Starring:
Date: November 4, 2015
Summary:
A simple patrol for the three Genin finds them facing off against some rather hungry panthers!
"Kitties Bug the Patrol"
Patrol Area Around Konoha
What an odd week it was turning out to be. First that run in with Eremi who was 'testing' him and a few others and now he was supposed to be leading a mission, albeit small, for him and some other Nara he doesn't even remember meeting. Tatsuo stood at the gates of Konoha with a frown, looking down at the scroll again as if trying to divine if there might be some other information within. Yet he saw nothing else and so, with a sigh, he waited. At least the day was nice. Since Summer was ending there was a nice breeze drifting through a mostly cloudless sky.
Shugo wasn't late nor early today. It seemed that for once the Nara was arriving just on time at his usual slow pace. He was dressed much the same, his hands tucked into those baggy pants, his Haori draped around himself and over the green shirt that the Nara wore beneath it. One thing he'd not expected to be doing when he graduated, was going on a mission with Tatsuo but it wasn't at all for the usual Nara clan's reaction. Instead, Shugo would give a smile when he saw the hard working cousin of his and slip his left hand free to wave lazily at Tatsuo. "I'm not late, am I? I actually woke up on time for this." Shugo would comment even though his face was still covered in scruff and his hair was.. well.. it was a mess.
Tatsuo just waits patiently though he does look up at the sky to judge the time. When he looks back down he notices Shugo coming near and blinks. There's…something oddly familiar about him. He'd seen him before. But where? When he comes near the young teen quickly offers a small bow in greeting. "Ah, no Shugo-kun, you're right on time actually…" he says, trailing off a bit as he stares at him. He'll…have to figure that out later. "Ah, did you get the mission details? Um, just a small patrol so it shouldn't be anything too bad."
Shugo had gotten some details but there was only so much to gather from being shouted out to wake up and go on a patrol with Tatsuo. His uncle was a pest but the fact that he could check in on Tatsuo made things better about this mission.. Shugo could even claim this was his jogging work when he next met with the slave-driver. "Yes, I brought along some basic equipment just in case we come across an agressive animal or something of the sort but a basic patrol should be pretty easy going." The Nara reasoned with a light smile on his face while patting the pouch that was strapped to the front of his waist.. an odd place for a shinobi's pack but it seemed to be the place that Shugo had decided on placing his pouch.. "Or have you come across troubles on a patrol before?"
"Um, well, you can sometimes find bandits on patrols, or wild animals, so there's always the chance that we could come across something. But hopefully we won't…" Tatsuo stares at Shugo for another moment before he looks out the gates. "I guess we should get going. Did you have any questions Shugo-kun?" he asks, looking back to Shugo for a moment before he starts out the gates and down the main road leading from Konoha. There would be a little time on the main road for questions and all that at least before they reach where the patrol really begins.
Shugo would shake his head gently while looking at Tatsuo and give a slight shrug of his shoulders in response to that question. "This is the first mission that I'll have which is something besides looking for pets or gardening around the village. Most of y work keeps me in the Nara village or tending to the deer in the forests." Shugo would answer while starting off after Tatsuo, there was a bit of a curiosity building from the way that Tatsuo was staring at him and so Shugo would smile and bow his head while following after the younger teen, giving the final comment of, "I'll be in your care, Tatsuo-san." to see what kind of reaction he would get from the younger teen.
"I KNOW" comes the irritated voice of Kyoko as she races out of her home. Her Kikaichu swarmed rather furiously around her, as if reacting to her mood. The girl was obvious not very pleased as she made her way to the entrance, late to the mission she was assigned because she was out when the letter was delivered to her home. … Kyoko scowls at nothing as she rushes to the meeting place, arriving a little out of breath. "Tats, next time tell whoever gave you a mission to send the message to me instead of my house!" Wait, isn't that what usually happens?
The two are traveling a bit down the road by the time Kyoko actually appears and Tatsuo pauses to look at her. "Ah, Kyoko-chan…I thought you weren't coming. They crossed your name off my list…" hmm, he'd have to check on that later he supposed. "Um, they should've found you for the mission too…you should talk to the administration when we get back." His attention shifts to Shugo and he watches him again for a few moments before he nods once more. "Hai…" there was just something familiar about him but he couldn't quite place it. "Well, um, let's get going then." He turns to start heading back down the road once again.
Shugo would look to the newcomer and for a moment, his eyes narrowed as he looked at her and his step paused. It was a barely noticable shift but then his expression was back to normal and the Nara was smiling while waving his left arm in a greeting. "Hello there, I'm Nara, Shugo… I don't think I've met you yet." The teen would explain as he looked at the bug lady over his shoulder. Today was probably the first day that Shugo was working to walk at the pace of a normal human being rather than his own sluggish pace. It was an oddly good day after all.
