Mission: Capture the wolf

Akihana had no regrets whatsoever in the time they had spend trying to calm the people of the village below, in fact, the kunoichi was proud of Hanbei for doing what he could do help clam the crowd. He had the makings of a good shinobi, he just needed practice.
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However, their slight delay gave the wolf an advantage, though not one Akihana couldn't easily overcome if she really wanted to. The wolf might have disappeared but to one who could read light patterns in the air, the trail was a tracker ninja's dream come true. The loops and whorls in the air where the wolf had took off stood out to the Kunoichi like a map, her golden eyes glinting as she flew towards where it pointed, a slight smile creeping across her lips as she realized where they were heading.

"Look Hanbei-kun, it's leading us to the mountains," she pointed out, bringing him down gently to the ground after his hard work. "Here, let me show you a neat trick. Follow me." Bringing up her hands to make the ram seal, Akihana performed the movements for Body Flicker without the actual movement at first, showing him the mechanics of it before giving it a go for real. "Aim for the mountains, we'll go at a burst of speed which will land us somewhere in the vicinity of the wolf."

As it turned out, her estimation had been about correct, with the shunshin, both she and Hanbei would arrive in the open areas of the mountain, once again in hot pursuit of the wolf that they were now in sight of.

"Alright, time to engage," the blonde murmured under her breath, hoping that Hanbei would have picked up on enough of the hints by now to know that the wolf could be communicated with. It had dropped enough hints along the way, appearing when they were ready, causing a purposeful stir in the village, making its way through the residential area without hurting a single person and now leading them into the mountain where any confrontation would not put innocent bystanders in danger. Being chunin meant perceptiveness and it was what had saved Akihana on many occasions. now it was Hanbei's turn to show he too could be just as perceptive.

Shunshin = 10 AP

Hanbei would examine Akihana during the jutsu. He noted the handsign and listened closely. Within a second, she would disappear. Now wasn't the time to get excited. Hanbei brought his hands up and made the same handsign, focusing his attention to the mountain with extreme concentration and pointing his flow of chakra to that direction. With a flicker and flash, Hanbei would appear a few feet away from Akihana. He could have done worse; he could have ported somewhere over the mountain, even beyond it; not that he'd be surprised, of course.

"That was exhilarating," Hanbei exclaimed, "You will have to teach me more later." Hanbei was taking great interest in his teacher, and was hoping he would be taught more and more jutsu, hopefully powerful genjutsu that could destroy his opponent's minds. He smirked and began looking around. The mountains were rocky, of course. Small bits of vegetation and trees littered very little area; leaving almost nothing but rocks to hide behind. He looked around, curious as if there were a cave nearby. Nothing. Just an open 'field' with winding paths. The path down lead to where they were, and the wolf would be coming any moment now.

Hanbei had been taking notice of something as well, and would make sure to let Akihana know. "Hey.. This wolf. I know you've noticed it too, but it's overly sentient. This isn't any normal beast. I noticed at first when it began stalking us the moment we came around the trees. At first, I thought it was a simple boar or dog, and ignored it. I eventually got skeptical, and began to take short glances towards the forest. I eventually spotted the beast, watching us, but this time I got a good glimpse of it. This was the beast we were sent to subdue; but this wasn't any normal beast. What dangerous wolf would stalk it's prey with such stealth and tactics? Let alone flee and clone itself..."

Hanbei continued, trailing around in a circle as he put things together, "Not only that, but it quickly, not to mention carefully, traversed the village; not hurting a single citizen or trashing a single home or business; not even a barrel was knocked out of place..." He shot a gaze towards Akihana, "It has yet to attack us; and the tactics it's used shows that it had been listening to our strategies to subdue it; meaning that it could possibly understand human language." He turned to Akihana and bowed to her, "Maybe we can end this without much bloodshed. I know it sounds like a dangerous plan, but perhaps I can speak to the beast. I've grown up in the forest on my own when I was young; I've encountered all sorts of predators and prey, and I know how they react; this is no normal creature, that much, I'm positive."

