The Bull's Bullseye - [D - Rank Mission]:

A large amount of dust flicked through the air and the sun shone fiercely upon Iwagakure, the stoney Village seemed hot enough to cook an egg upon the ground within seconds if someone were to try it. Today of all days the Village seemed to bustle with the presence of people, loud noise and smells were evident in Iwagakure's streets as Villagers continued out their daily lives carefree, the sun's harmful rays not even bothering them in the slightest.

Hiding in the shade of a large stoned gate sat Rue, she had just received a new mission from the Tsuchikage and was assigned to a two man squad with another Genin, from what Kazu had told her this other was younger than she by almost five years and was somewhat of a new-comer to the Village much like she was. She had only enrolled within Iwagakure as a Shinobi in the past few months, it was this reason alone why the two were placed Together on the C - Ranked Mission. Rue leaned against the stone gate awaiting her partners arrival, reading over the mission scroll situated upon her lap. Boars weren't the most pleasant of animals and one of this size seemed unnatural, to top it all off they were venturing into The Wild West, Rues least favorite place in the wilds, she had once gotten herself trapped inside a pit as it had caved in beneath her. An unpleasant memory to say the least. Becoming somewhat bored Rue checked over her gear, being sure she had everything she would need during the mission at hand, namely water. The Wild West is a harsh place if one is not prepared, the hot winds the gust through tend to make a person relish in the word water.

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The sunlight shone warmly against the back of the Genin who was making his way to the large stone gates. The young shinobi reached into his pocket and pulled out a box of small red candies, pouring a few of the spicy treats into his hand before popping them into his mouth. The tingling sensation from the cinnamon-flavored snack danced over his tongue as he reviewed the mission scroll he had recieved. It seems he was to go on a mission with another genin, another newcomer from what he was told. He read even as he walked, making sure to avoid the others even without looking.

Why they felt the need to pair him up with another ninja on a mission he would never know. It's not as if he wouldn't be able to handle a boar, even one of such an abnormal size. The mission was located in The Wild West, an area he was familiar with. A good place to hang out if you enjoy sunlight, but definitely shouldn't plan on going through that place without proper hydration. He hadn't been in the village long though, so he hadn't many possessions to call his own save for the blade currently strapped over his back. He tightened the bindings at the top of his sleeved gloves, wrapping up the scroll and placing it in the pouch at his side. He glanced up to see that he was at the stone gate, the shadows blocking some of the sun's harshness from those that do not like the brightness of the sun. He glanced around, trying to find the genin he had been paired with. Xeno was told that she would be at least five years older than he was, which was strange. Why would someone be a Genin at the age of 21? Whatever the case, he scanned the crowd of gathered villagers and spotted the kunoichi checking her gear. He made his way over to the older Genin and bowed in respect. "Xeno Shiro, reporting." Seeing as she is the elder of their duo, Xeno assumed the other Genin would be the leader of their two-man squad.

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Rue was caught off guard as she was approached by a dark haired boy, a smirk appeared across her face as she spotted the blade her sported on his back. Gathering her composure Rue came to a standing position using the gate at her back to prop herself up ''Forget the formalities Shiro, we are both Genin one and the same'' she replied sounding amused, placing her hand upon the blade latched at her hip. Rue gave out a muffled yawn before bringing her attention back to the young ninja named Shiro ''Well the names Misora Rue, but Rue for short. I guess this is where our journey together begins my good 'sir' '' she said emphasising the word sir. Rue liked the boy already, he favored the blade, much like herself and that was something that could make Rue like anyone. Rue studied the boy with a spark of interest burning in her eyes, her intrigued her to say the least. What techniques did he possess and what clan was he from? Judging by the heat the emitted from him he was a Kanestu much like Kazu, a factor she had learnt from being close to Kazu on a regular occasion, not to mention they both stood with a prideful manner.

Rue closed the mission parchment and headed out the gate of the Village before turning back and giving Shiro a cheeky smile and then continuing forward ''So have you been debriefed about our current mission?'' she asked. Rue continued her pace and awaited for Shiro to catch up, soon they would need to be off at a faster pace, a run even in order to reach The Wild West at a decent time.

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Shiro was taken aback at the older female's attitude, but schooled his features to a mask of indifference. When she spoke to him, his only reaction to her emphasis on the word sir was a slight twitch under his left eye, but he mentally shrugged it off and followed the older female as they exited the village, his eyes trained ahead even as his mind focused on the other Genin. He was curious about her. Why was she still a Genin at her age? Wouldn't she be at least a Jounin by now? He wanted to ask these questions, but held his tongue. There would be time for questions at another point. His mind wandered for a few moments before he was snapped out of his thoughts by her question. She asked if he had been briefed on their mission and he nodded, easily keeping pace with the shorter ninja because of his longer stride.

"We're to go out and stop a rampaging bull that has broken from his herd and already attacked and harmed several others. The animal is to be taken dead or alive." He would prefer not to dirty his blade with the blood of a beast, but he would not hesitate to deliver the killing blow should the need arise. He looked into the air, noting with a smile that though there were a few clouds dotting the skyline, none of them were close enough to the sun to obscure its rays. "I assume we will attempt to subdue the beast without the use of lethal force? If it had killed someone I would not say such a thing, but since no deaths have been announced I suppose killing it would be a bit overrated."

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Rue allowed herself time to study Shiro's face before she took off into a sprint, he would follow alongside her so there was no reason to wait up. Rue listened carefully to Shiro's words before she replied, a stunned looked crossed her face at the last of his sentences ''I'm glad you think the way I do, I had no intention of slaying the bull for no apparent reason, Yes innocent were harmed but we have hospitals and medical ninja to deal with that. Even if the bull caused death I would still second guess the situation and still allow the bull his freedom. A life isn't something that can be taken easily, even in our role as Shinobi it is out duty to perform anything that is asked of us, including attacking the weak and take anothers life, but that isn't something that can be forgotten.'' Rue spoke in a disapproving tone, her facial express both sincere and honest. It was true she had no intention of killing the bull and she would stick to it ''That bull may not be human but it is still just as much apart of Iwagakure as we are, they are born, raised and live in this country and so they should be treated much like those of our nation.'' Rue added with a smile directed at Shiro.

After an hours journey both Rue and Shiro had finally reached their destination of the Wild West, evidence of the bulls rampage was visible as earth, rock and dust seemed to scattered the landscape before them ''I guess the time is now'' She said in a calmed tone. Rue scouted out the bull, it's tracks were visible and fresh so the bull wouldn't be too far off, if they were lucky they would catch it by surprise.

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Xeno kept his mouth shut as Rue spoke about her sympathy for the animal, as well as the role of a Shinobi. He kept his own counsel, though he thought to himself of how easily it had been for him to take his first life...Before he could get lost in the sands of time he shook his head and focused his mind on the mission ahead of them, turning away from thoughts of burnt flesh and charred bones. The pair were silent for most of the journey, each most likely lost in their own thoughts.

As they reached the area where the bulls' rampaging was evident, Xeno knelt down, the scorching sands heating his knee through the pants he wore as he rubbed a hand over the horn-scraped rocks. There were traces of the bulls horn embedded in the rock, and small tufts of its hide had been rubbed off. Whatever was wrong with the beast, it did not seem to be able to cover its tracks very well.  "I wonder what could have caused this creature to go on such a rampage..." Though he would like to figure out what could have caused such a creature to attack humans so unexpectedly, his mission was not to figure the cause, but rather to stop said creature from harming any others. As they followed the animal's tracks, Xeno turned to Rue to ask a question to the other genin. "So how will we stop this bull? I assume it would be rather difficult to do so with physical strength alone, and I do not know a genjutsu that can be used to soothe the beast when it attacks. Will we just wear it out then tie it up so that it cannot escape?" That seemed like the most likely scenario, and in fact was probably the plan anyway. He waited for her answer as his hand drifted to the strap holding his sword on his back. Since they would not be using lethal force, there would be no reason to keep the weapon on hand.

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Rue watched as Shiro examined the surrounding area alongside her, something seemed slightly off with the area like the bull had been somewhat provoked ''I have to agree with you there, something tells me this bull was provoked for some reason, bulls are usually feisty creatures when provoked and something tells me this bull is a Female. Perhaps something was taken from the creature that can't be given back so easily'' Rue said in an annoyed tone, Rue held a feeling that the bull was both Female and that her child had either been killed or taken, that seemed like the most likely scenario in their current situation. Rue peered over the ground as Shiro asked how they would stop the beast, with a smile she replied ''Check your surroundings Shiro, namely the ground. The Wild West is famous for its unstable ground, this place has claimed many lives due to them being trapped in a pit where the ground beneath them has given way. I myself have experienced this and due to the weight of the bull I think the best option would be to search for a piece of unsturdy grounding and allow it to fall into a pit otherwise our next best option is rope'' Rue replied thinking over their options one more. Rue looked at Shiro to see if he agreed as this was afterall a two man squad, they were a team who made decisions together, there was no point in her calling the shots if Shiro didn't agree.

Rue unsheathed her Katana and scanned the area ahead, in a swift moment she threw it causing it to lodge itself within the earth, after a few moments the dirt around the blade shifted creating a large pit that dropped almost 6ft. Rue smiled pleasantly before speaking once more ''Think this is a safer solution then risk harming ourselves or the bull?''.

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Something taken that cannot be given back so easily...it had to be a child. Indeed, back where the rampage seemed to originate from there had been slight evidence of blood, and he doubted it was from the bull they were currently after. Certainly losing a young one, even to an animal, is a traumatic experience that would cause even the most docile of creatures to become violent.

Shiro listened to Rue's plan and watched as she tossed her katana at a spot in the sand, which opened up to a large hole. He agreed that this was indeed a better plan than simply tiring the beast, but first they had to find the beast. Thankfully for the duo, the bull had not wandered far away. In fact she was busy causing a disturbance nearby, crashing into rocks and making a ruckus loud enough to wake the dead. The senseless violence the beast displayed saddened Shiro, but he shoook off the feeling and focused.

The shinobi closed his eyes, knelt down in the spot the two ninja were hiding and pushed his hands into the sand beneath his feet. With every stomp the beast made, he could feel the vibrations pass through the loosely-packed dirt and sensed where there were open spots underground. He focused his attention on a certain spot where it appeared there was the largest gap between vibrations and pointed it out to Rue. "Right there is a pit large enough to trap the beast, but I also believe she senses the pit as well even in her rage. We will need to distract her somehow in order to get her to fall in."

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Rue nodded in agreement to Shiro's plan, he was younger then she but he had a good head on his shoulders, after a moment Rue realised she was staring at the boy, he reminded her so much of Kazu it was somewhat unreal, they both held the same prideful posture, and eyes that seemed almost distant. Rue waved off her thoughts before bringing her attention to the boar ''Well looks like I'm up, Ill distract the bull while you work on getting it's attention and getting it toward the trap'' she said with a widened smirk. Rue grabbed the rope that sat in her pack and jumped over the rock they had been hiding behind. Rue picked up her speed as she neared the bull and maneuvered the rope so it would catch around the bulls horns. As the rope hitched Rue swung around the bull being sure to miss it's giant horns and landed upon its back. The bull began to buck and kick as her presence on its back began to enrage the bull further, in a crazed fit the bull began to surge forward with such precise speed it almost made Rue fall off and to make matters worse they were head in the opposite direction to the pit. Using the rope Rue yanked as hard as she could causing the bull to turn it's direction, with enough force Rue had managed to fully turn the bull around so it faced the direction of the pit but in the process caused herself to go flying off the bull into a large amount of dirt, beside her a pit formed. ''Shiro, nows our chance!'' Rue called as the bull began to scrape its feet upon the ground preparing to charge.

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Rue's distraction allowed Shiro enough time to place himself in front of the natural pit trap. He watched in aw and slight envy as the elder genin jumped on the bull's back, effectively getting her attention. She was tossed, but he was focused on capturing the bulls attention so she would not be trampled. He put two fingers to his mouth and whistled loudly, catching the creature's attention as her rage was turned towards a new target. "Come and get me! I dare you!" The animal scraped the sand with her hooves, snorting out an angry breath before charging the ninja who didn't even try to move. Just as the animal was upon him, close enough that he could count the gouges in her horns, he bent his knees and leaped into the air to avoid being directly gouged. As soon as the bull's larger weight stepped onto the trap the ground gave way with a poof of displaced air and a cloud of dust. When Shiro landed he took a second to catch his breath before turning to glance down into the pit. The animal paced in the tiny confines of her makeshift prison before sitting with as forlorn an expression as an animal could make.

"Sorry it has to end this way." Shiro turned away from the sight of the animal and turned to see if his partner was okay. "You alright, Rue?"

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Rue watched as Shiro baited the bull then dodged moments before impact, the bull slowly sunk into the pit and was now trapped, Shiro was a brave Shinobi to say the least. Rue got up out of the dirt and brushed the back of her pants before walking over to Shiro and the bull in the pit ''It could have been worse but thanks to you, you saved me before the bull could charge me'' Rue said patting Shiro upon the back. They had completed their mission of capturing the bull and they did so without having to harm her or kill her, it was accomplishment Rue felt was well deserved. Rue smiled as she pulled out a self-sealing tag from her pouch, Rue reached down into the pit and placed it upon the Bulls forehead and watched as all that was left was a cloud of dust in the pit. As soon as the cloud disappeared she jumped down into the put and picked up the sealing tag, the bull would be safe and tucked away in this meaning they could easily take it back to Iwagakure''I saw the blood earlier, her child was taken from her, so I will plead the case to Kazu and ask for the bulls freedom further down the Iwagakures Border line so it can be free away from other people'' Rue said climbing out of the deep pit. ''Oh and well done on the mission, I couldn't have asked for a better partner'' Rue said with a widened smile.

MISSION COMPLETE

Shiro gave an odd half-smile to his partner, feeling a sense of kinship with the other ninja. It was a satisfying feeling to complete a mission, even if it was only a D-rank mission. The sense of success is still as rewarding as if he would have completed an A-Rank mission. "It's not like I would let a comrade get trampled. Might look bad to the Tsuchikage if I come back with an injured partner." He chuckled to himself before he walked over to where he left his Katana on the ground, strapping the sword onto his back once more. "Lets go turn in this mission. Looks like the fun parts over with, anyway." Shiro rolled his shoulders for a few moments before leading the way back towards Iwakagure, that same half-smile on his face. Maybe...just maybe he'd finally made a friend...

Mission Complete