Shimada could not quite tell what she was; a woman running errands for others, or a skilled kunoichi. Ah, well, such was the life of a lower ranked shinobi, and she had no right to complain. Someone had to get things accomplished, and the Hattori had bluntly complied to the mission posting that morning that she was to accept the very menial task. Find the missing pet. Or more importantly, a lost deer having escaped its enclosure. What kind of person keeps a pet deer? Simple enough, the bloody haired woman had thought, until she found herself searching the streets of Konoha high and low for the elusive creature; minutes slipping into hours. The blustery afternoon taking on a golden hue slowly burning off into fiery orange, and then collapsing into dusky pink.

A couple hours until sundown, and she was at a lost in its whereabouts. 'Capture it before nightfall', the mission requirements had stated boldly back at her. Now, she thought it was the world's cruel joke. Finding one lost pet in a large village seemed impossible, and the young woman contemplated stopping altogether and calling it in for the day. The flight around residential areas and remaining areas of grass within the walls taking a toll on her easily fatigued body.

She stared bitterly at the ground, hands shoved deep into the pockets of her coat. "Somebody tell me this is a joke..." Muttering out, Shimada kicked absently at a rock in the middle of a dirt path leading towards a secluded section of the village. Red hair like clotted blood burning pink in the setting sun's vivid light. "Can't find one damn animal... It should not be that hard, though. It's a tame deer. How far could the thing have gone?" Sighing a heavy breath of air, she swept her narrowed, tired eyes around the area she found herself walking towards; desperately praying in her head to a deity she does not believe in that some miraculous sign would strike from the sky and reveal to her the pet's location. Shimada paused.

Nothing. Not a single sign. 'Worth the try. Need all the help I get, but I don't really expect to get any from others. Especially the incorporeal.' She mused, continuing her sullen trek towards heaven knew where; no specific destination in mind. If she was going to fail her mission - let the individual who had gone through the trouble of posting a call for someone to help hunt it down - Shimada was going to do it with confidence. Mostly. "Well, that's one deer that won't be found." Concluding quietly to herself, the Hattori woman glimpsed one last time around the unfamiliar area in a last effort to garner a clue. Any detail that it could have crossed through the space of road and plant matter. "Hope the owner can make do with getting another one, I suppose." She slipped a hand through her locks and shook her head in disappointment.

Looked like she was returning empty-handed that evening.

In frustration, she aimed a solid kick on the rock she had been toying with, and sent it flying through the air. Turning away to head back home and explain the situation until the sound of something in pain caught her attention. Whirling around, posture rigid, Shimada hastened her pace towards a row of bushes nestled against the side of the road and cautiously peered in the leafy branches. Pale hand ready with a kunai in preparation that it would be a large animal lunging at her from the foliage. Fortunately for her, no such thing emerged, but what did stumble dazedly out stopped her in her tracks. The wide eyes, brown fur, and slopping ears were a dead give away. It was the deer she had been searching the whole day for, and it had been eating at the brush until she accidentally kicked the stone at it.

Frowning ever so slightly, thin lips curling into something akin to a frown, she hesitantly reached down and picked up the small creature. Heavy despite its size in her arms. Shimada felt a prick of guilt slid its way through her chest and twist. Oops. "Ahah, let's just hope your owner does not notice anything different about you, alright?" She chuckled humorlessly, the words not meeting her eyes as she referenced to the small bruise forming on the deer's side. If anything, they would simply mistake it for a patch of dirt or other picked up from its romp through the village. At least nothing had happened to the defenseless creature. "In all honesty, you should be grateful I found you when I did." The woman carried on, the deer slung under her right arm and nestled securely against her chest; it could not move even if it tried in her grasp. "You are lucky you did not move outside the village gates, because if you had," she smirked morosely, "it would have been more work for me, and a shorter life span for you. I find it a miracle I managed to locate you before nightfall."

After those words, she went quiet, and turned to start walking down the road. Sandals scuffling the only sound in her mind. She kept her thoughts to herself, slipping through the village with people of all types heading back home to retire for the night. As soon as she dropped the pet off to its respectable honors, she would rest as well. Shimada earned it for the whole day of constant pacing back and forth on paved side streets in search of one creature, and finally, her efforts were rewarded. The deer in her arms was testimony to that fact.

It was not hard to find the house of the owners - the result of a few directions from a kind woman - and she dropped off the deer as soon as the door swung open to nearly meet Shimada's face. There was much jubilation on the owner's part, and she had to kindly fend off a barrage of praises they bestowed her with for doing their part in bringing back their pet; something they could not bear to lose. Taking it with stride, all the Hattori gave was a polite smile, some advice on securing the deer so it did not escape again, and her leave. Strolling off down the road, she headed towards the direction of her own dwelling for rest.

A sigh escaped her lips. Finally, capture the animal complete. Time for needed sleep and a one way trip to pick up payment later...'


Word Count: 1108
Required: 1000

[Training]
Learned Lightning Release: Javelin (雷遁・槍 ~ Raiton: Yari) [1108 - 1000 = 108]

Remaining Words: 108