Grand Theft Equestrian [Dual Contract Search]

[Kogami Ayumu]

Ayumu was still trying to collect his thoughts on the previous mission as he rode on horseback through the countryside. Somewhere along the way he had gotten parted with the other team members that had accompanied him on the mission. Moro, Haruka, and Eru had joined Ayumu from some crazy shenanigans in Kelmura that had resulted in several hours of lost time. They had managed to retrace their steps somewhat and had figured out that Ayumu had somehow married both Eru and Haruka while Moro had sold his tooth and replaced it with a golden one. Ayumu remembered none of this, and even the period of time they spent retracing their steps and correcting everything was a blur. They had, at least, managed to recover Moro's tooth and nullify the marriage as well as avoid a demonic apocalypse occurring at the top of a tower in the middle of the city.

The four of them had agreed to never speak of that mission again, claiming that it was "classified" which was mostly true anyway. He liked them, almost enough to say they were like family, but he needed some time to himself after the insanity they had gone through, whatever that was exactly. He had suffered some strange nightmares in the nights following that he couldn't explain even if he tried. One of them involved Moro attempting to kill him on a beach, which made absolutely no sense in his mind even if they had been near the beach in Kelmura. The thought of it gave Ayumu a bit of a chill prompting him to reach into his traveling cloak and produce a flask with an unknown liquid which he promptly took a swig of.

'What the hell even happened back there...?' he wondered, shaking his head as he looked groggily ahead through half squinted eyes. He looked rough, his hair a mess, glasses crooked and light stubble on his face. The important part, he supposed, was that the mission had succeeded. They had obtained the demonic forge and it was on its way back to Kumogakure with the others at that very moment. They were probably a bit further along than Ayumu as he had admittedly gotten lost a couple of times already. Right then he was about seventy percent sure that he was headed in the direction of Kumogakure still. Despite his rough appearance, he was in generally good spirits. He was to be promoted as a result of the mission, after all.

"Oh, well! All's well that ends well!" he exclaimed, startling the horse a little bit and causing it to rear up unexpectedly. He quickly grabbed the reins and calmed the horse until it was on all fours again. "Sorry pal, it's a big deal for me, y'know?" he said apologetically, as if the horse could understand him. He liked to think it could. He was somewhat regretting the decision of parting with the others now, it was a bit lonely to travel alone. Not to mention probably a bit dangerous, but he was a shinobi. He feared no danger. Besides, it wasn't like someone was going to just pop out and try to hijack his horse or anything.

[Word Count: 533 - Total: 533]
[OoC: Higa Kahako will be joining me. We plan to have a couple of posts before requesting a contract mod.]

 

[Shinrya Kahako]

A loud growl rolled across the long grassy hills. It echoed through the green mounds like a scream through a cavern. At least, that’s what it sounded like to the little mednin in the bright red cloak. The stupid acid-filled organ began its verbal abuse at dusk, and continued (what she contemplated as domestic violence) long into the night and much through the next day. She had more to worry about right now though. Much more.

Kahako’s ‘afternoon’ mission turned into a twenty-four hour nightmare. The distance between the plot-laid edge of Kuma ni kuni and Kumogakure was only about a six hour travel. However, avoiding Marsh recon squads and the general public made travel difficult. Especially when carrying a dead body unnoticed. There was one point where Kahako had to split from the group in order to give them a chance to escape with Takayama-sama’s body. Vibrant red tended to be a very eye-catching color. Especially when it headed in the direction of the country the recon squad was protecting.

It had taken her hours and most of the night to double back into Lightening Country. She had to make sure she wasn’t caught, and she didn’t cross safely into her home country until early dawn. Afterwards she found a small, deserted road that headed northeast, and what she was sure would be Kumogakure.

