Eyes Wide Shut

Name: Wild Animal Attack
Rank: C-Rank
Participants: Moon Village, Sun Village, Missing Ninja
Type: Group Mission
Reward: 25 EXP, 10 Ryo
Details: A dangerous wild animal has been spotted out in the area, terrorizing travelers or local villagers. Your mission is to hunt this animal, and either get it to leave the area or take it down. If it remains in the region it could cause major damage or even hurt someone, so it is important to remove the beast as delicately as possible.
Requirements: Each person must make at least 2, 400 word post.

“If anyone knows the wilds, it is those rabbits!’

That is what they said. He was oblivious of the meaning, but he took pride in the words. Hikari Usagi, one of the proud “Sons of the Usagi”, had breathed a deep breath into his nostrils that day when he had been assigned his first moderately ranked mission since leaving the Academy. Many times over, he did not think he would get his chance considering how careful the village had been. Even though he went to the Academy, there was a lingering doubt as he was overly aged for a student, and not to mention the frustration met as the proctors commented how he could not perform such simple Ninjutsu skills. He initially felt horrible about all these handicaps of his!

Not today! No!

Hikari had all the time to prove himself on this mission! He had taken careful notes in his head when they spoke to him about the mission. The predator was an animal on the trails of the River Basin who struck only at night! Night time was where he flourished best! He would have a big grin on his face the moment he would leave the Village Gates and head to the nearby basin. There was also one more note, however, that caught his attention: That he would not be working along.

He would be excited if he was not nervous!

Hikari had not worked with other shinobi before! He did simple missions by himself and demonstrated they were well below his ability! He did not have judgement, wandering eyes, nor a bitter retort to remind him how he was a part of the Usagi Clan! It was infuriating given how people already did not give him a chance, so he was wondering how this interaction would go? His heart beat faster with each parkouring from tree to tree until his powerful ears could hear the sound of the flowing water within the distance.

“I-I think I am here…”

His eyes were not reliable, so he could not see anything. Though he made careful note in his head for the rendezvous point that he would meet with the shinobi. A clearing was not far from the basin as there had been a number of noticeable features he would take note of even without eyes. The paths were beaten and ran closely to the nearby river, and not to mention the wild life within the area was sparse. He could barely hear the sound of a nearby bird much less the scampering feet of a small squirrel or raccoon which were more common in other areas.

“I-I should try to make a first impression…” He would tug at his Flak Jacket. “...I-I wonder if he will even like me...or she?”

Hikari was worried! He was looking like any other usual Usagi Clan member even with his jacket that was printed with the insignia from the village. He still wore the traditional grab beneath the jacket. His colors were a signature black Kimono that hugged his body tightly and was bound with a white ribbon upon the backside just above his back. It was cut short to show the mesh guarding his legs from hips all the way down to his ankles that were overlapped by the straps of the signature high heel Geta the clan balanced on. His lower back side was crowned with a ball of cotton that was sewn there like all the Usagi clan outfits, and his head was crowned with the signature Usagi No Mimi. He would touch the faux rabbit ears that were bands and thin metal that were covered with thick white pelt. His arms were sleeveless which was easier to work his fingers through his hair to make sure none of the band was exposed.

“Good!” He chimed, “I look good...right?”

He frowned realizing he was talking to himself. It was a terrible habit! He missed having any of the summons by his side being for casual. He knew he had to be careful and summon them at appropriate times seeing as they were limited with how long they could stay by his side. The village was on alert and Grandmother was paranoid! Herself and Moka, the boss of the contract, would always need the rabbits to look into the murders that were happening in the village.

“Even Grandmother seems to be concerned lately…”

A horrifying thought if anyone knew the promiscuous Queen of Chaos within the Usagi Clan. Hikari’s head would lower as it was weighed by these deep thoughts. So enamored with his concerns, he would not have noticed if someone were coming at that moment.

Kenji had found himself tired of sleeping away the days and instead he figured it was finally time for him to do his job as a shinobi and actually do something for the village. So when he went to check on the missions and found that some sort of animal was out attacking people, he figured he could do with some nature for a change of pace and while he didn't know who was going to be his partner, he figured meeting new people wouldn't hurt.

Arming himself with his equipment and sealing Lingchi, the lazy shinobi begun making his way to the rendezvous point where he'd meet his new mystery partner for his this mission. Kenji wore his usual black jacket on top of his flak jacket and his forehead protector hung loosely around his neck. He figured there was no reason to dress up since it was just going to probably be another genin like himself, he doubted they'd send a chunin and a genin to catch a simple animal.

Still he had to wonder just who this mystery person was? Would he be younger? Older? Would it even be a he? Either way, he just hoped they wouldn't be too serious, last thing he'd need is someone barking orders at him and trying to take command. He had gotten enough of that from the academy. Kenji paused for just a second as he pulled out one of his white candy sticks and placed it within his mouth like one would do with a cigarette and simply left it there to dissolve in his mouth. Nothing like a cherry flavored candy stick to make himself feel better.

Resuming his walk, he noticed what appeared to some sort of bunny girl? Kenji only stopped for a second as he looked at the sight, rubbing his left eye to ensure it wasn't some sort of visual trick but it was indeed a bunny girl. Kenji had no idea such a people existed but chalked it up to being some sort of clan like those bug people that reside in the village. They still gave him the creeps.

"Well aren't you adorable." Kenji said with a smirk as he walked up to the shorter bunny girl, his silver eye taking in the rather strange choice of attire, especially noting the little ball of cotton on the bunny's backside. "You must either really like rabbits or you're part of some clan..." Kenji idly commented as he scratched his left cheek and took this moment to look around his surroundings.

Nothing really stood out to Kenji, it looked to be just another clearing with a river flowing through it and a beaten down path going ahead and of course the path he just came from. "Oh right, where are my manners? I'm Kenji Haruka, pleasure to meet ya."  Kenji suddenly turned his attention back to the bunny as he realized he forgot to even introduce himself to his new companion, offering a hand to the shorter shinobi.

Kenji's smirk became a full on grin as he noticed the bunny's reaction to his comment and he couldn't help but snicker despite trying to stop any laughter. It was quite a precious reaction, the bunny's cheeks were flushed red but that's when Kenji noticed the strange tint to her eyes, his own silver eye slightly widening at the sight. Was she blind? Or just some sort of dojustu? Regardless, he only told himself to ask about it later. For now he was just going to sit back and enjoy the show of the shinobi stumbling over her words trying to explain she was indeed part of a clan.

Once she introduced herself as Hikari Usagi, Kenji figured this bunny clan was apparently called the Usagi and he made note to look into these people later on. He was curious why he hadn't run into these people before, it wasn't like he was used to seeing animal people just yet that he'd glossed over any animal based clans like this. Still as the bunny said it was indeed a pleasure for him to have met her, he couldn't help but smile at that. This attitude coming from someone as small and adorable as the bunny just made it more adorable, like a baby trying to boss someone around.

Although the question she asked about what to do next was a fair one, one that Kenji himself never really thought about. He kinda thought they'd just jump into it, begin hunting whatever it was that they were supposed to hunt. Kenji simply shrugged as the rabbit shinobi explained she had never worked with someone before let alone work a C rank mission before.

"Eh, this is my first time working with someone else and working a C rank mission as well so your guess it as good as mine..." Kenji admitted without much care, he never really was the one for planning and figured he'd just wing it like he did for most missions. "Although I suppose it'd be good to make sure we both know we're hunting some animal that hunts at night.... Right?" Kenji asked the bunny shinobi to ensure they knew exactly as much as he knew, which wasn't a whole lot but then again, it wasn't too hard to just toss some meat on places where the animal was last seen and play the waiting game.

"Oh and I just have to ask, but are you bunnies this cute or are you the exception?" Kenji couldn't help but ask, partly curious if all these bunny folk were similar to the one before him or if this one was somehow unique, while the other part just wanted to see how more flustered the bunny could become, a smirk forming on his face once more as he asked the question.