Hanbei offered to speak to the beast; he knew Akihana would be more than enough to take it down, but if he could better understand the creature or it's motive, perhaps he could learn something new, something more. Hanbei turned to Akihana and tilted his head, "Are they others alright? Where are they?" He asked with concern.

Ransurotto stood in fear of the beast. He couldnt believe they had to catch it. He couldnt even imagine killing it. How? Why did they take this mission. The despair and fear washed over him like a flash flood. He was quickly drowning in the darkness when he heard the giggles of someone. Someone he admired. He began to looks around the darkness and thetas when he saw her hiding behind that scarf she clings to. Her emerald eyes shimmering as the only glint of light. He begins to swim towards the hand she is reaching out toward him. He can't seem to reach it but he doesnt quit. He keeps swimming and keeps reaching, growing exhausted and tiresome but his heart in it for the long haul. He suddenly surfaces and looks around to the see the black demon rush off. 

He undoes his jutsu and takes off the wolf. He doesnt look back to see if Odin is there. He needs to catch the beast. He needs to make her proud. He needs to show that he matters. Ransurotto begins to leak out his chakra slowly as a bud of chakra on his lower back begins to grow out into a tail of radiating rage. He stares down the path the beast took and takes off after him. "Im not gonna give up that easily!"

V1 Beast Mode: 1/5 (50AP to activate/ 50AP gain)
AP: 50 - 85 =35/100 + 50 = 85/100

Odin held his katana in his two hands, ready to guard or block any incoming attack that came his way.  He tried to take a step back but was frozen in his tracks.  Sweat began to form on his head and hands as he trembled to the killing intent of this beast in front of him.  He saw everything he needed to see when he noticed the beast turn tail and retreated from both him and Ran.  He noticed the lack of shadow this monster had and wondered if it was truly what it was. 
His next clue, which he wasn't sure if he could interpert it yet, was that depsite seeing both of them locked in fear, it did not come to finish them off. 

He wasn't sure what to do next when all of a sudden Ran exploded out of the trance and sprinted ahead, after the beast with a new found strength.
Odin had never seen that kind of- 

Suddenly, a small lightning blast hit the ground in front of him, knocking him backwards on his ass.  A small golden dragon landed a few feet away from him, looking down at Odin as It sucked Its' teeth. 
"Get up puny child," Quezacotl commanded, "How are we going to get stronger if we can't even try and corner this imposter..." 

Odin seemed to be snapped out of the killing intent but his face was shocked, "YOU KNEW THE WHOLE TIME!?"  Odin asked in vain. 

"You only told me that I had to follow this creature, if it even is one.  You need to watch what you say to this thing and how you go about your business with it.  I am sure you can get to calm it down and try and reason with it.  For it understands you.  If not, we are doomed," it says as it flies back on the path of the beast, tracking it immedietly and hoping Odin wouldn't take too long to catch up. 

Odin doesn't bother to think of what he does next, he just does what he needs to do in order to catch up.  He does the hand seals for flicker movement and his body propells upward and towards the training grounds, where everyone was headed.  All that was left was a cloud of dust as he slowly catches up to everyone. 

His only thought was, why isn't everything being destroyed, why isn't it using chaos to run?  It isn't acting on instinct but with cunning and decisive planning.  Maybe this might be able to help him plan his plan of attack?

The chase was going on just as expected with the group of four being properly displaced and broken up, the wolf or both would use this time to stir some things up. With the mountain being home to many varieties of wolves, this task would become much harder considering the situation at hand. With the first wolf making it to the mountains first (the one being chased by Akihana and Hanbei), it would use the moutains natural fog to disguise itself in its thickness, the wolf would be hidden from sight only barely but soon that would no longer be an issue. With the addition of the moisture of the mist, it would begin to thicken and cover not only the area of the wolf, but an additional 30 meters as its Chakra signature would then be completely washed away. Through this the wolf would continue to run forward, heading towards its original destination.

Meanwhile the second wolf while being chased by Ransurroto and Odin would jump over a small bend, its position placing it on the western side of the mountain and only 40 meters from where the original was. In its direct path however laid a large family of wolves. Finding this as a perfect route, the wolf would have ran into the cluster and lowered its chakra to match that of these wolves. With this the game would begin anew forcing the boys to choose whether or not to pick the wrong wolf and end up getting mauled by the others or finding the right one. The second wolf however made no issue of taking advantage of the small disaray this would put them through and continued into a dark cave before dispersing itself. Now with the boys away from their other team and not knowing where to go...what would happen now?

Akihana listened closely to her young teammate. His words indeed rang true and he sounded like he had came to the realization on his own which made the kunoichi proud. He was learning fast and thinking on his feet. The kunoichi also felt the wolf's chakra suddenly fade, watching it retreat into the mist where no human eye could see it. No human eye without a dojustu anyway.

A small smile crept across the corner of her lips. The beast seemed to want to play. She wouldn't blame it, it must be bored all day. And Akihana now felt obliged to give it a good game to qwell the boredom that came with its office. Too bad Hanbei would not be able to keep up without help. Since the wolf could no longer be seen with eyes or felt with chakra sensory, there was only one thing the medic nin could do, and she did just that, following the empty holes in space where absolutely no trial was left.

Her own unique brand of bloodline limit allowed Akihana tracking ability rarely seen among shinobi, following light patterns or in this case, blank spaces where a trail should have been was just as telling. Turning to Hanbei, the blonde contemplated him with a serious golden gaze.

"Here," she said, her eyes  remaiend unblinking as what appeared to be thin golden wires formed a few feet in front of the duo, slowly taking on the shape of a glittering golden threaded net. The net was about two meters wide and almost as long but its best attribute was that it glinted dully on the rocky surface beneath them. "Cover this up with as much dirt and vegetation as you can find. I'm going to go look for the wolf and lead it back here," she whispered. "Be careful not to touch the net though, it both cuts and burns." Of course, the light construct would not do either very painfully but the warning was still just. After all, the kunoichi no more wanted to hurt Hanbei than she wanted to hurt the wolf.

If he wanted to play, she would play. It had been a while since she'd scratched him behind the ear anyway.

With those instructions, the kunoichi sped off to give chase, the small smile blossoming into a proper one as she picked up speed.

Without much to go on, Hanbei gave a nod and whispered, "Stay safe." He then turned to the wire and tilted his head. Was this one of her abilities or an enchanted ninja tool? He couldn't say. Either way, he didn't have time to ponder it. He began to dig up as much dirt as he could from areas nearby, areas that could barely be seen without noticing. He made no attempt to dig holes in order to get dirt, as the beast could see them and noticed that he had been digging for dirt; perhaps to cover up a trap. Hanbei gathered as much as he could and began covering the wire, eventually using a weak clone to assist in it.

After covering it up, Hanbei noticed a small lump that looked like a farming row; easy to spot. Hanbei then took the initiative and began to spread out dirt around it, to make the change in land barely noticeable. He was curious as to why the wire wasn't burning any grass or flowers he had planted on the line, but ignored his suspicions. After covering it up nice and hidden, he still wondered if the beast would truly fall into the trap. He played out scenarios in his head in mere seconds; plenty of them where the beast would evade the trap by sensing it. If the trap truly had chakra, he would have to play a mind-game.

Hanbei took out a scroll and tapped it, pulling out plenty of bear traps and tripwires with paper bombs. He left plenty of places to step to avoid these traps, but not to where it would be suspicious. He made no effort to hide the traps he had placed himself with dirt or grass; this was the game. He would place these traps around a clone of his, and have the clone sit in front of the wire, in a nervous, frightened pose with a needle in hand. If he could fool the beast into thinking that the boy was an amateur, and not crafty at all, it would tread lightly in between the traps, not expecting one to be hidden so well; let alone a trap of Akihina's. If he were to hide one trap, why not hide them all? That was the point. Hanbei himself would climb up in a tree, not far from his clone, and observe. He had left a few bells around the tree to alert him if the beast had caught onto his double, or sensed his chakra. He decided to meditate in the tree in order to keep his chakra from oozing out; He was still unsure about the beast itself. What IS this creature? He would speak to it, if he got the chance; even if he had to trap it.

