Drowsy eyes opened to meet the dull light that barely shown through the window. Strafe's hands moved lazily to his eyes as he rubbed them twice before sitting up on his bed. He yawned for a minute before looking around the room. He usually woke up quite fast, but not this morning. He felt as if a brick had just hit his face. he slowly raised his arms above his head and stretched them out, making a grunting sound while doing so. He then sighed before turning to let his feet rest on the brown, hardwood floor. A cold sensation rushed through his feet as they hit the floor. He took a deep breathe before pushing off on his hands to stand up. He took a few seconds to look around the room again before shuffling over to his closet. He didn't need to look to know where his usual attire was, so he immediately grabbed them and started putting on his clothes. Within a few minutes, he was basically dressed. He stumbled over to the right corner of his room to find his shoes. He slid them on and grabbed his equipment. First his blue bag of ninja equipment followed by his metallic bo-staff.

He turned to his door and opened it swiftly, now moving at a much faster pace. He walked down the steps and glanced around to see if breakfast had been made. He moved to the kitchen to see that it had not been. "Ah well, I'm not very hungry anyway." He shrugged his shoulders as he headed for the front door. He moved through the threshold and shut it behind him quietly. His mom must of slept in this morning, so he didn't want to wake her. He walked a few steps before seeing a very familiar site coming towards him. "Good morning." The large lion known as Momaru said. Each morning he greeted him in this manner without fail. How the lion knew when he woke up was beyond him, but it didn't matter. He liked waking up to see a friend. "Great, ready to go?" Strafe questioned as he walked over to the majestic animal. Momaru simply nodded as Strafe used the Staff of Hurricanes to vault himself on the beast's back. "A messenger dropped by and told us to meet Solstice this morning. Apparently we have been assigned to a mission." The deep baritone of Momaru had a hint of excitement as he told Strafe of that days activity. "Sounds good, let's go." He said with a equally enthusiastic tone.

It took only a few short minutes to get to the administration building. Along the way they saw the usually dull streets of Kirigakure. The various villagers and ninja doing their duties always seemed to comfort Strafe in some odd way. It let him know everything was okay in the village. Despite the recent struggles at the summit, the village was fine and the Chunnin Exams were coming up. Strafe knew that all three of his students were participating, so he wanted to go as well. Before that could happen, he needed to get a few things done. Strafe's train of thought was interrupted when the office of the Mizukage came in sight. Momaru came to a halt from his normal pace, allowing Strafe to get off. The duo walked through the gates and past the guards with a nod as they headed for the entrance to the building. They quickly moved up the steps and approached the office of their cousin and friend Solstice. Strafe knocked on the door gently as they waited for the voice to respond. "Come in!" the voice that rung out was a familiar one as he heard Solstice speak. Strafe opened the door and walked into her office with Momaru behind him.

"Good to see you got my message, now to buisness." She said from behind her desk. Her blue hair was stunning and always managed to impress him. "I want you two to venture into the jungle of Kirigakure and retrieve a few special herbs for medical purposes. Here is a file on each herb and what it looks like." She said handing Strafe three files of information. Strafe took them from her and flipped through each one of them carefully before sticking them in his bag. "I will warn you, the jungle is dangerous, so be on your guard." She added with a concerned expression on her face. "We will!" Strafe said with a smile. "We'll report back here when we are through." Strafe said as he turned to walk out of the door. Momaru simply nodded and followed suit. The duo exited the building within a few moments and stopped. Strafe vaulted into position once again and took a deep breathe. He knew the jungle and it's dangers well, so he wasn't nervous. Plus he had Momaru, so there was nothing to fear. With a pat of Strafe's hand on Momaru's shoulder, the lion took off at blazing speeds heading for the gate of Kirigakure.

Momaru took a big stride and jumped into the air, landing on a rooftop nearby. It was always an easier and faster mode of travel while in the village, so they liked to stick to it. The lion jumped from rooftop to rooftop at blinding speeds, impressing the ninja that they passed along the way. It didn't take long to reach the appropriate gate as Momaru landed on the ground. He walked casually over to the guards and waited as Strafe spoke. "We are heading out on a mission. Be back later." Strafe said calmly as they opened the gate immediately. "Be safe, Strafe!" They chimed simultaneously as the duo took off once again towards the jungle. The travel to the jungle would take a little time, so it would be quite a while before they returned. Momaru was impressive when it came to both endurance and speed, so it didn't take near as long as it would if Strafe was traveling on foot. Plus they didn't have any squad mates to slow down for. With all that in mind, Momaru made quick timing as he ran with haste down the path that led to the jungle.

The road to the Mizu no Kuni jungle was a boring one as their wasn't much in terms of scenery. The beaten down path was surrounded by random vegetation and various small bodies of water. One thing that was common about Kirigakure is that despite the fact that they were moving in the opposite direction from the coast, there was no shortage in water sources. It was named after water for a very specific reason, which suited Strafe perfectly. Within a few minutes of being on the road, the two started to make small talk. Topics like a future promotion to Sannin, which Strafe wasn't sure about, but Momaru insisted that it was going to happen. They also went over plans for his newly acquired squad of genin, which was a big step in his position as jounin. He always enjoyed mentoring others, like he had done many times in the past. The most notable of which being when he taught Suiton to Nagare and Kaguza, a sannin of Kirigakure. Teaching was something he did have skill in to some degree, so he wanted to be sure to always take advantage of those opportunities. While his squad wasn't as experienced as the shinobi he taught, he wouldn't be teaching them things on that scale of difficulty.

