings, or a bowl of ramen alongside it if training was rough that day, while waiting for her best friend to get off of work so they could hang out, travel, and train. This time it was the reverse, being a day Miko did not have to help out in the place, and Zaida would be the one making any delivery that had to be made. It was a pretty weird thing when it was thought about, but that was something that did not matter in the end. She was here to do a job, and a good job at that! "Good Morning, Mrs. Jugo! It is a pleasure to actually be working for you for once, instead of being the customer!" Miko's mom would thank her for volunteering to actually be the new worker, as she had fired a young boy who had gotten too lazy to do the deliveries asked of him, before she began to package up what Zaida was going to have to deliver.

Zaida's patience was stretched thin by the time Madame Jugo had finally finished cooking and packaging the first order that she was to deliver. She had a long way to go in that regard, and being a teenager it was almost expected that she was a bit impatient at times. Soon she would be called over by Miko's mother and be told to take this to someone that Zaida knew very well; her very own father. "A good trial run while I cook up the next order, probably the most important order of the day," was how it was explained to the genin ranked teenage girl that was being handed the food that had been folded up into a box and attached carefully to a stick and cloth so as to keep it from burning her hands. Before being sent out, Zaida would be told to make sure to take the payment and bring it back. Her father had not yet paid and would have to do so upon receiving the food. That was pretty simple to do, so the purple-clad woman make her way over to the place that she called home.

A simple knock on the door, to be polite and not be just the daughter that lived here, would be made as she announced herself and the delivery. A few moments later her father would open the door with a proud smile on his face. "Well look at that, my daughter doing a job. I am proud of you Zaida." The embarrassing words wouldn't be heard by anyone before she handed off the food and collected the money for it. Now it was time to head back and deal with the important order that she had been told in passing.

The walk back to the dumpling and ramen shop would consist of her counting the money she had in hand while the carrying stick and cloth were held in her other hand as she walked swiftly. It was still decently early, people not really filling up the area as she walked around, and it would not take long for her to arrive back to hand off the money to her new boss before asking about the next delivery to be made. It would be ready for her, having just been packaged up and being placed on the same type of stick and cloth as the other one. She would be told to be careful with this one, even though she knew she would, as it was for one of the defenders of the village. A higher ranked ninja that really enjoyed the food from her dumpling and ramen shop that ordered about once a month. He had already paid, which meant she did not need to collect any money, and all she had to do was make it to the other side of the village before the food got cold. Everything seemed simple, besides it being awkward to deliver to such a person, so she would set off to make her delivery so she could get paid for the day!

Feet struck the ground as she quickly trod her way over to the home in Konoha that was identified as the one for the ninja in question. Upon getting to the place, or at least fifty feet away from the door, the woman would begin to lose her nerve. What if he wasn't ready for her to show up? What if he was angry and she did something to insult him? She still needed to do her delivery, either way, so it was something she would just have to do and hope for the best. Feet would walk her to the door before she knocked, announcing herself and why she was there. This seemed to be enough for her to get a response from the obviously hungry person that was of a much higher rank than her. He was hungry, if not a bit impatient with her being so worried about his ranking, and handed her money for the food before he quickly went back inside to eat. A small thank you from him could be heard as the door shut before her and she stood there looking down at the money she had been given. He had paid prior to his order being delivered, and he had just paid again.

Panic, that was what she began to do. This man had paid a second time for his food! A knock on his door to try and tell him only resulted in her being told to carry on, that he was not taking guests while he ate. Defeated in her attempts to do the right thing she slowly went back to the shop to let the owner of the 'Hoppe Ga Ochiru' know what had taken place just now. Her return was made at a spring, dodging the lunchtime crowd that had formed outside and created a density that made it a bit longer of a travel back to the shop. Upon arrival she would explain what had happened, and hand the money over in the process, only to be told that it was a pretty common thing for the man to do. The 'pre-payment' that he did was really just him forgetting that he had paid extra for one and rather than keep the change he had used it towards his next order. Because of this he was basically paying for every meal in advance as he always forgot to pick up the loose change he was not really worried about. Praise was given, money was handed to Zaida for her half shift of work, and then she would be told that she was free to go and train with Miko or do other things for the rest of the day. What a simple job. If only all of them could be like that, right?