Mission:

Today could technically have been a day off for me, since the rest of my team was busy with individual assignments. I had spent the morning just wandering around aimlessly, but after a while, I started to get a little bored.

Honestly, I should be training, but I've been practicing different techniques SO MUCH lately.

I was beginning to run out of money again, having spent the last of it on a series of scrolls that had been torn apart in my last attempts at making an unsealing jutsu that broke apart the contents of whatever was in the seal before releasing the seal itself. Master Sero had made it look so effortless, but there was something about it I just couldn't figure out. I decided to rectify this lack of ryo in the way a ninja does, and I headed to the mission office. I walked to one of the ninja with a stack of files in front of him.

"Excuse me sir, would you have any open missions for a genin? My name is Nobuya Yomechiro, and though today is technically my day off, I was wondering if you happened to have anything for me? I know most of the low-level stuff has already gone out."

"No, actually this works out pretty well. Nobuya, you're mission for today is going to be to guard the northern section of the city's gates. Along with having other shinobi in the area, we're partnering you with a genin from Konoha by the name of Hina Braveheart. You are to meet at Jōshō-ha Park one hour before sundown, and continue with guard duty until sunrise, at which time another team will be sent to relieve you. Make sure you're well-rested."

I thanked the special jonin that had given me the mission, and I walked away.

A C-RANK!!! Awesome! This is so cool, I'm finally going to go on a C-rank! It's a shame I'm not with my team, but I know they've all been assigned to special assignments of their own. I wonder what this Leaf ninja is going to be like? I've met a few before, but the Leaf really has some quirky people.

After spending the day restlessly trying to sleep, the afternoon finally arrived. I was actually really excited about it, to be honest. Not only was this going to be my first mission with someone from outside Kiri, but it was going to be my first C-rank mission as well. Normally, a genin like me wouldn't be assigned a task like this, but this was a special case. The mission involved guarding the northern border at night, which as you can imagine, isn't the easiest to do for people who really rely on sight. Thanks to my training in Suanagakure, this wasn't as much a problem for me anymore. I would basically just be posted up there smelling the surrounding area, which is probably going to be just as weird as it sounds. Also, apparently the genin from the leaf that I was working with was basically chunin-level, so there really shouldn't be any problems.

I wonder if the Leaf genin also has sensory jutsu? The name Braveheart doesn't really sound familiar to me, but maybe they're a member of the dog-based clan? I hear they have pretty awesome noses.

I hopped out of bed, and made my way to the meeting point, a small park near the city's northern border. I looked around for a leaf headband. I was standing in the middle of the park, where anybody could pretty clearly see me.

Well, let's see how this goes.

WC: 630

d

“Hi there, I’m Hina Bravehart. Are you Nobuya Yomechiro? I’m here for a guard duty mission.”

I watched as the Leaf kunoichi approached me, holding out the document that proved her identity as my partner in this mission. She was only a bit taller than me, but she definitely looked older, maybe about Gattsu's age. Maybe a little younger than him, actually. I didn't know. I was generally pretty bad with guessing ages, and I certainly wasn't about to just directly ask her. She was very beautifully dressed, a decidedly different kind of attire than what might be expected for a ninja to wear. I'll admit that I was quite flustered when I initially saw her approach, but a thought crossed my mind to snap me out of it.

That's actually...extremely clever. I'm supposed to be working with her on this mission, we've just started, and already I became distracted! Just imagine how useful this could be, even just passively, on the battlefield! I never really considered it before, but something like that really does use all of a person's natural advantages as ninja tools! And she certainly has the advantages...

My thoughts suddenly interrupted themselves.

Nobuya! Seriously? Come on, you're supposed to be a representative of Kirigakure! Show some respect and don't be a jerk. I've been told she's more experienced than me, so she almost definitely knows much better and much more than me. This is just another way to gain the upper hand on the battlefield. Or maybe she just likes to dress like that! This isn't some work of pervy fiction some of the older people like to read, and it's not her fault if I'm being a creep. So don't be a creep.

I smiled at her and offered, "Yep, that's me! It's very nice to meet you! You're actually the first Leaf shinobi I've ever worked with, so I'm really excited to see what type of shinobi your village has to offer. I guess we should probably get going towards the region we're supposed to be looking after, huh?"