"A date huh? you know, it's usually the guy who asks out the girl..." Kenji commented with a shrug of his shoulders, a grin on his face as he did so. Still it appeared it was time to get serious and stop with the flirting as the bunny begun to explain why exactly she was sent out with him instead of someone else and it made enough sense why both of them were sent out, she could figure out where the animal was and Kenji could bait it with Lingchi. Although he knew he could joke and flirt when the bunny gave him a wink after assuring him that he shouldn't worry because she would protect him and he could only grin at that.

"Sounds like a solid plan to me, I got a puppet we can even use as bait and I'm sure someone as strong as you wouldn't let my most prized possession get damaged, would you?" Kenji simply laid out his part of his plan and flirted back with the bunny, doing his best to give puppy eyes to the shorter shinobi but he couldn't wipe the stupid grin off his face despite his best efforts.

Although once she accused him of doing this whole flirting thing often, she came closer and Kenji could only move back slightly and raise his hands ever so slightly. He was a bit unsure what to say until the bunny spun around and begun to walk away, calling him a flirter and suggesting the two should walk and talk, something Kenji had no qualms about and instead only followed the shorter shinobi.  

"You know, I only flirt with the pretty ones." Kenji simply told the bunny as he caught up to her, walking right by her side with his usual grin on his face. If he had both eyes, he'd probably try and shoot her a wink but the fact she might be blind and that his wink could be seen as just a blink just made him maintain his grin. As the two walked deeper into the forest, Kenji was beginning to feel a bit uneasy, he was never a fan of the dark since the night he had to run for his life in a dark forest such as this.... Well it was a jungle but dark, hints of green, lots of wild life and trees as far as the eye could see wasn't exactly the most comforting sight. Still he kept his mind off it by focusing on the cherry flavor in his mouth.

Once Hikari begun to talk about her family and confirm Kenji's suspicions about her being blind by saying she wasn't sure if her family was also considered cute or not since she was indeed blind. "Huh, well I got an eye patch so at least we got vision impairments as more shared common ground." Kenji added as he scratched his cheek. "Although is it really smart for you to take the lead? I mean what can you even.... "see"? Like do you echolocation like a bat or what's the deal here?" Kenji begun to ask as he fully realized he was following a blind bunny into a dark forest without a real solid idea of where they're even going.

When Hikari brought up wanting to seeing Kenji's puppet, he had to admit it was a bit exciting to get to show off his work, it wasn't exactly every day that he got to show off Lingchi to anyone and he was really proud of his work on the puppet. The amount of time and dedication that went into each part of the puppet was a fond memory to him, it allowed him to escape reality for a while and just focus on creating something. That excitement was popped as she exclaimed she was only joking. Ow. Kenji's heart.

Regardless of his shattered heart, Kenji would only follow along with his bunny companion, a soft smile on his face as he watched her walk backwards without a problem. It was nice to know she could "see" so well she didn't even need to see to find out what was around her, an ability especially useful for whatever creature was lurking out in the night. Not to mention her own flirts were also quite a warm welcome, he was used to things being a one way street where he'd flirt with a girl for fun until he grew bored or she got mad, whichever happened first.

However her sudden stop in both speech and movement put Kenji on guard, the lazy shinobi looking around and reaching for the piece of paper he sealed Lingchi in. The bunny only warned Kenji they were being watched and she seemed a bit nervous as she asked for Kenji to whip out his "toy" for her, something that Kenji only snickered at. That sounded so wrong without any context. "My, my... On the first date too." Kenji joked as he placed the paper on the ground a few feet away from the duo.

With a single release sign of his hand and a poof of smoke, Lingchi appeared from the piece of paper, the puppet resting on the ground in a sitting position, the dark cloak of the puppet had it's hood up and it's mask on leaving the eyes of the puppet peaking out. Kenji quickly connected his chakra strings to the puppet and made it stand, the cloak's baggy nature leaving it's hands hidden underneath the cloak and the cloak covered up to the puppet's mid thighs which itself was covered in plain black pants that looked suspiciously similar Kenji's own pants.