Before they knew it, an hour had gone by. Strafe was continuously amazed at the amount of energy and discipline Momaru had to carry him on trips like this. He was grateful though, as more times than not, they ended with some kind of trouble along the way. They came to a stop as Momaru took a little time to rest. He would also have to fight if the situation ever arose, so he didn't need to be exhausted. The only had about an hour or so left to go, so it wouldn't take much longer to reach their destination. Strafe took a water bottle from his bag and sucked it down quickly. Momaru had a similar idea and patted over to a lake to take a drink from. When the two of them were satisfied, they started again. The talks they shared while moving this time were of a different nature. explained some ideas for jutsu, to which Momaru critiqued and helped finish. They also planned a training session for the two of them as well. Instead of a usual training session, they wanted to work on Momaru's skills. The lion agreed that he didn't need to become complacent, but always pushing to become stronger. Before they knew it, the jungle was in sight and a smile crept across both of their faces.

As they approached the entrance into the jungle, they stopped to gather their thoughts. Strafe got out the dossiers on the herbs and read them over once again. One of them was very specific flower. It had Deep blue petals with black, diagonal accents, and a white core. The second plant was moss-like in appearance with purple spots on it. It usually was found on bases of trees. The last herb was one that Strafe knew quite well. It was an extremely rare herb that he had only seen on one or two occasions. It had powerful healing capabilities. It had a dark green leaf with yellow accents on it. It also had an a dark green stem with hints of orange on it. From what he knew, the plant was sought after and extremely rare to find. It was a privilege to have the opportunity to see it in person. Once of the cool things about having these files with him is that it notes the places in the jungle where they have been found before. "The first plant was found not far from the entrance, about 40 meters northwest actually. " Strafe noted to Momaru as he closed the file carefully and set it back in his bag. "Ready?" He asked as he got off of Momaru's back with a leap. "When you are." Momaru responded with confidence.

The only reason why Strafe dismounted the lion in this situation is that it is easier to maneuver. Plus it made them two targets instead of one. The raced off at a much slower pace, being sure to stay alert at all times. It took only a few short minutes to get to the location without a hitch. It seemed that the jungle was going to cooperate for now. After looking for a few minutes, Momaru spotted the plant. Strafe immediately ran over and scooped it up, putting it in a safe place. "The next plant is about 150 meters that way." Strafe noted pointing north as he looked at Momaru. The lion nodded and the two were off once again. While it took more than just a few moments this time, they eventually got too the position that the paper describe. Strafe smiled as this place was a better site to look at. A gentle stream ran through two trees that were tall and strong. He walked over to find the plant on the other side of the first tree, scooping it up and securing it like the first. This was an easy mission thus far. "The last one is about 20 minutes west of here." Strafe said as he finished up the task at hand.

The duo took off once more, but with a bit more haste this time. They were ready to get this done and return back home. It was starting to get a little late and they didn't want to be traveling in the dark. They eventually got there and started searching. Unfortunately, the didn't have as much luck with this one and had to continue to search for quite a while. About an hour passed before Strafe pipped up with excitement. "I found one!" He said with a wide grin on his face. Momaru looked back and nodded. As Strafe was walking over too it, they both heard a rustle in the bushes. Strafe turned with his Staff in hand and gave a very specific signal to his friend. It was a signal that they developed a while back. Strafe would move his right heal back and forth three times, which meant to stay where he was. Hopefully, the attackers had no idea that the gigantic feline was present, so an ace could be a nice advantage. "Show yourselves or die." Strafe stated with confidence as two people walked out of the bushes. "Thanks for finding it for us, now we have to kill you!" The one to the left said with a cocky attitude. He was a tall, middle aged male who looked to be the leader. The second was a younger female who stayed silent. Strafe did not take kindly to threats, and they would soon find that out.

With a flash of movement, Strafe closed the gap and swung his bo-staff at the man with great force. The wonderful thing about bojutsu was the use of momentum in the fighting style, so you didn't have to be strong to have powerful strikes. The ninja, who was seemingly weaker, did not have enough time to react and was sent flying into a nearby tree. The girl gasped as she observed Strafe's strength as a shinobi. Strafe moved his body immediately to meet the girl face to face. "I suggest you take your friend and leave the country, unless you want to end up like him." Strafe said with a confident tone as he gripped his bo-staff. The girl thought a minute, but nodded in response. She scurried over the man, throwing him over her shoulder, and took off without delay. "Impressive." Strafe heard from Momaru as he came out of his position. "I didn't want to do that, but someone needed to teach that guy a lesson." Strafe chuckled before turning back to the herb and walking towards it. It secured it like the others and sighed as his mission was officially a success.

"Time to go home." Strafe said as he walked over to his friend and patted him on the shoulder. "Indeed." Momaru added before smiling back at his friend. They took off at blinding speeds as they headed for the road. They could slow down once they exited the jungle, as the path they took was a lot less dangerous. Within about 25 minutes, they were back at the dirt path. Strafe secured his bag one last time before vaulting onto Momaru's back. They wasted no time as Momaru sprung forward at incredible speeds, headed for Kirigakure. It didn't seem like it took as long to return, but that always seemed to be the case. They eventually made it back to Kirigakure and reported in to Lord Solstice. "Good job guys." Was the last thing they heard as they headed home after a successful mission.

-Exit Thread-

Word count: 2550/2500