Starring:
Youkio, Mika
Date: March 19, 2012
Summary:
Youkio and Mika go after a criminal who uses corpses to make a garden in the Land of Wind.
"The Desert Gardener"
A Cave in the Land of Wind
After some research and tracking the guy down, Youkio made his way back to Sunagakure to grab Mika to follow the criminal known as the Desert Gardener to his hideout by his scent. They run at a pace that is definitely that of Beast Fists, as they have to get to this guy before he finishes his ritual on his latest victim and waters the rest of his plants. The sun is sinking below the horizon, so they are likely running out of time before he goes into hiding.
"So apparently this guy is taller than me, but he wears a yellow sundress and a really big hat," the Dire Wolf Fist says as he looks over to Mika, though he keep an eye on the path ahead as well. There is much sand where they are running, and there are also beginning to be some rocks and such that one might trip over. "He's definitely a fruit cake, but apparently he can work wonders in combat with a garden spade, so be careful."
Mika is in her combat gear. She has to slow her pace down so that the wolf can lead. Its actually really hard for her to do. No wonder Maikeru used to get so mad at her for being slow. The woman watches Youkio as she listens to his base description of the guy. She nods her head a bit as her mind clears a bit. Her nose sniffs the air once more, just to make sure they're on the right track. "How did you hear of this job, Youkio? And who is the client? None of this came down from the usual lines.", she comments. "Please tell me that this isn't a personal issue.", the little cat comments as she thinks of something. "Youkio? Have reached the Beast state?", she asks.
Though he isn't much slower than Mika, Youkio does appreciate the cat slowing down a bit for him. Cats are a more agile species anyway. "I'm a mercenary," he replies as he glances back over to her once again. "I've got sources from back when I ran with some crews before I got strong enough to handle the kills on my own." At her next question, he blinks and quirks an eyebrow. A faint smirk tugs at his lips as he looks back ahead and lets out a light chuckle. "Now, now, I can't be giving you all my secrets, Chiisana-hime."
Mika shakes her head a little bit. "You know that before the tournament, you're sopposed to meet in private with the Elder, and discuss your best technique, and if you can reach beast state or not. Either way, I'll know once things start happening. Does he have any guards of any kind? Or plant base jutsus that could cause an issue?", she asks. When on a job, Mika is completely different. Focused, and looking at things as if from above. Mostly cause she doesn't want to get caught offguard, and become an allpowerful ceiling cat! Either way, her cat like eyes scan the horizon.
"A smart mercenary always has an ace in the hole," Youkio says, shrugging his shoulders. "Being an emissary between villages and working for them is quite different from what I am. You learn that no one is to be trusted, as even your best friend one day might be hired to take you out because you pissed off someone who was willing to pay enough for the job." He takes in a deep breath through his nostrils, attempting to judge their proximity to the target. "No guards or jutsu besides Taijtusu that I know of. The guy's just a lunatic with a garden spade and a fetish for growing flowers in corpses."
Mika takes a second to pause. "Whats his favorite flower?", the woman asks as she looks at him serious. THe woman takes a deep breath, and suddely feels very uneasy about things. She really prays that its not a certain flower. "And either way, I would be very very careful. How much research did you do on this guy? I'm just wanting to make sure we don't jump in there, and suddenly find that we're way over our heads.", she tells.
At the question, Youkio blinks and glances over at her, pondering. Well, it's true some flowers can be used to knock people out or even for poison and such, but, if this guy's obsessed the way the Dire Wolf Fist thinks he is, he'll be more worried about protecting his flowers than using them for such things. "Not totally sure he has a favorite," he replies, shrugging his shoulders. "Roses, daisies, lillies, that kind of thing." Looking back ahead, he peers up to a large rock that seems to be partially guarding an opening to a cave. "He's tough, but I don't think he's tough enough to take both of us down."
"Just as long as its not corpse flower.", she says. THe woman rubs her nose. "I'm allergic to corpse flower's pollen.", she explains. THe girl stretches out as she gets her claws out. She hops on a few rocks, and crouches very very low on the rock, looking around with her feline eyes. The woman sniffs the air a little bit, and motions for Youkio. She points up with her finger, and then points at Youkio before pointing to the ground. Apparently she wants to take the high side.
Giving Mika a glance as she ducks and points, Youkio gives a nod and moves over to sneak toward the cave's entrance while staying out of view. He finally ducks behind the rock at the entrance of the cave itself and crouches down, beginning to focus ki through his body. His version of ki, Rinki, is much darker than Mika's, brimming with violent energy. After a few moments of preparation, he peeks inside, spotting the enormous man in a sundress water some of his plants and facing away from the entrance. Inside, about twenty bodies are lined up on what appear to be altars of stone, all bare except for the flowers planted to cover most of their bodies and private parts. Lifting an eyebrow, he ducks down behind the nearest altar and waits.
Mika, being a cat fist, finds small notches in the walls just big enough to hold her as she moves from spot to spot while digging her claws into the stone slightly. She watches the man from above, letting Youkio focus on the ground. She can already envision him moving around like a wolf prepping his attack. Just as much as she's finding a ledge just big enough for her to crouch on. The woman is digging her claws into the ground a little bit, and wiggling her backside a little unconciously as she creeps to the edge. Is it time yet? Is it time yet? The rear keeps shaking as she preps for her attack.
Just as Youkio is starting to creep closer, the giant man turns around and spots him. The Dire Wolf Fist stares in shock for a moment as he sees a man that is even taller and more muscle-bound than him adorned in a sundress and large hat and this time wearing lipstick and blush. "What are you doing in my garden?!" a forcedly girlish voice rings out as the strange man reaches for a rather large and pointy garden spade. "I won't let you ruin it! It's taken me so long to cultivate a garden in the desert. I will be the world-famous Desert Gardener!"