"Alright, just point me to where it is and Lingchi shall take care of it." Kenji confidently told the bunny as he brought Lingchi close to the two, the puppet's back toward them and it's arms raised ever so slightly to allow it strike quickly should the need arrive. Of course while Lingchi was in a defensive position, Kenji made sure to keep an eye out for any of sign of what could be out there, but in the dark without any source of light was definitely putting him at a disadvantage.

---

Kenji unsealed Lingchi!
Kenji used Puppet String Technique
Cost: 10 CP
Remaining CP: 90/100

Kenji only watched in interest as the bunny's ears and head moved in quick movement, seemingly scanning out for the exact location of their would be predator all while keeping Lingchi ready to strike at any sudden movement in front of him, the puppet's metal tail already being lowered and ready to strike quickly behind them in case whatever it was that was out there had ended up behind them.

He had to admit, this was a bit of an uncomfortable situation to be out in the dark without being able to see anything and knowing something was out there hunting for them but he at least had someone here who knew how to stay fun and could see in the dark. Thankfully it seemed the bunny found the predator and revealed it's location being to the southeast just out of range for most shinobi's jutsu to be of any effect but then again, Kenji's wasn't most shinobi.

Maneuvering Lingchi to the direction where the creature, Kenji was ready to send his puppet right to the creature, his strings could reach 20 meters and he had no doubt the clawed fingers and tail blade could deal with whatever was out there, even if Kenji himself couldn't quite see the creature as it remained crouched and just presumably out of sight.

Before he could send his puppet however, he noticed his bunny companion turn to him and give him a smile, one that either meant she was really enjoying the show or had an idea... Or both, both would be fine. Sadly however it seemed it would be only an idea as his bunny companion told him she'd like to capture whatever it was and would need to leave to set up some sort of trap for it. Which meant she was leaving him alone in the dark forest without being able to see much while being hunted by something. This was fine. Totally fine.

"All that build up and you aren't even going to let me use my puppet? What a cruel tease... But alas, I suppose I can survive without your beauty for a few minutes." Kenji joked with a grin on his face as usual, ignoring his own fear of being left alone in a dark forest with something hunting him. Not like he was in any real danger after all, at worst his companion will have to come in and save the day if that thing manages to get the jump on him.

"Just uh, make sure not to let my puppet get damaged, will ya?" Kenji asked in a bit less of a joking manner as he looked toward Lingchi. It'd suck to have his puppet destroyed after all that work and time, it was Kenji's greatest weapon and only friend.

Kenji watched with some amusement as the bunny girl blew a kiss to what he thought was going to be him but instead she blew it right to his puppet and Kenji only raised his eyebrow. It was also at this moment that he realized his puppet has now officially gotten more action than him and that thing wasn't even alive. He wasn't too sure how to feel about this. "What? No good luck flying kiss thing for me?" Kenji jokingly asked with a fake hurt expression on his face before grinning. "Oh well, your loss." Kenji simply shrugged as he turned his attention back to the creature waiting for them.

With a simple dash from the body flicker, he realized the bunny was going to take the high ground and leave him down here to act as bait. Not completely ideal but at least Kenji had his own bait so to speak with Lingchi. He only kept his puppet ready to attack while he waited for his companion to get into position. Suddenly creature let out some grunts and growls before it struck a tree in front of it, shaking enough light to let him finally get a good look at what they'd be catching.

Some sort of pig? Not what he would've guessed, he would've thought it was going to be some sort panther or other creature known for being a dangerous predator, not some bacon. Either way once the pig gave up looking for his partner in the trees and turned it's attention to him, he knew it was his time to shine and was prepared to send Lingchi out as bait.

The pig let out a roar and it begun to charge at both him and Lingchi so moving quickly, Kenji jumped out of the way to safety as he sent his puppet to go face the pig. However as the pig neared Lingchi, the puppeteer quickly sent the puppet around the pig, it's cloak serving to blind the pig for a second as the two passed by one another. The pig regained it's sight as it crashed into yet another tree, the creature only grunting and turning back to face the puppet once more. "So close little piggy, maybe try again?" Kenji would "tell" the pig but was really talking to himself in slight amusement.

