Sunagakure, today unlike others this colossal beast did not slumber, its streets were not silent and empty, they were crowded and full of life. Villagers scurried to and fro doing various tasks or simply attempting to make their way from shop to shop to spend their meager earnings to boost the already booming Sunagakure economy. Today, the beast known as Sunagakure was alive and in full swing, she was awake and ferocious and somewhere in her body was a Genin known as Uchiha Akiko.

Akiko had been tasked a D rank mission, she was partnered with another young Genin infamously known for his antics which had cost Sannin Uzumaki Trilby his eye, his name was Myugan Ryu. The mission the pair were to complete was relatively simple, watch over the Dog Pound as the owner was taking a sick leave to take care of his wife who had fallen very ill. The two would be spending the day taking care of the animals inside the pound, catching any stray animals that roamed the streets and were reported, but Akiko would have to ensure she kept an eye on the Myugan who was rumored to be constantly intoxicated. This day would prove to be a challenge, not so much of Akiko’s skills but her patience, how long could she withstand the presence of such an alcoholic?

Akiko stood in front of the Dog Pound and awaited the Myugan to arrive, she prayed that her partner wouldn’t show up COMPLETELY obliterated but somewhere deep down she knew those thoughts would only lead her to disappointment. Akiko really just wanted to end this day as quickly as possible, the sooner he arrived the quicker they could finish this horrendous task.

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Ryu had been kicked in the leg by his land lady. Hard enough to rouse him from the slumber that was bound to be the only relief from the pain coming with the light of day. After all drinking so much the night before had been a horrible but joyful choice. At least this time he had managed to stumble into the front yard of his place. But her shouting was painful so he nodded as if he understood even though all he registered was pain. Either way it was enough for her to toss a folder addressed to him at his chest and storm off. Idly he rubbed at his chest as if it had hurt while using his other hand to pick up the mission folder. What the duce? they appeared to be willing to give him another mission. Fantastic! He grinned and slowly stood before stumbling into the house. It was time to cure this pain in his head. Pouring himself a shot he downed his medicine about 4 times before finally he turned and headed out.

His dark hair was already showing hints of grey in it. Probably some genetic defect or something strange like that. Either way he stretched out his arms to either side of himself as he was slowly waking up. His attention drawn to the dog pound as he approached. His Blue and purple eyes taking in the view of it before he let out a sigh. He was never really allowed to have pets. He had a tendency to feed them alcohol and forget about them until he was awoken to the smell of piss and poop. It had taken him damn near a day to determine it was the dog and not him that had pooped on the carpet. He shrugged off the memory before sliding his hand along the door. Opening it with out a word as he walked in and went over to the counter leaning on it with both his elbows and putting his head in his arms waiting for some one to address him.

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Akiko smelled her partner for this mission LONG before she saw him, the stench of liquor and piss oozed from his clothing and body as he slowly pushed the door open. Akiko stifled a gag as the stench filled the room; she had to force her arm to remain by her side so it wouldn’t shoot upwards to cover her face. As her partner entered the pound she became even less impressed, assuming this was in fact her partner, he not only smelled like a drunkard but fully looked the part as well. Akiko slowly looked over her partner and allowed a small unapproving frown to appear on her face, she hadn’t come here to babysit a drunkard as well as these mutts.

“So…you are Myugan Ryu?” Akiko stated, her voice carrying a blunt and unimpressed tone.

Akiko turn to the dogs that sat in a series of disgusting kennels, each canine seemed more pitiful then the last, had the keepers even been feeding them? Akiko was known for practicing Genjutsu on various strays but at least she fed the creatures after she was finished, this was just monstrous. Akiko felt uneasiness in her gut as she stared at the pitiful pups; she would turn to address her partner.

“Either way, I think we should start by ensuring these animals are well fed and hydrated at the very least. If you would grab that barrel of water over there…I will attempt to find their food.” Akiko stated before turning to leave the room.

At the end of the corridor there was a doorway on the left that led to the cellar which doubled as the Pound’s storage room. As Akiko walked down into its depths she could smell the pungent odor of fetid meat. A mixture of shock and nausea would strike the young Uchiha at what she saw was fed to these animals, along the back wall skeletal remains of various animals were found, and on meat hooks hung their rotting flesh. Had the Keepers really done this to the animals? Could they truly be feeding the animals flesh in this condition? Akiko swallowed the urge to vomit as she called for Ryu to come share in her discovery and discuss how they would handle this situation.

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Ryu sighed as she mumbled about actually doing work. Normally he would of thought her attractive but something about her condescending tone whether that was actually the case or not bugged him. He slowly straightened up to his full height and his two mismatched eyes looking into hers. Bright purple in the right eye and blue in the left. Like a dogs eyes. Before he blew through his lips making a horse like noise. He nodded allowing her to take control. After all he was far to hung over for an argument over who feeds and who waters the ugly little loud rats. Barking and yelping like a sad bunch of demons hurting his brain. He just obeyed and headed over to the hose system.

"Yes Ma'am. I shall do as my lady pleases."

He grumbled loudly while waving his hand in a very flamboyant salute. Yes he was indeed mocking the Uchiha. But with the sun still up in the sky and torturing him for an eternity and people insisting on bright lights he was fine with some one trying to kill him. Either way he obeyed and did as he was told. Filling all the dirty bowls to overflowing with water as the ravenous beasts half drowned themselves in the precious substance. It was then that he heard a woman calling his name. At first he just sat there humming with a grin staring blindly at a wall while day dreaming. Yup...Today just got better. But then he snapped to reality and turned off the water. Heading down stairs to see it all. The smell didn't really bug him. But his nose did wrinkle. Then he spoke.

"Well....No more chinese take out for me. You should uh.. Include this in your report thingy. I shall sedate the animals."

He grumbled as he went back up the stairs before her. His humor more then broken. On his way out for his escape he paused and figured well, might as well do somethin to get payed for... He turns and faces the group of animals before taking in a deep breath of air and focusing his chakra into it. Then a booming loud belch that shook the window next to him erupted. The animals seemed to whine in unison before falling over. Yup. Job done. It was time to go get drunk again.

Exit thread.

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"Well....No more Chinese takeout for me. You should uh… Include this in your report thingy. I shall sedate the animals."

Akiko was less than impressed by this response; Ryu’s attempt at humor was both in poor taste and said at the wrong time. Akiko’s distaste for her partner seemed to only grow instead of wane, how could such a distasteful individual even graduate from the Academy, much less become a Genin? Akiko pushed these thoughts rapidly from her mind at the mention of the report and his offer to “sedate” the animals. Before Akiko could protest the Myugen was gone and after a few more seconds she could smell the effects of the “Sedation” on the animals.

Akiko decided it best to not bring up her discovery to the Keeper and proceeded to head upstairs where she would wait for the next shift to come to take over the duties. Needless to say, Akiko was surprised to find all the water bowls full for each animal, overflowing even.

“Perhaps he isn’t overly horrible then…” Akiko thought as she sat down at the desk and awaited the Keeper to arrive.

After a few short hours Akiko was relieved by the Keeper and would return to the Administration building to file her report and collect her sum of the reward money. In this report she carefully detailed the pairs findings in the cellar of the Pound, she wanted to make sure the man rotted away in prison for his cruelty. With that the Uchiha returned home to attempt to rest and unwind after the hard days’ worth of work, she couldn’t help but wonder what her mother was cooking for dinner tonight…the thought of meat sickened her.