Starring:
Date: October 23, 2013
Summary:
Hiei assigns some Kumo academy students to clean and groom his pet goat. But Sasuke doesn't go down easy.
"Getting His Goat"
Yotsuki Village-Kumogakure
It's a warm afternoon in the summer. Classes are over for the day and both Mana and Zunoi get a summons from Academy instructor Yotsuki Hiei for them to meet him at his home in the Yotsuki village. Once they arrive, Hiei's house is two story, with a large front yard that has a koi pond and a few trees out front. The backyard is also large with a privacy fence. A flower garden..a rock garden..and a personal hot springs are back there as well. And among all of these things is a smaller pen with a small shed in it. This is the home of one Goatchiha Sasuke, Hiei's pet goat. Currently Sasuke is freely roaming the back yard, and he is completely and utterly filthy. A wooden tub with cleaning supplies are in the corner of the yard under a tree, and Hiei stands out front to meet both of the students.
"Greetings. In case we haven't met yet, I'm Yotsuki Hiei. I'm an instructor at the academy. I teach basic kenjutsu and taijutsu, along with a beginner's course in basic shinobi skills. You two have been selected for a small mission. My pet goat Sasuke is in bad need of a bath and grooming. I've selected you two because I've heard good things about you from your other teachers." He glances at Zunoi. "That is, when some of you bother to show up." A quick wink. "Should you complete your mission, you both will be compensated with 60 ryo each." He holds up a hand. "Now, I understand that may be a bit much, but..well..Sasuke can be a little spirited when it comes to bath time."
A summons? The only thing that would come to mind for such a thing was being reprimanded for skipping class so often, but it was something Zunoi was trying to get a handle of. Though it was pretty boring, he was starting to find that even the boring classes had important lessons to learn or new people to meet. Which is how he came to see Mana for the first time. They haven't really talked yet, but it was something he hoped would happen in time.
For now his focus was simply on making it to the giants house, which upon arrival was exactly what he expected. A large house for a large man. Zunoi would continue making his way toward Hiei, randomly looking about and spotting Mana also coming off in the distance. Was she summoned as well? Ugh, awkward. The boy pulling the bill of his hat down to cover his face until standing near the man. Occasionally steal looks at Mana while he listened to what was expected of them.
The task was simple enough, though not something he wanted to do at all, until the offer of 60 ryo was brought up. That's a lot of money. "Clean the goat and we get paid. I've got no problem with this at all." Clearly assuming the goat will be no problem at all.
Oh, boy! Her first mission! She made herself there as quickly as possible when summoned, finding herself lost at least twice. She follows Zunoi around like a lost dog once they're there, studying him and trying to mimic his manners. Well, except for the hat. She doesn't have one. She does pull the hood of her jacket up though, forcing her hair into a ball of fluff that frames her face. Everything is so luxurious.. Her head turns this way and that, except when she needs to listen to instructions.
Giving a goat a bath? Is this really what missions are about? Mana hmms slightly and steps closer to Zunoi. Her eyes study the goat before him. Her eyes narrow. Goats are mean. Zetsumei, her black snake, pokes his head out of the front of her shirt and studies the scene with a faint hiss. Mana wraps a hand over his head and stuffs him back under the fabric. "No, that's not dinner."
Hiei nods. "Well, then. Zunoi and Mana…I'll let you two get to it. Everything you need is in the backyard." And then he promptly disappears in a gust of wind. Moving up to the roof, Hiei settles in to watch how these two handle Sasuke. There is a slight smile on his face because he knew that it wasn't going to be as easy as they might think.
Sasuke is big. He's at least three feet high and weighs close to 300 pounds with a shaggy snow white coat, well, when he's clean that is. He is grazing on the grass growing in the backyard and when he hears his name, he pauses and looks over at the two young shinobi. He raises his head, bleats twice, then lowers his head to eat some more.
One of his glances toward Mana and he'd spot the snake pop out of her shirt. Wait, was that a snake? Looking curiously, but not saying anything except for snickering some as she tells it that the goat isn't dinner. Zunoi would focus back on Hiei only to watch him leave them alone with their task. "Ugh." Turning back to Mana, "You're Mana right? I'm Zunoi." He'd offer as he adjusts his hat to show his face once again. "You have a lot of experience cleaning goats?" Not expecting the answer to be yes, he'd start walking toward the backyard, to find the wooden tub and cleaning supplies as well as Sasuke eating alone. "I guess we just have to get the goat in the tub." Humming to himself before bending over and pulling at some grass, then slowly approaching the goat while waving the grass about. "Sasuke. You want this grass? I bet you do."
The Hebisuuhai girl looks up to Zunoi. "I eat them. Well, smaller ones. This one is too big. And probably old." She makes a 'bleh' face like. Old, tough goat meat. Disgusting. Mana follows Zunoi as he moves to get the stuff, but she has a bad feeling about this whole situation. One or both of them are going to land up hurt before this is all said and done.
She moves off to the side as Zunoi attempts to beckon the animal over, keeping a fair distance so she doesn't get trampled. Maybe somehow together they'll be able to get this done? Her eyes turn to Sasuke, studying the animal's reaction.
Sasuke looks up and over at Zunoi when his name is called. He looks at the grass in his hand, snorts, and then goes back to grazing. He eyes the young shinobi warily and then directs his gaze towards Mana. He bleats at her. Loudly. Might have something to do with her comment about being old. But for now, he seems pretty docile. But he does not go for the grass that Zunoi waves at him. There was perfectly good grass exactly where he is now.
Stupid goat. Zunoi thought to himself as he dropped the grass from his hands and stood up realizing his tactics weren't working. He'd look over to Mana, who was obviously just going to allow him do all the hard work before she got her hands dirty…er. Ugh. He'd continue walking over toward the goat until reaching it, assuming the goat didn't just walk away, he'd move around to the other side and start pushing against it. "Move Sasuke. It's time…for…your bath." Pushing the 300lb goat with all he had, but knowing it would be in vain.
Mana watches the scene. Pushing him? She can't help but giggle a little. She is no goat expert, but really? Grinning, Mana starts to walk over. She extends a hand out to him and speaks in a soothing voice. "Boy, aren't you a handsome creature? Come here, beautiful." She tries to back toward the bathing supplies, hoping he'll fall for her 'niceness.' Her eyes lift to Zunoi. Maybe that with his urging and pushing will work?
And Zunoi made his first mistake. He used the 'b-word'. When Sasuke hears the word bath, he takes off like a rocket, running towards the other end of the yard while bleating at the top of his lungs. He reaches the fence and turns around, facing Zunoi. He taps his hoof against the ground, like he might charge him. Then, Mana tries a different approach. One that seems like it just might actually work. Sasuke stops bleating and looks towards her, canting his head to the side. She wasn't Nariko..but she sounded nice. He takes a couple tenative steps in her direction. He bleats once while looking skeptical. Could he trust her?
As the goat suddenly takes off running, Zunoi would lose his balance and fall on his face. Rolling over, he'd spot the goat off in the distance and the boy would pick himself up in case he needed to defend himself. However, much like him, the goat was taken by Mana. But what should he do now? Zunoi would walk over toward the wooden tub and begin going through the supplies before picking up a brush, turning about and holding it behind his back.
Mana smiles softly, but without showing any teeth. She takes a few more steps backward toward Zunoi. Her voice is soft and encouraging. She has to be with this like Zetsumei sometimes. Like goats, snakes are stubborn. "Come here, pretty boy~ I'm going to make you the most handsome goat in all of Kumogakure. You'll like that, right? You want to be all gorgeous so that all the lady goats will want you, eh? Not to say they don't already.. But what if you could be irresistible.~" She extends her hands out, open palmed, hoping the creature will come to her and let her pet him.
Sasuke looks like he still might not trust Mana completely. He snorts towards her, but he makes small steps until he extends his neck out so that his hands touch her horns. He bleats softly, but she can tell by his body language that any suddden movement and he's going to bolt. It seems like Mana has the situation well in hand for now. And Sasuke also seems not to even see Zunoi coming with the brush behind his back. Meanwhile, Hiei is sitting on the roof watching. He raises a white brow slightly. Huh. Maybe Sasuke would actually let them bathe him without too much hassle. There'd be a first time for everything.
Zunoi would stay back from Mana as she led Sasuke back to the tub, though there was still the chance it would stop trusting the girl and stop following. What would they do then? These were thoughts going through the boys mind, but he wasn't coming up with much for a solution. Nothing that didn't involve getting hurt that is. Ugh. If only he was a little more creative. Maybe the goat liked hats? Reaching up with his free hand, he'd take off his hat, revealing his blonde locks and wave it about in front of him. He was going to find out if goats eat hats soon enough, if Sasuke changed direction from Mana to him.
She suspects that he's still wary from reading his motions, but that's only from what she know about snakes. Regardless, Mana plays it safe and kneels down, trying to coax Sasuke closer. "Come give me a hug, eh?" He's close enough to sniff her so she would attempt to pet him along the side of his neck, an area that she would hope wouldn't be too threatening. And if he would let her get that far, she would wind her fingers into his hair, massaging the creature and preparing herself to attempt holding him still all while cooing and humming to keep him calm. As for what Zunoi is doing, she can't tell since he's not in her line of vision, but she prays it's nothing to scare him. She really doesn't want to get bitten..
Mana seems to be on the right path to gaining Sasuke's trust. He moves even closer to her and all of a sudden, his entire body tenses as his nostrils flare. He had caught a whiff of Mana's scent. But it wasn't Mana herself that was the problem. It was the snake that was coiled inside of her shirt. Sasuke thrusts his head forwards, attempting to headbutt Mana in the chest, or more specifically, the exact spot where the snake was. He would then attempt to run..straight towards Zunoi who's waving his hat around like a big old target.
"Hey!" Zunoi shouted in rage at the goats aggressive behavior toward Mana. "What's the big idea?!….Oh" The goat now charging toward the boy, he'd turn around, running toward the wooden tub as fast as his little legs would take him while continuing to wave his hat about. Man, goats really love hats. Zunoi would keep running until reaching the other side of the tub and wave his hat above the waters, hoping it would jump inside.
Misa arrives from Intersection Raiko-Kuraido.
Mana emits an oomph as she flails back and lands on her bottom. The girl sits up and rubs at her chest to see where Zetsumei is. She doesn't feel anything. The girl looks down to the ground and hears a hiss as the snake lifts his head up, cobra-style, ready to defend his human. Her eyes widen and she reaches forward to bob Zetsumei on the head which immediately shuts up the hissing noise. Sulking, he uncoils and winds up over her arm, 'climbing' her to find his way back into her shirt.
The Hebisuuhai girl gets up to her feet and starts stalking back toward Zunoi and the goat, her cheeks flushed in anger. She didn't think about Zetsumei's scent. She looks for the bucket of grass to hopefully feed him while Zunoi does the hard part of getting him soaped up.
Hiroyasu arrives from Intersection Raiko-Kuraido.
Hiroyasu has arrived.
Sasuke leaps right into the tub, thanks to Zunoi's quick thinking and guile. The goat flails in the water a bit, but all is forgotten when Mana comes over with a bucket full of grass. The way to Sasuke's heart has always been through his stomach. He'll even sell out Hiei for a good meal..most days. He bleats angrily while eying Mana. She didn't tell him she had a snake in her shirt. He keeps one eye on the girl as he bends his head into the bucket. Now would probably be a good time to start washing him.
"Whew." Putting his hat back on his head, thankful that it wasn't eaten by the goat. Zunoi would glance over at Mana, "Are you okay? Sasuke didn't hurt you too bad did he?" Genuinely concerned as he pulls the brush out from behind his back, dips it in the water and begins scrubbing the goat with it. This would probably take a while, so hopefully there was plenty of grass in that bucket.
Mana stays there, eyeing the goat. She hmphs at him softly. It seems those two will not be friends after all. She sets the bucket down and goes to help Zunoi. Despite her irritation, she's gentle and Zetsumei stays hidden, not wanting to deal with the beast again. "I'm alright, Zunoi." She forces a smile to the boy and goes back to being gently irritable at the goat.
After a couple hours, Sasuke is snowy white again, and believe it or not, Zunoi now has a new friend. Sasuke warms up to him, while still giving Mana wary looks…mostly because she's got a snake in her shirt. Hiei had watched the whole thing. He really didn't need them to wash Sasuke, but this was a test to see how well they worked together. Teamwork was important to a shinobi, as they would most likely be assigned to a team after they graduated. However, Hiei does come through and hands them both a small pouch, each containing 60 ryo just like he promised. He then tells the two to head on home and that he'd see them in class. After they leave, he smirks at Sasuke. "Really. You headbutted the girl in the chest? You are so bad." Sasuke bleats and then Hiei states as he points to a small boulder. "Headbutt no jutsu!" Sasuke takes a running start and impacts the boulder hard, shattering it. Hiei smiles and heads inside. If Sasuke had been serious, that boulder could have been Mana's sternum.
Mission Complete.