Whilst in the tree, Hanbei distracted himself and began playing with the ants that were on the tree branch. They weren't harmful ants, but he'd have still played with them anyway. His mind was aloof, but his chakra wasn't as noticeable.

Ransurotto in his one-tailed stated. The boiling chakra of his bijuu boiling out of him with a rage that could send a shiver up the spin of his worst enemy. He follows the trail of the wolf after he lost it in the forest. He follows the abnormally sized claws, taking in the scent, the size, the shape, the depth of the print, anything to distinguish it to him so he doesn't loose the trail of the beast. Thats when he comes up on the wolves. He freezes in the bushes. He looks around the place for the immense and imposing wolf but when he doesnt see it, his eyes dart around to find the trail of the beast. He needs to find that scent, that abnormally large print, that depth. Ran looks around for the print but sees a few like it and a few wolfs that like it. He doesnt seem to feel that imposing nature from any of the wolves. Thats it! None of the wolves have the imposing nature. He looks over to the cavern and nods. He gestures for Odin to follow him as he heads around in the brush to sneack into the cavern.

Tracking was possibly one of Akihana's favorite parts about being a ninja. Healing was both her occupation and her moral obligation, assassination and torture she had never much cared for and interrogation as always a hit or miss depending on the target. But tracking, flying through the air, moving at extreme speeds with the wind in her hair and the sight of a trail only she could see, this was where she found herself truly at home. And this kind of tracking was the best as nothing weighed on her conscience at the end of her chase. This was... fun.

The kunoichi had started out after leaving Hanbei at half her sped, now gaining momentum and going full out, navigating through the thick mists before they covered the empty trail of the wolf. No chakra, no visibility, rough terrain. It seemed the wolf wanted to play with her just as much as she did, testing her skills out in lieu of the mission and Akihana had no problem with that.

Advanced reaction time gave the blonde just enough room to track the beast before the mist rushed in to claim the light trail, keeping her on her toes as she fled through the mountains, having a little idea of where the wolf might be headed.

Soon, the shadow of the beast loomed ahead, the sleek wolf her son was entirely too fond of. She wondered what Arata would say if he was here. He'd probably want to transform and gambol around with the current wolf, both of them playing happily while she watched from the sidelines. Approaching him softly though not without notice - she doubted she could do anything in its presence without notice - the blonde reached out a tentative hand to stroke the creature behind the ears.

"Hi," she spoke softly, a small peal of laughter escaping her lips as she contemplated the wolf. It had taken some running and as a result, the kunoichi now stood just a little out of breath, stray blonde locks escaping from her braid to frame her face as her golden eyes looked into the beast's. "Good job, you tired me out," she laughed, moving her fingers to his snout and tapping it slightly. "But now let's see you return the favor."

Directing chakra to her feet, the blonde let out another giggle before letting him know the most important message of this exchange. "Tag, you're it."

And with that, the blonde sped away, hoping he would follow. From what she knew of him, the beast was not likely to turn down a challenge but it really depended. For now, the kunoichi simply ran, hoping for the best.

Hanbei would cross his arms and begin to meditate in the tree. He wanted to focus on learning Chakra Suppression as soon as possible. He knew the procedure, but getting it down was the hard part. He would one day have to learn to suppress his chakra almost instantly while both exhausted and in battle. He began to clear himself and focus on keeping his chakra from emanating from his person. He didn't need any signs or scrolls; nothing but his own mind and chakra. He focused his chakra in a ball in his stomach and began to seep it through his veins; avoiding allowing it to beam from his figure. For the most part, he was doing fine; but it didn't last long. His chakra began to loosen out of his figure and emanate.

"I'll have to keep practicing..." He then proceeded to try again, over and over. Meanwhile, Hanbei's clone was playing with the flowers that covered the trap-circle. Even his clones had trouble keeping focus, but there wasn't much required for being a decoy. His clone, however, was forcing chakra to surround himself, as if acting as said decoy.