An average winter day in Iwagakure. The sun was out, the clouds were in the sky, and the rocks were, well, rocky. The air was cool, but, this was to be expected. And most importantly of all, the dynamic duo of Debu and Oki, the twin bears of Iwa, were out and about. Specifically, the duo had been tasked with the completion of another mission, one that once more, they were instructed to complete with Yusuke Yanagi; fellow genin of Iwagakure and friend. The trio had gone on missions together before, and at this point, Oki would consider Yusuke a friend and trustworthy ally. The two had retrieved a cat, stopped a bull, sparred, stopped a rampaging moose, and met in a café. To Oki, this was enough for friendship to have truly blossomed.

Upon receiving the message that Yusuke would be working on this mission with him, Oki sent a message to Yusuke of his own; a location to meet him before the mission. It was near to the mission location of course, Oki wanting to be practical. However, as the genin that had more experience with missions, Oki wanted to make sure everything was organised and in order. By which he means, asking Yusuke for anything he had to suggest, and going with that plan of actions. Oki could do some things himself of course, but, where Oki was the brawn, Yusuke was certainly the brains. So, stood there clad in his white training garments, Oki waited, the Iwagakure forehead protector around his neck like a collar, and around the same position on Debu. His signature chain hung loosely around his neck and shoulders, his hair as always stood up static, as if he was just struck by lightning. Baring, or perhaps bearing, a rather gleeful grin, he awaited Yusuke’s arrival intently, standing at attention while Debu found a comfy spot to sunbathe, lying down on a rock.

There were very few trees around, the majority of the landscape covered in rocks and homes. The location was the outskirts of Iwagakure, near one of the only sources of water in Iwagakure – Lake Gisei. Specifically, this was for one reason only. The mission of which the duo had been assigned was the capture of a thief within the area. The specifics weren’t known, but, they can be assumed to be local. Simply recalling the mission requirements, Oki cracked his knuckles in anticipation. He was required to break some hands, so, that was likely why he was chosen for the mission, with Yusuke being to actually locate and do the more… Intricate work. Oki was just a lug of a genin after all.

443

”And that goes there and hasifasfhoafhosaf…” murmured Yusuke as he spoke in his sleep; buried under a pile of scrolls. He had been studying throughout the night again and fell asleep while studying about jutsus and clans. Just another typical Yusuke night. He already knew about the mission he was supposed to take with Oki and had even received the message Oki had sent to him the day before. He woke up right when he supposed to be meeting Oki. When he looked at the clock, he frantically pulled up his shinobi clothes and began running through the streets to the location he was supposed to meet the two bears of Iwa. ”Dang it, I’m getting late”, thought Yusuke as he swished through roof tops heading for the lake. He had been there before, secretly training with Suiton.

By the time Yusuke arrived, he was half an hour late. He jumped off of a high rock and landed in front of a Yusuke a few meters away. Upon landing, he immediately bowed deeply to ask for forgiveness: ”Sorry sorry sorry. I slept in”, he said as he bowed a couple of times to Oki and then to Debu. ”I didn’t forget I was just reading some stuff and then I forgot to sleep.. hehe” he explained as he raised his head scratching the back of his head slightly embarrassed. His thirst for knowledge was never quenched, so it was normal for him to forget eating, sleeping or breathing while he was studying. He had this habit of getting lost within the knowledge.

”So according to the reports, the thief should be around here right? What is our plan about tracking the fiend?”, he would inquire after Oki had finished replying to his previous sentences. Gisei lake was no small area. Not to mention that tracking wasn’t a very easy thing to do thanks to the water. With the flowing water, scents were easy to get lost. Even though Yusuke could use a jutsu to sense things with water vapors in the air; that sort of jutsu wasn’t meant for tracking. It was meant to provide perception when visibility wasn’t working out for him. At this moment, he wished he had something to use to help with the mission. Some sort of capable tracking ability. Maybe Oki could manage to sniff out the thief despite the presence of water all around them. They had to find a way though, since the mission was theirs to deal with.

”What do you say about spreading out in the area? Do some recon and look for some signs of the thief? Maybe the thief has a hideout around here from where he operates?”; that too was a likely possibility. If they searched the nearby area, they might get lucky.

Word Count: 470.
Total Word Count: 470.

