Mission Details:

With a nod to both guards that watched the Western gate of Suna, Rokumaru slung both animal cages held in his hands over his shoulders and started his short trek into the scorching sandy dunes. The redhead had hoped that with a new rank, having finally met the requirements for promotion to Chuunin a few weeks earlier, that he would be finished with the rather mundane D and C-Ranked missions. Unfortunately for the impatient young lad, a recent update regarding mission rules limited his solo missions to his rank and under only.

The missions he had taken today seemed simple enough; a few bleeding-heart civilians wanted a set of endangered animals captured to be kept in captivity, and Roku had a few ideas of how to safely imprison the beasts. If it were up to him he would not interfere with nature at all, allowing the animals to go extinct if they could not survive in the world today, but he wasn't wealthy enough to decline the missions.

A pair of foxes, and a pair of rabbits. He was given a large cage for each pair of animals in order to transport them back to Suna, heavy wooden contraptions that left him out of breathe by the time he hauled them to the gates. Roku was seeing a sizeable increase in his strength and stamina this past year, but he was still miles behind his more fit Chuunin comrades. Who he did not care for in the least; apparently one wasn't a true Chuunin until they purchased a vest, and were more than happy to point that out to the proud young Sabaku.

The high sandstone walls of Sunagakure eventually disappeared behind the dunes he passed, having walked a few miles into the desert to find the breeding grounds of the elusive Yellow Wolves. Roku would rather have the vicious carnivores sedated in their cages before going after the less dangerous rabbits. At the administrative building where he received his missions scrolls Roku was also given two sedative darts, but without a blowpipe or anything else to shoot them with they were useless. Having a new rank under his belt really fueled the boy's pride and hubris, and Roku was sure to let the Chuunin giving him the darts know his thoughts when he refused them harshly.

The Western portion of Kaze no Kuni was a rather desolate and empty land; without the foot traffic of travelers moving from village to village, and few settlements that stood in the middle of nowhere, it was a prime breeding and hunting ground for dozens of various animal species. The Yellow Wolves were one such inhabitant of the uninhabited regions outside Suna, and with few natural predators of their own they were content to keep to themselves. Unfortunately for them, their yellow fur was a valued commodity in fashion circles and were hunted extensively for their pelts, and the venom they produced made an excellent sleep aid. A millennia ago these wolves numbered in the millions, but today their couldn't be more than a thousand.

An hour walk left Rokumaru only a dozen miles from the village, but he was told they inhabited a long stretch of flat land somewhere around here. He was warned not to accidentally fall into a crevice they used as dens; one quick bite from a surprised wolf would make Roku a very handsome snack for the whole pack. With the sun beginning to set behind a distant dune they would leave their cool dens to hunt, and it was during this time Roku hoped to trap a pair of mates.

A single howl pierced the silent landscape with its shrill sound forcing Roku to stop, and as he listened a chorus of responding howls reverberated all around him for miles. The hot temperatures of day were slipping into the coolness of night, and the wolves were out looking for meat.

Rokumaru suppressed a shiver at the sound of the howls. There had to be more than a dozen just within a five-mile radius, and he was not eager to face a hungry pack. Though he had been ordered not to harm the wolves he captured, any that came after him when he had some caged would face his more dangerous techniques. 'If I had a puppet, I could just beat the pups into submission.'

As he climbed up a tall dune, using the heavy cages as weights to haul himself up, Roku stopped at the top and looked down at a huge field of flat, completely flat land. All around were tall dunes that shielded the expanse from the harsh winds giving the nation its name, which made the perfect territory for raising young animals. With his sharp eye Roku could see little holes that dotted around the landscape, telltale signs of wolf dens.

The redhead set his cages down on the dune and slaps prone beside them, watching each hole he could see carefully. Every few minutes a yellow figure would climb out, a male out hunting if a female looking for a mate. The sun crept lower and lower in the distance as Roku watched each hole become less inhabited, wanting to face as few adversaries as possible.

Finally, with the sun now only a memory and the moon beginning its own ascent, Roku was satisfied to see no wolves had left their dens for about 15 minutes. Taking a single cage and leaving the other behind on the high dune, Roku set his plan into motion.

He came to the closest den he could find and listened for any noise, a few muffled yips and growls alerting him to an occupant. Roku set the cage down in front of the hole. The sand around the den's entrance was flooded with the young Chuunin's Sabaton chakra, before each individual grain began to pour into the hole. Roku's plan was to force a female into his cage when it escaped it's rapidly filling den, and with a careful eye on the entrance Rokumaru opened his cage and held it at the ready.

A startled yowl echoed from the den and before he could react a single wolf burst from the hole's entrance, scattering sand into the air which caused Roku to stumble. It was a very pregnant female that emerged; her belly was swollen with her growing litter and her teats leaked nutritious milk, and her eyes immediately landed on the surprised redhead when she searched for the offender filling her home with sand.

The wolf growled fiercely in anger and leapt at the boy, but Roku had recovered in time to grab his cage and hold it in front of him. The she-wolf climbed right into it in her path towards her target, slamming her snout into the wire walls. The redhead slammed the cage shut just as she tried to back herself out.

The she-wolf bit at the wire holding her inside and growled, but Roku was already beginning his next step. The den he had filled with sand began to erupt the grainy material as Roku forced it all to leave, showering himself and the wolf in sand. She growled and whined at him, eyes slitted in contempt.

The den was back to it's previous condition and Roku climbed inside, stopping to pull the cage in with him. The wolf inside tried to bite at his fingers, but he snatched them away. Inside the den Roku tipped the cage on its side and waited for the male wolf to return, ready to open the cage just as it stepped inside.

A few minutes later clouds of sand began to fall into the den, and Roku quickly opened the cage just as a male with a half-alive rabbit fell into it. The she-wolf yelped when her mate fell into her and the male dropped his rabbit in surprise, and Roku shut and locked the cage just as they tried to climb out. His first mission finished, Roku sat back and slowed his rapid heart rate as the two wolves glared and growled. The rabbit didn't seem to mind the cage; it seemed delirious from blood loss and fear.

WC: 1383/1000
Mission Complete~

Chakra 195/200:

Mission Details:

It took much, much longer than Roku had hoped to haul the cage full of wolves out of their den, but 15 minutes later he managed to drag them out and back up the dune he left his other cage on. The wolves, obviously, were not happy to be caged like they were and nipped at his fingers every time he tried to grab the cage. Roku had to settle for using his Sabaton to drag the cage over the sand, and it was a true test of his ability to force the cage up the dune. Still, he managed to finish the much more dangerous mission without a scratch, and two healthy specimens. As he settled their cage next to the other, they settled for finishing off the rabbit and eating quietly while giving the Suna-nin death glares.

Now, Roku would need to find a pair of rabbits. He sat a few feet from the cages and ignored the growls from the wolves as he retrieved the mission scroll from his pocket for clarification.

Apparently there was a recent sighting of a pair of rabbits with an unusual hair color, bright pink with black stars and four ears. Just reading over their description confused the boy; he'd seen people with unusual hair colors and knew animals could be the same way, but four ears? A black star in their fur? It seemed to Roku he was supposed to find someone's science experiment gone horribly awry, not an undiscovered species of rabbit. But the mission scroll was law and he'd take their word for it.

There were few herbivorous species that lived close to the wolves. Which meant another long walk, through the cold night, poking around through the dark for bright-colored rabbits without a clear idea of where they lived. Roku watched the wolves turn the rabbit into little more than a skeleton as he let his thoughts wander. Should he just camp out for the night and start his search at dawn? The growls from the wolves didn't make him feel safe, dozens of their neighbors prowling around the flat plain just down the dune, he couldn't sleep knowing one could stumble on him.

Instead he rolled up the mission scroll and tucked it away before he hauled himself to his feet, took the empty cage in both arms while using his Sabaton to drag the wolf cage along behind him. Roku slid the empty cage down the dune and carefully concentrated to slow the descent of the wolf cage; their frightened yowls made it clear they didn't enjoy the ride down. Rokumaru followed after as he slid down the dune on his back, picked up the empty cage before dragging the wolves along behind him.

Whereas the wolves had a confirmed location where they could be found the rabbits did not. The best he had gotten was a report of their last sighting and the location, a fair ways north of where he was now. The temperature began to slip lower and lower forcing him to zip his jacket up higher, wishing he had brought his crimson cloak to warm him up. A quick sip from his plastic bottle of water, and Roku was off on another long walk.

Hours passed as the redhead searched aimlessly for the pink rabbits, glad the wolves calmed down enough to snooze quietly in the cage dragged behind him. Night was now in full bloom as a crescent moon climbed further and further into the sky, and distant howls of hunting wolves and snores from his cages two were the only things that  pierced the otherwise silent landscape.

A small part of him wanted to just head back home and finish the mission in the morning, but Rokumaru detested wasted effort. Miles were walked and hours were wasted just to find those damn rabbits, it would take too much to have to come back tomorrow. Envying the wolves for their chance to sleep, the grumpy Chuunin could only keep walking whatever direction he felt was right.

Another few hours passed before Roku realized the merits of working in a team. If he wasn't too proud to ask for help this could have gone much faster, even two people could have covered more ground. The weary redhead made it a point to learn Kage Bunshin as soon as possible. If he could make a few copies of himself EVERY mission he took would become so much easier; it was a shame they only allowed Chuunin and above to learn the rather draining technique or it would already be his.

Just when he thought he would spend all night wandering the desert, the moon now on its own descent across the sky, Roku spotted a hole in the ground. Every hole he had passed that night had been searched, but it only took a few close-calls with venemous snakes and spiders to make him more cautious. As he did every other time Rokumaru left the caged wolves behind and carefully crept up with his empty cage in hand. The teen had learned his lesson about sticking his hands in holes and feeling around when he grabbed the rattle of a rattlesnake earlier, and instead tried to force the inhabitants out.

Much like how he captured the wolves Roku forced sand into the hole, knowing anything inside wasn't happy to be buried. Expecting the hiss of a snake and lunging fangs, it actually surprised him when four ears poked out of the rapidly filling hole. Then another four poked out. It was startling to actually see the creatures in person: just like the reports mentioned they were a bright shade of pink, all eight ears wiggled in fright when they saw the looming figure of Rokumaru above them. Faster than the teen could react the rabbits shot out from their hole and made serious ground in a few seconds.

"I DON'T THINK SO!!" were the words Roku screamed at the retreating rabbits as he dropped his cage in panic. Before the creatures could escape his range they were suddenly stuck in place by tendrils of sand from below, forced to a sudden stop by the unexpected action. With urgency the redhead grabbed the cage and ran over to the rabbits, taking each in hand before tossing them carelessly into the cage. They hit the wired walls, squeaks endlessly showing just how frightened they were, but Roku managed to shut the cage before they managed to slip back out.

It was done. Almost 6 hours of walking later, the elusive rabbits had been found and captured, and the now awake wolves looked at them hungrily. Rokumaru took only a few short minutes of rest before he headed back to complete his mission, ambling along slowly as his Sabaton dragged the caged animals behind him.

WC: 1151/1000
Mission Complete~
Thread Exit~

Chakra 180/200: