Mission name: Target: Shi (One-time)
Mission rank: B
Objective: The unification of the Unmei and the Spider Clan is about to happen!
Location: Any
Reward: 500 ryo

Mission Description: Take down Shi, leading the Okami faction

Mission Details: 2500 wc
Shi is a reputable hunter caring little for the rising Unmei politics, but he and his small group of spiders are territorial. They hunt humans, they hunt Unmei, they hunt spiders. Anything that enters their little realm of webs and traps ends up as food. They are a tactical elitist faction with a hunter's pride and a brotherhood philosophy. Tackling them will not be easy.

---

Name: Shi
Age: 6 (spider age)
General Appearance: [x]
Personality: Cunning, strategic, organised
Goals: Protecting their home, surviving.
Abilities: B rank ninjutsu, iryojutsu & Unmei KKG, B rank suiton
Strength: B-2, Endurance: B-0, Speed: B-0, Perception: B-2, Reaction: B-0
Items: -

Shi. Of all the Unmei Haka was aware of, he was one she respected the most. His survival instincts were of a higher calibre than most, his hunting arts easily rivalling her own. Of all the Unmei or spiders, he might have stood the most chance to impress her and bring a new generation of spiders with her as the brood mother into existence if only he'd hunt her down to lay claim upon that right. But he had one distinct flaw. Shi and his small gang of elitist hunting spiders cared little for anything that didn't belong to their personal clique. The spider was old and had grown to be a recluse caring for little else than hunting, feeding and keeping unwanted visitors out of their domain.

That on its own was not the worst to bear. Haka would have gladly let him live on Spider Island if his territory wasn't so expansive to begin with. The domain of the Hunter ran through various other territories and made the fractured war between the various spider factions a hell. It was almost impossible for Haka to reach the remaining factions that vied on Sero's manor without needing to pass his claimed lands. Granted, on her own she could perfectly pass through without getting noticed but as her crusade over the Island continued, so too grew her reputation. That growing reputation caused her intent to become wide-spread. The 'Daughter of Sero' was a power to be reckoned with, a spider worth joining. Spiders of other factions were trying to get away, others still pertaining to the Spider Clan had decided to gather on her side. The variety of spiders that had come to join her after the assassination of Shikkan was not to be called impressive, but with every spider moving to the manor to join her she also gained more power to deal with the other factions. It pressured them to come into action.

That her opponents were starting to move was fine as it was. That they too were forced to trespass on Shi's lands and got hunted down for it, was fine as well. But ultimately it would create a stagnation Haka wanted to avoid. When opponents holed up and turtled, a war of attrition would be the result. A war that she would have a hard time dealing with if she couldn't build up her reputation quick enough to cripple the forces of her opponent. To avoid that stagnation, the spider-nin was forced to do something few would expect to happen - hunt down the Hunter of Spider Island. Taking him down would not be an easy feat, but if she succeeded not only would her reputation as a superior hunter inspire respect, the barrier which held up the continuation of the war on Spider Island would also be taken down. All in all, despite opening the manor for a vast increase in assaults, it would grant her the benefit.

But she had to find him first. That on its own was a challenge as Shi was a hunter in the true sense of the word. Not just as an Unmei. Even in his human form he hunted down targets. Like a Hunter-nin. Much like herself, with the difference being that he cared not for Sero and didn't bother picking up missions for Kirigakure. Haka held no grudge against him. In fact, she was excited to hunt someone that could easily turn the tables in his own advantage and hunt her down. It would require all of her concentration and guile to win this little death match against him. A test of prowess.

Stalking the land in the shadows, her eyes would observe the dead forest surroundings for movement as much as she would be looking for traps hidden under the rotten leaves and sifted earth. No trails to be found. No matter where she looked, the man was too good a hunter to leave any sort of trail behind for her to find him. And yet, feeling the burn of stares from all sides she knew they were already aware of her presence. Following her movement, observing her actions. Haka would have preferred turning into mist to hunt them down in turn but she needed to draw them out before she could do so. This was their territory, they held the advantage. Haka knew what they were doing. Just shadowing her to make her nervous so she'd make a mistake. Tire her out, then capitalise on the error. Like every hunter would do.

Then, opportunities were given. Haka spotted a pitfall. Small enough to be overlooked easily, big enough to catch a spider. Maybe a two by two square meters in total, hidden from sight by leaves and sand. Good, but not good enough against the sharp eyes of an Ace Eye such as her. Still, she was fine with this. Expecting spears underneath the camouflage, she'd have to be careful with this. The spider moved on, deliberately triggering the trap. The camouflage would fall away, gravity forcing her downward into the pit. As expected, a coating of tiny spears awaited her in its depths, sharp enough to pierce clean through the soft flesh of most spiders here on the island or unfortunate humans. With a string of chakra web she'd pull herself to the side and against the wall, scraping the flesh of her legs over the needles despite the effort. Time was of the essence now. Hand seals created a double of herself, then the original Haka created her chakra arms and hid herself from sight in the form of mist. The copy would remain, taking over the role of the wounded prey.

Copy Haka crawled out of the trap, dusting off her clothes in quietude, only to be greeted by a group of hunters surrounding her. Unmei wielding sharpened wooden spears, dressed in leather clothes. They'd sneer and call her out, forcing their prey to cower before them. Mist Haka would move out of the trap as well, undetected by their eyes, and position herself on the other side of the clone to protect her back against the two that had surrounded her.

"Look what we caught. Not so smart now."
"Is this the daughter?"
"Yes, that she is. Not as great as Shi."

She'd let them talk. Have their fun. Hunters they may be but the untrained Unmei rarely developed their jutsu sufficiently to deal with it. So as one of them was ready to fling his spear into her kage bunshin clone, the mist wraith send out her chakra arms to shred through the two hunters in the back. Out of the blue they'd drop dead, halting the hunters in their actions as they confusedly watched their brethren sink to their death. That moment of hesitation would also be their death sentence, as the clone summoned forth its own chakra claws and shred two more to pieces, leaving one of them alive on purpose. Shocked by the sudden deaths, the last Unmei would run in hopes to escape an unavoidable death, allowing the two Haka's to give chase. So far, everything happened according to her plan.

---

1211

Her clone would be welcomed with a spear straight through the stomach. Kneeling in pain, colourless blood would flow out of the wound. Before her, her prey would come to a halt, breathing heavily. Backed by a the very man that she had been looking for. Shi. He seemed to have emerged from the ground, earth and dead leaves still dropping from his countenance as his grey eyes assessed the situation. He'd speak slowly, measured, his age and experience shining through in every of his words.

"Idiot. You lead her straight into our camp."

He didn't raise his voice in the slightest. Just a statement made by a veteran expecting his brood to do better next time. The Unmei would scurry away, leaving the battlefield to Shi and the clone. His eyes rested on the much younger Haka clone, clearly not impressed with how she had been able to discover him.

"I'd be disappointed if you got taken down this easily, wolf spider. What tricks are you up to?"

Perhaps he could not differentiate between the clone and the real one cloaked as the mist wraith, but he certainly was wise enough to see through a ruse this simple. There was no point in playing dumb games with him so the spider-nin pulled back the chakra out of her wounded clone and dismissed the mist form she had maintained all the while. If he was already surprised, he didn't show it, his gaze merely shifting from one Haka to the other.

"So there you are. What's your business here?"
"The hunter needs to become the hunted."
"I'll respect your guts, little one. But if you want me to respect your talent, you'll have to do better. I hold little interest in the current fractured nonsense of the clan. Would prefer to stay out of it too. But that's not an option, I see."
"If I could offer it, I would."
"Then let us see who the better hunter is."

With a deep breath he'd throw his spear at Haka and as the spear flew to its destiny the elder spider would vanish from sight to blend in with his environment. The simple attack would easily be dodged but the distraction was all he needed to hide himself. The rustle of leaves could be heard just a second, betraying he went to the left but then all became quiet. Haka formed her hand seals, invoking her Fuinjutsu artistry to cover herself in a coat of chakra just in case, then called upon an old ally she hadn't relied on since long - Ameya. From the shadows she would emerge, the eyes of the spider briefly surprised when she saw who summoned her before they returned to their typical deadened state.

