Cat Mad - Help! (Mission)

Mission:

Hebiishi was excited. This was his first official mission. His first opportunity to try and prove himself to the village and hopefully begin to shed the bullying that had affected him for the majority of his life. Even the thought of some of his tormentors sent a jolt through him almost enough to reveal some snake scales, which would reveal the origins of his bloodline.

He was especially excited as the mission seemed simple enough, to find a cat who had run off in anticipation of its annual vet check-up. He sympathized with the creature, as he did with all animals, but he knew finding it was in the best interest of its owner and its health. He decided to forgo checking in with the owner, hoping to instead find the creature and capture their joy of simply returning it to them.

The owner lived on a vast estate, with woods and ponds a plenty surrounding it. There were many places the cat could have escaped to hide and avoid capture. He figured it wouldn't have gone very far though, as it would want to stay in familiar territory. Hebiishi began to look in earnest, deciding his first approach would be to check the woods and poke around the trees to see if it had climbed one for sanctuary. Honestly, it may already regret its decision and be unable to climb down.

He was in his element as he looked, shaking bushes and climbing trees. It felt just like his childhood with him roaming around the wildlife reserve in search of adventure, and to avoid his bullies. If he was lucky he may uncover a snake nest while he surveyed the area. Unsurprisingly he had always had an affinity for snakes, it was like they always understood each other communicating almost mystically without a word being spoken.

He continued his search efforts for awhile but to no avail. This was starting to take longer than he had anticipated. He had half expected the cat to fall in his lap, his sixth sense with animals leading the way.

WC: 348
TWC: 348

Meanwhile, a little ways away over at the Hoshigakure Administration Facility...


A swarthy-skinned woman emerges from the double doors of the establishment, donning platinum blonde space buns and a tousled quiff with gold highlights, a pair of golden eyes with black eyeliners and high-shine lip gloss, and an inscrutable facial expression all accompanied by a dark complexion. Her attire consists of a burgundy, criss-cross back, corduroy, overall dress with an off-white sweater underneath, a pair of low-heel stiletto booties, a pair of black spats, a silver, cross-shaped necklace that rests on her bosom, a small, white engraving of her clan symbol displays itself beneath the torso of the burgundy overalls. Her village forehead protector wraps around her hips facing forward and Honor's Student Pin fastens itself below the left strap of her dress.

She'd received a missive just now from one of the faculty members to participate in accompanying an aspiring Academy Student on an E-Rank mission to look for a noblewoman's feline companion. She'd been told that she was to assist this student in finding the cat and returning it safely to the noblewoman. The young woman had no qualms with this, as she had nothing better to do at the moment. She figured she could get to know this new Academy Student while they searched for the missing feline. When the dark-skinned woman inquires for further details about the Academy Student in question, the faculty member describes them as a boy with flaxen hair and emerald, snake-like eyes, his name is Orochi Hebiishi.

The woman nods and thanks the faculty member before departing from the building and making her way towards the noblewoman's estate. Once she arrives, she is greeted by a servant who beckons for the noblewoman to arrive, to which she does, adorned in a finely tailored dress that shows off her curves and assets. Jurei politely greets the noblewoman and introduces herself before explaining why she is here, to which the noblewoman nods understandingly.

"I see, you are here to find my cat, too, aren't you?"

Jurei nods in response. "Yes ma'am."

"Well, I hope you find him soon, I'm quite worried about him..." The noblewoman trails off, her voice laced with worry. "He's never been gone this long before. I think your friend is outside by my garden looking for him," She gestures with an index finger toward the direction of where Hebiishi prowls. "He should be over on that side of the estate." The noblewoman points towards a vast expanse of land that is surrounded by woods and ponds.

"I see. Thank you, ma'am." Jurei bows respectfully before departing from the noblewoman and making her way toward the direction where Hebiishi was last seen.

Once she arrives, she spots a young boy with flaxen hair and emerald, snake-like eyes complemented by pale skin in a set of casual clothing. His profile certainly fits the description faculty told her of, although, from the looks of it, he appears to be having a little adventure of his own for this mission. Almost... carefree and relaxed, as if he was in his natural habitat. A strange little one, but shinobi come in all sorts of shapes and sizes. And phenotypes, too, apparently.

"Hello there," The platinum-blondie greets him, approaching from the side so as to not startle him during his search for their feline quarry. "Are you Hebiishi Orochi? I'm Ryoinsatsu Jurei, I was assigned to this mission to aid you."

---

WC: 575
TWC: 575

---

Stats Info:

"Hello there. Are you Hebiishi Orochi? I'm Ryoinsatsu Jurei, I was assigned to this mission to aid you."

Hebiishi looked at the newcomer cautiously, but then without helping it, he felt a patch of skin on his face ripple with the emergence of some snake scales. Embarrassed, he tilted his head away from the girl in an effort to hide them. He only got like this when he was upset and all it took was realizing the mission desk didn't think he could hand his first assignment by himself. Well, that and the fact that he didn't know what to expect from her. He didn't recognize her as one of his tormentors growing up, but that didn't mean she was safe. He had learned that lesson the hard way far too many times to count. Suspicion first, trust... rarely, if ever.

"Yes... that's me. I didn't realize I was to be assigned help for this one." He took a breath, wondering how long he could keep his twisted like this. He willed the scales to go away, but they rarely responded to his pleas. He didn't want to cry in front of this new girl, or give her any other ammo to bully him. He was sure she was kind, but kindness rarely extended to the Orochi clan in Hoshikagure.

"Could you... look away for a second? I think I got some dirt on my face." He then raised his hand up and covered the scales while looking at her dead on. He rubbed at them, hoping the contact might trigger them enough to go away. "I've covered this garden area pretty well. I don't think the cat is here. Where do you think it might have gone instead?"

WC: 289
TWC: 637

The first thing Jurei notices—whether this was a reflex or a nervous response despite her attempt to approach him from the side in order to not startle him—is the patch of snake scales that emerge from Hebiishi's face. The platinum-blonde woman can't help but stare at them, out of confusion and curiosity, both, for a moment but quickly snaps out of it when she realizes that he's asking her to look away so he can clean himself.

"Uh, yeah, of course, take your time." She obliges, turning her head away from him so that he can cleanse himself of the dirt on his face. So Heiibishi was originally assigned the mission as a solo endeavor, yet the administration building assigned the work to her anyway. After the display she witnessed earlier, Jurei as to why. The forefront of these thoughts assumes it must be related to a bloodline trait or some other kind related to his family name. However, as to why she was paired with the young boy for an otherwise menial task that shouldn't require more than one person to achieve, she has a few theories, and none of them particularly rub off on her in a good way, either. Nevertheless, there's a degree of professionalism she must maintain during this mission and debate the hypothesis of underlying prejudices associated with it later.

When he finishes cleaning the dirt from his person, Jurei turns to face the young again with a disarming smile and speaks with an amiable tone. "I can't say I'm well-versed in the behaviors of cats, but if I were going for a check-up at the local vet, I'd probably be hiding in some place narrow, dark, and typically difficult to reach for anyone larger than myself. And if he's not hiding in the house nor in the garden, then... well," She sighs and pinches the ridge of her nose as she gazes toward the scenic view of the village below from atop the hill they're standing on. "I guess we'll have to go door to door and ask around if anybody has seen him. It couldn't have gone far, so we can start with the homes next door and hopefully we'll have a lead."

She then performs the following hand seals: Tiger → Horse → Ram → Clone Seal. A large cloud of off-white smoke erupts from the epicenter of her person before it disperses, revealing identical two clones on either side of her. She pivots her head toward one and then the other intermittently as she says, "You know the drill. Ask folks. Find cat. Bring cat home. Payday. Questions?" Both clones shake their heads in response. "Good, get going." The clones nod and depart from Jurei's side, making their way toward the homes next door to ask around for any information regarding the missing feline. "I'll start south-side," She looks at Heiibishi and nods with a grin. "And if you'd like, you're free to come with. If not, I understand. We'll meet back here let's say... thirty or so minutes from now, yeah?"

Listening to any last-minute remarks he may make, Jurei begins her descent into the southern reaches of the noblewoman's neighborhood. Already, the task becomes far more difficult than need be, considering neither of the two asked for a description of the cat before they began and there's a considerable number of strays that roam around the village at a time. So the best Jurei has to go off from is the name of the noblewoman at the estate and hopefully that jogs the memory of some of the residents. And to her fortune—or perhaps the fortune of the noblewoman's prestige preceding her—she's able to gather enough intel to narrow down where the cat might be hiding, but not enough to pinpoint its location exactly.

The cat's name is 'Kuro', a black-furred feline with yellow eyes and a white underbelly, and tends to hide in places like alleyways, beneath porches or decks, and in bushes or trees when it doesn't want to be found. She spends the remainder of the proposed time locating the cat, but alas, to no avail from the southside of the district. Upon her return, she receives a mental ping and a swathe of information floods her mind, alerting her that one of the clones asking around toward the westside found the feline tucked away in an alleyway between two homes, hiding beneath a dumpster and brought it back to his owner before dispersing. Rendezvousing at the hilltop, she informs him of the events that transpired and checks in at the mission facility to claim her dues.

An interesting highlight of her day, though, is when she's asked by the receptionist if there were any difficulties with Heiibishi on their mission. Jurei gives her a passing glance and then shakes her head. "No, none whatsoever. Why do you ask?"

The woman behind the desk looks up at her from the paperwork in front of her and says, "Well, he's quite new to our village and I just wanted to make sure that he was doing all right on his first mission."

