Starring:
Date: March 21, 2014
Summary:
Mushi and Aburei finally found out what happened to the stolen medicine.
"Squirrelly Crisis - Resolution"
Countryside of the Land of Water
Victory! The Houfu's ambitions have been thoroughly subdued, their head has been humiliated to satisfy the honor (and sense of humor) of the squirrel clan whom they'd once subjugated, and the vital pills have been recovered! At least, that's the impression carried by the albino squirrel Supaaki as he struts out of the Houfu compound, and by the nonchalant badger teen Hachimitsu who carries the jar of pills. Unknown to both of them, they're not the sort of pills Mushi was looking for. c.c In fact, nobody mentioned pills to either of them until the Houfu's hired blades surmised that's what they were after. Aburei spots the entourage coming out of the compound and gets up from playing his recorder. "Hi there. How'd it go?" :)
Unlike the squirrels strutting about confidently, Mushi is still wary. Her hands are in her pockets, and there's an easy smile on her face. But that doesn't mean she isn't keeping an eye out. They just raided a compound. They're deep in enemy territory. But the squirrel's cocky cheerfulness is infectious, and she's almost feeling a little giddy. They'd one the right thing…right? She glances back. None of them were dead. They may rise up again. Or maybe this would be the last time…maybe things were okay.
So along the way Mushi takes out one of her smaller feathers. Green fading to yellow. And she'd give it to the feisty badger. "This is a sign of our friendship," she says. "That we'll always help each other out, like we did in there. If ya ever need a boost, just concentrate a bit of chakra into it and I'll come flying. And don't you /dare/ lose it, fuzzball," she adds jokingly. To Aburei she says, "We handled the guards. And look, we have some souvenirs."
Hachimitsu takes the offered feather, peers at it critically, then shrugs and stuffs it into his vest. "Uh, yeah, sure. Whatever." He doesn't mention that he really hasn't studied any ninjutsu. -.-; But if he ever needs to use this thing, he probably just has to, like, focus at it real hard, right? Not that he ever will need to. Psht. e.e Supaaki gestures grandly as Hachimitsu sets down the pill jar. "Behold, the object of your quest! I was kind of surprised, actually, I thought we were just punishing the Houfu. But if you profit from it, that's fine with me!" Aburei frowns and crouches down to examine the jar. "Wait, I thought the pills were in lots of tiny jars with just a few doses each, for easy distribution. Did you put them in this big jar before giving them to the Houfu?" Supaaki's whiskers twitch quizzically. "What? We didn't give these pills to the Houfu. We haven't given them anything in years, since we broke off our contract with them." Supaaki glances up at Mushi. "What's he talking about, Great One?" :P
Mushi rubs the back of her neck and exhales. Oh boy. "These aren't the pills we're looking for," she says to Aburei. "They're more like…soldier pills, I think? Strength enhancement. We need the ones that cure. But we had to beat up half the compound in there to get to the end. I was a bit nervous staying in there any longer without you." From behind their gaze, Mushi's eyes would move from Aburei, to the animals, indicating who she was really worried about. Sure the animals were strong, but to survive another wave of attackers? "They didn't seem to know what we were talking about either. If only we had one of those medical pills, we'd have some way to trace them. Maybe they're still back in there?"
Aburei scratches his head. "Um, but the whole reason we thought the Houfu had the medical pills was because…well, because we thought the squirrels stole them for them." c.c; Supaaki blinks, then pounds a fist into his palm. "Ohhhh! You mean the pills for curing Ekirei's Whooping Lung?" Aburei startles. "Y-yes! You know about that?" o.O Supaaki nods. "Yes, one of my clan was foraging in town and caught it, then it spread. We heard there was going to be a shipment of pills to treat it, and we figured it would be simpler to sneak a few bottles while it was in transport than let a bunch of humans know about our clan and beg for the pills." Aburei furrows his brow. "A few bottles? Why'd you take the entire shipment, then?" Supaaki tilts his head. "We did?" Supaaki thinks back on the planning his clan had done, the excitement there had been when somebody suggested the clever pebbles-in-eggshells substitution, the impassioned pep talk he'd given about how their childrens' lives depended on the success of the operation. He sheepishly draws a circle in the dirt with his hindpaw. "…Sometimes we get carried away." n.n;
Hachimitsu snorts. "So we all just risked our necks for nothin', huh?" Supaaki shakes his head vigorously. "Nono, theHoufureallyneededtobepunished! Andwhoknowswhatthey'dhavedonewiththesesoldierpills!" c.c; Hachimitsu hefts the pill jar. "Whatever, I'm bailing. And I'm taking these pills with me as payment, maybe Granny can figure out a good use for 'em." With a poof, Hachimitsu disappears back to his clan's dwelling.
…what? Mushi listens to their story with growing incredulity. So she'd basically just been used to help beat up these little rodent's enemies. For a moment, she allows herself to imagine shaking the both of them. In the air. By their tails. Then, she calms down a little and says, "I see. Well, I'm glad we know where the pills are. We need those pills to help with the sick humans. When you give them to us I promise, there will be no mention of your clan in this, Supaaki-san. Can you take us there?" Her tone is very calm and controlled. Very, very, very controlled. She turns a direct gaze on Supaaki and waits.
Aburei nods with a sigh. "Right. Er…you didn't use all the pills, right? A single pill would've been a near-lethal dosage for a squirrel I'd think, and you had hundreds." Supaaki nods emphatically. "Oh yes, we knew that, we carefully chipped the pills into proper doses. We do have a medic in our clan, you know." Aburei smiles in relief. "Good, good…so what did you do with the pills you didn't use?" Supaaki flicks his tail. "We buried them, of course." Duh! That's what you do when you have an excess of something, right? :P
The remainder of the day is spent heading back to the squirrel clan's hidden village, regaling them with the tale of the Houfu's punishment, explaining the need for returning the medical pills…and watching as they all head off to recover the tiny pill jars. Apparently disposing ofstoring the pills had been a task distributed widely amongst the clan, and as typical with squirrels, they don't all remember exactly where they buried their stashes. A few of them even get into squabbles over whose pill jar was whose, even though it hardly matters since they're all being returned. In the end, though, plenty of pills are recovered for the treatment of the townsfolk, and Mushi and Aburei return as rescuing heroes to put an end to the epidemic. MISSION ACCOMPLISHED!
