Bear With Us [Mission][IO]

As he registered this suggestion, the Yamanka's blue eyes constricted as he slightly gasped for a moment, looking at the red haired shinobi in front of him. Amazing.. He's afraid for the bear.. Saturn marvelled at the strength of his partner. He himself was more afraid of dying by the bear's hand than taking its life by mistake. He listened carefully for what Goro had to say before grabbing his wrist and handing him the smelly bait bag. "Okay, no fighting, but you have to get its attention, with this. When the time is right, just toss the bait into that dumpster over there. And give me a signal right before." He smiled, placing his other hand over his fist and nodding enthusiastically, "We could use a code word.. How about.. Possum? Bears hate those pests! ...... I trust you, Chinoike-san!" 

 With those words, the crafty shinobi sprinted to his left, towards the dumpster on the adjacent seat before covering his nose shut, lifting its lid up and diving inside, letting a cloud of smelly green smoke puff out from the large container when he hit the bottom. Around him were black trash bags filled with rotten food and other unsightly substances. Plinths of wood lay infested with fungi and termites. A slim plastic tube with an odd smell disgusted Saturn the most. Saturn cringed, keeping his nose shut but his spare hand close to his face ready to perform hand seals at a moment's notice. How did I end up here.. 

Possum.. Possum.. Possum... Saturn recited mentally as he laid in wait with his nose shut and his eyes open, waiting for Goro's signal. Soon, the Yamanaka was met with a wet smack to his cheek from the foul smelling concoction that Goro tossed into the dumpster. "Eughk!" The Genin shrieked from inside the container, startling the furry marauding street lurker. Although the beast would initially notice Goro as he laid out the very trail that the animal was meant to follow, the bear would direct all of its attention to the chemicals in the air that all swiftly pointed to the bulk of the thick smelly delicacy of fish and honey and the direction of the shriek. On the ground, a perfectly laid out trail painted visions of an increasing concentration of both its favourite meals ahead. The bear took its first steps, nibbling on the bits and pieces that lead to the ultimate bear trap.

 Inside the dumpster, Saturn remained patient, mentally rehearsing his next course of action. In an ideal scenario, the bear would show its face from the edge of the container, and Saturn would immediately form the necessary hand seals of Tiger, Snake, Horse, Ram, and a final touch - a certain Yamanaka clan signature that the talented blonde haired shinobi had intuitively discovered. In the very next moment, the bear would become a living puppet. However, the ninja would soon discover that the scenario was in fact not ideal. The bear was more clever than it had previously let on. Being harassed by the locals during its brief adventure into the settlements fuelled its willingness to plight pesky humans who stood in its way. In a sudden turn of events, the beast swiftly swiped its sharp heavy right claw into the container from above before planting the left firmly on the edge and attempting to use the rest of its muscular body to trap Saturn and maul him. 

 As he narrowly evaded the first swipe, a second one was quickly inbound. The head of the bear was in sight, but the positioning was inadequate at this instance to carry out his original plan. Time was scarce. When did he...? No, from this angle.. I would miss and die.. Saturn once again found himself trapped between the floor and the mouth of a ferocious animal. For a pacifist and an animal lover, the Genin sure did get into an awful lot of fights with animals. Staring into the bear's fangs as it roared, he gritted his teeth and formed four hand seals in quick succession going from Tiger to Rat, then Ox and finally Dragon. 

 In the nick of time, Saturn had used a technique to momentarily stun the beast, sealing the movement of its muscles. This would end up causing it to topple over and crash head first towards the dumpster, potentially causing his last minute contingency plan to backfire if the massive specimen completely pins the shinobi and then traps him between its razor sharp weapons and the dimensions of the toppling container.

 Saturn wiped his brow with his forearm as he sat up and let out a sigh of relief. His white hoodie was torn up by the claws of the bear, and a scratch mark had appeared on his sliced shoulder where the bear had mauled him in its struggle. "Phew. That was a close one. You saved my life just now, Goro, I-" Saturn saw the angry bear get up on its hind legs behind Goro and tensed up, moving his fingers quickly to form hand seals in quick succession; Tiger, Snake, Horse, Ram, and finally the signature hand seal unique the Yamanaka clan that placed the snout of the bear in a heart shaped sign between his fingers.