Blinking a few times, Youkio stands and tilts his head slightly. "Buddy, you've got more than a few screws loose." Just as the spade is swung at his head, he leaps over the altar, driving a ki-charged fist into the man's gut as his other hand takes on the look of a werewolf's white claw, which immediately moves to rake across his eyes.
Mika giggles a little bit from her spot. Wolfie got busted! The girl licks the back of her hand like a cat would, and stretches out a little bit. She doesn't want to jump into the middle of a fight from above. She's going to wait until the target staggers back a little bit, and then get him. For now, the young kitten waits for the oppertunity for her strike. Patience is something that good kittens practice and master!
As his eyes are raked, the strange man staggers back and lets out an ear-piercing scream. Youkio peers up at Mika, wondering why she didn't pounce did and attack while he's blinded, just enough time to receive the blunt end of a garden spade across his head and get sent flying into a cave wall. "We've got to work on our coordination!" he calls out as the Desert Gardener runs his way. The moment the man leaps over the altar and prepares to come down on him with the sharp point of the spade, he receives a rude wake-up call by Youkio quickly bounding up and driving another Dire Strike his way, this time in the form of a powerful punch straight to the family jewels. The giant's face turns slightly blue as he falls back on one of his creations speechless for a moment.
"Didn't want to get in your way, Puppy.", she says. Mika jumps off the ledge, and her hands turn to claws as a tail comes out. Her ears grow longer as little kitty fangs poke out of her mouth. The transformation is so fast at this point that before she even lands, she's fully changed. But before she lands, the girl flips over into a roll so that both her hands slash the man in the chest, and she tries to rake them all the way up to his face and eyes. She continues to roll a little bit away, and then pops up on her feet, walking gracefully as she looks over her shoulder at the man she just slashed at. Mostly just stalking him at this point….
"Didn't want to get in your way, Puppy.", she says. Mika jumps off the ledge, and her hands turn to claws as a tail comes out. Her ears grow longer as little kitty fangs poke out of her mouth. The transformation is so fast at this point that before she even lands, she's fully changed. But before she lands, the girl flips over into a roll so that both her hands slash the man in the chest, and she tries to rake them all the way up to his face and eyes. She continues to roll a little bit away, and then pops up on her feet, walking gracefully as she looks over her shoulder at the man she just slashed at. Mostly just stalking him at this point….
Youkio smirks slightly as Mika finally contributes to the fight. "Not bad, Pussy," he says before reaching forward to pull the bleeding man up by the collar of his dress and reach forward to dig the claw's of the werewolf-like hand into his throat. "I think you should've just moved to the Land of Grass and bought a vineyard, pal," he says as he starts to drive fist after fist into the man's face. They're not even really giving him time to speak anymore, perhaps playing a little game of One-Up.
Mika shakes her head. "You're enjoying this, Youkio. This isn't a game. Finish it. Maybe I shouldn't have gotten fancy, and should have just went for the kill shot…", she says. The woman starts to walk over, swishing her tail and hips a bit. Those claws come out once more, as they prepare for a finishing blow if Youkio doesn't do it before she gets there. "And I wasn't that vulgar when I called you puppy. Show some decenicy…", she states.
"Well, it is a synonym for cat," Youkio says with a chuckle before turning his swinging hand into a werewolf's hand as well and swinging it to slice the Gardener's throat. As he drops the body, down on the altar, he turns back to Mika and lifts an eyebrow at her. "Decency? I kill people for a living. What's decent about that? And, yes, I do enjoy it, as much as any wolf enjoys a good hunt."
Mika shakes her head a little bit, and stretches out a little bit. "Got something to put his head in? I don't feel like having blood drip all over me all the way back to Suna. Or at least something of personal effect that we can carry back as proof of the job.", she says. The woman pops her neck, and looks around for some water to wash her hands with. "At least try to have some class? This little princess does try to at least behave professionally on jobs."
"Got it covered," Youkio says, walking over to where a few sacks are hanging on the wall to take one then come back over. He then grabs the man's spade and swings it down to separate his head from his body with a rather sickening sound and a light splatter of blood. "You're definitely a child of the village," he remarks with a smirk as he bends down to pick up the head and stuff it in the sack. "But this wolf was sent out into the wild to make his own way, and being exiled did not stop me from practicing the forbidden style. I'm not one to be tamed."
Mika smirks a little bit. "Don't worry, Puppy, I'll get you village broken. That way you don't have to run to the gate every time you got to take a piss.", she says, reverting back to her human form. Mika heads for the door. "Just cause I know how to behave myself doesn't mean that I was sheltered. I still got my hands dirty.", she tells. The girl pops her back. "Ready?"
"One second," Youkio says, reaching into a pouch on his side and withdrawing a rather large bottle of sake. He pops the cap on it then begins walking around the room, pouring it on all the corpses and around the area. "Something tells me their families don't want to see them like this, so we might as well at least cremate them, eh?" Once all the corpses are doused, he walks to the entrance and strikes a match, tossing it down at a small trail that lights and sends billows of flames into the cave to engulf it and destroy the garden along with the body of its maker.
"….That was a dumb thing to do…", she tells. "I get the gesture, but Itami could have sent in Med-nins in to check the bodies, and get identifcation. That way families could have been notified. Better that a family knows that a child is dead, then wondering whatever happend to their child every day of their life.", Mika says. She shrugs though. "Oh well. Lets get going. Since the bodies are being burnt, lets just hellcat and hellhound the place into the ground.", she says. The woman wants to put some distance between her and this place…Plus the report she's going to have to file. This is going to be a long walk back to Suna…
