Foxes and Puppets and Missions Oh My!

As the group discussed in large volume the direction and approach to the missions being undertaken, Hikari was blissfully happy to have made such a good friend in Hibiki and to find such longed-for companionship in her older sister. Family was always a hard thing to come by in the role of being a shinobi due to the nature of the job and affairs they had to handle. Having one so willing and capable was helpful in appeasing thoughts of anxiety that she possessed at this time. She found herself growing mentally stronger and more resilient but she could also tell there was a sense of direction now guiding her path forward that she did not have once a time before this moment. With each taking on a leading role in each of the three missions being presented.

The first mission was led by the puppet specialist among the three, Hibiki. The initial comment of the team made Hikari give a light chuckle as she made a mental note as they approached the first of the three tasks. 'Team Puppet, Fox, Sword huh? Although it's more like Puppet Fox Fox I think acronym-wise FPS fits better all things considered in most situations but considering that we're each taking leader for different missions today we'll be Team PFS, SPF, and FPS today.' Hikari thought to herself as they ventured forward giving a nod in happiness with respect to the commentary that was going on between the three of them.

Although they have encountered affairs involving quite a few situations so far together, there was still much to be excited about when it boiled down to actual dangerous problems and today was going to be a good example of how best to approach these affairs. Recognizing that she herself and her capacity were limited to an extent due to her bloodline's narrow progression, Hikari appreciated that her friend and sister were capable with their own distinct traits allowing for almost a full squad if only there was someone capable above them, they likely would be one of Kumogakure's top squads. That said, she would not let not having a proper squad format dissuade them from still trying to be a great squad within their village.

With Hibiki leading now, Hikari did her best to support and listen to the words he brought up. Each of their own capacities would prove useful as they began to set up the plan. Using one of Hibiki's puppets as bait it was clear that the youngest of the three was thinking ahead and was doing good bringing forth the best uses of their time. With dangers lurking about it would prove useful to have bait and the puppet was one that was expendable as a tool in this situation as compared to one of themselves considering Hibiki being medically trained and tool orientated and Minami being out of the hospital, Hikari was no good use of bait in this kind of moment either though she did think that there is a funny joke to have been said if they played cat and mouse with a fox for the mouse role.

With the joke in mind, Hikari watched and aided in the completion of the first mission with Hibiki actually taking a risky gambit when it came to the spider that came forth. Watching with breath abated, the Kitsune saw the gambit pay off and with understanding of the situation better now, did her best to aid in the resolution of it. With Hibiki helping appease the rescued villagers' woes while also giving minor medical suggestions to those in the mental state to receive them, Hikari took notes of the atmosphere and made mental remarks to write down upon the completion of their missions for the day. The sheer terror some of the villagers had been through from a conceptual standpoint was something that for the average person would be mentally destructive, thankfully being denizens of the Land of Lightning they will likely bounce back quickly.

From there it was down to the second mission in question that had her sister Minami take the lead. Even she had commentary from the previous mission that Hikari felt was best to keep the thoughts minimal due to the rather unorthodox reality that was presented to them. It made sense a spider would be a candidate for such affairs but the connection that was made between Hibiki and the spider made her think about the possibility of Hibiki being able to make a summoning contract with the spider down the line should he pursue it. 'Perhaps I can make the suggestion, curious to see if he would be interested let alone willing to explore that option but things considered, spiders' silk typically is stronger than most expect.' She thought to herself as her sister brought her mind to the task back at hand.

Perhaps measuring was not the best way to elaborate on the circumstances that were present within the mission itself as she aided her sister in getting through the details of what was handed over to them with the materials in mind. Although her skillset was less applicable in most situations, she could at least help with what was asked. Elaborating on the potential woes of the materials presented as she adjusted the measurements being given to be likely better than initially designed, Hikari was unsure if such a weapon would truly be a work of art or a work of a madman in the end.

Seeing Minami struggle as they proceeded, Hikari gave her sister a light pat on the back with an affirming smile, "Not a problem Mina-chan." She said reassuring her as they continued to work on the task presently at hand with all that was being done. The final product was definitely something of a surprise as Minami used her tails to wield the weapon they made. It took a few tails to properly gain a grip on them and she was still capable of such a feat was impressive as Hikari gave a small applause of encouragement to her older sister as they finalized the product and finally made their way to the last mission in question, one that Hikari would be taking the lead on this go around. With Teams PFS and SPF finishing up, it was now time for Team FPS to take on the last task, handling a missing nin who's been teaching animals.

Although the task itself was one that seemed wild in concept, people of various villages trained and taught animals all the time how to use chakra so the concept of what was being presented was not one foreign to the studious of the three Hikari. She herself has been in the market for learning of an animal contract that she could potentially sign to better get a grip and support for herself should her friends and sister not be around to support her. She was not a physically strong kitsune like her sister but she was cunning at that at least was beneficial to her overall survival but now it was going to be put to the test. Handling animals in the first place would be one thing but those capable of techniques be it individual or collaborative was something already being shown with the spider that was handled earlier.

Once they relocated after their latest mission, Hikari led Team FPS forward toward the first destination of the group before stopping and turning to the two, "We need to be prepared for random occurrence of issues due to the details listed for this mission. There's a plethora of animals that have been causing issues and thankfully for our own sake, a few of them are far away from the village so our probability of encounters is lower for those. However, that equally means the likelihood of the other two is significantly higher." She began to discuss as she began to put together a thought process of how best to truly handle the creatures being put forth before them.

"As much as we were tasked with collecting as many animals as possible that have been taught such abilities, handling the root of the problem would be best with consideration of the volume being used. We can always explain that the coverage of the mission itself was too wide and further a supplemental mission to gather the remaining animals would be best advised." She vocalized to her team members before seeing if any more thoughts or comments came from the two. Once all thoughts were put forth it was time to handle and subdue what they could and then resolve the core problem being produced at this time.

To their own benefit, the first of the animals they encountered was a mangey mutt of a poodle. Considering what was described of the poodle was that they refused to be pampered, Hikari looked the dog in the eye and shrugged. Most people would want to try to tend to the creature but its eyes showed disdain so Hikari returned it in favor. It smelled horrid to her nose and ultimately felt it was best to just let it be. She picked up her head in disgust before beginning to walk away. Without cluing in her teammates she simply spoke, "Let's continue and find the animals of value and merit." She said coldly out loud in the poodle's presence.

As much as she wished to give the door more attention she knew that this was likely the best course of action as she continued to openly discuss her thoughts. "Considering the dolphins are close to the shores of the Land itself, we're more likely to encounter the monkeys and the birds towards the mountain. It is equally likely for the missing-nin to operate out of there considering the volume of animals that reside there as compared to the thickets of forests on the foothills of the Land of Lightning." She discussed keeping her keen sense of smell away from the dog in hopes her ploy would work. When speaking she would turn her head opposite of the poodle to look at her companions giving a full wink to indicate that this was the plan she was coming up with to capture the pooch.

Once they ventured forth closer to where the monkey sightings were, Hikari would make a hand motion in the direction that Hibiki was to get prepared as the rumblings of the simians started to become active as they approached. She would turn to Minami before taking a quick sniff. "Considering how volatile monkeys are be prepared Mina-chan. They will likely try to grab our tails, unlike a mangy dog." She said with a smile on her face causing the dog to begin increasingly agitated towards the nine-tailed Kitsune. It began to bark drawing the attention of the monkey at which point Hikari simply smirked. "I believe we will be receiving more distinct guests at this time if you two would be kind enough to subdue the Cercopithecoideas it would be appreciated. I have to reprimand a mutt." She said antagonizing the poodle more.

Although not described in the mission debrief, Hikari assumed the dog was trained in some capacity and she was right as the dog's matted fur began to grow as it appears it learned how to manipulate its hair. "Well now, I see why you don't like being pampered, it would ruin your mange." She said nonchalantly as she continued to egg on the poodle into acting. Eventually, hair needle senbons were launched out towards her and the group resulting in Hikari quickly weaving handseals, Snake → Ram → Monkey, unleashing a fireball outwards towards the dog. Setting ablaze to the hair senbons quickly and spooking the dog even more, Hikari used the cover of the fireball to form more seals, Ram → Rat → Tiger → Snake → Bird, knowing loosely where the dog was due to its scent as she unleashed a local gravity point to pin the dog.

To Hikari's luck, the dog used the Needle Jizo technique to defend itself from the fireball but could not stop her Jikujutsu technique in the end. With the dog unconscious now, Hikari simply went over and tended with what little basic medical knowledge she knew to make sure that it was alright before seeing if they possessed a collar. "...Harry..." She mumbled before letting out a sigh and turned her attention back towards the rest of the group as Hibiki and Minami swiftly remedied the burrowing monkeys with their own special skill sets. With two groups taken care of now out of the five, it just meant likely one more group to take care of, and then the missing-nin needed to be dealt with appropriately.

"Thank you both for aiding in that ploy with the dog. His name is Harry if you could believe it or not for the irony of it all. I assume this rambunctious rogue has been playing puns with these animals in some fashion. Considering the small birds are apparently using lightning and wind techniques, it could likely be assumed they're a type of Hummingbird over something akin to a falcon but there's no telling at this time without actually encountering. I know that falcons are more common within the Land of Lightning but considering that Hummingbird is small and technically holds the record of speed in general, there was one that could potentially dive as fast as almost 400 of its body lengths a second." She began to explain once more showing her studious side as they pressed onward.

The challenge that was now posed before them was handling finding the missing-nin's lair and dealing with the birds. With that in mind, it appeared that Hikari's Jikujutsu was likely the best method of wide aerial control. Surely it would not have to come to that but who knows considering they now had a troupe of monkeys contained and a dog named Harry hogtied. They needed to return these animals to proper locations once they returned to the village proper for better figuring out what to do with them but for now, the mission pressed forward unabated. That was before Hikari could feel the fur on her tails and ears begin to stand up. "Duck!" She shouted as she lunged forward toward the ground. If either had an affinity towards lightning, or heeded her word, would know that the sudden increase of positively charged particles was a signal that something was about to happen.

A moment later after landing in a small brush pile, a streak of lighting parallel to the ground shot right past where Hikari was walking at a quick speed and a burst of wind followed behind it. "Found the birds." She said disgruntled by the sudden appearance. "Considering we are aiming for the missing-nin, I think I'll try to draw the birds' attention if you two can handle capture the bored brainiac who's teaching animals chakra affinities and capacities. He's likely in the area in a cave considering the landscape, go together. I should be able to handle these creatures if I used myself as bait." She declared to her partners as a second streak from the same direction went for her causing her to roll forward as she pointed at the direction they came. "Likely in that direction too." She said without missing a beat before beginning to run in a different direction from where the intended target was.

Once separated briefly from her teammates, Hikari began to unravel her plan to contain these fast birds. They may have raw speed and power but there was something to say about gravitational forces being enacted on a body in motion, something something Tewnon's Laws. Baiting more birds, Hikari was able to determine there was a small flock of 6, what she still assumed were hummingbirds, that were making their way toward her without any remorse for the potential damages that were about to inflict on her. Forcing some time between usages, she pulled from inside her as she began to produce afterimages of herself as she began to dart amongst the trees of the hillside. Using this bought time, she then began her imitation blackhole once more before luring the birds to attempt to reach her once her afterimages ended. A smirk on the Kitsunes face was seen as she successfully captured the 6 birds, "Thrumming Birds huh..? Guess this brainiac is a menace of concept." She said as she used her sensory skills to find her teammates once more.

With either their successful capture or inability to capture the missing-nin, the mission was done with all intent and purpose. They captured what they could and now it was time to head back to the village with their spoils. Surely it was all worth the effort as she gave thumbs up to her teammates once more as they returned back to the village proper. "You two did great!" Hikari exclaimed as they turned over the animals to the proper village authorities over the matter. Before beginning her write-up she reached her arms around the shoulders of her companions, "It's so good to be doing missions together after all that has happened." She said with joy in her voice, something that although was relatively present, shined in this moment.

She was happy and satisfied with the affairs of the day between the meal they shared, to seeing Hibiki tame a puppeteering spider, to witnessing Minami's weaponry understanding, to even taking on a different approach of putting herself out in the way for her teammates. Hikari was pleased with not only herself at the moment but also the overall efforts and expertise her friends showcased that day without hesitation in such dire and vital moments. "I know it was a long day so I hope you both get some rest. Mina-chan, I hope you recover swiftly. I can't wait for our next sleepover." She said waving goodbye at last.

[Exit]

WC: 3,000, TWC: 5,000 | TMWC: Yes / 10,200

Mission Rewards wrote:Ryo Reward: +25,500 Ryo (9,000 + 9,000 + 7,500)
AP Reward: +98 AP (30 + 30 + 38) being converted to Ryo at 1 AP to 50 Ryo. +4,900 Ryo
Total Reward: +30,400 Ryo + 274,750 Ryo = 305,150 Ryo

WC Claims,000 + 2,500 from Firework Use wrote:
Using 2,000 WC to retrain Stats from (70/150/70/10) to (90/150/50/10)
250 WC To learn Candlight Method
500 WC To learn Rope Escape Technique
500 WC To learn Feint
500 WC To learn Adjustment
250 WC used for stats discarded

---

25% Max Stat Discount From here on.
1,650 WC Towards Finishing Mastery of Instant Transmission, 2,800 / 3,000
1,875 WC Towards Devouring Sphere
1,875 WC Towards Genjutsu Screwing
0 WC Remaining/Discarded

Hibiki smiled at the praise he was given for the completion of his mission and he was glad that most of the villagers were safe. Of course some had died though Hibiki could not exactly blame the spider for defending her life. Hibiki could also not blame those that attacked it, had it sprung from the tree on him unannounced he would likely fight back as well. It was a complicated mixture of emotions as he lead the surviving villagers back with his friends and remained fairly quiet for most of the journey back, walking amongst the villagers and assisting where required as they made the journey back to the village and the medical centre.

Next up was Minami’s mission and Hibiki was keen to help out as best as he could. He was familiar with the constructions of puppets but was brand new to using weapons and little knowledge in that particular field. Still Hibiki was determined to help in the gathering of materials and act a as a general dogsbody for whatever tools or items Minami might require during the course of the weapon’s construction. Whilst he worked Hibiki was again fascinated by his friends tails and ears and began to wonder how many people in the village secretly hid theirs as well. Hibiki had been tempted reach out and touch one but recalled Hikari’s expression from earlier in the day and decided against it. He found it pretty cool that he was friends with two fox people though he felt a little plain and boring in comparison. Hibiki refocused on his work and tired to imagine what it would be like having tails and large fox ears again. He considered that it was not perhaps entirely practical.

Minami spoke of testing the weapon and was worried about tearing her stitches and Hibiki had been about to offer to swing the weapon however Minami had grasped it with three tails and successfully wielded the weapon. Hibiki’s eyes lit up with amazement at the spectacle and he could not help but clap at the demonstration. “Wow, you could wield like five weapons at once with those tails!.” His excitement was quickly taken over by concern however as he moved closer with a frantic edge in his voice which was quickly smoothed out into a professional tone seemingly deliberately. “Are you stitches okay? I can stitch you up or provide some basic healing if you would like but I would recommend getting checked at the medical centre just in case when we get back to reduce the risk of infection or re-opening the wound.”

The weapon was delivered in good time and Hibiki was again delighted and impressed by his friends skills and abilities. “Great job Minami! I bet you could create even cooler weapons if you put your mind to it. If you ever need assistant let me know and I would be happy to help out. I guess its Hikari’s turn to lead next. Just tell me what you need me to do and I will do my best not to mess it up.”

Hibiki assisted Hikari with the mission, helping to wrangle the various animals they encountered and was intrigued to see Hikari’s reaction to the poodle and mentally took a note never to mention them in her presence again. It was only a little later that he realised that Hikari was simply play acting to agitate and distract the dog by attacking its sense of pride. He had little time to contemplate that aspect of the plan as Hikari ordered him to focus on capturing the monkeys and he nodded his acceptance of the task. Spoke quickly to Minami whilst forming the hand seals of Tiger -> Horse ->Ram –>Clone Seal. “I will deal with the main group of monkeys you catch and stragglers, just stay away from the smoke okay?” as he spoke a puff of smoke appeared next to him and vanished as quickly revealing an exact copy of Hibiki next to him. One of the Hibiki’s looked to the other and spoke quickly. “Drive them to the painted floor using battle top and I will use the smoky lullaby.” The other Hibiki nodded in apparent agreement, seemingly understanding what was desired and both smiled an identical mischievous smile.

One of the Hibiki’s made the sign of Dog -> ram and pulled the same puppet he had used earlier in the forest with a humanoid form but bladed arms and legs. “Okay now we wait for the signal.” Hikari called out something about kerkopedeeze and both Hibiki’s looked at each other in confusion before shrugging and dashing out from their position towards the small horde of monkeys approaching . The Hibiki with the puppet sprinted out ahead, weaving shapes with his hands as a the puppet shifted and clicked as it bent over spreading its arms and leg horizontally and began spinning like a  giant bladed spinning top that moved rapidly towards the monkeys as its controlling Hibiki ran alongside. As one Hibiki herded a large portion of the monkeys closer together to escape the spinning top the other one jumped high into the air making the seals of Ram -> Tiger -> Ox -> Dog and expelling a large spout of water from his mouth that coated the grounds the monkeys were being herded towards.

Once the water landed it rapidly thickened and the monkey that ran on to it became stuck in the liquid as though it were glue. The Hibiki that created the sticky water on the ground landed amongst the monkeys and rapidly made the signs of Bird -> Hare ->Monkey -> Ox -> Dragon -> Snake calling out again as he did so loudly. “Stay out of the smoke guys!” No sooner had his call finished before a thin purple smoke erupted form his body rapidly enveloping the area around  him in a  smoky purple dome that stretched 35 meters from him in every direction. The monkeys inside the smoke began howling frantically and after a short time the shouting began to die out until it became eerily quiet.

Hibiki released the technique and the mist evaporated and drifted away on the breeze as quickly as it was produced. One to the Hibiki’s returned the puppet to its extra dimensional storage then disappeared in a puff of white smoke. Hibiki looked at the large number of unconscious monkeys around him on the ground and set about tying them up securely.

The team continued dealing with various creatures until finally the mission had been completed and Hikari said her farewells. “Good job everyone, I think we did a really good job today. I look forward to hanging out again! If you ever need help with anything just let me know and have a good evening.”
Hibiki left the group, potentially providing Hikari and |Minami more time to speak together if they wanted it. They seemed very close to Hibiki and he figured it made sense, why wouldn’t you be friends with someone when you both had tails and ears?

[Exit]

WC: 1179  TWC:5,818  TMWC: Reached/10200

---

Mission rewards (Beloved Presence applied):

Ryo Reward: +51,000 Ryo (18,000 + 18,000 + 15,000)
AP Reward: +196 AP (60 + 60 + 76) being converted to Ryo at 1 AP to 50 Ryo. +9,800 Ryo
Total Reward: +60,800 Ryo  [New total: 64,425 Ryo]

---

Using A Grade Firework to benefit all in thread.

Claiming WC: 5,818 - 2,500 from firework = 8,318 WC - Max Stats so applying 25% reduction for WC claims.

---

Claiming:
- Puppetry Art: Yokai Hand Bind - A rank-  1,875/1,875 - 1,875/8,318
- Medical Art: Body Pathway Derangement Technique -S Rank - 3,000/3,000 - 4,875/8,318
- Puppetry Art: Puppetry Amplifier - 750/750 increasing up to A-rank - 5,625/8318
- Jab - 1,125/1,125 - B rank - 6750/8318
- The Slow Blade - 1,125/1,125 - B rank - 7875/8318
443 wc towards: Summoning Technique (incomplete) -443/1000 - 8318/8318
WC remaining: 0

Hibiki Sato wrote:Mission rewards (Beloved Presence applied):

Ryo Reward: +51,000 Ryo (18,000 + 18,000 + 15,000)
AP Reward: +196 AP (60 + 60 + 76) being converted to Ryo at 1 AP to 50 Ryo. +9,800 Ryo
Total Reward: +60,800 Ryo  [New total: 64,425 Ryo]

---

Using A Grade Firework to benefit all in thread.

Claiming WC: 5,818 - 2,500 from firework = 8,318 WC - Max Stats so applying 25% reduction for WC claims.

---

Claiming:
- Puppetry Art: Yokai Hand Bind - A rank-  1,875/1,875 - 1,875/8,318
- Medical Art: Body Pathway Derangement Technique -S Rank - 3,000/3,000 - 4,875/8,318
- Puppetry Art: Puppetry Amplifier - 750/750 increasing up to A-rank - 5,625/8318
- Jab - 1,125/1,125 - B rank - 6750/8318
- The Slow Blade - 1,125/1,125 - B rank - 7875/8318
443 wc towards: Summoning Technique (incomplete) -443/1000 - 8318/8318
WC remaining: 0

Approved

Hikari Kobayashi wrote:

Mission Rewards wrote:Ryo Reward: +25,500 Ryo (9,000 + 9,000 + 7,500)
AP Reward: +98 AP (30 + 30 + 38) being converted to Ryo at 1 AP to 50 Ryo. +4,900 Ryo
Total Reward: +30,400 Ryo + 274,750 Ryo = 305,150 Ryo

WC Claims,000 + 2,500 from Firework Use wrote:
Using 2,000 WC to retrain Stats from (70/150/70/10) to (90/150/50/10)
250 WC To learn Candlight Method
500 WC To learn Rope Escape Technique
500 WC To learn Feint
500 WC To learn Adjustment
250 WC used for stats discarded

---

25% Max Stat Discount From here on.
1,650 WC Towards Finishing Mastery of Instant Transmission, 2,800 / 3,000
1,875 WC Towards Devouring Sphere
1,875 WC Towards Genjutsu Screwing
0 WC Remaining/Discarded

Approved