Aya was in her bed, leaning back and relaxing for once. A lot had changed, about her, and well just everything. She was a completely different person now, she even looked different. She was more mature, and only a little bit taller. She decided to change her appearance so it’d be harder for people to recognize her. There were more brown/black/and blondes than gingers, the Shinrya clan were not exactly Ginger, they had crimson hair so Aya didn’t count them. The easiest thing she could do is lighten her hair, it was already pretty light to, begin with. Aya’s appearance wasn’t the only thing that changed, she had a different way to present herself now, her view on the world hadn’t changed much, but more like she stopped looking at the glass half empty. Aya remembered her first mission like it was yesterday, Uri decided to take Ji, and Ryu on their first mission without her, after being left behind, she decided to go out solo. She probably should have asked for back up, but she was able to handle it well. AT least she thought she did.
A small ranch village had asked for assistance with a problem that could turn into a bigger problem if not solved. As it was, it was only a D-rank mission, but the problem could affect the whole village, not in a disastrous way, but no one wants the prices of milk, and meat to go up, even in the slightest. Aya was left alone, so she asked for a Mission she could go on as an AiT. So she was given this, she hoped for something more adventurous than a farm lost his cow.
Either way, Aya didn’t complain and accepted the mission, she figured it was better than nothing, and it wasn’t too far away either. Aya had to go through the gates anyway, it was the first time she had to go through with her AiT gear. She had to show her chakra Tattoo and a mission Passport that didn’t have any of her real information, but if they had the information they needed to prove she was indeed an AiT with a mission to do.
The journey was about a day away, with only small breaks, for the average Shinobi or Kunoichi, but for Aya, it was a few hours, due to her speed. She did stop for a few breaks, and to make sure she was going the right way.
When she arrived she was greeted and went straight to the problem area. She was there to work, and they seemed not to dilly dally or chit-chat. Maybe it was the mask? Since she was an AiT her mask was plain, it was a little creepy but it worked. AYa started the Snapshot Jutsu so it’d be easier to file the report later.
Once Aya arrived on the scene, she received the information she could get. Basically, Animals were disappearing during the night, each animal has a tag with a number - to keep track of them, and to make sure farmer's hands were not taking the animals without the owner's knowledge. Food was something people were willing to steal for, no matter how it affected others, she knew that first hand.
Aya decided to look in the barn where they kept their livestock, most of the animals that were disappearing were goats, this ranch was on the outskirts of the town so it made it easier for animals and people to invade, but there were also Cow, chicken, and bull ranches in the same area, none of them had the same problem. Goats provide milk, and meat, the same as the cows. Maybe it was just an animal, but if it was chickens would be the easiest to grab. Goats did freeze up whenever they got scared, but they also were bigger and heavier. There was no way any animal around here could just carry one off.
Aya found minor scratch marks on the walls of the pins, and gates crudely are broken, which made it seem like an animal. There was no blood anywhere to be seen, or any other evidence.
There was a mountain area, with a little bit of woods nearby, so she decided to check out through the quickest root. The villagers checked out the wooded area, not too far in since they all had their own jobs to do and such, so It was up to Aya to take a look around.
The area had hills that were hard to climb for the villagers, so Aya checked it out. She found a cave, it was well hidden, and hard to get to without some legwork. As soon as she entered she was greeted with the foul smell of death. A worse smell than the village.
Aya made her way further in to find bones and rotting animal corpses, some were fresh, but notably, there was no blood, not even dried. There were goats, cows, and other animals, it looked like this was going on for a really long time, it was strange that the farmers only just noticed, though sometimes animals escape, and runoff.
Aya noticed the bodies had two circular wounds on them, other than a few scraps, and minor cuts, none of those looked deadly, only the puncture wounds. Each animal had them in the same exact spot. They looked drained of their blood, and it seemed they didn’t do much fighting.
The cave was hard to see in, but once Aya’s eyes adjusted it became easier to see. Aya spotted something that seemed to be alive, it almost blended into the darkness. Aya felt a chill down her spine as she gazed upon it, this was no animal she’d ever seen before. It kinda looked like a giant dog, it had quills coming out of its back, and glowing yellow eyes. One thing passed Aya’s mind was a demon. Aya equipped her gloves, and then it leaped at her. She was able to swiftly move and counter strike with a deadly uppercut (Shoryuken) after she landed it she turned her body to strike again quickly with a kick to its side (Tatsumaki Senpuu Kyaku) sending into the cave wall, and causing some of the rock to break and crack.
Aya assumed those two power moves were able to knock it down, she liked striking quickly, and with powerful strikes, why leave your best moves for last? As aya prepared to pick up the body, the beast got back up and grabbed ahold of her left arm. Its razor-sharp teeth easily cut through her arm. Aya couldn’t help but let out a scream. She was able to kick it off of her, but it seemed to only cause more damage to her arm.
Aya was flooded with adrenaline, which was the only reason why she was able to even move her hand at that moment, she was able to cast Thunderstruck jutsu to take the beast down. After the beast went down, Aya reached into her pouch and pulled out a med kit, she wrapped her arm tightly for a quick fix.
Although she was still bleeding, it wasn’t as bad as before. She felt the need to bring the demon back with her, though when she went to go grab the body, it melted away, leaving nothing left. She had her snapshot memory at least to prove there was a demon, but getting the body would have been better.
Aya went back to the village, and reported her finds, she told the villagers to report immediately if any animals or people go missing again, it wasn’t certain if any more demons like that would be around, but by the looks of the cave, and the bodies, there only seemed to be one. One animal night, fed one demon.
Once Aya got back to Kumo, she reported in and received medical treatment. Her arm was unusable for quite a few months, but it wasn’t anything they couldn’t fix. She filed her snapshot of the mission after she was in a stable state.
Looking back on it, Aya could have avoided some scars if she asked for help, but she came back alive at least.
[WC: 1,378]