Ten minutes passed. Then twenty. This was concerning, as on all previous missions the duo had done together, Yusuke was quite punctual. The bulky bear genin was no longer standing, instead sat down on the rock next to where Debu continued comfortably sunbathing. He audibly huffed, resting his head on his hands as he watched ahead of him. Where was the small genin? Fortunately, after about half an hour, the small figure of Yusuke came into view, landing in front of the currently no dynamic duo. Oki listened as his friend apologised, and then listened to the excuse given. Reading? What was Yusuke, a Konoha shinobi? With a laugh, he stood up, shaking his head and deciding to not take any of it personally, declaring with a jolly expression. “Are you sure you’re an Iwagakure shinobi my friend? Sounds to me like you’re more of a librarian! Well, you are here now, so, that is what matters!” he exclaimed, giving the sleepy genin a thumbs up. Disturbed by Oki’s loud voice, Debu shifted from its restful position, hopping off the rock.

As Yusuke asked about the information and plan, Oki hummed, stroking his beard. Yusuke asked good questions, and it took Oki a good deal of strain and thought to try think of answers. The thief was indeed around this area, but, Oki didn’t have a good plan to find him. His tracking skills were average at best, and given everything going on, it was unlikely he’d be able to sniff out the thief. Additionally, the lake area was huge. Oki hummed louder, Debu watching him as the pained expression of thought stained his face. Now, Oki wasn’t known for being smart. In fact, if you asked anyone, they would probably agree he was an idiot, not the sharpest tool in the shed. Yet even a fool has times of strategy. Times of thought. As Yusuke made his suggestion of spreading out, the words resounded in Oki’s head. The cogs had begun turning, and so the goliath sat back down on the rock, crossing his legs and thinking.

As suddenly as he’d sat down, an idea began burrowing its way into his mind, Oki opening his eyes wide. Reaching into his shinobi weapon pouch, the bear ninja removed the report of the mission, along with a map of the area. His eyes scanned the paper, as if trying to pry specific details out of it. With a grin and a shout, he pointed a finger at a specific list; the addresses of the places robbed. “Here!” he declared, finger trailing down the page. “I remember having to study about this to graduate the academy! Basic detective and detection! Look for a pattern! Now, we just need to look at the places the thief has visited, and see if we can map out any distinct web of which the thief has worked from! From there, we spread out, combing the more restricted area like a fine hair brush!” he stood up in pride, holding the paper out towards Yusuke. Debu meanwhile, looked at Oki with wide eyes, startled that he actually tried to think something out.

525 + 443 = 968

Yusuke blankly stared at Oki as he witnessed something he had never before. Oki was thinking about Yusuke’s question. In a previous mission about stopping a rampaging bull, Yusuke had asked similar strategic questions from Oki. Oki hadn’t replied instead just followed what Yusuke had suggested. This was something Yusuke wasn’t expecting. The thought process continued and the humming grew louder; he could only stare. Was something really going on in that brain? Or was he simply going to agree after giving so much thought to it? Only when Oki reached for something in his pouch that Yusuke realized something serious was brewing in that brain. ”This moment should be marked in history”, he thought with a nod as he intently listened to Oki’s words.

After listening to Oki’s suggestion, Yusuke’s jaw dropped widely. That suggestion, that idea, that strategy; it was brilliant. Better than Yusuke’s suggestions. He couldn’t help but be frozen in that jaw dropped posture. ”uhhh ahem.. brilliant. You’re right that’s what we should do. Let’s search the previously hit locations and work our way back”, he said to Oki after looking at the map more intently. He had looked through the map before. ”I’ll take the locations further away because I can cover the distance easily”, said Yusuke suggesting a strategy. It was like searching in a circle. Yusuke would search around the borders and Oki would search near the center; so the thief would be caught between the two and slowly they would work their way to the hideout.

After Oki would agree, Yusuke would begin to move towards the location farthest from their current location. It would take him almost half an hour to get to the location. He would arrive at the location and then begin looking around. There were rocks and quite a few places for the thief to appear out of and then disappear into. The rocky terrain of iwagakure was the ideal place for a nimble thief to move around. Provided the thief was actually nimble and speedy. They didn’t have a criminal profile of the thief but looking at these locations, they could attempt to make one. After looking at the terrain, Yusuke would begin to move to the next location.

After arrive at the location, Yusuke would realize the similarity between the two locations. This place too provided quite a bit of cover. The place had rocky terrain and few places that could be used to sneak out of and sneak back into. ”Most likely the thief moves around the rocks. So if I search this place, there should be a pathway. This pathway should connect all the locations and should pass through one central point. That should be the case”, thought Yusuke as he entered the rocky area. He began heading in a direction that should be in the center of the other locations. He wondered what Oki was doing right about now.

Word Count: 499.
Total Word Count: 969.

