A Furry Situation
"Now remember, Kiriyomi, these techniques can be dangerous. Be sure to use them only when necessary, like if you need to defend yourself. As a future Shinobi, you have an obligation to protect every citizen in this village. You don't want to use your techniques recklessly and accidentally hurt someone, or yourself. The only reason I'm teaching these to you is because there have been bandits spotted in the surrounding area and I want you to be safe. So be smart, finish this mission, and get back home before dinner. Do you think you can do that?"
Kiriyomi, pulling on his usual t-shirt and shorts combo, nods his head. His father had warned him that he would have to start taking missions when he started at the academy, because he would need to start making his own money to get his own gear and to prepare himself for when he is a full fledged Shinobi and treated as an adult rather than a child. Kohara flies over from where he is sitting on Kiri's desk, landing on the boys shoulder and patting him reassuringly as if to say, "Don't worry buddy! We can do this together." Kiri nods his agreement to Kohara and smiles at his father, who walks over to ruffle the boys hair. A stag beetle crawls out from the man's shirt sleeve and glares down at Kohara, turning its back on the ant and scuttling up onto the older man's head to stare down at Kiriyomi. The boy shrinks back from the insects almost condescending stare, the first stirrings of nervousness beginning in the pit of his stomach. He could do this, the job wasn't that hard. Thankfully, it didn't require him to interact with many people either. It would also keep him away from the ever persistent boy Yasei, who hadn't yet found Kiri for their weekly "sparring" session.
"Don't worry, Otosan. I have been studying at the academy for a little while now, and I feel confident in my abilities to handle this. You trusted me enough to give me this mission, and I'm grateful for it. I won't let you or Okasan down, so there's no need to worry. I'm not going to carelessly use my jutsu like the other students at school." At this, his father cocks his head to the side quizzically and Kiri quickly snaps his mouth shut. He forgot that he hadn't told his parents about the fight that had happened with Shusuke, and didn't really plan on it either. The last thing that he needed were his parents approaching the Yamanaka boy's family, causing Shusuke to lash out at Kiriyomi again when he found out. Instead, he planned to just avoid him at all costs and keep his head down to avoid any further drama with any of the other students. He just wished that his friend Akio could help him with this mission. But, his father was trusting him to do this on his own, so he had to prove that he could do just that. "Tell Ojiisan to get the mahjong board set up, and we can play when I'm finished! I'm getting better, and I think that I'll actually be able to join him when he plays with the neighbors soon enough!"
With these parting words, Kiriyomi darts downstairs and plants a kiss on his waiting mother's cheek before dashing out the door. Stopping and taking a deep breath, the boy starts by running off towards the village proper. He had to start his mission by finding the last place his target had been seen, and search for any evidence of where it had gone after that. Infusing chakra into the bottoms of his feet, Kiri quickly dashed from the ground and leapt onto the roof of a nearby building and ran along the rooftops to avoid the foot traffic below. Children below stared up at him in awe as he jumped from roof to roof, and he blushed deeply at the attention. It wasn't very long ago that he would watch the village Shinobi rushing around, wishing to be a part of their ranks. Now he just had to complete this mission to prove that he deserved such status.
Within a few minutes Kiriyomi lands in a park and leans against a tree, slightly out of breath. His target was last seen around here, and this is where his search would begin. Kneeling down, he places his hands on the ground and watches as his swarm of carpenter ants march their way down his arms and onto the ground. He silently commands them to seek out any evidence, and sits back to wait and see what they bring back. Almost immediately, the ants came back with various objects on their backs. He quickly discarded various bits of debris, rocks, and a few twigs. Starting to lose hope, he recalled the swarm and stood up. As he does so, he spies something heading his way. One of the ants was carrying a tuft of hair, which Kiriyomi rushed over and picked up. This is it! Searching around the park, he quickly found other patches of hair left behind and followed the trail to a large field of overgrown grass that was softly blowing in the breeze. Knowing that there was no chance of him finding anything in these conditions, Kiriyomi had to make a decision. Heed his father's words, or try something. Making a few quick handseals, and a swipe of his hand, and Kiriyomi executes the Wind Slash jutsu to chop the grass down to a manageable level. In doing so, he disturbs his target, which quickly darts away from him and further into the field.
"I'm sorry, but I can't let you get away that easily." Kiri stomps on the ground, using the other jutsu his father had taught him, Gravel Shift. As he does so, the ground under his target's feet shifts and becomes a gathering of loose pebbles. With a screech, it falls to the ground and Kiriyomi quickly rushes over to scoop it off the ground. "Calm down, I'm not going to hurt you! I just want to make sure that you get home safe!" The cat, angry about being picked up, quickly shows its displeasure by scratching up Kiri's arms and face. The boy clutches the cat tightly to his chest and rushes to the address he was given for the owner, a sweet little older woman who is so grateful to see her cat again that she sends Kiri home with a few cookies as a thanks. As he munches on one, leisurely walking home, he looks up towards the sky and smiles. Any other student may have found a task like this beneath them, but Kiriyomi was excited. He'd completed his first mission, and couldn't wait to take on more!
[WC: 1138]