Protecting the Farmlands

Mission:

       

                       With the frog fiasco under control, Oda decided to explore the more remote outskirts of the village, he had been a shinobi here for about a year and a half now, and he had yet to fully explore the farming lands that dotted areas around Tsukigakure. First, he would pack some lunch up, Oda hated operating on an empty stomach. He went to a nearby restaurant and put his order in.

“Can I get some yakitori, wrapped up to go, and some ramen in a togo cup?” He asked, flashing a brief smile at the vendor.

“Certainly, one yakitori and one ramen coming right up” The vendor responded.

                      “Oh but before you do, could you make sure to really cook the yakitori? Like…until its black.” He gave a slightly nervous smile, these requests always had a chance at insulting the vendor. “And…uh… cook the ramen just as much, super mushy is how I like it.” He placed some money on the counter, plus some extra for the troubles.

To the vendor's credit they took the requests in stride, taking the money and bowing their head slightly “Of course sir, I’m happy to.” Oda smiled and thanked the vendor profusely. It was a short time before he had his food packed neatly into a bento box. He bowed one final time to the vendor and made his way to the outskirts of the village.

As he did so, he made sure to stop by some vendors that he knew to ask them if he could help in any way. A few took him up on his offer, enlisting him for some quick errands around the market, or to assist with lifting some boxes. He was happy to help, and did so with efficiency. A few simply declined, but made small talk with Oda shortly. He loved chatting with the villagers, it helped him keep his eye on the goal: To make their lives in Tsukigakure easier.

Oda’s walk through the village and into the outskirts was enjoyable, he spent the time simply observing as he walked. He noticed the small birds that flitted from tree to tree, and the peaceful little alcoves that dotted the landscape. He spent some time exploring these small outcroppings, always on the hunt for a peaceful reading spot. He marked a few areas of interest on his map before continuing on. As he was leaving one clearing however, he noticed a small fence that separated the jungle from the clearing. Well, it was a fence, at some point. Now all that remained was a shattered pile of wood, seemingly trampled by some large animal. He cocked his head at the fence but otherwise put it on the backburner.

Finally, after a couple of hours, he had made it to the farming land of the Land of the Moon. It was beautiful. Crops sprawled out over rolling fields, with moonflowers dotting the landscape that had yet to be worked. The flowers caught the light of the sun, glinting in the landscape, almost giving the sense of stars speckled throughout the land. Oda paused at the crest of a hill, a perfect view of the land laid before him, he spent some time just observing, soaking in the view and eating some of his lunch. His eyes followed along the nearby river, tracing the sparkling glint of the sun as the river arched through the land like a monolithic snake.

After finishing his now cold ramen, he packed away the trash into a small bag in his pack and continued on into the flatter land of the farmlands. As he did though, a family of three was walking towards the village. The family consisted of a Mother, a Father, and their son who looked to be about 13 years old.

The son's arm was in a dirty makeshift sling, being held gingerly, it was bloodied and mangled- looking to be crushed- Oda approached them quickly with concern on his face. “What happened?” He said as he pulled out some medical supplies provided to him by Tsukigakure. He took out some strong bandaging and began to fashion a more efficient and sterile arm sling. As he did so the parents explained through sniffles and shock.

“We don’t know, he was playing outside and we heard a yell followed- followed by- “ The mother broke down into tears, the father struggled to hold it together.

“We don’t know what we heard- but it was terrifying, like a demon, a screech. We still can’t get Yoro to say what he saw. All we know is when we came out, he was on the ground, crying and terrified with his arm mangled.” The father looked to be on the verge of tears.

Oda knelt to comfort the boy and apply the new sling, he was clearly still in shock and simply stared at Oda with a blank expression on his face. He put a reassuring hand on his shoulder before nodding and standing to address the boy's parents. “I’ll look into it, the bandage should do until you can get to the hospital. I’ll stop by later to check on you guys.” He nodded solemnly and gave a bow, the parents returned the gesture in kind before continuing on to the village. Oda turned back towards the plains of farmland and made his way further in, looking to find the cause of this mysterious attack. He moved cautiously at first, expecting an attack at any moment. The swishing of wheat as the breeze rolled in spooked Oda at every turn. He felt as if the monster could be anywhere, however after an hour or so of moving cautiously, he got rather complacent.

After some time walking, he finally came upon a household settled amongst a large field of corn. He knocked on the door and waited for a reply. “Who is it?!” A voice rang out from the house.

“Uh, hi sir! My name is Oda Terumi, I’m with Tsukigakure Ninja Academy-” The door swung open at Oda's announcement and a small, hunched over old man stared at Oda with a piercing glare.

“I’ve been requesting assistance from you guys forever!” The old man said angrily.

Oda cocked his head in confusion, he was sure he would’ve heard about a monster terrorizing the farmlands. The man pointed to some shingles on his roof, “I’ve been needing those shingles replaced for 2 harvests now!” Oda sighed in relief.

“Oh, sorry for the confusion sir, I am speaking about the strange beast that hurt a boy earlier today. The parents said it was some sort of screeching?” Oda said, trailing off as he looked to the old man for some more info.

The man immediately changed his demeanor, this suddenly angry and commanding man shrank a little more and spoke with a little trepidation now. “Ahh… The beast. Yes. Terrible thing.” He moved to drink from a glass of water that sat on the porch. After parching his thirst he continued.

“It’s been here for about 3 harvests now. No one has ever seen it, it usually attacks at night. Some say it has horns the size of tree trunks, and fur made of steel knives.” Oda was not a superstitious person but even he was being pulled into the man's tale. He snapped himself out of his reverie, keeping focus on the mission at hand.

“Do you know where this animal frequents?” Oda said with little hope.

“Actually yes, in fact I was surprised to hear the young Yoro boy was attacked, the monster has only ever been encountered at night and at a specific area near the woods.” The old man said, excitedly. Oda was confused at that insight but excited to learn he could potentially find the beast. He questioned the old man for a bit to determine where this spot was, making sure to write down in his notes any identifying landmarks.

He thanked the old man for his help and motioned to leave. “Hey!” The old man interrupted. He pointed his cane up to the ceiling. “Shingles?”. Oda sighed and made his way for the roof of the house.

                 After some time helping with the shingles, he finally was given permission by the old man to leave, with a slight bow he made his way to the spot where the beast was most commonly seen. He wasn’t sure what it could be, maybe a hog? They had a tendency to be able to cause extensive damage. Maybe it was a house pet like a large dog, Oda had seen them develop rabies before and a dog afflicted with that sickness was a whole different type of beast.

               He continued on his way, only being stopped once by a pair of farmers who were hauling goods to Tsukigakure. They were friendly, but immediately went quiet at the mention of the beast, they quickly gave some parting words and exited the conversation. Wow this monster’s got the people really spooked, thought Oda.

             Oda would soon learn why, having reached the small clearing right inside the jungles he decided to set up a small platform on the trees above. Hopefully, with some patience, he could stake the area out and get a clear sight of the beast that stalked this area. He sat in the tree for some time, occasionally reading from one of his favorite romance novels, but for the most part he kept his eyes peeled for any sign of danger.

               The sun had set many hours ago, and Oda's eyelids were fighting to stay open as he sat on the platform. His legs were numb from the long time staying seated, still, this was part of being a shinobi. Oda was fighting with everything in his body to stay awake, until, suddenly his adrenaline shot up at the sound of twigs breaking and a strange sort of grunting. He whipped around to one side, the source of the noise. Tree branches and brush swayed at the intrusion of some large body. Oda had trouble making it out in the darkness. He activated a Fire Lash, using the glow of it to whip the lash outwards and get a better view.

                  His jaw dropped in that split second that he had a view of the best before him. It seemed to be a bear of some sort, although larger than any bear he had ever seen. Its fur was falling off in patches, leaving a gray and wrinkly skin that made the beast look more like a large man than bear. In its chest was a kunai, lodged deeply in. It roared, and the kunai, which seemed to be interfering with its windpipe, caused the ensuing sound to be a high pitched screaming noise. Oda felt some pity for the creature, a pity that was short-lived as it roared again in its raspy way and charged at him.

                    He barely dodged out of the way, having to activate his Fire Invigoration technique just to have enough speed. He whipped at it, intentionally grazing it and angering it more. I have to lead it away. Only then can I really solve this. He thought.

                  With the bear properly angered and on his scent, he sprinted off further away from the farm land, his mind racing as he attempted to formulate a plan. As dangerous as this beast was,he didn’t want to kill it, it was innocent in its own way. Finally a plan formed, and he gave another burst of speed, making sure to tear his vest and leave a scent trail.

                  As he lay in the brush on his back, he could hear the bear lumbering towards him, it slowed right as it stood above him, looking for Oda as it sniffed out his scent. He shot up quickly and grabbed at the kunai while simultaneously activating a Great fireball technique, he limited the power of it and shot a cone, burning and cauterizing the open wound that the kunai left. The bear lept back in surprise but Oda’s goal had already been accomplished. It paused at the relief in its chest from the kunai being gone. Oda put his hands up and remained still, tossing the kunai to the ground.

It stared at him in the darkness for what felt like an eternity, slowly pacing and sniffing at the ground before looking him in his eyes, at his very soul. It gave a low grumble before turning back into the woods. Oda finally stopped holding his breath and fell to his knees, he was only about half sure he wouldn’t die today.

                Oda made sure to make two stops on his way home from his adventure, his first was to the hospital. He did some digging after checking on the boy and making sure he was making a full recovery. After some investigating, it was discovered that the boy had seen the kunai as well, and was attempting to lure it out and help it remove the kunai. Unfortunately he failed and spooked the beast. His parents admonished him but Oda admired the kids compassion.

              His second stop was the Kage tower, where he informed them of the beast's existence and the problems it was causing. They thanked him profusely and gave him a mission reward as recompense. Oda accepted graciously and made his way home once more, stopping at a local food vendor to get some free samples and help hang up some lanterns.

        As he trudged up his stairs and to his apartment, his neighbor called out from her garden. “Have a good day Oda?”

     “Oh you know just the usual!” He laughed

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[Exit]

WC: 2275

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