Oki tried to suppress yet more laughter as Yusuke seemed flabbergasted at Oki’s thoughts on the mission. As Yusuke agreed with the bear genin’s suggestion, Oki nodded in agreement at the idea of Yusuke searching further away; Yusuke was a fair bit quicker than Oki, so, strategically, it made sense. “Sounds like a plan!” he declared with pride, before nudging Debu to get up properly. “Me and Debu will meet up with you at some point during our search!” and with that, the group split up, Yusuke heading off at a faster pace to begin his search, while Oki and Debu took a stroll into the centre of the living district that they were at.

The houses were rather run down, the cobble path covered in a large array of muddy dirt tracks. It took Oki a good fifteen minutes of walking to get there properly from where he and Yusuke had split up. The run-down buildings, open to the worst of the lakes weather, were worse of wear, although clearly still lived in. Small pots of flowers, signs of people being out and about, working and being happy, it was faded, but quaint. Still, Oki wasn’t here to enjoy the locale, he had a mission to do, and a thief to find.

Debu put its nose to the ground, sniffing around desperately. Nothing, and it quickly ended this attempt and resumed walking with Oki, who scanned around while stroking his goatee. A couple of the house windows were broken on several of the buildings, so, with a shrug, Oki simply kept walking, looking around and taking a turn to follow whichever route seemed to have the most houses that appeared to be broken into. It wasn’t the most precise of searching, and the big hulk of a genin wasn’t exactly sure how best to tell. Back to the centre of this street, having failed the search he’d spent the last ten minutes on. It was clear to Oki that the houses with broken windows had nothing to do with the robbery. He sighed, continuing to walk around, clueless of what to look for. He only hoped Yusuke was doing better.

361 + 968 = 1329

Yusuke walked around the rocky terrain in search of a frequently used path. That took him an hour and then he realized that he had been going around in circles. This path way, was like a canyon of sorts. It was slightly below ground level and as Yusuke had cleverly deducted went all the way through. It connected the lake and the locations that thief had hit before. ”Considering the train, maybe in the past this location was a passage way for the water but later the water changed its route. That left this terrain. And most likely, in this terrain lies the hideout of the elusive thief”, he nodded his head in approval. That was quite the clever deduction with one fatal flaw; he had no proof nor had he found anything that would certify that his deduction was actually correct. After walking around for yet another half an hour, he came up with another approach. So he began making his way back to where he expected Oki to be.

After travelling for a little while, Yusuke found Oki and the bear; well the other bear besides Oki. ”Any luck?”, he would inquire from Oki first. May be Oki had gotten luckier or may be since his strategy was quite the smart approach; his detective skills had been useful and they had found a clue about the thief. After listening to Oki’s explanation, Yusuke would share his thoughts about their approach: ”I couldn’t find anything useful either but I have a hunch. I know this place, he’s most likely to come out of. So let’s hide and wait until darkness falls; we’re sure to find him then” said Yusuke as he pointed towards the rocky terrain he had just come from.

Provided that Oki would agree with Yusuke’s suggestion, he would lead the twin bears to a high vantage point that would oversee the pathways that Yusuke had been exploring. He hadn’t been able to find the exact location so this was the clever solution he had come up with. They just needed to be patient and remain hidden, the thief would eventually appear. And when they do, it would depend on the response of this genin team to capture the thief. For now though, it would be a waiting game. The game that was witnessed in nature on a daily basis: the game of the hunter and the hunted.

Word Count: 408.
Total Word Count: 1377.

Time was going slowly, and it was frustrating. So far, Oki had found literally nothing. He wasn’t a detective, and the only bit of tracking he was good at was useless in this area. Still, he’d deduced if nothing else, that the thief and the break-ins likely had nothing to do with each other. A pretty useless thing to figure out, but, it was something at least. Still, the duo kept walking, and Oki found he was growing frustrated with himself. Fortunately, Yusuke appeared to have been done, or at the very least, caught up with Oki. As he was asked if he had found anything, the bear ninja simply shook his head slowly. “Nothing. No pattern, no signs. It was useless on my end.” He declared bluntly, listening as Yusuke said his piece. So, with a nod, Oki followed once more, letting Yusuke again take lead.

As Yusuke led the way to the rocky outcrop that he was exploring before, Oki and Debu both nodded, watching over the where it was clear Yusuke intended the trio to watch. A rather natural pathway, something that made quite a bit of sense. Quietly, they waited, watching over the pathway as the sky dimmed. And as one would expect, patience paid off. Although, not in the way that was expected. Walking along the natural pathway that the trio were stealthily watching over, someone clad in completely black clothing began walking along the path, a brown bag held over their back. Nothing about this individual was noticeable, aside from the bag, and a small slit for the figures eyes. Suspicious, and without waiting for Yusuke, Oki rubbed Debu once on the head, and then began standing up once he deemed the person far enough away to not be noticed. Muttering quietly, he spoke his intentions. “I think we should follow, he doesn’t exactly seem like he’s doing good deeds. We wait until he gets to a building, or wherever he takes the brown bag, and confront him there. If he’s the thief, we break his hands, as we were instructed, then bring him in. Sound good?”

