The Fox and the Hound (P/Inv)

The warm days of Summer had come and gone, and Fall was just around the corner- or so Fu thought. Despite the change in months, there seemed to be little change in the actual weather in this country. The altered climate of Hoshigakure was much different than back home. By this time last year, Winter had already begun to bear its ugly face in Konoha by blanketing the land in a cool, fall breeze as a gentle reminder of what was to come. Fu didn’t mind this new weather. It was nice having the option to spend the night sleeping underneath the stars and Fu preferred to travel light anyways.
 
It was late in the evening, around dinner time, when Fu found herself in the forests to the Southeast of Hoshigakure. Unlike the rest of the country, this part was teeming with life and vegetation which was possible due to the water that flowed in the form of a river from the village into the outer regions near the border between Haven and the Land of Fire. In the forest, there was a small, circular clearing approximately 20 meters in diameter, that Fu had created with wood release and a little hard work. It was strategically located in a particularly dense part of the woods and far enough away from the village or any commonly traveled path. Here, Fu could hunt, train, and co-exist with nature in peace without having to worry about someone accidently wandering near here and scaring off the wildlife- or bothering her. It reminded her of home. It was perfect.
 
Currently, the sounds of birds chirping, crickets rustling their legs together, and the logs of a wood fire crackling, filled the air. However, if one remained still enough and concentrated, they could hear the occasional echoes of a fish splashing in the nearby creek or a deep groan, vibrating from the belly of her furry companion, Archie.
 
“Hold on, almost done.” Fu said to Archie, in response to his fifth sigh that evening in the past 10 minutes. “You know, if it wasn’t for me, you’d have to hunt for your own food!” She said to him, annoyed. Archie grunted again and then hid his head behind his abnormally large paws, embarrassed. “Just a few more minutes…” The smell of cooked squirrels was now making its way throughout the canopy, along with a trickle of smoke. Fu was in the process of roasting the small woodland creatures on a spit over a fire she had created. She had spent the morning hunting squirrels and embedding them with black receiver rods, trying to understand the mechanics of this new technique and how to fully utilize it to her advantage. By now, she had found out that by embedding a black receiver rod into an animal, she could fully control them, but upon removing the rods, she would find them dead. After the 10^th squirrel and not learning any new information, she decided that she had experimented enough for the day and returned to the camp site with her bounty and to log her findings. Instead of letting the squirrels go to waste, she decided to eat them. She knew Archie wouldn’t object, and as a hunter, this wasn’t the first time that Fu had eaten a small critter. She raised a speared squirrel to her mouth and took a large bite out of its midsection. The texture of the meat was gamey, but it tasted almost like chicken. Archie, who was nearby, had taken several squirrel kabobs to a nearby stump where he sat down and began to eat them, one by one, in a human like fashion.
 
WC: 614

All He could hear was his Alarm that had blasted him awake. It was around 6pm when the alarm went off, He had a late night and a very early morning and wasent able to sleep much until the sun almost came up. He knew by the time he would wake up it would be somewhere in the afternoon, but that was acceptable for today only. Ciel had a some training he wanted to accomplish today and he wasent going to let not getting enough sleep hold him back. He had immediately got up, shutting his alarm off in the process. He quickly got dress and was ready to head out the door. From the rush that Ciel  was in you would of thought something was wrong, he couldn’t help but have a slightly frantic look on his face. 

The type of training he would be doing was going to take him all day and most of the night to accomplish so he still thought being late was unacceptable. He wouldnt want to have to sit in the middle of the training grounds all the way untill the morning , even though it is slightly better since there is no one else to get in your way or watch you as you train. He wasent a big fan of having an audience while he trained , to him it kina seemed like they were doing more judging him on his performance than actually just enjoying watching him train.