If she agreed, I would lead her towards the northern gates. She was a more qualified ninja, but being a resident, I knew the terrain and layout of the city much better than she. Once we got to our post, I'd say, "Well, I guess we're gonna be here for a while. Tell me, what's it like living in the Village Hidden in the Leaves? I've never been out of Kirigakure, but I've heard some interesting things."

While I spoke, I would make the "Ox" hand sign to activate my jutsu, making sure that I would be able to pay attention to our surroundings even as we talked. Though my vision slightly blurred as a side effect, I could smell the gate from here, as well as a few other shinobi also out on patrol.

Hopefully it'll be pretty calm tonight. I'm really interested in what other villages are like, and I'm sure Arusuno would be happy with whatever information I could get. Being a summoning armadillo, he doesn't get to see much of the outside world, but he still really loves it. And who knows? Maybe I'll visit the village myself some time soon.

Chakra 235/250:

WC: 575
Total WC: 1205

d

[Side note, not in WC: Yay! 100 posts!]

“I guess it’s pretty chill. I’ve hunted boars, done a bunch of favors. I’m expecting to get promoted to chuunin soon so I guess that’s when I’ll get to go on some interesting missions. I’m not much of the adventurous type. The night life is amazing, it really gives me a chance to let loose and…Well, it’s fun I’ll just leave it at that.”

Huh, I wonder what she meant by that? It's nice that they have a night life though. I've always really enjoyed the night as just a time for peace quiet, and uninterrupted experimentation of fuuinjutsu, but it's nice that in Konoha people could still hang out together then. Especially in a ninja village, I'd think that it'd be pretty fun zipping around rooftops when it's dark out and all you can hear are footsteps on roofs. Maybe I should try it out some time...

"So what kinds of things do you do? You performed a jutsu, but I didn’t notice anything happening.”

"Oh yeah, right!" I realized I hadn't actually explained what I had just done, which probably wasn't exactly protocol in a mission, especially when the ninja in the mission are from separate villages. For all she knew, I could've just cast a genjutsu on her! I don't know why I'd do that, but it would be a possibility.

"Sorry, that was just a sensory jutsu to heighten my sense of smell. I figured that since I couldn't really see in the darkness, it'd be more useful than just trying to squint into the darkness," I explained as I gave a small chuckle. I did the "Ox" hand sign again to reinforce the chakra.

"It's kinda funny actually, but I just learned it a couple days ago. I was training with a friend who knew it, and he thought it might be pretty helpful. My main thing is sealing jutsu though, that's really what I prefer. What about-"

I was interrupted by the faint sound of a wolf howling some distance away. I concentrated, but it wasn't within my sensory range, so I had no idea where it was. And it wouldn't do any good to stumble around blindly looking for it.

"What about you? What kind of stuff do you do?"

After about five more minutes of conversation, I would start smelling the wolves quickly approaching the gate, relatively near us, and I would suggest, "Those wolves are getting closer. We should probably check it out to make sure they don't make it into the village." Then, I would lead her close to where I smelled them.

Chakra 220/250:

WC: 461
Total WC: 1666

d

Genjutsu, huh? That's interesting. So, I mean, that kind of goes along with my misdirection idea I had earlier, but I wonder what kind of skills she actually has. I mean, she IS a genjutsu user, assuming she was telling the truth about that, so it's not exactly like deceiving me as to her mastery of the skill would exactly be a surprise. From what I heard, she's a pretty capable ninja, so I wouldn't be surprised if she had more skill than she let on. Even now, I could be trapped in a genjutsu and have no real way of knowing. Maybe the wolves aren't even real and she just wants to test out what kind of abilities I have? I know quite a few here in Kirigakure that would try to pull something like that, I wouldn't put it past a shinobi from the Leaf. I should try and figure out if there's a way I could reliably figure out if my senses are my own...

For the sake of the mission and of the village's safety, I decided that it would be better to assume that the wolves in fact were a real and approaching threat, and it would be best to take action. After I vocalized my observance of the wolves' activity, Hina followed me through the darkness towards where I thought they would be heading. I had to guess based on approximately how quickly their smell was moving and in which direction, since the effects of the chakra were quickly fading. The jutsu I had used wasn't exactly the most precise sensory jutsu, nor the longest lasting, but it generally gave me a pretty good idea of what I could expect. Eventually, I heard Hina behind me.

