Starring:
Rockpath (emitter), Hiei, Yori
Date: August 5, 2015
Summary:
Hiei and Yori go with the goat, Seer, to his village to see just what happened and seek to help out!
"Got Goat? - Trip to the Goat Town!"
Land of Lightning, Goat Village
After about a week of rest and recovery, Seer is back on all four legs and raring to get back to his village. The Goat Village, to be exact. Right now, he's just pacing around the area where Hiei had left him, likely wherever the Yotsuki keeps Sasuke. ~Do you think he's ready? Your human likes to take a long time despite all his zippy-ness. And that kid of his is a bit annoying with all the climbing,~ the goat bleats, only irritated because he's impatient to see the state of his home since he left it to be attacked by Tanuki…
The two goats are hanging out in Hiei's very spacious backyard. They have as much food and water that they would need though the door to the house remains closed. This is for the goats own safety, because Hiei's son Shun keeps trying to get out there to pet the new pretty goat. At any rate Sasuke drinks some water before talking to the other goat. ~You need to learn how to relax, Seer. If Hiei says that he's going to help you, he will. He's never broken his word, as far as I know. How about some more oats? They're really tasty.~ Sasuke takes a few bites before commenting. ~The little human Shun can be a bit annoying. He's always so full of energy, but that means he's always up for a good romp too. I like him. He reminds me of a younger Hiei.~
Seer sighs and bleats a, ~There's no time to relax. My home is in danger! What if someone was attacking those humans that take care of you?~ the goat nevertheless goes over to eat some of those oats. They /were/ pretty good, he had to admit.
Sasuke bleats, ~I know. He'll be here soon. He's probably just getting his stuff together. You know humans can't walk around in fur like us.~ In the meantime, Hiei had been preparing for the trip to Goat Village. In fact, he had enlisted the aid of Yori to accompany him. After telling his student to grab some gear and expect to be gone from the village awhile. He filled him in on the situation as they made their way to Hiei's home. "…and that's pretty much how it is. Seer, the goat, is going to take us to Goat Village where his people are being attacked by the Tanuki. They pretty much look like raccoons. Not to mention this would be an excellent field experience for you. Despite everything that's happened, Yori. I'm still your sensei. I want you to know that."
Tatsuo looks over towards Kyoko when she calls to him and his frown deepens a bit. Oh…that one. Hmm…he starts to turn back to the training dummy when he spots the police force man and his head turns quickly to watch him. Doesn't look like he's about to knock anyone down and drag them away or anything. Not yet at least. And then there's another voice. Tatsuo finally turns all the way around to see Liao and for a moment he looks confused, but then he realizes she isn't talking to /him/. Okay that makes sense.
Yori had been a tad surprised to receive word to prepare for a long trip, but he'd done as bade before meeting up with the Raikage to hear the story. Once it's all laid out he nods slightly, a bit curious at meeting a talking goat and all that. He looks just about as ready to go as one could be at this point, with a backpack that carries food and water for the trip. As Hiei mentions being his sensei there's some hesitation in his step before he speaks. "I know you have a new son, Raikage-dono. He has to be trained as well so I understand if you don't have time to train me anymore."
Hiei stops walking for a moment and turns towards Yori. "Where did you get that rubbish from, Yori? I am your sensei, which means I will continue training you twice a week just like I have been. Yes, I have a new son, and he requires attention, but that doesn't mean my other obligations fall to the waste side. That's why I wanted you for this trip. The best kind of training is done on the job. Now stop feeling sorry for yourself, and let's go. Seer is waiting." Once they reach his house, he goes through it and into the backyard. With his pack over his shoulder and his swords and gear in place, he looks at Seer. "Alright we're ready when you are. This is my student Yori. He'll be coming with us."
Sasuke looks at Seer and bleats, ~Told you so.~ Then he goes back to eating for a minute before laying down on the grass to take a nap. ~Good luck, Seer. Remember that you can't keep a good goat down. Give 'em a headbutt for me.~
Yori's eyes widen a bit as the Raikage speaks, then his head ducks down when Hiei tells him to stop feeling sorry for himself. Well, he kind of /had/ been but he'd just assumed that was it after the new kid had appeared. Which was strange in it's own way…why had he even cared so much about it? Maybe he was getting a bit too big for his britches. He shouldn't be so concerned even if Hiei gets too busy, he should just be happy for the training he's had. Yet he couldn't quite kick that other feeling.
Seer rolls his eyes and munches a few more oats for the not-so-long journey that's coming up. ~Uh-huh…~ he bleats. ~I'll be sure to beat them good.~ The goat nudges Sasuke with his horns in a friendly manner before clopping over to Yori and Hiei. The former gets a big sniff. "Hm. Well, if you say so. He doesn't smell much like a goat, though!" Then Seer turns to Hiei. "Get us out of the village. Then I can lead you to where we need to go for this."
Hiei chuckles at Seer. "That's because he's not a goat. Though in your terms, he is a kid, but I'm training him in the shinobi arts." He walks over to Sasuke and touches his forehead with the goat. "Be safe, buddy. Look after Sachiko and the kids while I'm gone." Sasuke bleats softly and then licks the side of Hiei's face. Translation: ~I'll guard them well my friend.~ Hiei then motions for Seer to follow him as he leads the small group around the house and towards the village gate. "Seer, tell us a bit about what to expect once we get there. I know you're anxious because of the attack, and I promise Yori and I will defend you as best we can. What kind of weaponry does the Tanuki have?"
Yori follows after Hiei, giving a bow to the talking goat as he looks over the creature with curious eyes. For now he says nothing since, you know, Hiei is talking to a goat. What can he really say? The boy follows behind the pair as they begin to move, eyes scanning around as they start off, wondering what exactly this is going to entail. It's going to be…quite interesting. That much he is sure of.
"Well, our village isn't too tall like here. But we have some places to keep ourselves dry and store food. And then there are places where we store our armor. We have an actual blacksmith, too! He always brags about how his great great grand-Sensei was partnered with a Murasame, but I think that story is a load of fish." Seer huffs faintly, continuing his clop up the mountain until they reach… the Plateau! "Oh! And then we have our leaders. There's the head Battle Goat, the head Sage, the head Medic, and the head of Food. They're all important, and we goats try to make sure they're safe after all the kids are okay."
Hiei listens to Seer as they make their way to the plateau. "Partnered, huh? You mean a summon for a shinobi? I have friends who have those." He admits as he walks along. He glances over at Yori and raises his brows slightly. "I'm interested in meeting the head Battle Goat. I'll bet he and I have much in common. The head Sage, I would like to speak to as well." He had only seen the power of the Sage a few times. Mostly from Takeo. But he was interested in it nonetheless. "So, how much further do we have to go?"
nods
Yori continues after the other two, listening to the conversation and mentally taking notes because, well, that's what he does. Plus he found this all quite interesting. Yes he'd heard of talking animals though they tended to be a type of ninken. As far as he knew talking animals outside of them were somewhat rare. The boy ducks his head a bit when Hiei looks back, not really sure what he's supposed to be doing. He's here to help but, well, after his faux pas he was just a bit uncertain!
"Nothing so fancy. Just worked together with him," Seer says. "Contracts are a bit harder, you know. You have to know the right goat." Seer trots over to the middle of the plateau and lightning sparks from his fur before it starts zapping the ground strategically. Eventually, a strange seal is on the ground. It's a circle, and within the circle is enough space for the trio. Markings for the four cardinal directions are properly placed, and then the kanji for 'goat' is in the middle. "Get over here. We're leaving."
Hiei hmms. "Huh. And who is the right goat?" He asks as he steps into he circle and motions for Yori to follow him. He turns to the younger shinobi. "Keep your notebook handy. I may want to go back over some of the stuff that we learn while we're there. Also, be ready for a fight." As he speaks, sparks of lightning flow across his skin as he prepares his body for combat. "Whenever you're ready, Seer."
Yori listens to Hiei and nods quickly at the mention of his notes. "Hai Raikage-dono, I'm taking notes and I'm ready to do whatever we need." He really is and in fact he's got his game face on now! Whatever he's actually feeling is hidden behind a mask of readiness.
With a flash of blue light, thanks to the chakra Seer sent through the circle, the trio suddenly vanish. A sort of teleportation space-time jutsu combined with seals. It was, in a sense, also a reverse summoning. The markings on the ground just made it easier. "Well, here we are," Seer says grimly, looking at the remains of the Goat Village. "Tanuki… Blasted thieves…" he mutters, eyeing the smoking buildings that were made of wood and stone and mud. None of them were, as the goat said, very tall. A lot of them were like lean tos. There were a lot of injured goats that were helping with the rebuilding, most of them with burns and maybe a few with bandages.
One of the injured goats notices Seer and bleats excitedly, rushing over as fast as it can on three legs. The front left leg was in a sort of sling. "You're back! Did you bring help? Are these them!" The voice is female… So it must be a she-goat! "The Elders are talking about what to do. You should tell them you're back and show them these two."
Hiei rubs his eyes after the bright flash of light and then turns in a slow circle as he inspects the devastation around him. It reminded him of what the village looked like right after the Recluse attacked Kumo. His brows furrow, but for the moment he stays silent as the two goats speak. When the she-goat asks if they are them, Hiei speaks up. "Yes, we're them." He looks down at Seer. "I think she's right. Let's go speak with your elders, and come up with a game plan. I'm feeling…aggressive." He admits.
Yori blinks as the flash happens but by the time it fades his notebook is out and he's scribbling in it. He has a lot of notes to take now! The boy chews his cheek and pauses as he looks around at the destruction. How…horrible. He stops writing to look around in stunned amazement, a sinking feeling hitting his stomach. "This is…worse than I thought."
Seer nods and says, "Where to, Beth?" Odd names! "Just this way. They're staying under the Black Rock for shelter." The she-goat starts to make her way off to a rather large overhang made of what looks to be black shale. Eventually they find their way to the overhang, which is a mile or so away from the Goat Village. The fact that it looked close is probably because it is HUGE. Easily twenty Hiei's tall. And fifty Hiei's (foot to head) deep. "Vyren! Storyk! Croen! Zal!" Really odd names… "Seer's back!" Beth called out into the cave.
Seer quickly explains to Yori and Hiei, "Vyren is the head Battle Goat, Hiei. So you probably want to meet with him. Croen is the head Sage. Storyk is the head of Food, and Zal is the head Medic."
Hiei walks along with Seer and nods faintly when things are explained. Those were indeed some weird names. Then again these guys are from another world entirely. Hiei walks towards Vyren, the head Battle Goat. Once he is before him, he bows low out of respect. "Battle Goat Vyren. I am Yotsuki Hiei, Raikage of Kumogakure." He motions to Yori. "This is my student Saito Yori. We have come a long way to aid you with your Tanuki problem. Seer has pretty much told us what happened here, and we're eager to get started. What do you need us to do?"
Yori follows after the rest, a very very crude map drawn up of what it's all like around him. And probably what it should've been like before it was destroyed. When they arrive at the elder goats he does now just as deep as Hiei, very respectful as he even puts away the note pad. For now. He'll just remember and write down the rest later.
They better bow! The four goats are definitely not in their smaller forms that some summons tend to travel as. While they were all of varying sizes, it was pretty clear they were giant regardless. Vyren was probably the largest goat, his head at eight feet. Definitely a mighty beast! The large battle goat has armor on him that sort of drapes over his body, and there's a metal 'helmet' over his head. The crest of the Goat Village is emblazoned on his chest. "Hmm… I see," he says. The three other goats that join him are all pretty big, too. The smallest one is five foot tall or so, and she looks like she has a bunch of medic packs with her. Probably Zal. "So these are the ones that are going to help us?" she asks. Beth gives a goat-shrug and says, "You should talk to Seer." before wandering off…
An older looking goat that looks a bit haggard, yet still stands tall at 7'10", says in an old-man voice, "You should get us some nice food that isn't tainted by those blasted Tanuki!" While the final one says, pointedly, "/Thank you/ for your help. Right now we need to work on repairing our village, though, and gathering food. If you two could assist with that, we'd be very grateful. Spring is almost here, and we need to be strong for when the next generation comes."
It's not often that Hiei has to look up to talk to someone. This is one of those times. These goats make him look like a dwarf. At least he's taller than the medic. He inclines his head. "We're willing to do whatever it takes. Personally, I was thinking that you'd tell me where I can find the Tanuki and I would go slaughter them to the last one, but if it's food and repairs that you want, we can help with that too." He turns to Yori. "Let's divide up the work. You go scout the surrounding area for a suitable food source. If you run into trouble, fire a lightning bolt in the air and I'll be there in a moment." He looks back over at the Battle Goat. "In the meantime, I'll help with repairs around here. Does that meet your satisfaction?"
Yori's mind is a bit boggled by the size of the larger goats. First they were talking which is one thing but now…they were this big?!? He hears what they say even if he's staring a bit, however, and turns to face Hiei when he speaks. There's no hesitation as he quickly bows, "Hai…Hiei-sama." Some part of him refrains from mentioning the Kage portion while not in the village. Or at least surrounded by more Kumo nin.
Vyren moves a massive hoof that could easily knock Hiei down if the goat tried, and he pokes him. "I like this one," he says to the other three. Then he leeaaannnns down and half-whispers, "If we could, I'd charge with you myself, but they're right. We need to recover from the last attack."
Storyk sort of points with his head, "If you go that way, you might find some untainted areas to graze through. We also eat bugs and bark and leaves from bushes. It's just harder to get those with how the territory is divided up." The medic adds, "If you notice any herbs, that would be nice. I need to make some more medicine after the last battle…" Croen snorts. "They have enough instructions. Let them be for the time being. We can talk about retaliating after we recover."