Kahako shifted the weapons she carried on her back. She didn’t blame Natsu for ordering her into dangerous territory. After all, Kahako failed her one task and now others were paying for it. Her throat closed and her eyes grew misty. It should have been her to accept Kitsune’s shackles. Not to mention Masao’s. An attack on the King of Bear was expected. Kahako’s inability to heal him however, wasn’t. She tightened the make shift fastener that held Kitsune’s sword and whip to her back. ‘I don’t even know how to use a sword, Kitsune-sensei!’ she thought bitterly. "You never taught me…” It started getting harder to see the road. They would be executed. Hung up for all of Hoshigakure to see. There were no funerals for terrorists.

The sound of hoof prints echoed across the hills from behind her. Immediately, Kahako jumped into the long brush beside the road, concealing every trace of her being there. A rider. ‘A ride,’ said a small voice in her head. Kahako balked at the thought. She was no highwayman. She lacked the gender to do so. To steal from an unsuspecting traveler was a shame not only to Kumogakure, but to her claim as a shinobi well. But… no one would know. Kahako thought back to her academy student days. When she pickpocketed from the unsuspecting citizens of Kumo with Zaku. What would he do in a moment like this?

Her stomach growled again. She needed to get back to Kumo. The Main Branch Sennin and a significant medical officer imprisoned for assassination, Lightning was on the brink of an all-out, three-way war, and she hadn’t eaten since she left the village yesterday. “Forgive me, Sensei,” Kahako said quietly as she pulled her beloved teacher’s sword from its sheath and pulled her hood up. As the rider came closer, Kahako couldn’t see his face nor hear his voice. Allowing the chakra to build at her legs, she braced herself.

The horse reared in response to a comment from its owner that Kahako didn’t quite catch. As the rider calmed his steed, in a flash of metal and a blur of red Kahako jumped from her hiding spot in the tall grasses. If everything went well, she would hit the man in the back of the head with the hilt. She would be gone with his horse before he even came to again. Maybe for once something would go right with this trip.

[WC: 637 Total: 1170]

 

[Kogami Ayumu]

Ayumu patted his gently on its neck, soothing it further as they kept going down the path. He had just calmed the horse when he felt a tingling in his skin. It was always the same when he was about to get in to a battle, an excitement grew in him that he could feel from his skin to his bones. Having a sixth sense had nothing to do with ghosts, he figured, it was really about finding a good battle. Maybe he somehow heard the grass rustle as she left the ground, or maybe it was the sound of her cloak flowing in the air as she descended upon him. Maybe it really was a sixth sense. Somehow, he realized she was coming- he always seemed to. He reached behind his head for the hilt of the large sword known as Ayumu Sr. that was positioned on his back. Pulling the sword up just a few inches he placed the flat surface of the blade between his head and the hilt of her sword, blocking the intended knockout blow. Ripping his cloak off of his shoulders with his other hand, he fluidly turned and threw it at Kahako, whom he did not yet recognize as he had just obscured his view of her.

The commotion again caused the horse to rear up. This time, Ayumu slipped off of it's back and landed on his feet, drawing his katana. He had little problem with attacking a horse thief with the sharp end of his blade, but something gave him pause. She had used the hilt of her blade in the attack, a decidedly non-lethal maneuver that was likely meant to stun, not kill. It was for that reason that he did not immediately follow through with a counterattack when he had the opportunity. There was something else. That red cloak he caught a glimpse of during the attack was exceedingly familiar. He waited with his guard up until she had cast aside the cloak he had used to distract her. Afterward, he was very glad that he did.

"Kahako-chan? What are you doing out here? Better yet! What's the big idea jumping on me out of nowhere like that?!" he asked, demanding answers for the sudden attack he suffered at the hands of one he considered his friend. He was also curious what she was doing out there in the first place. They were a long way from Kumogakure still. He sheathed his katana despite the fact that he still had no guarantee that she wasn't intending to attack again. Technically he'd be able to draw again before she could close the distance between them. Pondering why she was there, a wild thought crossed his mind. "Are you... are you stalking me?!" he asked, a look of surprise on his face. Meanwhile, Ayumu's horse had gone galloping away with all of his gear. The sound of the hoofprints speeding away caught his attention at last as he turned to see the horse already in the distance.