As he arrived at the training grounds he was surprise to see so many shinobi at the grounds at this time and not home with their families. “ shit , well I guess I’ll go to the forest to get some training in”, he would say to Himself as he made his way to southeast forest. On a normal days the grounds were a lot less crowded with people training , but today it seemed like everyone and their mom was out there getting a good session in. It didn’t take him to long to reach the edge of the forest and with a upbeat mood he would quickly make his way inside. 

“I almost forgot how beautiful it’s is out here , especially with all the leaves changing colors” , he said to himself as he looked around in awe at the beauty that the forest had about it. He also knew though that even though it’s beautiful it’s not an easy place to live all alone. As he wandered through the forest looking for a good place to train at he would see what looked like a huge opening. Even though he was out here for training session he couldn’t help but wander who could be out here as well, so as he came closer to the edge of the opening he would yell out “Yo , anyone still here”, he would say in a loud tone , almost yelling. That’s when the smell of food has hit his nose and after not eating yet today he couldn’t help but let a small drool slide from his mouth before refocusing himself on finding out who’s was here.

Wc:527

The day was much like any other, the outskirts the lands they called home needing patrolled regularly due to all of the bandits in the area. It felt like despite all of his efforts, there was some sort of endless supply of criminals to be found. This was a routine patrol, like countless others before it. There were clear tracks through this area, and it looked like the bandits were traveling in single file. Probably doing so to try and hide their numbers, no doubt. 

The keen nose of the wolf allowed him to catch wind of scents from a far greater distance, and there was a clear odor of burning wood and cooking meat filling the air. Bandits - much like himself -  typically found themselves cooking their meals at a campfire or the like. Finding a group of bandits while resting at camp gave the advantage to the wolf, as they likely weren't paying as close attention and there would likely only be a small group standing watch if anyone at all. It really depended on the bandits and how cautious they were. The fact that these bandits were trying to hide their numbers told the wolf that they were at least somewhat careful, so he anticipated few watchmen to be posted. 

It didn't take long for the wolf to track down the site of the camp, at least two distinct scents in the area. This was not what he expected, as if the target was a loner that usually meant that they didn't depend on numbers to succeed in their rogue efforts. To the wolf, that meant that he was likely going to have a fight on his hands. It looked as though there was a clearing in the distance, though despite having decent vision it was hard to make out details from this far away. It didn't take long before he recognized at least one of the smells finding its way to his nose, though. It was the scent of the Hoshi kunoichi known as Fu, and the second scent was that of an animal of some sort. It had Fu's scent all over it as well, so he figured it must have been a pet of some sort. Allowing his tension to ease as he no longer expected a fight, he wolf would approach, hailing his fellow Hoshi defender to make his presence known and avoid starting her (or more realistically, her pet). Loghain would wave, "Greeting's Fu. Do you mind if I join you?" 

If it was given permission to join he would take a seat, greeting the rather large bear as well. "It's been a while, Fu. What brings you all the way out here?" She could of course ask the same of the wolf, though it was normal for him to be out this far. Patrolling was his constant objective, as keeping Haven safe was his primary concern. The village of Hoshi could easily protect itself, various shinobi soldiers at their disposal and all quite capable. It was the travelers and the civilians that needed extra protection. The bandits wouldn't be this prevalent if that wasn't the case. 

It wouldn't be long before another scent would find its way towards the area, the wolf making the approaching presence known to his comrade. "Another is coming. Were you expecting someone?" Just then he would recognize not only the voice but also the scent. What was Ciel doing this far out? 

"Ciel?" The wolf would call out, expecting his Team Spring companion to explain his presence. 


