Starring:
Date: June 12, 2014
Summary:
Ai, Sado, and Michiko protect a Shepherd and his wife from two mountain lions that keep stealing their lambs at night.
Poster's note: foul language filtered in obvious places.
"Revenge of the Lions"
Shepherd’s Home
The sun was shining, birds flew in the air, but today was one of those days where Nariko stood at the gate of the village. She had sent out letters to the genin requesting them for a mission. She held the scroll in her hand that detailed where they would be going and what it consisted of. She smirked, hoping for a decent turnout for this.
Michiko wasn't expecting a mission today. She was by the lake reading a nice book when she got the letter from Nariko, causing her to jump up and get going. A quick stop by her house to drop off her book and pick up her various ninja tools and she was at the gate. "Nariko-sensei, how are you?" she asks as she comes up to the Yotsuki, giving her a cheerful smile. "I would ask what today's mission consists of, but you'll tell us when we all show up."
It was an incredibly lazy day for for Ai thus far. Despite her induction into Kumogakure things had be surprisingly laxed… Well until now anyways. A soft sigh escapes Ai's lips at the aburptness of a mission, though she doesn't allow it to bother her too much. It wasn't the mission she was interested in, it was the people she was potentially going to meet. With that she skipped along towards the village gates, scrolls tucked under one side as she waves to the duo. "Oh! Hey Michiko-chan!" Ai calls out, while another polite wave is offered towards Nariko. "Hi, my name is Ai," she simply introduces.
Sado makes his way to the gate to meet up with Nariko and whomever else was called to action today, eager to find out who all was going. After the last mission with Shigeru and Sachiko, he was ready for another success, and the spending money wasn't bad either. Wearing his fresh new white shirt, shorts, and equipment, Sado spots Nariko at the gate and jogs over. As he nears, Michiko comes into view, revealing one of Sado's team mates. He was pleasantly surprised, having worked with Michiko before. The other girl Sado was not aware of, though, which was, in its own way, fun. "Hello all, I'm here." he says as he reaches the group.
Nariko bows her head to Michiko and Ai a they arrive. "Hello Michiko, I'm doing quite well." She looks to Ai. "Pleasure to meet you, Yotsuki Nariko." She nods to Sado when he joins. "Welcome Sado." She smiles to them and pulls out the scroll. "Alright, well, today is an exciting day. This mission requires the help of Kumogakure shinobi. So I have requested the three of you to take care of a Shepherd’s problem. His farm has been under attack by a mountain lioness and her mate. We need you three to go there and take care of this problem. Think you can handle it?" She smirks, knowing full well the genin are capable of it. "I am going to request Michiko be the leader of this mission. Any questions? If not, good luck and do your best." She gave them a thumbs up.
Michiko sees Ai skipping on over and she sends a wave back in her direction. "Good afternoon, Ai-san. And hello, Sado-kun," she says in greeting, giving the two a smile. "It's nice to see you both." Then her attention goes back to Nariko, listening curiously to the mission debrief. "First bears and boars and now lions, apparently. Perhaps Kumogakure should look into hiring an animal tamer…" she comments. A slight blink when Nariko mentions she'll be leading the mission, but she's determined to do her best as always. "Thank you, Nariko-sensei. I've no questions at the moment." She would turn to Ai, giving her a curious look. "It would help if I knew a bit about your abilities, Ai-san."
"A mountain lioness…That…sounds a bit dangerous," Ai muses politely, thumbing a finger at her chin as she merely shakes her head and nods. Yes she needed to start somewhere, perhaps jumping into the lion’s den was going to be a great start to her career as a shinobi. " This…would look very awesome on paper… The great Ai, conquering a mountain lion of all things," Ai then smirks lightly, offering Nariko a jeering smirk. "Let's do it! I'm more than prepared. I think,"
Oooh, lions, thinks Sado. So far he has had to deal with squirrels, bears, warthogs, horses, and goats, but not lions or mountain lions, whichever the case may be. He looks excited and confident as he nods his head as Nariko asks if they can handle it. "Surely!" he confirms. Michiko as the leader made sense, at least to Sado, who would be in the thick of things in a fight, making it hard to worry about orders and leadership. "Are we do kill them, or just make sure they won't be back?" Sado asks, his stance on animals and death becoming more apparent the more missions they do. If it wasn't a mutant giant animal, Sado liked to preserve nature just doing what it does. "I'd imagine a good beating and scaring would have them scurrying in no time."
Nariko looks from Michiko, chuckling when she mentions animal tamers. "Maybe we should." She looks to Ai as she seems to take on the job without a complaint, then looks to Sado when he asks the question. "This is your guys' mission. I would like you to use your best judgment on what to do about the threat." She smiled and nodded to them. "I will see you guys when you get back." She handed a paper to Michiko that mapped where they were to go before giving them a brief wave, heading back into the village.
Michiko takes the map, looking at it for a few moments before tucking it back in her pouch. "Okay, we're going into the mountains, apparently. Let's see… Sado-kun, I don't think we should aim to kill. But if it comes down to it, we might have to. Be prepared for that, is all I'm saying." As she speaks, she starts leading the team over to their destination. "Ai-san, I would like to know some of your abilities," she adds.
As the question came to her she sort of stumbled on the topic. A finger is pressed against her cheek as she thought about the best way to answer it, while she followed closely behind Michiko. " I hope…we don't have to kill it. Such a majestic creatures and all that nature fun loving stuff right?" Ai questions the group though more so as a statement. Orders were to be orders right. "Some of my abilities? Honestly I'm just pretty fast… That is all there is too me really. Want me to get somewhere quickly? Maybe catch it?!" Ai asks curiously. "I can take a few punches… or bites in this case also,"
Sado nods his head to Nariko and wishes her well as she leaves, turning to Michiko to await orders. To Sado, it sounded like Michiko would at least try to keep the lion family alive, which was good enough for him. "As long as we do our best and no one is hurt. If it comes to putting them down for safety, I'm prepared." he says with a nod. He follows Michiko, this being the second time someone has asked Ai for abilities which made Sado all the more curious as well. He wouldn't voice his curiosity but he would remain silent and listen as they head for the more rural mountains.
The genin arrive at a earth made building with a thatched roof. About five to ten sheep roam in a fenced off area, the fence made of wood and looks somewhat flimsy looking. The shepherd would walk out upon seeing the genin arrive, his wife following shortly after. He bows politely before looking at them all. "Are you the shinobi from Kumogakure? You have arrived at the right time. It's just about to be dark. Please help us. IF these mountain lions continue to come my wife and I will be without a home." He looked desperate and his wife clung to his arm with a concerned face. "Will you help us?"
Michiko nods to Ai when she hears the list of her skills. She thinks for a bit while leading everyone to their client, giving the shepherd and his wife a slight bow in return. "Yes, we're here to help, of course. Just leave the lions to us, please. We'll let you know when we're finished taking care of them." She glances back to Sado. "Sado-kun, I think you should mostly take care of the largest one. Ai-san and I can work together on the cubs if they show up as well. If not, we'll all defeat the mother."
"Your problem will be solved! By us! The best of the best!" Ai announces amongst the darkness, she was more than certain that they could do it, however as she notes Michiko's orders her eyes shift to Sado to whom she looks over closely, measuring his size between her two fingers. "He is going to be like food… fodder…. fresh meat…" She blinks her eyes briefly and simply sweat drops and nods to Michiko. "Ha… right Michiko-sama let's stick with the cubs! Sado-kun can definitely tackle the big bad lion on his own. I think," Suddenly Ai wasn't very optimistic.
Sado puts on a friendly face as the Shepherd and his wife approach them looking worried. He gives the two a Sado Thumbs Up of assurance as Michiko says they will handle it. It was time to get a gameplan as night approached. Sado walks over to Michiko to listen to what her and Ai had to say. As Michiko sends him against the big bad, Ai does even more to make Sado feel less assured in himself and his abilities, looking hesitant now. "Er, ok, though I could probably use some back up if there are no cubs or they don't attack. It is fairly rare that cubs attack, it is usually the parents in order to defend the cubs." he points out.
The Shepherd and his wife look reassured as the genin provide their support. "Thank you. Thank you." They say bowing once more before lighting a few torches for the genin outside and heading back into the safety of their home. As the sun lowers further down, night covers the area in darkness, except for the torches that provide some light to the shepherd’s fields and home. The sheep lay asleep in a stable a howls erupt around. It didn't take long for two figures lurking and meandering around the fence, watching their food. A growl erupts from the female as she wanders and jumps over the fence, the male following suit.
Michiko says, "Second case scenario is when both parents come out. Sado-kun, you're still assigned the larger one. Ai-san will assist you as best she can. And I'll take on the smaller one." She knows that Sado would be able to handle himself. Her experiences with him include watching him spar Ryouji, hearing about his spars with Hiei, and several missions they've fought together. "Sado-kun, Ai-san. We're going to have to face opponents tougher than lions… This is good practice for that." She makes all three of them keep watch for the lions, knowing that it won't take long for the enemies to show up. And indeed, it doesn't. "Prepare yourselves!" she whispers to them, focusing her chakra for now.
"Sh….f.. Already ?!" Ai blinks her eyes in bewilderment as there is the sound of growling in the distance, of course natural Ai focuses just a little bit of chakra throughout her body, enough to get the blood flowing. " Okay I have braced myself…. maybe we can like… lure it with kindness or something," Ai suggests, reaching an hand out (from afar of course). "Here big kitty kitty kitties. We don't want to hurt you…we just want you to lave…and stuff you know? Go somewhere else? We know of a place where you can get buckets of food!" Ai attempts to charm the wild beasts of nature.
"Alright." Sado says, a bit more reassured as the night comes and the torches are lit. It doesn't take long before Sado is called into action, slamming a fist into his other open palm to get pumped up for battle, like he does with any battle he enters. For now the genin will rely on his own strength, focusing only a minor amount of chakra for use before he hops into the field between the shadowy lions and the sheep. "Not tonight, kitty cats." he says as he stares down the cats, Ai's wild calls in the background kind of detracting from the serious vibe he had going on. Something tells Sado that the cats didn't speak their tongue.
The cats don't seem to move towards the genin, they continue to talk their sleeping prey. The male moves a bit out of the way, giving the female a bit of distance. Though they are ignoring the genin the male is moving closer towards them. The female was making her way towards the stable where a lamb's head peeked up and started to "baah" loudly. The female moved closer to it, looking more and more on the hunt, lowering itself to the ground getting ready to pounce.
Michiko watches the lions approach, managing to figure out which is which just by their size. She gestures to Sado that he should focus on the one closest to them before moving to give herself a clear visual on the female lion. A few hand seals and she spews mud bullets at the large cat, hoping to distract it in a non-harmful way. Well, it's harmless compared to a firebolt, at least…
"Hey! That's not necessary!" Ai shouts as finally she does come running. Her charisma wasn't working so as decided brute force was going to be necessary. Not very quickly she launches herself forward, throwing herself into the larger lion ready to pounce. She attempted to derail it and maybe change its focus on something else. "We don't have to fight! You just have to listen and go somewhere else!"
"Alright big kitten, don't be bothering the sheep anymore." Sado says as he faces down the male lion, the young genin moving first to get the upper hand. He charges and jumps, bringing his foot down towards the lion from above, missing his target but using his momentum to push towards the dodging lion with a punch aimed for the rubs.
The lioness was beginning to pounce when Michiko's balls of mud come flying at her, the jump preventing the mud from hitting her. Then Ai tries to get in her way and she moves around her. A growl erupt from the female's mouth a she makes a grab for the lamb, the soft "baahs" escaping the baby' mouth. The female raises a paw up to Ai, attempting to swipe at her with her claws to get her out of the way. The male lion on the other hand seems to be having some trouble. He was paying no mind until Sado throw a punch, knocking him down. As he rise up, he puts one paw in front of the other, growling at him. He rises ever so slightly to throw his claw filled paws towards Sado.
Michiko tsks in annoyance as her attack misses the lioness. She sees the target swipe at Ai, but can't really do much at her distance. Even an earth barrier would come short. She sighs and goes for a different tactic, just attack the thing so it doesn't feel like hurting any more of her teammates. A few more hand seals and more mudbullets shoot out at the lioness.
Ai was successfully swiped, blood pooling from one side of her arm to another, her clothing already becoming tattered as she literally began to wrestle the female lion. " Owwwa!" Ai groans as she raises a fist, attempting to slam it into the side of the lion, and with luck….maybe pin it down for the time being? Of course. Her ability to do much to this beast was proving futile.
Sado is now face to face with the lion, staring him down predator to predator. He reacts quickly as the lion tries to pounce on him, getting one of two sets of claws, causing a small slice to his side, and more importantly to his new shirt Nariko got him. "You have angered me to no end, pussycat. This shirt was brand new and a gift!" he yells as he charges forward, blood pumping, Yotsuki battle lust taking over. He lowers his shoulder to check the cat so that he can send him flying with a powerful lariat.
The female moves out of the way of the two kunoichi, grabbing the lamb in the right place to knock it unconscious. She moves over towards the fence setting it down, getting annoyed he hasn't been given a chance to eat her dinner. She moves over to Ai and Michiko, sending a clawed paw towards each of them. The male lion seems to be having the worst luck. For each swipe he sends an attack connect with him, this time the lariat is making its connection, knocking him down once more. He slowly rises. Another two swipes headed for Sado.
Michiko finds herself to be a target of the lioness. Well, better her than the poor lambs. Unfortunately, she ends up getting clawed in the stomach, resulting in Michiko going *poof*. It was a clone, apparently. Michiko used the puff of smoke to jump high and launch a kunai from above at the lion, taking that opportunity to send some fireboat down at the lioness. When she lands, there's a different set of hand seals and mud bullets shoot toward the enemy.
"This lion is possessed by the great evil demon of lions! Nuzzle you cat!" Ai exclaims as she bobs and weaves, almost as if she was a pro as unarmed combat, unfortunately her attacks are certainly subpar. She dives in deep for the large lion, using Michiko's confusion to literally just pummel the thing beast with her fists, flailing at the head, and body. "Go back to Jigoku you crazy evil beast!"
With a crackle of electricity Sado vanishes from the claws of the lion, appearing behind the male beast with his electricity focused in his elbow. Ryouji might recognize the stinging pain from such a move, but the cat has yet to experience it. He hits the cat hard with the elbow, following up with two punches to try to keep the cat down. Hearing Ai's exclamation and thinking it sounded cool and adult, Sado points at the male cat and says, "Yeah, Nuzzle you cat!"
One attack after another came at the female lion as she became more angry. Not only was she hit in the shoulder with a kunai, but some of her majestic fur was burnt. She fell sideways, as she avoided Ai's punches. She tried to get up a she heard the faint growl of her dying mate, who had been pummeled by Sado. The female rose to her feet once more eyeing the kunoichi as best as a lion can. She rose her paw up once more, the other unable to rise due to the kunai sticking out of her shoulder, and threw it at Ai and Michiko once more.
Michiko avoids the next attack from the lioness by switching places with a log from nearby. Probably a branch that fell from a tree or something similar like that. She feels the battle start to wind down and calls out to the others, "Everyone! I think we've almost got these two lions handled. I think one of us should look around the area to make sure there's no other surprises around." She then turns her attention back to the lioness, sending three more kunai at the beast.
Ai was once again hit by the attack forcing her to stumble back and brace herself. Her chakra began to finally kick in making the wound less harmful. "ow! Well okay then i will look around can you actually finish it off?!" she gasps and begins to search for surprises.
As the big cat goes down, howling in pain, Sado can't help but want to console it, tossing a bit of the jerky he has in his equipment pouch in front of the male lion who can't even stand up well at this point. "I hope you go peacefully, kitten. Humans are the apex predator around here, and you just wandered into the wrong farm." he says as he moves towards the girls. "I'll go check on the shepherd and his wife, let them know everything is ok!" he says to the girls, jogging over the field towards the house.
A few more attacks and down goes the lioness. She doesn't seem dead, but there i some life left in her. Her eyes close from the pain a she lays in front of the remaining genin. After Sado goes inside to check on the sheperd and his wife, they come out when they stop hearing the growls of the lions, peeking out from their doorway. "Is…is it safe?" They ask, hoping it was. If so, they would walk out to provide the genin with a cloth package for them. "This is all we can offer you. We hall let others of this area know that Kumogakure will protect us." They bow their heads once more before heading back inside.
Michiko dusts herself off, checking herself for wounds. Seeing none, she looks around for Ai and Sado. The good news? Sado is easy to locate since he's over by the house. Ai is a bit harder to find, but she does find her. "Ai-san, you have no injuries?" she asks, trying to make sure her team is all good. Once assessing that situation, she would go back to the house, telling the couple, "Thank you very much for doing so. Just let Kumogakure know if there's anything you need." Once they go inside, she turns to Sado. "Sado-kun, any injuries? If not, we can probably get back home."
"No injuries! Just a simple old fashion lion beat down. Flawless. " Ai replies back smiling as the couple has approached. She remains reluctant but smiles as she lets Michiko do the talking. "Right lets heas back and report to Nariko-sama…. Maybe we can sell the cloth though?" Ai teases… "No seriously i need some ryo…"