"Aww, are you kidding me?!" he shouted after the horse watching it flee the scene with all due haste. They would find it stopped somewhere further down the path with some luck, but it would still be a major inconvenience. In the worst case scenario it would go off the path and go missing. Ayumu turned to Kahako once more, awaiting her response. Once he heard it, he would have her help look for his horse. It only seemed fair since she had spooked it. Shinobi like them could travel long distances at a decent speed, but Ayumu much preferred the ease of horseback over long distance running. That was generally how he got around for distant missions. He was not looking forward to the return trip if the horse was truly gone.

[Word Count: 638 - Total: 1808]

 

[Shinrya Kahako]

Kahako wasn’t prepared for the hilt of her sword to connect with another sword. Falling back from her failed blow, Kahako barely recovered before a cloak was thrown into her face. She pulled the contraption away from her as fast as possible and threw up a sloppy defensive stance, only to stare into the shocking blue eyes of Ayumu. His stance was clearly more natural than hers, but their looks of shock were equally matched.

“Ayumu-kun!?!?! What are you doing out here? Better yet! What are you doing on a horse?!?!”
"Kahako-chan? What are you doing out here? Better yet! What's the big idea jumping on me out of nowhere like that?!"

They barked at each other at the same time. It was a miracle that Kahako even caught what he said. The look of dubiousness on Ayumu’s face grew before he asked her possibly the worst question to ever ask anyone.

"Are you... are you stalking me?!"

Kahako stared at Ayumu with ample shock and mild horror. “I-I-I am NOT stalking you! How can I stalk you when-I-didn’t-even-know-it-was-you!” she shouted loud and fast. What? Did he think that she was going to knock him out and do horrible adult-like things to him?! ‘Most definitely not for my first time!’ Not her first time but maybe a subsequent time?! Kahako’s eyes widened as her face started to match her red cloak. “MOST DEFINITELY NOT EVER!” she corrected loudly. Suddenly she snapped out of her thoughts as the sound of beating hoof prints reached her ears.

"Aww, are you kidding me?!"

Kahako stared in disbelief at the rear end of her ride as it rode off into the distance. ‘Great, stole the rider instead of the horse!’ she thought. If Kahako had a table, she would have flipped it. Instead she let Kitsune’s sword slump in her hands as she fell to her knees. Kahako looked at Ayumu as he turned back to her, awaiting her response.

Now that they both calmed, Kahako looked at him with a face like she was about to cry. Where to start? What could she tell him? She had no idea what rank or branch he actually was, and what she knew could have been qualified as classified information. “I just came back from a mission and… it… it didn’t go well,” she said. Kahako looked down. “On the way back I ended up in Marsh territory, so I’ve been trying to find my way back Kumogakure for most of today now. I didn’t… I didn’t know it was YOU on the horse!”

She knew it didn’t really explain why she was trying to steal his horse, but Kahako was still trying to put the why into words. She looked to the side, fully embarrassed. “I just… I really needed to get back to the village,” she finished lamely. For a doctor, Kahako really sucked at expressing herself to others. Suddenly, Kahako’s stomach rumbled angrily in the moment of silence the two had.

[WC: 497 Total: 2305]

 

[Mienai]

[Congratulations, You have found the Slug contract. Do you accept? Yes or No?]​

 

[Kogami Ayumu]

Sorry but, slugs are kinda gross.

Declined.

 

[Shinrya Kahako]

Declined

 

[Shinrya Kahako]

[TL]

 

[Kogami Ayumu]

And so the two of them returned together to Kumogakure. It was overall not the most pleasant trip. Eventually they relocated Ayumu's horse and both mounted up which helped. There was a bit of an awkward silence at times as both of them had things on their minds. Ayumu was still reeling from the insane mission he had just been on, and Kahako's heart was heavy with worry for her Sensei and the Sennin. She wanted to tell Ayumu, of course, but it was sensitive information. It would take some time, but soon they found themselves in the homestretch, their village near. They headed for the gates.

[TL]