“Psst, are you sure we’re going the right way?”

To be honest, only kind of.

Before I had a chance to say anything though, I heard a growl behind me, quickly followed by a yelp from Hina as she backed into me. In front of her, I could see a wolf, fangs bared, slowly approaching us. I cautiously started backing away, looking around to see if I could spot any more. I didn't know a lot about wolves, but from what I knew, they generally liked to travel in packs. It seemed that this wolf didn't want to wait for reinforcements however, and it leapt at the two of us. Fortunately, Hina was able to react in time and managed to duck out of the way. Unfortunately, I was still right behind her, and my attention was temporarily elsewhere. The wolf seemed like a blur as it jumped on top of me, snarling as it furiously tried to bite me. I had managed to get my arms in front of me to hold it off momentarily, but this wolf seemed especially ferocious.

Like it's not in its right mind. For a wolf mind, at least. Aren't wolves supposed to be a bit more tactical than this?

Now that I was up close and a little more personal than I would've personally preferred, I could see it much more clearly. And it did not look well. Its eyes looked more wild than any other wild animal I'd ever seen, its face was caked with mud, and much to my horror, it was frothing at the mouth.

Rabies. Not good. Act quickly.

I needed to get out of there quickly. I still had a long night ahead of me, and I knew there were more ways to catch the virus from an infected animal than I would be able to stop pinned to the ground like this. In its hyper-aggresion, it was still entirely focused on biting me rather than using its claws, so I pushed as hard as I could away from me, and then immediately after made the "Boar" hand sign. Since I was already prone on the ground, I went under almost instantly. This was dangerous though, and as much as I would've liked to hide underground in a burrow, I knew that that was absolutely not an option. I resurfaced beside Hina, prepping a chakra-draining seal in my right hand as I explained my very hastily-put-together strategy. I was sorta panicking, so I didn't have a lot of time to think, and if Hina had a better plan of action, I was all up for it, but this was the best I could come up with in such a short time span. Added to the fact that I was using much more chakra in such a short period of time than I was comfortable with, I hoped my partner had a trick or two up her sleeve.

Hina, brandishing an admittedly formidable branch she had picked up as a weapon, asked, “Uhh, do you have a plan Nobuya?”

Does she not have any ninja tools?

As I spoke, eyeing the wolf still in front of us, I took a kunai out of my pack, offering it to Hina.

"So, bad news. I'm pretty sure this wolf's rabid, so try not to get too close, and especially stay as far away from that mouth as possible. If you can distract it with some of your genjutsu, I can try and run around behind it and drain its chakra. Non-ninja animals don't typically have a lot, and I'm guessing the disease is probably taking a large toll anyways, so I don't think it would take much to take it down. That's the best I've got right now."

As I got ready to position myself on its flank, I heard a noise behind me that made my stomach turn. Another wolf, sounding no less aggressive than the first.

"Crap."

Now my strategy was out the window, but if Hina agreed with the general tactics, I would work with her to try and drain the chakra from either of the wolves, or even both if I got into a good enough position, both my hands were free, and I had time to cast two jutsu. I would just have to wait and see what Hina would do.

Chakra 190/250:

WC: 1047
Total WC: 2713

d

“I like your idea, but my genjutsu is really for people not wild animals. So here’s what I’m going to do. I’m going to get their attention the only way I know how: with my fists. I’m probably going to get my butt kicked, so you use that chance to drain their chakra like you were talking about. If you climb up a tree and wait for the right moment the wolves shouldn’t be able to give you any trouble."

Ok, yeah, that could work. Still, it's interesting that she still doesn't want to use kunai, instead relying on her fists. First the branch, now this. I wonder if maybe she has some sort of aversion to them, whether it be for lack of training or perhaps even a fear of them. In case it's the second option, I don't want to spook her, so I guess I'll just be using my bare hands myself.

I didn't want to waste any time, so I quickly nodded instead of giving any type of verbal response. Without any hesitation, the fearsome kunoichi from the Leaf launched herself towards her opponent as one of the wolves responded in kind. She caught the wolf as it jumped towards her, and they tumbled to the ground.

I should probably be doing something.

Taking her advice, I leapt up into the trees. The other wolf had its eyes firmly on Hina, what seemed to be its closest target, and started growling, looking like the other wolf did the moment before it charged.