wc:590

In the midst of stuffing her face, Fu’s ears would perk up, and she would momentarily pause from eating. Her large, orange eyes were now piercing straight ahead towards the perimeter of the clearing on the opposite end of the camp site. It was faint, but the forest had alerted her that someone, or something, was coming. Archie too had become aware that something was wrong. The large, brown bear stuck out his neck and became very still, his large fangs showing and the fur on the back of his neck sticking upright. A moments later, a familiar face would emerge from the forest, and their voice would break the silence. It was Sebastian Loghain, but most referred to him as “The Hound”. Fu wasn’t sure why they called him that and he didn’t seem to care about it much. If she had to guess, it probably had something to do with why he was always lurking around outside the village. “Hound-man!” Fu would yell to him, in a friendly and inviting manner, causing Archie to relax. “I figured I’d run into you here at some point. Are you hungry?” She would ask. She invited him to take a seat beside the fire and fixed him whatever amount of squirrel sticks he could stomach. “I could ask you the same thing.” She teased, “Well, it actually looks like you’ve stumbled upon my secrete hunting spot. I guess it’s not that secrete anymore.” There was no need to justify her presence now and the explanation would make sense considering the number of squirrels she had hunted that day. Before the conversation could continue, the pair would be altered to yet another person. The Hound had asked her if she was expecting anyone else, and Fu simply responded with, “Nope, but more the merrier!”
 
“Ciel? What’s a Ciel?” Fu would say, with a puzzled look on her face. Fu was having a hard time sensing anyone beyond the clearing and was quickly growing concerned for her peer’s sanity. Could he be channeling the forest spirit? Was the forest spirit’s name, Ciel? Fu stood up and cupped her hands around her mouth and shouted out. “Oh, great Forest Spirit Ciel! My name is Monster Hunter Fu! And this is my friend, the Hound Man! Please bless us with your almighty powers!” Fu dropped her hands then looked enthusiastically at Loghain, then waited eagerly for the voice to speak again.   
 
WC: 406

As he called out he couldn’t help but wander what could they be cooking that would be smelling so good. It had felt like he hadn’t eaten in days when in reality it was no more than a couple hours ago that he last had a very nice meal. Even so he was never one to shy away from something delicious especially when it smelled as good as that did. From the first smell of it he knew it had to be some kind of meat they was cooking but it didn’t smell like anything he had ever tried before, which made it all the more interesting. 

Seconds after he called out he would hear a familiar voice and think to himself “Sensei?”. He then would hear another voice , a females. One he hadn’t heard before and didn’t recognize in the slightest. Immediately he would think “ oh shit Sensei , out here alone in the forest with a girl , you sly wolf”. Then with a slight chuckle he would walk through the clearing towards the two. “Sorry if I’m interrupting anything but I was out here about to train and when I smell the food I couldn’t help but wander my way over”, he would say with a smile. 

Realizing he hadn’t introduced himself , he would quickly fix the error. “Sorry I forgot to introduce myself , Ciel Uchiha it’s a pleasure to make you acquaintance Fu and no unfortunately I’m not a forest spirit or whatever it was you had called me, even tho that does sound kinda cool ”, he would say in a pleasant tone. From looking around it didn’t seem like they was here to long and probably had arrived not to much sooner than he had. 

Wc:295

Fu would greet him with her unique charm and demeanor, the large bear with her seeming to relax once she made it clear that the wolf was a friend. Fu always seemed to be in a fairly pleasant mood the few times that he had interacted with her, to which the wolf couldn't help but feel glad that she held such a positive outlook on life. Her next words made it seem like she almost expected him, though it was probably a well known fact among those of leading ranks to know his habits and patrols. When offered some of the food, he would graciously accept, "I don't think that one should ever turn down a free meal." He would reply with a smile, taking a pair of the roasted squirrel sticks and digging in. He was quite used to eating such meals near a fire, and the stick made it easy to hold on to something while eating.  

She playfully turned the question on him, to which he couldn't help but shrug, "These areas tend to be riddled with bandits and highwaymen. I just do my best to ensure the safety of the traveling civilians." A shinobi more concerned with making money would likely be baffled at the fact that the wolf offered these services for free, not seeking compensation for his deeds. Demanding payment in order to do the right thing felt exploitative, and to him it was the shinobi's duty to protect those that needed it. "It is the least I can do to try and make a difference out here." 