As long as he could see the pig, there wouldn't really be much harm, it's not like pigs were known for being fast or sneaky after all. He had to admit, he was getting himself worried for no reason earlier, all he really had to do was play a game of tag with his puppet against a pig and he doubted he was going to lose any time soon. Although that didn't mean he wanted to stay here all night either, what was the bunny thinking?

"Say Hikari, how exactly are we going to capture this thing? I didn't exactly bring a rope or something with me." Kenji asked out loud as the pig begun to charge at the puppet once more causing Kenji to quickly pull the puppet away from the pig's path. "And unless you want pork chops, I doubt Lingchi can hold onto the pig either." Kenji added as he made the puppet raise both it's arms up to reveal the bladed fingers before realizing that Hikari can't see. Thankfully she probably couldn't see him face palming either. "Uh, because it has knives for hands in case you couldn't tell through however you see." Kenji awkwardly added that bit in after a few seconds of face palming.

Well that lead nowhere, the bunny told him nothing except to keep the pig distracted and she'll take care of it, which left exactly where he started. Keep the pig distracted and wait for the bunny to do something, which could be anything at this point while playing tag with the pig. Not the worst job in the world honestly but he really wasn't entirely sure how long he was going to be doing this nor did he know what he should do besides trying to keep the pig crashing into things.

"Well Lingchi, looks like it's just you and me buddy." Kenji would talk to himself in a lowered voice as he brought his puppet closer to him while keeping an eye on the pig that seemed to be rubbing it's head against a tree for whatever reason. "Don't you think we should do something Kenji?" Kenji asked himself in a higher pitched voice, making the puppet's head turn to him while moving it's mouth up and down, mimicking the words Kenji spoke. "Why? It's probably just rubbing it's hurt head, more time for us to just si-" Kenji tried to answer himself in his regular voice but came to a sudden stop as the tree suddenly begun to crack and groan as it slowly begun to fall.

"...Clever girl." Kenji said as he narrowed his eye at the pig for a brief second before rushing to the right of the falling tree, keeping his puppet close to himself but as he rushed away in the darkness, he tripped over a branch and came crashing down into the ground much like the tree did just inches away from him. "Stupid darkness..." Kenji muttered as he looked up back toward where the pig was, only to see one angry pig charging straight for him. Thinking quickly, Kenji brought his puppet crashing into the pig's side, taking the pig off the ground for a brief second as it crashes into the fallen tree.

"Seems like it's smarter than it looks!" Kenji shouted out to his bunny companion, wherever she had went as he got back on his feet and feed more chakra to his puppet's strings thus maintaining the connection. Bringing Lingchi to him, he remained ready for the pig as it rose back it's feet.

---

Kenji used 10 CP to keep Puppet String Technique active
Remaining CP: 80/100

As the pig begun to get back up and prepared to charge, Kenji prepared to dodge out of the pig's way once more, wondering just how many times he'd have to do this dance routine. Before either the pig or him could make any moves however, the ground itself begun to break inward, as if it was beginning to consume the pig, the pig only squealing and grunting as it tried to break free.

Kenji could only bring Lingchi close to him and open the puppet's mouth and his own mouth was a bit wide at the sudden development. At least he knew what the bunny was doing now, but where was the bunny? Taking a quick glance around, he half expected to find the bunny sitting on top of a branch in some sort of pose and make a joke, but he didn't see anyone.

The one eyed shinobi's attention was brought back to the pig as it begun to sink deeper and deeper into the ground, all the while trying to break free from what Kenji could only assume to be the bunny's jutsu. "Well... Remind me not to mess with the bunny." Kenji idly told his puppet that he turned to look toward him and simply nod at the request. Finally the pig would stop sinking as only the nose and husks remained in the air, still struggling to break free but failing.

