A Plague of Beasts [Mission]

I posted the template inside the mission so you both know what to do without having to go read it in the mission board. In the next topic, I'll start it off. We're going to start by introducing Ai and Zenshi, and then the fun begins.

I have arrived at Elkwood, the small town a few miles away from my village. The people here have requested me to vanquish a group of strange, coyote-like creatures for them, and I thought of this as a great opportunity to test the skill and teamwork of my two students. I will mostly be observing them, and stepping in when necessary. No matter how strong these creatures are, I want my students to get a feel for fighting as well as how to work off of each other's weaknesses in order to excel as a team. Covering one another's weaknesses not only enhances the quality of work done by the team, but it builds relationships. I do not expect perfection on this mission, and I do not expect them to get it completely right, but I do expect them to try. The tasks these two will take part in for me will not be easy, and I want them to strain themselves mentally and physically in order to succeed in their goals. But for now, I will introduce them.

"Well you two, we're here," I said after waving me arms towards the town around me. "It isn't much, but it's very humble. I actually quite like it here. Well Zenshi, this is my first student, Ai Takahashi. Ai, this is Zenshi Kenko. You are both Genin and are in no way above the other student, so do not feel above one another. You are equal, and I expect you to behave as such. Understood? Good," I stopped to make sure they were listening closely. "The townspeople here have recently succumbed to the raids of strange creatures that lurk about at night. Our job, simply, is to find where they live now during the day when they are not out hunting, catch them by surprise, and kill them. Shall we?"

Ai looked around at the small town she found herself in. This was the first time she had been here, despite growing up in Morigakure which was only a few miles away. She listened as Skar introduced her to Zenshi, nodding politely as she looked at him. She paid particular attention when he began laying out the details of why they had come here to Elkwood though.

"The townspeople here have recently succumbed to the raids of strange creatures that lurk about at night. Our job, simply, is to find where they live now during the day when they are not out hunting, catch them by surprise, and kill them.

Ai raised her hand slightly, and then, feeling foolish for acting like a school girl, quickly dropped it back to her side as she began to speak.

"Strange creatures? Is that all the description we have?" Ai hoped that she could get as much spelled out for her as she could. She figured the more information she had, the better prepared she would be. All of her failures at the Academy came rushing back to her. She knew with her Kage watching, this would be a time to atone for those failures and the more she knew, the easier that would be.

I followed the kage through the forest into the small village of Elkwood in the vine country. I was wearing my usual long sleeve orange shirt with a black vest and pants along with my dress shoes, some people may have thought it was too over-dressed for the situation, but hey, it was comfortable. I also had with me my first attempt at modifying two kitchen knives from my family's restaurant. They needed a name so I just called them Slicer and Dicer. Imagine my surprise when I saw that my partner, along with the kage, was a beautiful woman, time to introduce her to the five star chef Zenshi Kenko.

When I was introduced to the girl she nodded to him and then asked the kage a question shyly, I said to her "Hello my dear, the name's Zenshi Kenko, five star chef restaurant Castile de Kenko." I winked at her and smiled before turning back to the kage and pulling out my knives and spinning them around in my hands and said "I've always wanted to try and make some dish consisting of canine, I'm thinking grilled with maybe a dash of some salt and garlic, throw a little of the Kenko sauce on that and even I'd serve it in my restaurant." I laughed and threw Slicer into the air and caught it before turning back to Ai and saying "If the lovely lady would like to join me I would try even harder." I winked at her again and laughed, holding both my knives to my side waiting for both to respond, this was about to be a great time. A lovely woman, another culinary experiment, and the chance to assault wolves, a great time indeed.

I watched as my two new students interacted with each other, and I paid close attention to how they socialized. The young girl, Ai Takahashi, seemed to be very worried about this mission above all else. She seemed very serious about succeeding, which I admired. Although, the solemness could prove to be one of many of the new team's downfalls. Ai would be seeing Zenshi and I almost on a daily basis, and I hope that in the future she will be loosened up. I'm sure she will though. After all, this is still the beginning. I then watched Zenshi introduce himself. And oh my, was he flashy. It made me laugh quit a bit, actually. He, on the opposite end of Ai, was extremely social-sounding and quite flirty with her. I rolled my eyes without realizing it when he winked at her. So it appears that I have two polar opposites. I have a girl who is very serious about reaching her goals, and a young man who is very serious about flirting. This should be a fun time training these two. I have a feeling that in the late future, I will get a little too attached to these two. I like them already.