She mentioned that it was a secret hunting spot, to which the wolf couldn't help but wonder why was this far out. The one thing that he thought was probably the most impressive thing about Hoshi was the fact that food was abundant and easily bought with minimal effort. Perhaps she simply enjoyed hunting and honing her skills. Perhaps she was developing some techniques out here while hunting, something that he regularly did. He didn't need to worry much about allowing the wolf to roam the borders, preying on wild game and the criminal element. He knew that the facility in Hoshi was quite something, allowing one to quickly develop their skills and techniques with the sheer abundance of tools and resources at their disposal there. Still, he had no reason to press the matter much. She was a trusted ally, and so he would only offer in reply, "I find being out here in the wilderness to be a pleasant contrast to the village. One can train and work on techniques out here that... wouldn't be suitable to use in the village." 

When another was detected, she would gladly allow yet another to find its way to their camp. He couldn't help but offer a light chuckle at the thought of Ciel being a forest spirit of some sort. The thought of the Uchiha in green attire, with perhaps fairy wings or skin of bark and moss covering him was funny to the wolf. Ciel one with the trees? A humorous thought. 

"You interrupt nothing more than a meal between comrades. I will say that your presence here has me concerned. You are out here training? You know that these parts are dangerous, right?" The wolf would ask, though he was well aware that Ciel knew this. He knew that Ciel was a capable shinobi, easily able to dispatch the common thug or bandit that tried something. It wasn't the common criminals that concerned the wolf though. The borders held all sorts of undesirable folk, notably criminal ninja. "And we might not be the only one out here with keen senses and the skills of a hunter." 

Once Ciel approached Loghain would sit back down. "I have no issues with you sitting down for a meal with us. At least that way we can make certain that you don't fall victim to rogue shinobi." He would turn to Fu, "Of course, this meal is not mine to offer. Fu, would my friend be permitted to join and share in the spoils of your hunt?" 

If she agreed, Loghain would continue to eat his squirrel. "Well... I know you to be more of a ninjutsu specialist, Ciel. Perhaps if you ask nicely, Fu here can show you a thing or two. She is far more capable in the ninjutsu arts than I am." Loghain would then look back at the bear, Archie who seemed to be in decent spirits. 

wc:753

“How noble of you.” Fu said in response to Sebastian, flashing the man a smile of admiration. Scouring the outskirts and borders of the village for criminals wasn’t exactly glamourous work. Fu wondered why The Hound insisted on doing such mundane work. Was it a punishment? Or was it by order? Could it be that he actually enjoyed protecting the civilians of Hoshigakure, despite how much they dislike the shinobi presence- especially outsiders? Maybe one day she would ask him why he truly why he does it. “Most stay clear of this area on the account that they don’t want to be eaten by Archie. Seems there is a rumor going around that there is a scary beast roaming around these parts, eating anyone unfortunate to cross paths with it, but they don’t know how much of a cute, cuddly, teddy bear he really is.”

The Genin known as Ciel, would then enter Fu’s campsite. Fu didn’t seem bothered by the sudden intrusions but welcomed them, although she was a little disappointed when the Genin turned out to not be the spirit of the forest. Fu observed the way The Hound addressed Ciel. He welcomed him warmly but spoke to him with the authority of a parent figure. Could they be related? Fu looked them both over and concluded there was no resemblance. Fu was now deep in thought when the conversation then turned to her. She was a bit caught off guard and wasn’t entirely listening, so it took her a moment to understand what was being asked of her. “Any friend of the Hound dog is a friend of mine! Ciel, are you going to sit down and eat? You’re making me nervous.” Fu laughed. Next, Sebastian would compliment Fu’s aptitude for Ninjutsu and it would cause her cheeks to turn a bright pink. “Of course, I’m the best!” She stated. Obviously, there was always someone better, but until she met them, she would remain confident in her abilities- even if she did lose sometimes. Losing just meant she had yet to reach her full potential and her chipper personality would not allow her to dwell on defeat. “So how do you guys know each other?” Fu would pry, as she reached for another kabob. By this time, Archie was laying on his back near the fire and sleeping peacefully, occasionally passing gas near Ciel.

After the pair defined their relationship, Fu would insist on asking Ciel more questions. She was now sitting on the edge of her seat, eagerly waiting to learn more about the different Ninjutsu that Ciel could perform. “What kind of Ninjutsu can you do? I actually know all five elements so I can probably teach you a couple things and after, maybe you could teach me some of your ninjutsu!” With each word, Sebastian and Ciel could hear the change in the pitch in her voice as her excitement grew. Despite training all day and it being late in the evening, Fu was still bursting with energy and sometimes it could be a bit much.

WC: 512
TWC: 1532

As he made his way into the camp site he noticed the bear and at first glance it slightly startled him. He hadn’t seen anyone with such a huge companion before and didn’t know a bear would make for a good one or not but for the moment the bear seemed relax so he wasent going to worry to much about it. Turning his attention back to his Sensei and his question “ Yeah the training grounds were full and i unfortunately didn’t feel like having the shinobi of the village watch me practice and also didn’t want to accidentally hurt anyone due to the limited room that was available, so in turn I wandered out here and ran into you three”, he would say in response.

When his Sensei mention that it was up to Fu if he could indulge in the meal he would look over to her to see if she would mind or not , but for some reason she seemed to be lost in thought. Before he could say anything she would inform him any friend of Seb was a friend of hers , so without hesitation he would quickly grab the seat besides his Sensei.

“My apologies earlier for assuming you guys were more than just comrades, I never seen Sensei here with a women so I just assumed you were more than what u are”, he would say as he grabbed one of the squirrels the had just finished and started to eat it like he hand eaten in weeks. “Awe man this is amazing”, he thought to himself as he quickly finished the meal. As he finished the meal he would hear fu ask how do they know each other , Ciel would smile and say while place a arm around the shoulder of seb and say “ Well this man here is the leader of team Spring, the best genin squad in the whole village and I am one of his students”, he would say with a smile.

He was happy that he had went out into the forest, who knew that he would had met up with Sensei and one of his friends. Just when he thought the day couldn’t get any better he heard his Sensei bring up the fact the Fu was also a nin specialist and that she would be able to teach him something. He couldn’t help but show extreme Excitement , as he looked over at her he could see that she too also was found some excitement from the thought of training. Before he could say anything she had asked him what could he do . “Well I have a two tomoe sharingan, I have water , lightning and storm release. As of right now I don’t know anything to crazy but I’m sure if you would teach me something’s im sure I could grow even stronger, not to mention your the first person i know who has control over all 5 elements so I know your hella strong but I’m down to teach you something even though I don’t know nearly as much as you”, he would say looking at her with the look of an overly excited puppy.

Wc:536

The wolf would listen as Fu described how folks avoided the area on account of Archie - her bear companion - supposedly being mistaken as some sort of violent creature in the area that eats people. Loghain knew that he was one such creature, but he refrained from eating people while he had control over his own senses. He could make no such promise on behalf of the violent creature housed within, for bloodshed and carnage were things it seemed to revel in. 

Once Ciel sat down, Loghain couldn't help but raise an eyebrow at the young man when he mentioned thinking the pair more anything more that just comrades. While it was certainly true that Fu was a lovely woman, the wolf had no time for such distractions. Life as a shinobi was a great deal of work, and it was far too difficult to juggle the responsibilities of his military rank with those of another, especially a romantic partner in a budding relationship. Hell, the wolf couldn't remember the last time he had found himself simply relaxing and spending time with his friends outside of the scope of a mission or the preparation for one. It was an unfortunate reality to this line of work.

Between Fu and Ciel both sharing the utmost confidence, Loghain couldn't help but scratch his head a bit. Fu was always a bit quirky, so her exclaiming that she was the best fit what the wolf expected. Although, he wondered how much the young man was stretching the truth here. Or perhaps he truly believed the Spring was the best team and was in fact telling no lies, at least from his own perspective. "Yes, Ciel here is a part of Team Spring, which is the team that find myself leading. They are a capable team, though it would seem at least one of the member has a bit to learn in regards to taking unnecessary risk outside of the village." Loghain would offer a slight grin and a nod, making his intentions of jest hopefully clear to the young man. It was then that the wolf would catch wind of something foul from behind them, his sensitive nose picking up the keen smell of... His eyes would grow wide as he turned to see Archie lazing about, happily scratching at his stomach and generating the foulest of smells. It was unclear if the other two could smell it, but the wolf would simply put down his kabob for now until the air cleared a bit.

The wolf would otherwise just listen in as the pair discussed things in the realm of more traditional ninjutsu and shinobi training. He had no real aptitude to such arts, but it never hurt to try and listen in to learn something. Perhaps such lessons can be applied elsewhere. 


wc:470

Fu beamed at the comradery being displayed between the Genin known as Ciel, and The Hound. It was amusing to Fu that the boy so leisurely interacted with Sebastian in this manner. Fu had thought of The Hound as being stoic in nature and not one to partake in public displays of affection, such as ‘hugging’. To be honest, most of Fu’s interactions with The Hound had been all business- either on a mission or defending the village from terrorists, so she really didn’t know him too well outside of those situations.  “No need to apologize, you are lucky that you have been placed in The Hounds care.” Fu giggled. “Ever since losing the Nova exams, I’ve put my name in to be a Squad leader almost once a day, but nothing yet. I figured if I keep it up they’ll get sick of me and cave in. So, Team Spring, Huh? I always pictured you to be move of a ‘Wintery’ kind of guy.” Fu laughed once more.
 
It didn’t take long for Ciel to divulge his abilities and secretes to Fu. Fu admired his eagerness but knew it was not a good idea to go around telling people they were the owner of a sharingan if they were not prepared to risk their life keeping it in their skull. “Are you a natural born Uchiha?” Fu would ask. Regardless of his answer- Fu would offer unsolicited advice, “I wouldn’t go around telling people you have a Sharingan unless you are prepared to risk your life to keep it. Since your Sharingan is only at the the second stage, you would probably be defenseless if someone actually wanted to take it…” she would say bluntly. “But anyways, we are all friends here- if I were you, I would practice using those eyes of yours. I use mine, all the time.” If the Genin was paying attention, he would notice Fu’s right eye change from a normal, orange pupil to a crimson color. Fu’s eye transcended through all stages of the Sharingan, as if providing a presentation to her audience of what all the actual stages of the sharingan were. From the first, to the second, to the third, to the mangekyou, finally ending on the Eternal Mangekyou Sharingan. “You have three more stages by the sounds of it. Don’t ask me how it work though, because I don’t know.” She said truthfully. She did not bother activating her Rinnegan and quickly deactivated her Sharingan once showing Ciel probably the most significant piece of information he had ever heard in his life.
 
“Anyways, I’ve got to get going, it’s going to be dark soon.” Before Ciel could ask any further questions, Fu would abruptly arise and motion to address The Hound. “I’ve got a mission coming up that requires leaving the village, I could use your help.” Fu would say whilst swinging her sheathed sword towards the fire in a controlled, but powerful motion. The pressure created from the swing would cause the campfire to go out, abolishing the smoke too, leaving no evidence of a campfire behind her. Fu knew that The Hound would accept, he couldn’t stay still and anything that required traveling to a nearby nation provided the Hound an opportunity to expand Hoshigakure’s border safety. “If you accept, I won’t say anything if we take out some trash along the way.” Fu laughed. “C’mon Archie, time to go.” Fu packed up the rest of her belongings and fastened them to Archie like a beast of burden before jumping on his back and riding away from The Hound, Ciel, and her campsite.
 
WC: 604
TWC: 2136

[Exit]

36 Bonus AP, Now 1,000/1,000 Bonus AP Total

Explosive Clay Creation 1500/1500

Discard remaining WC