"Ah, well, yes. He did great," Jurei replies with a smile before taking her leave. She exits the building and makes her way down the steps toward the sidewalk where Heiibishi awaits. "So, how'd you like your first mission? Not too bad, I hope?" She asks as she comes to a stop beside him.

---

WC: 909
TWC: 1,484/250
TMWC: Complete/500

"Uh, yeah, of course, take your time."

Hebiishi was glad she didn't see his scales, or at least was kind enough not to mention them. He kept his hand up but after he took a deep breath he felt the scales recede. He let out a sigh of relief and put his head back, mouthing a silent thanks to whatever god was watching. When he looked back at Jurei he gave her a cautious smile as she spoke.

"I can't say I'm well-versed in the behaviors of cats, but if I were going for a check-up at the local vet, I'd probably be hiding in some place narrow, dark, and typically difficult to reach for anyone larger than myself. And if he's not hiding in the house nor in the garden, then... well. I guess we'll have to go door to door and ask around if anybody has seen him. It couldn't have gone far, so we can start with the homes next door and hopefully we'll have a lead."

She then gets right to business forming hand seals, executing a clone jutsu. Hebiishi's eyes widened at the display of skill. He hadn't even managed a basic clone technique yet, let alone one of substance. She quickly gave out orders to them and then turned back to him. "I'll start south-side. And if you'd like, you're free to come with. If not, I understand. We'll meet back here let's say... thirty or so minutes from now, yeah?"

Hebiishi responded cautiously, "I'll join you, if that's okay."

While he was sure she wasn't an immediate threat to his safety, that could change and he would rather know when trouble was coming his way. Plus if she executed another advanced technique and he learned even a little bit from her, it would be worth a potential beating. Or any other torture a bully may employ. But as they went about their task Jurei was nothing but professional, and at times even kind. He wasn't sure what to make of this of turn events, and kept his guard up, but he was at least grateful she seemed kinder than many of the other villagers. He was further amazed by her skills when the clones she sent out found the cat when they personally had found nothing. He had a lot to learn about being a shinobi.

When they went to report their mission completion, he preferred to wait outside. Not wanting to face the mission desk again. He was sure they didn't like him after sending someone to follow up with him on such a simple task. At least they failed in sending someone else as prejudiced as they were. All he really wanted was to show Hoshigakure his worth and value. Just because his clan was associated with another village didn't make him any less loyal. This village was his home, regardless of how they treated him.

When Jurei returned he gave her a small, but genuine smile, as she handed over his mission rewards. "So, how'd you like your first mission? Not too bad, I hope?"

"Not bad at all, and thanks to you we saved ourselves hours of searching. Thank you for all of your help." He then flashed her a slightly larger, but toothy, smile. Regardless of his challenges today he had finished his first mission and completed his first milestone as a ninja. On top of that, he may have met someone who, while perhaps not an ally, was not a direct enemy. The day was nothing but a win to him. As they said their goodbyes he felt a warm feeling grow inside his heart. For the first time in a while he felt a long forgotten feeling, hope.

WC: 622
TWC: 1259

Exit:

250 WC Transformation Technique
250 WC Clone Technique
759/1000 WC Transparent Escape Technique C-rank

1259 WC used - 0 remaining

Stats:

+5 Chakra
+7 speed

Mission Completion:
+1,000 ryo
+5 ap (45 total)

Requesting approval for the following claims:

Claiming the following *mission reward(s):

► Total Ryo Earned: +2,000 Ryo (storing in "Ryoinsatsu Bank" via Cha-Ching! Bloodline Limit.)
► Total AP Earned: +10 AP

*Mission reward(s) doubled via Beloved Presence Skill

Investing the remaining 1,484 TWC into the following Jutsu for Ninjiro:

► Training Familiar Enhancer @ A-Rank [1,692/2,500] → (2,500/2,500) [676 TWC Bank Left]
► Training Familiar Amplifier @ B-Rank (676/1,500) [0 TWC Left]

Investing 1,484 TWC into the following Stat Points for Ninjiro:

► Training +14 Chakra (-1,400 WC) [84 TWC Left]

→Expunging the remaining 84 TWC Left.

Jurei Ryoinsatsu wrote:Requesting approval for the following claims:

Claiming the following *mission reward(s):

► Total Ryo Earned: +2,000 Ryo (storing in "Ryoinsatsu Bank" via Cha-Ching! Bloodline Limit.)
► Total AP Earned: +10 AP

*Mission reward(s) doubled via Beloved Presence Skill

Investing the remaining 1,484 TWC into the following Jutsu for Ninjiro:

► Training Familiar Enhancer @ A-Rank [1,692/2,500] → (2,500/2,500) [676 TWC Bank Left]
► Training Familiar Amplifier @ B-Rank (676/1,500) [0 TWC Left]

Investing 1,484 TWC into the following Stat Points for Ninjiro:

► Training +14 Chakra (-1,400 WC) [84 TWC Left]

→Expunging the remaining 84 TWC Left.

Approved