After hearing Ai ask about the creatures, I eagerly responded. "Well Ai, I'm glad you asked. Zenshi could use a bit of tips from you," I said as I nudged my head towards him, "It's always good to know what you'll be getting into before you actually get into it. But, don't be too serious. You'll be seeing a lot of each other in the future, so I advise you get friendly," I said with a grin. "As for the creatures, all we know is that they look a lot like coyote or wolves. Easy enough right? Scary wolves. Walk in the park. Shall we begin, you two?"

Ai gulped. This seemed more dangerous then she was prepared for undertaking. Still she figured if her Kage was with her, then if she got in over her head, he would be able to back her up. Her counter part, Zenshi, seemed ready to take on anything. Ai smiled at him, admiring his apparent courage. She hoped it would hold up in actual battle.

"Shall we begin, you two?"

Ai's face grew serious as she looked back to the Tsurukage with a nod.

"I'm ready," she said with a mix of excitement and apprehension showing in her voice.

I was a bit saddened by the fact that Ai hadn't even acknowledged his advances but he would quickly shake it off and try again, I was known for being a persistent bastard. I then threw both my knives in the air, juggling them for a few seconds, before putting them back into their holders attached to my waist and said "Yeah i'm ready! I can't wait to put one of these things over a fire...and hopefully share the meal with a beautiful woman." I winked at Ai again and then proceeded to follow the kage, whistling happily, into the village.

With a look of determination on Ai's face, and another flirt attempt by Zenshi, I knew my team was ready. Although, after he winked for the third time, I had to limit it. I launched a swift punch with my honed speed and strength directly at the nose of Zenshi while he tried to do a trick with his knives. Hopefully that would calm him down. Ahem. Anyway, I took them into the town of Elkwood to search for any clues. It was mid-day, which means it was long before the creatures would attempt to attack the village, giving us plenty of time for espionage. I would not take a huge part in this part of the mission however. I would sit under one of the archways into the village while they would go search for clues. This was indeed their mission, to show me how they could work together, and to show me what needs improvement. I wouldn't come into play until later when they'd need me for the coyote-slaying.

"See that archway?" I asked them while pointing to the western entrance to the village, "I'm going to be sitting under that. You two will go search for clues throughout the village. Report to me in one hour with your findings. Be thorough, and work together. I'll see you soon." I then turned and began strolling to the archway. When I arrived, I leaned against the wall, and slid to the ground. I would sit here and wait for them.

Ai started to blush as Zenshi winked at her, but her embarrassment quickly became shock as Skar's fist flew toward Zenshi's face faster than she could react. As the fist connected with Zenshi's nose, Ai flinched. Obviously, she thought, the Kage wants us to take this seriously.

As they reached the entrance to the village, Skar explained the what he was expecting them to do during the mission.

"You two will go search for clues throughout the village. Report to me in one hour with your findings. Be thorough, and work together. I'll see you soon."

Ai watched for a moment as the Tsurukage walked over toward the archway, taking a seat under it before she turned back to Zenshi.

"Do you have any ideas before we get started? I'm thinking about taking the high ground," she said motioning to the tops of the buildings. "Not only do I feel more comfortable up there, it will give me a better vantage point and I might be able to see something."

I was shocked by the kage punching me in the face, he obviously didn't care much for having fun so I'd have to tone it down around him. I picked up my knives and rubbed my face, that bitch knew how to punch. I put them in my carries and walked forward with Ai, I figured the flirting would have to be toned down until the end of the mission now. I had some experience in tracking because back when I first started working at the restaurant the just used me to fetch fresh ingredients, which meant hunting. I focused on the ground and saw very faint paw prints, not fresh enough to be of use but still there. I stood up and smiled at Ai and said "Well I found old paw prints around here, I'm gonna go deeper into the town and look for some more, If you'd like to come feel free but if not good luck on your own." I nodded at her and then ran towards the inside of the village to continue hunting for more clues.

As I watched my students discuss their strategies, I began to think further about their behavior. How would I get these two to behave like a functioning team should? I had Zenshi, who was entirely too flirty with his partner for being in the middle of a mission. Fun was encouraged, but I didn't particularly enjoy his swooning over his own partner, whom he was supposed to be working with. Not working on. Nonetheless, I had hoped he had learned his lesson. And on the opposite side of the team, we had Ai. Ai was very quiet, and I could tell she was shy. She blushed when Zenshi winked at her multiple times, but blew his attempts off. She was level-headed, which was good, but I worried as to whether or not they would be able to become a proper team, a family, if she were to remain so reserved. I enjoy both of their company, however. Zenshi is a devilishly sarcastic young man, with a knack for livening the mood for any situation, and Ai was the calmness and beauty that kept the group open-minded and patient. I looked to the sky, into the amazing daybreak, and watched the clouds as they carelessly rolled by over the top of the tall, majestic trees.

I think that in time, these two will learn to play off of each other's weaknesses. I believe I couldn't have picked two finer targets for my team, and I believe that we are going to all work perfectly together in the near future. But for now, we have some mutant coyote to kill. I looked back to Zenshi and Ai, who were still talking. I would remain waiting here under the entrance to the village for their return.

"Well I found old paw prints around here, I'm gonna go deeper into the town and look for some more, If you'd like to come feel free but if not good luck on your own."

Ai thought for a moment about what to do, remembering back to what the Tsurukage had instructed them. "Be thorough, and work together," he had said.

The young girl looked at Zenshi and shook her head. "I'll take the high ground, but I'll make sure that you're always in sight." She turned away and removed her bow from her back. She started to jump into the nearest tree, when she stopped and turned back to face Zenshi.

"Um...," leading and giving orders was not her strong point, and she hesitated before continuing. "We need a signal to get each others attention. That way even though I'm in the trees, I can let you know if I spot something. Maybe something like this." Ai let out a short series of whistles that almost perfectly mimicked a bird call that was common in the forest of Morigakure. She hoped with Zenshi being from the village, he would be able to mimic it as well.

She stared at Zenshi for a moment adding softly, "That is, unless you have a better idea."

I was surprised at the fluidity at which Ai was able to whistle, it was beautiful, I simply nodded and said to her "That works perfectly my dear, I'll keep searching down here." I then continued to scavenge down on the main street of the village. There was nothing really that I could find until I found a nearly unrecognizable little animal, it used to be a raccoon but the meat was too destroyed to even salvage to cook something so I almost moved on, until I saw a large tooth in the animal. I pulled it out and flipped it into the air and thought to myself "Hmmm I've always wondered what powdered tooth would taste like on a dish, I'll save this and save it for seasoning on the wolf itself, that's irony if I've ever heard it." I laughed to myself before standing up and looking around the carcass, it was off the east side of the village so I would have to keep searching around here for more clues, I could smell the wolf cooking already.

I was beginning to get increasingly bored. I had been waiting for the two to return with clues for some amount of hours now, and it was nearing sunset. We had to begin the hunt before dark, or the village would succumb to another attack. I decided to look for my own clues in order to speed the process up. In the brush behind me off the path outside the entrance, was a patch of black bloody fur. A trail of it lead away from the path, and into a group of tall trees in the distance, about a half-mile off of the main path. After making my discovery, I decided not to act on it. I would wait to reveal it after Zenshi and Ai had presented their clues. They needed to hurry if they wanted to succeed in the mission however, of the village would fall victim to another attack, and I know they wouldn't want that on their conscience. I decided to wait for another period of time for the two to return.

Ai sprang into the branches of the nearest tree to get a better vantage point of the area around them. She scanned the landscape looking for anything unusual or out of the ordinary while also keeping an eye on Zenshi. She wanted to make sure that they didn't get too separated as they searched. Ai watched the boy reach down and examine the body of a dead animal and extract something from the carcass. He must have found something, she thought to herself. She began scanning the area again. Her eyes stopped as she spied a small opening in the rocks about 50 yards away. The ground outside the entrance was well worn and she thought she could just make out multiple animal footprints leading into and out of the hole. Closer inspection would confirm, but she was sure this was a clue.

She looked back to Zenshi who was still searching the ground for clues of his own. Using the whistle signal they worked out before, she attempted to get his attention. She pointed two fingers to her eyes signaling for Zenshi to "look" and then pointed in the direction of the cave entrance so Zenshi would see it.

Hopefully, she thought, we can take our evidence back to Skar to let him know what we've found.

I looked over to Ai after hearing a whistle, it seemed she was pointing at something in the distance. I looked over and saw the mouth of a cave and turned to Ai and smiled, giving her a thumbs up before standing and walking over to the mouth of the cave myself. I stood at the mouth of the cave for a second and listened in and could hear the sounds of slight yipps and barks coming from inside of it, bingo. I then began to casually walk back to Skar and whistled for Ai to follow me and when I arrived to where he was I said to him "We found the meat locker full of wolf, We're ready to move in when you are boss." I said this with a New Yorker accent to try and add some humor to it as I waited for a response from either Ai or Skar.

It was Zenshi that came to me first, but by watching the scenario take place, I had come to the conclusion that it was Ai that had initially found the cave in the distance. Zenshi had pulled a clue off of a mutilated dead animal, however, as I watched him do. So far, their teamwork outside of battle proved to be useful, if not adequate. I approve of their actions thus far. Trying to make it seem as if he had not known where the cave was already, I said to the two, "Well done! Show me to this cave you've found, and we'll do some more investigation." It was then that I stood up and began walking to the direction where Zenshi had come from. I then stopped and turned around to look at him, "Well, you coming?" I asked while beckoning to him. Without waiting for his response, I pressed onward. Soon, we would meet this deadly plague of Elkwood.

Ai waited for the two to come near her position before jumping down out of the tree. She couldn't hear what was said from where she was, but she was sure Zenshi had relayed the location of the cave to Skar and that they were now headed to see what they would find inside. She slung her bow back across her back and fell in line behind her comrads. "You don't think there are that many do you?" For a moment she was afraid her tone may have conveyed more apprehension then she meant to show, but quickly brushed the thought aside. If she was going to work with these two, they needed to know when her instincts were telling her there was danger, and for now, she decided that if they had picked up on her tone, that would be sufficient for now. There would be other times that would call for the more direct approach.

I followed Skar to the mouth of the cave and pulled the knives from the sheathes at my side, keeping them drawn this time as we were about to enter this cave. I would go ahead and get about half-way through the entrance before hearing Ai's worry. I then turned and smiled as if I wasn't worried at all and said "Don't worry Ai, you need my help just shout out and the wolf will be minced, boiled, and plated in front of you before you get the chance to blink." I laughed a little before turning to the inside of the cave itself and whistled as if calling a dog and said "C'mon Sparky, got a niiiice treat for 'ya c'mon boy." I heard growls come from the deep cave and set myself in a stance with my feet shoulder width apart and bent to prepare to dodge anything thrown at me. It was time to make dinner.

I watched diligently and silently as my apprentices readied themselves for an unexpected battle. It made me curious as to what they could do in battle, being completely different from one another in combat forms. Zenshi had drawn knives, giving me the impression of being a gracefully quick dual-wielding warrior. On the other hand, the girl, Ai, had drawn and strung a bow, displaying herself as a cunning archer. These two character choices would later define for me where exactly to put them in battle scenarios. Ai would make a fitting assassin, in my opinion, with the right training, for my ANBU. An able archer, as she appeared. Zenshi was also exceptionally nimble. He could also make a fine addition to my secret police. After observing their pre-battle readiness, I simply walked into the cave in front of us. Into the darkness, into the growling abyss of the cave. A few pairs of glowing yellow eyes shown in the dark, and I grinned. Time to see what these beasts really were.