353 + 1329 = 1682

Chakra: 145/150 (Preparing the lovely Companion Safety Substitution)

Waiting was never a fun endeavor but sometimes, times like this one as well, it was necessary. Yusuke too regretted his decision when he had nothing to do but just sit and watch. He kept thinking that he could’ve brought some scroll or book for him to read. However, he knew that if he did that he would probably get an ear full from Oki. For the first time in his shinobi life, Yusuke was experiencing peer pressure. ”Meh.. I wouldn’t mind the ear full but I can’t just go back and get something”, he finally put that thought to rest. Finally, it began to get dark and the probability of finding their target began to rise. And as he had expected, they noticed a suspicious individual roaming about. Yusuke too prepared himself as Oki stood up. Oki directed the trio to follow the suspicious individual dressed in black. So Yusuke nodded and then complied.

Accompanied by the twin bears of Iwagakure, he maintained a safe distance as he moved about in the cover of rocks and bushes. Considering the physical structure of the thief ahead of them, Yusuke deducted that if it came to it; this person would most likely be a speedy individual and in that case, he would have to step up. Not something the average shinobi was accustomed to. Under normal circumstances, the average shinobi just had to be there while the main character did most of the work. Sadly, this average shinobi actually had to contribute or the plot just wouldn’t move. Eventually, the thief arrived in front of a house; a house that wasn’t marked as a hit location. Yusuke stopped at a distance, hiding behind a bush where he could keep an eye on the thief.

Carefully looking around for a few times, the thief began climbing the wall of the house; entering through an open window. Oki’s detective hunch had been right, they had luckily happened upon the thief and following them was the right decision. They had just witnessed the thief in action so there was no longer any doubt. All they had to do was once again wait for the thief to come out of the house. While the thief did their work, the trio could easily set up an ambush that the thief would live to regret. ”I’m pretty sure this fellow is gonna go back the same way he came from. We should set up an ambush here”, he would whisper to Oki.

Then he would move closer to the house and hide behind a wall, next to the place the thief had climbed up from. If the thief did descend on that exact spot, Yusuke would be in the ideal position to launch a sudden attack and surprise the thief.

Word Count: 470.
Total Word Count: 1847.

Oki and Debu followed Yusuke, allowing the far stealthier shinobi to take lead. Where Yusuke hid, the twin bears hid a short distance behind. Where he moved, they moved, the duo aware that they were about as stealthy as a stampede of elephants. Still, the follow was successful, and it seemed the thief ended up inside of a house, scaling the wall and climbing in through a window with such skill it left no doubt in anyone’s mind that he did it often. So, when the trio found themselves outside the house, and when Yusuke offered a plan, Oki listened obediently. He hummed, nodding, before shrugging. “That should work.” He agreed, preparing to do this plan as best he could. Yusuke stood against the wall where the thief had scaled to get inside.

Deciding to go about it, Oki style, the bear genin picked up his pet bear, spinning around multiple times in the manner he always did, before launching the animal skywards. Then, focusing chakra into his feet, the bear and the bear man swapped locations, Oki now above the window the man had entered through. Debu meanwhile, ran off to get into the nearest foliage, lying in wait and keeping hidden so as to allow a last resort escape. It was now a case of waiting.

Ten minutes passed.

Eventually the clattering noise of a greedy thief ended, and instead came the sound of a window reopening. The window which the thief had entered the house through, once more open. Oki watched as a foot climbed out, finding a slight foothold on the windowsill, before beginning to shimmy down the wall. As he began, the bulk of Oki smiled, deciding to reveal his existence with a simple. “Boo.” Startled, the thief nearly found themselves falling, shimmying down the wall with haste; right to where Yusuke was.

308 + 1682 = 1990

Chakra: 135/150

Jutsu used:

Oki watched as the thief fell, crashing to the ground with a clatter. Yusuke was nimble, and waiting, and as the thief fell, he struck, tripping him down. Not really thinking much of it, Oki leapt from his position, crouching to dampen his fall as he landed directly on the thief’s hands by mistake, leading to a horrendous cracking sound followed by intense screaming, and winging from Oki as he felt himself wince at the grotesque noise. It caused him to shudder, but, regardless, Debu came out, swatted the guy unconscious, and the trio finished the mission. Hooray.

98 + 1990 = 2088

[EXIT]

MISSION COMPLETE

Training: