A Moment To Hunt [Contract Search]

[Kiri]

It wasn’t all the time that Kiri got to spend some time off away from the village. Lately, he had been too focused about studying medicine from Osuteno to find some good hunts in the forest. And when he finally did find time to do so, the beast inside him was far from being satisfied. Something to do with having to hunt the same thing again and again, and after a long wait it was just dissatisfying. He couldn’t argue there. He knew well how horrible it felt to have been deprived for a long time only to know what to expect when he would be given a chance to let lose.

Thus, to remedy the situation, he decided that a break from the hectic lifestyle he currently had in the village was necessary. Not that he had too much on his schedule, but because he was studying under Osu, it was almost expected to at least read up on his medical knowledge to be able to keep up with the pace and become a mednin soon. Before that, however, he would have to keep tabs with his inner demon make sure it doesn’t run wild. It was always eager for a good hunt and from his research, one of the best places in Lightning Country he had never been to before but was seemingly sprawling with wild game, was this region.

Standing beneath a tree, he let his eyes look out and explore the far reaching horizons of the lowlands of Lightning Country. Not too far would be the villages and some of the older and veteran shinobis were supposed to have retired to, so he could always drop by and perhaps learn a thing or two from asking a story from them. Heck, he might even learn more about the secrets of Kumogakure that he could never learn from the books in the library. But that would have to wait, for at that very moment, he would catch upon a trail of some kind of creature. The footprints on the ground was still fresh and with the wide expanse of the land before him, it seemed like an interesting hunt.

“This place really suits for retirement. We should live here some day. Then we can go for hunts without any bother,” said the beast inside him and Kiri chuckled at the thought.

“I’m too young to retire just yet,” answered Kiri as he knelt on the ground and placed a hand on the trail. He was certain he had not seen a footprint like that before, which was not at all surprising seeing how limited his experience was, even if he had been hunting in the ancient forest in Kumogakure. Still, this only meant that the hunt would be even more exciting, “Let’s go.”

With that said, the beast inside him roared with life, reverberating in his soul, filling him with energy as he began to sprint down the grassy patches of land, entering the high grasses and across the lakes. He would continue to run and search for a great hunt, even if it meant reaching for days. After all, this was a well-deserved break after days on end reading that large tome of medical practice records. Oh how his muscles ached to be free once more.

WC: 551

 

[Yamanaka Utano]

FORTUNE HAS NOT SMILED UPON YOU THIS DAY. YOU MAY SEARCH AGAIN IN 2 MONTHS!​

 

[Miraku]

Back after a mission to help get rid of some bandits that had been harassing a small village outside the lowlands, Raku had finally found time for himself on his way back, a moment to explore. They were a place he hadn't visited very often since his arrival to the village besides when heading out on a mission somewhere. They are a beautiful place if one had the chance to take a moment and survey their beauty, explore and discover what they held in store. Since he had been so busy this morning, engaged in his work, Raku hadn't been able to get in a full training session today and realized this moment of freedom could be a good substitute for it with the ability to roam freely through the fields and forests outside the village. He was so used to training in the forests within Kumogakure, he hadn't taken the time to explore much beyond that in search of good locations to work on enhancing his combat ability and efficiency.

Entering the lowlands, Raku took in a deep breath of the brisk air, his eyes closed as he stood there, taking in the moment, the wind blowing against his skin, clothes rustling and blowing along. While his eyes were closed he could feel the wounds on his body, the cut on his arm visible through the tear in his jacket where a sword from a bandit had cut him while being reckless. Underneath were some sloppy bandages Raku had managed to wrap around the wound, though the blood was visible through it, obviously needing to get it checked out once he got back to the village, but first he wanted to spend some time out here. It's not as if his injuries were life threatening, just mildly annoying to him, though he was used to bleeding at this point. Opening his eyes and looking around there were plains and forest in different directions as far as the eye could see. Crouching down for a moment in the grass, Raku looked down at some wild flowers near his feet as well, ripping out some grass and holding it up to the wind, letting it float through the air on the currents of the open breeze, enjoying the moment for what it was.

Standing up and looking around, the area seemed empty and quiet for now; figuring it was the perfect place to go for a nice quick run, get some exercise and training on his speed and stamina. Stretching his legs for a moment in each direction to get himself ready quickly, Raku bent down at the knees slightly before taking off at full sprint across the plains. The grass, open air and forest on either side flying by his peripheral vision while he sped on across the ground, the wind whipping past his face as he ran through it, long hair flying back with the wind and his forward momentum.

After running for close to thirty minutes, off to one side, a ways into the distance, Raku spotted the form of another human being within some of the tall grass of the lowlands, running along. The urge to investigate and confirm this person as a non-threat rushed into Raku's mind as he began to change directions towards the being he had seen roaming in the grass in the distance. It appeared that Raku was quicker than this being as he was definitely gaining ground on it, though still a distance away, trying to make his way to follow in it's path so as to not be noticed as easily.

Following a few hundred feet behind the beings movement, Raku could make out what appeared to be a young man that he had yet to see before. Not knowing who this was, though not able to thoroughly examine him from this distance gave way to question whether this was a cloud shinobi or possibly someone more dangerous that would need to be dealt with accordingly. Breaking off from the young mans path, Raku sprinted off to the right of him, so his eyepatch wouldn't be blind to his movements. Able to catch up, while still slightly behind, and still about a hundred feet to the right of the young man, Raku turned towards him and began to shout, hopefully loud enough for the young man to hear over the rush of wind past his ears as he seemed focused on something that he was running towards. "Oi, what are you doing out here?" he asked out loud, hoping to cause the young man to stop and answer his questions, to see if he could figure out who this was and what he was doing out here, not too far from Kumogakure, continuing to run until the young man stopped, or continuing to follow him.

[Marked for Training; 804 WC]
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[Kiri]

Focused at finding this illusive creature, Kiri had not noticed an unexpected presence until he was close enough to hear the voice. At once, the young shinobi would come to a sudden halt, skidding along the grass as his eyes darted towards the intruder, hand quickly by the hilt of his sword as he was ready to strike at any moment’s call. There was something odd about this person that seemed to have stopped just as he did. Was he from around the area?

Despite knowing the tension between villages, Kiri was still naive to possible sneak attacks from enemy shinobis, for he always thought that Lightning Country was protected well. Then again, he wasn’t exactly in Kumogakure, but at the outskirts, in the outlands to be exact. Even if the residents in this region were retired shinobis, they were surely prepared for the worst. So could this person be one of those?

“Hunting,” replied Kiri, not moving from his earlier position, still ready to strike if needed be. He let his eyes wander and study the features of this unknown person. The beast inside him was also very wary as he could somehow smell the scent of… “You smell of blood.” And with that, Kiri’s eyes sharpened and he became ever more serious.

 

[Miraku]

Moments after calling out to the young man, he came skidding to a stop. Raku leapt back a few steps to keep his distance, placing his hand on the hilt of his katana in response the young man doing the same. Taking a better look at the young man's appearance now they he was standing still and face to face with him, he definitely appeared to be a shinobi of some kind. Although this person had place his hand on his sword's hilt, it didn't appear that he was too aggressive, or looking to start a fight, more so ready to defend himself which put Raku's mind slightly at ease realizing he most likely wasn't the kind of threat he was anticipating, but that wouldn't stop him from staying sharp and being ready for any kind of surprises they may have up their sleeve.

The young man's response was short and to the point, but left a lot to be desired in terms of giving a proper explanation to quell any suspicions Raku might have. Before Raku could respond with further questions, the boy mentioned that he had smelled of blood, apparently causing him to worry slightly as he seemed to shift from cautious to more of a focused look on his face. An explanation was probably required to calm him down, but it would need to be left short as Raku still had questions he wanted the answers to as well. "I'm just on my way back after a mission dealing with some bandits. It's only a few cuts, nothing to be worried about." Raku stated, as he pointed his head to the side, trying to shift the boys attention to his arm where the sleeve of his jacket and top had been cut, with exposed bandages beneath, blood seeping through it visibly, albeit slowly; obviously a hastily done job that he needed to take care of eventually.

Having hopefully cured any thoughts on the boys part that Raku was some kind of crazed killer trying to find another victim or whatever the smell of blood had made him think this situation was about, Raku still had questions he needed answered, and he wasn't about to end the conversation here. Standing before the young man with his one exposed green eye looked him over, trying to see any identifiers, as the wind continued to softly blow through the fields around them "I'm still not sure who you are. You appear to be a shinobi, but from what village?" he asked loud enough to be heard above the wind, wanting to make sure whether the young man was friend or foe. Still not sure, Raku stood calmly, his hand still on the hilt of his weapon, ready to draw if needed, but not in any kind of aggressive stance, just trying to show he knew he could defend himself. Judging strength by appearance wasn't something one could do easily in this world, but Raku assumed by the boys appearance that he was younger, and by that token most likely hadn't been a shinobi as long as him, but he would never be sure how strong some people were just by their age, as many-a-prodigy were born in these times. The wind continued to blow, a slight gust audible in the moment of silence following his question before any response could happen, continuing to hold position calmly waiting for further information.

[Marked for Training; 570 WC]
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[Kiri]

Kiri raised a brow as this unknown person had suddenly stopped as well, which pretty much explains that he was the object of the chase. Still, without knowing what this man was planning, Kiri couldn’t simply just accept his words as true. Even if he were a shinobi out doing a mission, it was still suspicious. But it wasn’t like he knew every last one active shinobi in the force. Heck, he barely knew those in the medical branch and that was saying a lot since he belonged to it. This only showed how much needed to grow.

“Normally, I wouldn’t advise it, but perhaps it’s best to stay your sword for now,” said the beast inside him and Kiri agreed without a moment’s hesitation. At that, he removed his hand from where it was resting on the hilt of the sword and stood straight. Still, he was on guard for if this man’s words were true, then he is a capable man.

Still, perhaps what irked him was the amateurish way that the other had tended to his wounds. “Just because you wrapped it with a bandage does not mean it’s alright. It’s soaked through. I can smell the blood, though perhaps my senses is beyond the average man, it still doesn’t change the fact that behind that sorry excuse for a bandage work is a well-opened wound.” Or more like, because of his inner beast and the peeping third eye (peeping because he was hunting earlier but the sudden appearance of the man made him shut it, and it was well-hidden by the blonde hair that fell to his eyes), his senses were heightened of his surroundings. But he had learned from his other contact of people that it was beyond the normal thing.

In any case, it was enough to distract him from the hunt, much to the beast’s disappointment as Kiri began to walk towards the other man. “Does it matter? At the moment, there’s a pressing matter I’ve become more concerned with. Let me take a look at that arm and fix that. I really hate to see such ugly work.” He said as he would close the distance between them, not worried at all that his actions may seem surprising or unsettling. But after months of studying to be a mednin, the textbook was rubbing off on him now and he was getting almost as OCD as Osu was with regard to this trivial matters.

“Come on,” he would say again with a wave of a hand, “If you had done that hastily, there should be more of where you got that bandage right? Give it to me and I’ll fix it. Seriously, if you’re out on a mission, you should know better than to look after yourself for the journey back home. Even a small cut can turn out to be deadly when not properly seen and becomes infected.” This time, his eyes were dead serious in a different way, though his expression was less cold, more like impatient. Ah, he’ll have to let go of the influence of the beast for now. Wouldn’t do him any good to chase away a patient.

 

[Miraku]

As Raku stood there in position, still ready, it appeared that the unknown shinobi was thinking for a moment before he released his grip on his sword, dropping his aggressive stance and seemingly turning his attention to something else. Curious what it was, the question was answered moments later as he began to comment on the wound showing through Raku's cut open sleeve, blood soaking through slightly, but it definitely wasn't something overly obvious. The explanation that he may have stronger senses than others seemed odd yet amusing to Raku. The boy apparently didn't want to answer the questions, as he only seemed to be interested in this wound. It seemed strange to Raku that this young man had become so entranced by the wound on his arm, so much so that he had chosen to put down his guard and attempt to come forward wanting to take a closer look. Maybe he was a med-nin of some kind, which would explain his desire to inspect the damage for himself.

As the young shinobi approached, Raku almost felt the need to take a step back, but the shinobi's demeanor was quite disarming in this moment that he too let his guard down slightly, releasing his hand from his katana hilt, though still staying alert in case the boy were trying something sneaky with this excuse to get close to him. "I'm quite used to bleeding at this point in my life." Raku responded. "I was going to get it looked at whenever I went back into the village later on. But from the sound of it, you might be a med-nin yourself? If not, you might consider becoming one if you're truly so interested in taking care of others wounds like this." he continued, a bit of a chuckle coming out at the end with that last remark.

"Even still, that need to help people isn't always a good thing, depending on who you're trying to help. You could help the wrong person." Raku began to say, watching the shinobi carefully, trying to make sure he wasn't trying to pull the wool over his eyes. It seemed like the boy had good intentions, but it was hard to tell in this world. Giving someone the benefit of the doubt could easily lead to ones death if they weren't careful. But it seemed like he would not give up on trying to help, looking more serious about it than anything. "If you really must take a look at it, I do have extra cloth here for you to use." Raku reached his left hand around back and pulled out the wraps he had used to cover the wound. "But you really should be careful who you help, and make sure they're a friend and not a foe." Raku continued, as he pulled up his sleeve, revealing his cloud handband tied around his right arm, above the cut. He had it hidden under there to avoid bandits realizing who he was when he went on his mission, but it would show the young shinobi where he was from, as he reached out with the cloth in his right hand now, holding it out for the young man to take as Raku stood there with the wrap around his wound exposed to be looked at, his left hand back down and ready to react if necessary.

[Marked for Training; 563 WC]
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[Kiri]

Kiri stared at the redhead for a bit longer as the other presumed he was a mednin already. He felt rather embarrassed by it. Was he getting carried away? No, couldn’t be. He was still in training and it was genuine concern, really… though he must admit that he was getting quite serious with it lately. Last he remembers, he once lecture a few of the village kids who had gotten hurt from playing too roughly and had to teach them a bit of first aid tricks just to make sure they wouldn’t be unprepared. Still, this grown man, should consider his words more.

“All the more you should be looking after the wound. Just because you keep getting hurt doesn’t mean you’re invincible,” said Kiri as he continued to cross the distance until he would be close enough and began to reach out his hand that was beginning to gather some chakra on it. “No. I’m still a trainee, but it’s not much about being a mednin. It’s called common sense. Now, show me. I may be able to stop the bleeding at the very least. Soaked bandages often get infected faster than you know it.”

As the other allowed, Kiri would pressed his hand towards the cut area to let the chakra flow onto the other. He would then take the offered cloth, clicked his tongue at the obvious absence of a sterile bandage. It’ll have to do for now. Though he must admit, seeing the Kumogakure headband was a bit of a relief. “Ah, so we’re from the same village after all. I know it’s dangerous, especially if it’s an enemy, but when you’re a doctor, you save lives, no matter who it is,” replied Kiri. Though the other might have meant it as a warning, he still frowned. After all, it was true that it could be dangerous to be too trusting of others, but that’s why he needs to be stronger, in order to be prepared for all sorts of situation.

After letting his chakra flow to let the bleeding stop at least, let some muscle tissue begin repairing faster, he would still cover the cut wound as properly as he could, before he would look up to the man. “You still need to have it checked. You didn’t bring any sterile bandages after all. My name is Kiri, by the way.” He sighed, “Just when I thought I could take a breather from medical studies, I ended up patching your horrible bandage work,” he said as he gave the man a teasing slap on the wound.

[MFT WC: 432]

 

[Miraku]

Raku stood there before the young shinobi as he approached, and began to look at the wound and gather chakra visibly into his hand. It seemed like this one was smart, at least in some aspects of life, lessons Raku could learn from probably, but hadn't taken to heart much since being older now, he was quite set in his ways. Finding out they were from the same village, at least based on what this boy was saying put Raku at ease a bit, though the thought of deceit was always in the back of his mind in situations like this. Watching intensely, he stood there, arm forward, his body positioned with the injured side towards the medic, and his other side away to give him room to move in a worst case scenario. Looking towards the wound, he watched intensely as he could feel the chakra being pushed towards the wound to help heal it, but the wound really didn't seem to hurt at all. It was definitely something he got used to, but maybe the boy was right. He wasn't invincible after all; no one was, but maybe he should be a little more careful about his injuries. Maybe committing so fully to being reckless all the time wasn't the best idea, maybe he needed to tone it down a bit, and try to use it just to his own advantage.

Looking back up at him after being told he would save anyone's life. This definitely concerned Raku for this young mednin's future safety as being so trusting and willing to help anyone could always turn out bad. Raku kept his mouth shut for the moment to let him concentrate on the healing. It wasn't long after that he could see the bleeding stop as it seemed the mednin in training was finishing up as he began to cover up the wound with the makeshift bandages Raku had brought along for himself. It was then that he finished speaking about needing to get checked out further once he returned to the village that the boy finally introduced himself as Kiri.

"Well, I'm Raku. It's nice to meet another Kumo shinobi out in the wild. I apologize for you having to see my terrible handiwork with the wound. I'm also sorry if I interrupted whatever you were doing out here, but seeing someone out here I don't recognize, I felt the need to investigate to try and keep the village safe from a possible threat." Raku said long-windedly as he pulled back from Kiri, pulling his sleeve back down over the freshly covered and partially healed wound, giving a slight smile in appreciation, bearing a few teeth. "And thank you for helping" he continued.

His face switched to a more serious expression immediately after though, "But for real, about being a doctor meaning you save all lives...you may not feel that way in a real combat scenario, like if your squad is being attacked and your enemy is about to die. Especially if they hurt or killed your friends." Raku posed the situation to the boy. "Sometimes you have to abandon you your ideals for the good of your comrades or village." he finished, hoping some of it would sink in as he watched Kiri listen and react to his words. Raku may not have shared these ideals of saving all life, but he knew the feeling of sacrificing his own in the same vein.

[Marked for Training; 576 WC]
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[Kiri]

As he began to heal the other, Kiri was a bit relieved to know that he was from the same village. Indeed, the other’s word rang true. There was a bit of a anxiety in him when he had offered to help him, especially when he didn’t know to whom he was affiliated with. However, his persistence as a medical staff was just too strong. Perhaps too strong and his stubbornness wasn’t much of a help either. Still, what Raku had said was true and he’ll have to think about it in the future. “Perhaps. Then, I guess I’ll just have to grow stronger so that there wouldn’t have to be any consequences,” he ended up saying as he had finished with the chakra treatment.

As for the interruption of his hunt, Kiri gave a smirk. “Nah. It was alright. I was just hoping to get away from studying too much on medical stuff, actually. I usually hunt back at the forest near the village, but somehow I felt like I needed to get far away as possible. Then I heard there were a lot of veterans in the area. So I thought maybe after a hunt, I could go and talk to some. Wouldn’t hurt to learn from older people,” he said.

As he looked around, he could tell that whatever game he was tracking from earlier may have long been gone. The scent of a chase had vanished along with the breeze that blew in the area. He sighed at the thought and then looked back at Raku. “But wait, if you were about to attack me from your mission, does that mean you’re still in an on-going mission? In a place like this?”

 

[Miraku]

Raku chuckled slightly at Kiri's respond, suggesting becoming stronger could solve such problems. The premise of such an idea wasn't totally wrong, but there was definitely a flaw to it. Apparently he had come out here to hunt, which made sense, as it was definitely less traveled than the forests around the village, meaning more game. It was also true that veterans lived out here, though Raku had never bothered with any of them himself, he hadn't found the need to, nor did he feel like he deserved to pester old Kumo shinobi out here, as one not born within this country himself.

It seemed as though Kiri didn't quite fully understand what Raku was out here doing, though that was his own fault for not fully explaining what he meant. "Oh no. I'm finished my mission, and was just heading back. I just felt like it was proper for me to make sure when I see a suspicious person running about within the country that seems like a shinobi, I should at least check out whether or not they're a threat in order to keep our village safe." he explained, as he stood up tall, stretching his arms up to the sky as he took in a deep breath, enjoying the cool breeze that was blowing through, as his hair floated on the air of it, his eye wide and looking up at the clouds above.

"Talking to veterans wouldn't be such a bad idea." Raku exclaimed after a few moments of silence. "But certainly even they would know that no matter how strong you get, there will always be someone stronger out there, if not now, eventually." he added, as he looked towards Kiri again. "But, that doesn't mean you can't keep trying to get strong enough to avoid those consequences." A smirk crossing his face at the statement, trying to half approve of Kiri's earlier statement, hopefully encouraging him to keep getting stronger. "Though surely a med-nin would learn more from the hospital, library and medics of the village with the endless knowledge we probably have?" Raku finished, wondering what this boy could want to learn out here.

[361 WC]
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[Kiri]

Kiri smirked at the other’s words. Indeed, he would know a lot more from his snaps back at the hospital. To be honest, under Osu’s care, he was steadily turning into a fine mednin, if he could say so himself. But there were just things that you don’t learn from books or hospital experience. And sometimes, learning from others who had prior experience in those what others would say “isolated incidents” or “rare exceptions” seem like a good way to expand one’s horizon.

“I know. I’m always kept busy because of studying back at the village. Still, there’s something missing. Maybe it’s because I was born a hunter and not a medic. And so my instincts tell me one thing while my mind tells me another,” answered Kiri as he tried to put his thoughts into words. It wasn’t just that. He was also quite bothered that the beast inside him had been restless recently. “Still, there are some things that you cannot learn from an institutional standard’s point of view. People may have recorded their experiences, but text alone cannot teach your muscles, your heart, your soul. I’m certain, if I search here, I’ll find someone who has a story or two that cannot even be categorised so easily. Veterans of the war. They likely hold a piece of history that cannot easily be recorded.”

That said, Kiri would look back at the path he had taken, which was were the residential area would be. It wouldn’t be too long to reach there, he figured. Perhaps by nightfall if he begins soon. Still, he glanced back at Raku and said, “Well, if that’s about it. I guess I should consider this a warning and head back. I shouldn’t be wandering out too much. Not like I have all the time in the world. I’ll see you around in the village. Make sure not to get your wound infected.” And with that, he began to walk away

[Topic left unless stopped]

 

[Miraku]

Raku didn't really have much else to say to the young man as he seemed to know what he was talking about. He didn't really have anything else to say to the boy, and it seemed like he had lost interest in whatever it was that he was doing previously. As the boy looked back at Raku, it seemed he was ready to head out, and decided he'd go back to the village, telling Raku he should probably still get checked out. Nodding, he smiled, and started heading off in his own direction. "Thanks for the help anyway. Later." he finished, as he turned off on his own direction and began to head out himself.

[OOC: Kept forgetting this thread, wanted to make sure I actually left it to free up the RP slot]
[Topic Left]
[115 WC]
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