Now we can't have that, can we?

Reaffirming my choice not to use my kunai, I took out eight of my senbon, holding four in each hand between my fingers. The wolf was decently difficult to see, especially when it was moving, but for now it was tensed up. I knew I wouldn't have much of a window, so I jumped from one tree to the next, giving myself a clearer shot as I flipped upside down between the two. In the middle of the jump, when there were no leaves blocking my line of sight or the path of the senbon's travel, I launched them, spreading out the senbon slightly in case the wolf moved. Luckily for me, the wolf seemed entirely focused and completely out of its mind, and I managed to hit it with five of the thrown projectiles. They weren't particularly deadly tools, but they served as excellent distractors and the wolf was momentarily stunned and confused by their sudden and unwelcome appearance in its hide. It quickly turned around, sniffing the air rapidly, trying to deduce the origin of the attack.

Now's my chance!

As soon as I landed, I took the opportunity to launch myself towards the wolf, kicking off of a sturdy branch. In the air, I made my hand signs, ready to take the wolf down.

Ox, Ram.

As I was about two meters away, the wolf finally spotted me, baring its teeth and once again tensed, ready to jump up.

Not good, not good!

The wolf was a lot faster than me, and shot up like a raiton jutsu, mouth open and foaming, ready to bite. Time seemed to slow down as we approached, and a thousand things seemed to happen within about a second.

First, I thought of how screwed I was and how I'd look bad in front of Hina, having to get checked out for something like rabies from getting bitten, when she specifically told me to stay in the trees. Second, the wolf's eyes were seemingly locked on to me, adjusting itself in midair in order to get a better angle for attack. I noticed it, but it was a lot faster and I couldn't do anything about it. Third, and this was my favorite of the things that happened for a reason that will soon become apparent, there was a loud crack to my left, a sound I would later come to learn was Hina successfully killing the other rabid animal. Fourth, even though the wolf was rabid, it still had a slight mind to take note of its surroundings, and turned its head momentarily to see what could've caused the noise. I smiled, keeping my eyes on the wolf, for fifth in the list I brought my right hand forward, extending two fingers to the side of the wolf's neck. A small seal appeared as the wolf's chakra was rapidly drawn towards the seal. I pushed off, and used the momentum to spin myself around rapidly, making the half-hand seals in the air as I turned, causing the wolf to fly by me as I tagged it on its hide. Finally, the wolf flew behind me, drained of the little chakra it had left.

So six things in a second, not a thousand, but ya know, for a genin that's still a lot for a second.

Elated at what I thought was the most dexterous thing I had ever accomplished in my life, I failed to notice the ground quickly approaching, and ended up getting a mouthful of leaves and dirt as I crashed into the ground.

"Ha ha...oww..."

I looked over at Hina, only now noticing she had similarly taken care of the wolf she battled, only she seemed to manage it without getting dirt all over her face.

"Well, that was fun," I said as I smiled at her. And truth be told, it kinda was upon reflection. Sure, in the moment it was pretty terrifying, but we had managed to work together under Hina's plan to take care of the problem without exposing ourselves to the virus.

The rest of the night went pretty smoothly, mainly consisting of more light chat about our two villages and what we did in them. We heard a couple of other things throughout the night, but if there were any problems they seemed to be taken care of pretty quickly by the other shinobi. Eventually, the sun rose and we were relieved of our post. I guided her back to the park, knowing that she was still pretty unfamiliar with the area, and stuck out my hand to shake hers.

"Thank you very much for taking this mission with me Hina, I had a really good time! Sorry about the thing with the rabid wolves, but ya know, that's Kiri for ya sometimes! It was really nice meeting you, you're an interesting person. Try and find me the next time you're in Kirigakure, and we can train or something! That said, I am way too tired right now, so if you'll excuse me, I am heading straight to bed. Have a good one!"

After waiting to hear if she had anything to say in response, I would take off back towards my house, greet my father as he was leaving the house and making his way down to the fisheries, and promptly pass out on the bed.

I could clean my face later.

Chakra 180/250:

WC: 1193
Total WC: 3906
1000/1000: C-rank mission complete
1100/1100: Extra 275 ryo payment
1800/1800: Taijutsu/ (Endurance): Nothing -> D (20% WC increase from Clan)

WC remaining: 6

[EXIT THREAD]

dd