Man, it would suck to get caught up in that jutsu, especially if the bunny was one of those Aburame clan members, could just sink them in and allow their bugs to feast on the stuck person. A thought that made Kenji shudder. Slowly Kenji approached the stuck pig and knelt before it. "She really did a number on you, huh?" Kenji asked the pig with a bit of a grin before noticing what appeared to be the bunny emerging from the ground 5 meters away. Well that explains where the bunny went at least.

With the sheer amount of dirt on the bunny, Kenji could only thank himself for not learning any jutsu that would dirty himself in such a way. He did not envy the person who had to wash their clothing every time they did a jutsu. The bunny only apologized for how dirty she got for their "first date" and Kenji could only snicker a bit to himself.

"Given how much we flirted, I'd be surprised if you didn't like to get dirty." Kenji would jokingly flirt with his supposed "date" as she spun to face him before thanking him for waiting and hoping she was worth it. "You were worth every second." Kenji would only tell her with his smirk turning into a grin before he noticed the bunny was looking to the now stuck pig.

"Flirting and whatnot aside... What's the plan with the pig?" Kenji would ask the bunny, curious what they were going to do now that they had it trapped. "Like I said, I didn't exactly bring rope to tie it up and I somehow doubt I could carry it all the way to the village without it breaking free..." Kenji would add as wondered what they could possibly do about it.

Kenji felt the mood shift as soon as he asked what was the plan with the pig and his bunny companion gave him an almost empty stare, before retrieving a kunai and approaching the captured pig. Kenji could only raise his eyebrow at this, he had thought they'd capture the pig to bring it back or let it free elsewhere, not simply kill the creature, after all he could've delivered a killing strike with relative ease due to the puppet's tail blade. Regardless, Kenji knew his part was done and it seemed the bunny wanted to be the one to do the dirty work, a bit funny considering the bunny's state but humor didn't feel right in this situation. Instead the puppeteer placed his puppet on the ground and retrieve another fresh piece of paper and some ink, drawing a simple symbol on the paper and with some hand signs and puff of smoke, Lingchi was sealed once more.

With Lingchi gone, Kenji only stood in silence while he grabbed another one of his candy sticks and placed it within his mouth due to his earlier one falling out of his mouth during his fall. He had no pleasure in killing a trapped animal, one where it was defenseless and could only do nothing but cry out in desperation. He listened to the bunny's attempts to reassure the creature but he doubted the pig was feeling any reassurance and neither was he, instead the one eyed shinobi walked off away behind a tree, choosing to rest his back on the tree and stay away from the sight.

It didn't feel right, almost cruel to do all that work to capture the pig only to kill it seconds later. He wasn't against killing animals, lord knows how many cows died for his steaks but hearing an animals desperate cries while trying to break free was something else. Most animals he killed that did fight back were too tired and defeated to make much noise so hearing the cries of an animal that knew it was trapped and probably going to die was a new and uncomfortable sound to the lazy shinobi.

With one loud squeal, the noises stopped and Kenji assumed the pig was dead, the lazy shinobi only frowning in response. He could only focus on the cherry flavor in his mouth as he closed his eye and laid his head back against the tree, raising it to the moon above. Taking a deep breath, the shinobi went back to his companion, if there was any bright side to this, at least they wouldn't need to bury the pig. Then again, do you bury animals you intend to leave out in the wild?

Kenji watched as the bunny tried to reassure the pig, bringing the kunai out of the pig and wiping it along the grass before standing and facing the lazy shinobi, a weak smile on her face. She tried to lighten the mood a bit but suddenly found herself stopping as she ran her hand through her hair, simply letting out a single oh before telling him that the pig was a bit rougher than she could handle, revealing a bloodied palm to the shinobi and asking that they return to the village, not wanting to get a scar due to the lack of treatment.

"Didn't even know it ended up hitting you... Well mission's done anyways, we'll get you some medical treatment and I'll report the success." Kenji would tell the bunny, no grin on his face after all that happened. It was probably more humane to trap it and deliver one strike that would kill the animal for sure than to try and strike it while it was alive and moving but it sure as hell didn't feel that way to him. The lazy shinobi only turned and begun to walk the path the two had taken to reach this point, expecting his bunny companion to follow him.