"What?", she'd snap, still as irritated to be bound to a contract as the first day she had been forced to do so by Noiralane for her defeat.
"Use your sensory technique and make sure not to get taken out by Shi."

The black widow would shoot out strands in a wide vicinity, covering a 30m radius in an invisible chakra web before she'd seemingly vanish within the shadows again to hide herself from sight. Through her connection with her Summon, it wouldn't take long to understand that Shi had been circling around her slowly to reposition himself in her back. She'd allow him his little game, waiting in ambush of her own even though she remained in plain sight. Her chakra arms were still up, held close and eager to lash out to his new position. Only moments later would Shi emerge again, throwing a chakra-infused spear. The noise of the leaves, the strands of the sensory jutsu broken and still, Haka allowed her arms to reach out to him and claw at his being. But he was faster than expected. Her claws would rake his arm, leaving long bloody scratches where she had hit him at the same time that his chakra spear would crash violently against her own chakra barrier.

"I see you've come prepared.", his voice rumbled through the underground.
"You should not underestimate your prey"
"That's right.", he replied, his hearty laugh making the earth tremble.

At that point, the battle seemed to heat up. His movements became faster. He was no longer cloaked by his stealth but his movement was nothing to scoff at. His presence was blurred. Not just by the speed but by another jutsu of his own creation. Zigzagging through the trees, at the most random of moments he'd pelt her with chakra javelins taken from his quiver. The first few would clash with the remaining power of her barrier but soon that one would forfeit its efforts to protect her. The barrage only partially being guarded against, one of the javelins would tear off a piece of her arm's flesh. New hand seals would be formed, her Dominion of Denial engulfing the near area and swallowing the next barrage of chakra javelins while they weren't even halfway their trajectory. Already forced to deal with the relentless assault of her four chakra claws, seeing as how his javelins were sealed away this soon Shi was forced into the defence. Pushing the edge, another Fuinjutsu seal granted her a swift burst of speed. Her turn to blur out in front of his sight. He'd spot her when she stood right in front of him. Forming hand seals in a counter-offence his only chance to escape was thrown away as the chakra of his attack was sucked in by her protective jutsu as soon as it took shape, which was then followed up by her chakra claw digging deeply into his shoulder and pinning him against a nearby tree.

Shi would chuckle as pain washed over his senses and blood gushed out of the brutal wound. Three more chakra arms would float around him, ready to take his life at the blink of an eye.

"This was a good hunt, I have no regrets.", he growled in pain. "Claim your victory, huntress"
"Giving up already?"
"I'm old, I'm tired and I'm wounded but I can still smack you around if you're going to get cocky, princess."
"If I offer you life, will you stay by my side?"
"I'm tempted, but no thanks. I'm too old a spider for this sort of changes."

She'd step closer, running her hand through his hair. As her eyes locked into his grey eyes filled with fatigue, the idea that the loss of such a hunter was a most unfortunate choice crossed her mind. A healthy, strong male filled with the ability to persevere and hunt. It lured her in a way nothing else had ever succeeded at doing. But he had been given the choice to be at her side and he had refused. She could only respect his decision despite the loss - he was deserving of that much.

"As you wish.", she'd whisper in his ears, and as she briefly pressed her lips against his, four chakra arms would swiftly deal the final blow. His last breath would be hers. His dying wish fulfilled, her decision to have him at her side not to be denied. Both would have what they desired at the end of this skirmish.

As the body of the male Unmei perished, Haka ran her hand through her hair. Apathetic eyes would briefly glance around, taking note of the black widow inching closer with an askance glance.

"You've changed, Haka"
"And so should you. Once this is over, you'll either be trained or killed by my hands."

Hard stares would be shared but eventually the Summon would break contact, understanding her position in the clan well enough to know she didn't hold the power to claim superiority. With a low hiss, the widow would unbind the contract and disappear in the shadows once more, leaving the wolf spider by her own.

Now the unification of the clan could truly begin.

---

[EXIT]

1360
Total: 2571