 The lifeless body of the blonde haired shinobi fell over as his consciousness left his body in a straight line headed for the bear. Behind Goro, the swiping claw of the bear came down to his ear, but froze in place before it could make contact. The pupils of the bear went white and then reverted to normal. Its teeth were still gritting. Saturn was now fighting the will of the bear, in its mind. He couldn't speak, and he remembered that he did not have the time to explain his ability to Goro. The ruthless psyche of the bear sought to repel Saturn's mental infiltration, not yet allowing him to twitch the muscles attached to its massive frame. They seemed to be in a deadlock as the bear remained perfectly still. 

 To Saturn, the experience of seeing the world from the mind of a bear was just as surreal as when he had penetrated the mind of a vulture. Yet it was distinct. The world around him was strikingly familiar to the one he perceived with his human senses, but the bear seemed to employ more of its senses in a balanced manner rather than emphasising on the visual stimuli as humans tend to. A sharp, distinct smell from a very clear origin point set itself apart from anything else in the bear's field of perception. What is that smell... Saturn sniffed, twitching the bear's snout. He tried to adapt to carrying all his new weight, awkwardly moving his large paw one step forward at a time towards the tipped over dumpster, nudging his own lifeless body aside to find the concoction that the two shinobi had conjured to lure the bear.

 Upon possessing the bear, he had inherited its memories. When this happens, he often struggles to manage his own short term memory, and his recollection becomes foggy until he adapts to his new vessel. He tore the bag open to find the fish and honey that Saturn and Goro had mashed together, putting his snout down to sniff it, and then take a large bite. It's... It's... He paused to keep staring a little longer, chewing his meal, perplexed by the recipe and the strange taste of the dish. Amazing! How... More... I need more... More!

 He turned his neck to fix his eyes on Goro, growling, gesturing to what was left of the bag after he had devoured the concoction.

The bear growled at Goro, trying to intimidate him. But really, it was Saturn all along. When he picked up the remaining bags containing the concoction that they had devised and spoke in an upbeat manner, the older shinobi did not have the heart to mess with him like he had intended. Instead, he chased after Goro, laughing though his laughs came out as coarse growls. After following his compatriot into the woods in the bear's body, Saturn Sentobi mindlessly chased after the concoction. Digging his gnarly snout into the bag, he devoured his meal before Goro could turn the corner and leave the domain of the technique that the shinobi had cast to possess the beast's body. He thoroughly enjoyed his meal through the tastebuds of the omnivore. Upon returning to his mauled physical body, Saturn trusted his teammate to deliver him safely to the hospital - choosing to remain with his eyes tightly shut and faking as though he was out cold, letting the younger boy carry him all the way back to the village. By the time he was checked into the hospital, the Genin was fast asleep.

When he woke up on the hospital bed, all patched up and feeling better, Saturn sat up and stretched his arms, then looked over at the side table. He could still taste strange taste of fish and honey on his tongue. A card? For me? Oh yeah.. He picked it up and fixed his blue eyes on the cover. His vision had been blurry, but the world around him was now coming into focus. He covered his mouth, choking and then snorting loudly. The fair blonde nurse who had been seated next to his bed immediately rushed to his attention, begging him to lay back down and get more rest. Saturn turned the card around to show her the message imprinted on it, and gripped his thigh, grinning and cackling. Then, both of them burst into an uncontrollable laughter as his recollection of the events that had transpired leading up to his current circumstances flooded back into his memory.

2x Mission Rewards with Beloved Presence.

3000 words to convert ninjutsu spec to spacetime:
{Refunds:
1) Lightning Beast Tracking Fang (A) --> Imitation White Hole (A) 
2) Temporary Paralysis (B) --> Singularity (B)