Kyoko mutters unhappily as they're on the move again. Doesn't she get a break?! Of course not, she's a Shinobi… Regardless, the girl just scowls at air before looking to Shugo. "… Aburame Kyoko" she tells, narrowing her eyes suspiciously. The goggles might actually hide the fact that she is narrowing her eyes… "Nice to meet you, I guess," she says before following Tatsuo.
Yep, it's another Nara! And maybe this one can use shadows! Wouldn't that just be amazing~! Tatsuo glances back at the two as they introduce themselves to each other before starting moving forward once again. At one point they reach a crossroads and Tatsuo turns off the main road down one of the smaller ones. "Okay, um, everyone be watchful now okay? This is where our actual patrol begins." With that Tatsuo starts looking around carefully for any signs of danger.
Well at least he wouldn't need to be overly friendly with the bugwoman.. it spared him the extra effort of an extended smile and soon enough he was focused on the road ahead of them so he could do his best to be mindful of things.. then again, Shugo wasn't just a Nara, he was one of the laziest they had ever born to date. How alert could he really be when he barely even managed to tame half of his hair into a wild ponytail that would frighten the scissors from the hand of any barber this side of the land of fire? Still, when Tatsuo said to be mindful, Shugo would do his best to be just that.. alert, attentive, and mindful of his surrounding.. Even as he yawned like a bum and wiped at the sleep building in his eyes. Yeah, nothing would get past him. Surely..
Kyoko just relies on her eyesight and her natural senses to make sure that everything is going smoothly. The girl just nods to Tatsuo at his alert while she sighs inwardly. One would think she would be able to sense a bit more with her Kikaichu, but there was something off about her connection sometimes. Her link was different than most.
Kyoko would sense it first. It wasn't a person so the chakra wasn't overly abundant, but there was a group of them that began stalking the three shinobi. Four legged creatures that moved fluidly through the trees on the side of the path. Tatsuo and Shugo would catch the faint sound of a branch cracking after a few moments but it wouldn't be anything too out of the ordinary. After all, animals were always in the forest. Only Kyoko would notice these ones seemed rather intent on the shinobi.
Shugo wouldn't really think much of the branch snapping but he would still shift his left arm into the haori so he could prepare a bit in case any of those bandits mentioned came about. There was no way that the Nara could allow some random buffoon with a dagger to try harming Tatsuo while he was right there along with the younger Nara. The bug woman.. he didn't know her so he'd most likely be less attentive for the time being so he could see how much effort she would require if any at all. Tatsuo as well, he'd heard some interesting things about the younger teen but had yet to see any of it for himself.
Kyoko feels something tingle… She felt like she was being watched. The girl would feel a bit odd… She frowned. "Oy! Tats!" she calls out suddenly, speeding a bit to try and get close so she didn't have to shout. "I think something is following us," she tells the slightly older genin in a low voice. "Something just… doesn't feel right…" Kyoko would say, scowl on her face as she tried to figure out why. It didn't feel human…
Tatsuo heard Kyoko and slowed for her to catch up, listening to what she had to say with a faint frown. "Really? I don't-" he's cut off as loud growls erupt from the forest next to them and out jumps a number of black panthers! The creatures lunge out of the treeline and head right for the three shinobi, clawing at them and trying to give them some nice little painful blows. Tatsuo manages to bring some water up in time that keeps the claw from slicing through him luckily! "Glad you saw that Kyoko-chan," Tatsuo mutters, looking at the wild cats. "They would've jumped us…"
A brow raised slightly at the sudden movement of the young woman, a bit of a glance over the area in response to her shouting out to Tatsuo.. He was called Tats.. by them? When they were talking Shugo thought he saw something but by the time he noticed it he was already struck and a panther had lunged straight at the Nara. When it bit into his leg, Shugo would blink at it and look down at he creature before reaching out his shadow to try catching the beast or at least scaring it into backing off with his shifting chakra. "There really are cats like this in the woods around here.." Shugo would comment as he looked at the large cats with a bit of a bored curiosity.
*POOF* The black panther would go through a clone like it was nothing, and Kyoko would blink in surprise. "Huh…" is all she says, even as some of her Kikaichu begin to swarm the panthers that attacked her group just now. "Where the heck did these stupid cats come from?!" she asks/huffs.
"Um, hai Shugo-kun, there are cats like this in the forest. And I don't know why they're attacking Kyoko-chan. Maybe they're hungry for some reason…" It seems weird to Tatsuo really. They weren't exactly known to attack a group of humans after all. Sure, a single human if they were needy but a group? How strange. Two of the cats fall prey to attacks, one of them freezing in place and letting out a pained sound when Kyoko's bugs chew it. One escapes the buggy wrath but the other also gets eaten up some, sending it skittering off. Tatsuo would scratch his head as he watched the two remaining cats, then blink in surprise when a much larger almost human sized cat attacks, slashing at Tatsuo and Kyoko both. Tatsuo manages to keep the cats claws from him before quickly calling up water to try and wrap the cat in place with a frown. The smaller cat that isn't trapped and hasn't fled steps forward, then swipes at Shugo again as well.
Shugo wouldn't back down from the swipe as it lashed across his chest and tore through his shirt. Just for a moment there was the black skin of his defense to be seen before his shadow would jet forward and try capturing the cat coming after him. He'd use more energy but, well, why bother really? Tatsuo seemed more skilled than Shugo thought he would be and, impressed, the older teen stayed out of the younger's way as he simply called out for a question in terms of the cats. "So what should we do with them? Just catch them or should we attack? I don't know how I feel about stabbing a cat." Shugo would reason though even as he spoke he was reaching for his left sleeve to begin drawing up the Haori and revealing the bracer-like contraption wrapped around his arm. The wings of that bracer would fan out, twin strings linking the four wings of his mounted crossbow while he drew back the string and began preparing a single bolt to be fired if Tatsuo felt they should get rid of the cats. At least he could try maing it quick.
Kyoko flinches when she ends up getting a nice scratch along her side, but she ignores it in favor of spraying lightning needles at the dang creature. Yeah, she wasn't too happy! "What the heck?!" she grumbles, wishing her Kikaichu had been fast enough to block the slash. Oh well… The girl takes a moment to examine the claw marks on her side and idly wonders if they'll scar. That wouldn't been too fun… It might block some of her kikaichu's path…
"Um, we shouldn't kill them, but do injure them. We need them to retreat and then report this to the Village. Um, if they're just hungry then maybe something is taking their food and we'll have to look into it." Ever the cool head…Tatsuo wraps up the large cat in water and, after the needles dig into it, the cat yowls and Tatsuo releases it to start quickly limping away. The others follow suit…except for the two being held by Shugo of course. Those ones are frozen in place.
Shugo would look down at the two trapped cats and then walk backward with them mirroring himself before he'd shift to straighten his slouched stance. Nothing like having kitties standing on their hind paws with strange looks on their faces, right? He'd raise his left arm and jolt it so that the wings folded in but also so that he would, strangely, slap himself across the face. When the cats were forced to follow suit, he'd give himself a few more slaps before lifting his right leg from the ground and then releasin the cats so that they could fall over in awkward heaps. Rather than shooting them or doing anything furhter, the Nara would simply glare at them and let his shadow begin reaching out threateningly again, not to catch them but to help make them think twice about any follow ups. The Shugo way of dealing with a problem.
Kyoko doesn't really have anything to worry about now, so she bandages the claw marks quickly to make sure they don't get infected. "Stupid cats…" she mutters, wiping some of the blood on her hands off in the grass. "You two alright?" she calls over at the Nara. She also checks the area for any more danger.
Poor kitties end up clawing themselves some on top of walking awkwardly and not being able to move. They were quite frightened really. When they're finally released the two fall to the ground before scrambling around a bit and turning to face Shugo. When the shadows come near they back away, then turn and run. With that the cats were quite cleanly taken care of. Tatsuo watches after them before looking to Shugo and nodding. "Um, well done Shugo-kun." It was interesting to see a Nara that could use shadows…then again he didn't live in the Nara village anymore so he didn't see much of them outside of his water using self. Tatsuo would turn to Kyoko then, reaching a hand to her shoulder gently to send through a bit of quick chakra followed by a quick blast of healing to make sure there wouldn't be infection and the wounds would heal seamlessly. "Good job both of you. Um, let's continue the patrol."
The rest of the patrol would go smoothly with nothing else trying to attack them or seeming out of the ordinary. By the time they returned to the village a few hours would've past and Tatsuo would stop at the gates to smile a bit at the other two. "Um, well done again. You're both free from here. I'll report to the administration on the mission."
Shugo would give a bit of a salute to Tatsuo and then smile at him as well as Kyoko. "Both of you were pretty impressive. I'm going to have to stop being so lazy and start working on becoming a better ninja if I plan to compete with you two in the future." Shugo would compliment before turning about and starting on his way back home while looking down and gently fingering at his shirt to see hiw bad those claw marks were… it would need a few stitches but he was confident it could make a full recovery.
"Ugg… That was annoying…" Kyoko mutters, nodding to Tatsuo in thanks for the heal. Much better than waiting! "You did fine too, Shugo. Though slapping yourself…" she shakes her head. When the group got back to the village, Kyoko would be quite relieved. "That was fun," Kyoko says with only a mild sarcastic tone. The girl just waves and heads back to her home. "Thanks for taking me, Tats! I'll see ya later."
