Starring:
Date: July 26, 2014
Summary:
An impromptu team of Konoha and Kumo nin chase after a minor irritant that could become an international incident.
"Snakes in a Drain"
Village Center Area [Kumogakure]
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The village center of Kumogakure is the heart of the city. This is where the people come to talk, to trade, to set up their own small shops, and to catch up on the gossip of the village. The area is built in a circle, with the focal point being a large spire rising 4 stories into the air. That spire is the administration hall of the Raikage.
There is actually a aesthetic moat around the Raikage Hall, a fountain that recirculates the water over and over again. The building itself is a massive contruction of stone, rising straight up into the air, and painted a pleasing beige color.
The village center is connected to every other corner of the village, with an exit south leading to the intersection of the Village entrance. There is an exit to the west, leading to the Kuraido-Tenrai intersection, and the apartment complexes. To the north lays the Raiko-Kuraido intersection, and the monastery. Finally, to the east lays the Arashi-Raiko intersection, with the ninja academy.
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It's a brisk and pleasant day in Kumogakure. The sun is shining, people are going about their regular business in the market…and a certain Akimichi is stumbling about the stalls, grabbing at something on the ground. "Blasted reptile! Hold still!" >.U The something turns out to be a snake, a relatively small specimen, with a grey coloration that blends in rather well with the street masonry. Despite being a jounin-level ninja, Noab is on the slow side as such warriors go, not to mention old, poor-sighted, and having meaty fingers that are far from ideal for grasping his slithery target. But of course, the question is, why does he want to catch this snake in the first place?
Michiko is enjoying the nice weather, and apparently she is in the right place at the right time, coming across Noab and the snake while making her way around the village. She is, of course, reading her book, but all the commotion has caused her to look up and she blinks. "Ah… Kumo really does need to look into finding a decent zoo keeper with all these animal incidents…" she comments, mostly to herself. "Would you like any help?" she calls out to Noab, the book getting tucked into a pouch.
Soren on the other hand, is only just now coming into the village center, stretching a bit as he approaches the somewhat familiar figure of Noab. As he sees the figure stumbling about trying to catch something. Soren blinks, approaching, equal parts curious and wanting to help, when eh hears Michiko speak. He raises a brow, glancing between the pair, shaking his head. "Seems like you could use it." he says with a small grin, approaching Noab from the other side, smiling. "If you could use a hand, I'd be happy to lend one. I've got at least a couple spares." he grins, making a joke.
Noab runs into a stall as the serpent slips underneath it. >.U; The merchant reaches out to steady the more delicate items in his jostled stall. c.C; "Hey, watch it, ya big ox!" Noab rubs his forehead. "Nrf…apologies, sir, I just need to…" Noab glances up as a couple of other nin come up to offer help. "Hrm, I hate to trouble the local nin with cleaning up my mess, but yes, that would probably be best for everyone. The snake that just went under this stall isn't from around here, apparently it stowed away in my luggage. That means it's native to the Land of Fire. For all we know it could be a mother ready to lay eggs, or capable of crossbreeding with the local population. We need to stop it before — whoap, there it goes!" The ashen reptile darts out from under the stall and heads off through the busy marketplace.
Michiko listens to the Konoha nin, blinking a bit. "A stowaway from the Land of Fire? Well… I still think an animal tamer should come around here every now and then…" Soren, who she at least manages to recognize, gets a bow. "Ah, hello, Inuzuka-san. It's nice to see you. I think we should help Akimichi-san with this snake problem of his?" she suggests. "I wish Misa-san was here… She would be a lot more helpful, I think…" Then off the snake goes, and Michiko dashes after it, avoiding most of the innocent bystanders as she chases the snakey.
Soren raised a brow. "Wait… what I just heard there was that you brought a snake with you." he says, scratching his head, grinning just a bit. He follows both of them as the snake darts off, hanging back for the immediate moment, waiting for the other two to maneuver it to an open space, so he can attach a chakra string to it's tail before it has a chance to get too far. But alas… the thing was so hard to spot with it's natural camouflage. Soren was a zippy as they came, but that wouldn't help him if he couldn't see the thing he was trying to grab!
Noab chases after the snake too as best he can, but it's hard for a person of his, ah, grandiosity to get places quickly in a crowded marketplace. "Affirmative! And that's why I've got to catch it! There's no telling what impact it could have on the local wildlife, and it'd be Konoha's fault! I've fought in WARS started over such petty-seeming matters!" >.U; The snake, for its part, is of course just trying to find a safe place to hide away from all these pesky humans. It zeroes in on a drainpipe in an alleyway and zips inside.
Michiko nods to Soren and then Noab. "Well, this is an interesting thing to encounter…" She figures that this might become a pretty big issue if let go, so she continues to follow after the snake. Then a giant groan when it goes into the drainpipe. "Okay, I may be small, but I don't think I'm /that/ small. Anyone know of a way to get the snake?" she asks to both Konoha nin. She reaches out with her earth senses to try and detect the snake as it moves around the village.
Soren comes to a halt behind Michiko, and sighs, as the thing darts up the drain pipe. "Darn it… anyone have a way to track it?" he asks, reaching around to his inventory of scrolls, hoping he had -something- he could use to flush it out of said drain pipe. After a moment he shakes his head, coming up with a resounding nothing. "Akimichi-san? Iwata-san?" he asks each of them in turn.
Noab catches up to the other two as they stare at the drainpipe. "So it's in there?" he puffs. "That's a stroke of luck. Only two exits from a pipe." Noab taps his chin. "This might result in some fuss over potential property damage, but I'm willing to pay for replacing the pipe if it comes to that. I'm going to heat the pipe, starting from the bottom and heading up. That should drive the snake to the top, where the gutter is. I want you two to be up there ready to catch it. Kill it if you have to, nothing unusual about critter dieing in a rain gutter."
After the others are in position, Noab forms some seals and blows a thin stream of fire down into the pipe. The metal warms rapidly, and the heat travels up the length of the drainpipe. And sure enough, out of the top comes…A WRITHING MASS OF SNAKES! Seems like their target wasn't the only serpent who thought the drainpipe looked like a cozy place to hide! The snakes flee along the gutter and rooftop, with a flash of ashen coloration seen here and there amongst the crowd. WHAT DO? :o
Michiko hmms. "Well, the snake's definitely in there, I can at least tell that…" She hears Noab's plan and supposes it's at least worth a shot. She climbs up the wall and gets ready to catch the stupid snake, waiting and waiting for Noab to do his thing. then… ACK! SO MANY SNAKES!!! She could really use an animal tamer right about now… And a zoo keeper. "Unpleasant…" she mutters, forming a few seals with her hand to raise an earthen wall around the area the snakes are in.
Soren leaps to the skies~! Or by that, I mean he hops to the top of the roof as soon as Noab explains his plan. "Allright, ready!" he yells, just as the snakes erupt from the end of the pipe. He acks, and jumps back, panicked for a moment, and eyeing the sudden stone walls around the mass of serpents. "Well…" he grumbles. "That was… unpleasant." he hops up onto the stone wall, glancing down at the serpents. "So… see it?" he asks with a small raise of the brow.
Hmm, well, that ought to contain the snake well enough for the moment. o.o Could be an issue later on though, having an extra set of walls added to the top of somebody's roof. Even if it was done by a Kumo nin, it might come back to haunt Noab as the initiator of this little expedition. u.u But, no use worrying about it for now! Noab comes climbing up over the barricade Michiko made. "What happened? As important as catching this snake is, this seems like overkill for — oh." Noab scratches his beard. "Well, suppose we have to consider all these snakes as potentially contaminated, even though they were only in the pipe with our mark for a short time. Since they're contained, though, we can let the local authorities deal with them as they think appropriate." :P
From there, it's a fairly simple matter of getting the attention of said authorities, and the impromptu escapade is dealt with. MISSION ACCOMPLISHED!
