Hurry, Hurry! The Boat Is About To Leave! [Contract Search]

[Shinrya Kitsune]

Re: Hurry, Hurry! The Boat Is About To Leave! [Contract Sear

The weird, little, Cat King grinned ”Oh there’ll be a few. It’s so rare that we get visitors from the outside world. But don’t you worry about it at all. For now, just learn, and soon you’ll be allowed to leave.” he said and gestured towards the way they came in, with his paw. They were more or less dismissed, and they did have some training to do before they’d be able to climb the pole with ease. The next challenges wouldn’t be as easy as the first one, but hey. If they couldn’t even climb a pole, they clearly weren’t worth the air they breathed.

The following day, the King watched as the two odd kittens raced to the top of the pole, counting in his head to make sure his eyes didn’t deceive him. The two ninja kitties had actually managed to beat every single record they had in terms of climbing that pole, even Taigas. That was indeed impressive. Their next challenge would be a test of their hunting instincts. Squeaky mouse toys had been fitted with strings and would be moving around in tall grass out in the courtyard, and Haruka and Natsu would have to hunt them down, and the one with the most toys grabbed would be allowed to face Taiga in paw to paw combat.

”Your next challenge,” said the Cat King. ”is fairly simple. Catch the mice. Show off your skills as hunters, and prove yourselves.” Simple instructions for a simple contest. Of course, Natsu and Haruka didn’t know about that little limit about only one of them being able to faice Taiga later on. The other would be able to do something else instead.

 

[Hameru Ren]

Re: Hurry, Hurry! The Boat Is About To Leave! [Contract Sear

With a confident smirk, Natsu made his way to the Cat King after the challenge. Hearing not only him but Haruka just as well had been breaking the previous records, the smirk grew even wider. It'd fade all too quickly upon hearing the next challenge. Another pointless challenge? If this ends up being a wild goose chase with no adequate reward I'll get myself some new feline slippers.. Natsu thought annoyed. "Surely we can get a more.. challenging test next? Squeaking toys are hardly a match."

Natsu could not dissuade the cat it seemed however. With a resigned sigh, the kitten made his way to the hunting field. As he approached, he could already hear the squeaking from the toys. "Well then. How 'bout we turn this into a challenge eh, Haruka-Sensei? Surely if we have to do such non-sensical things we might at least make it interesting. Most mice caught wins!" Natsu offered, though he was planning on winning regardless of Haruka's answer. As the starting signal was given, he launched off into the high grass.

Squeak! The shrill sound came from the right. Swiftly kicking himself off with his hind legs, Natsu pounced in the direction. Swiping his paw, he quickly severed the string that controlled the mouse. Grabbing it into his mouth, he sprinted back towards the King. Tossing it over, the kitten dived back into the grass. Rinse and repeat, Natsu methodically went to work on the mouse catching. Pinpoint location with his enhanced hearing, pounce the toy, sever the cord and return it. As the end signal was given after ten minutes, he had a sizeable pile lying in front of him. "So, does this suffice, oh King?"

 

[Sanageyama Masaoko]

Re: Hurry, Hurry! The Boat Is About To Leave! [Contract Sear

The Kaguya were bloodthirsty hunters who desired nothing but the blood of their enemies. The Haku were ice demons of cold and silent grace. The two of them were destined to be ninja from birth, but as for who the better cat was…It was all up to determination. Of course they were evenly matched when it came to climbing the pole, but Haruka had that challenge without much effort. Her grace was beginning to transfer in her feline form. She wasn’t surprised when the little cat king announced they had passed the first test. The next challenge was a hunting competition. There would be no practice as they were thrown in.

Haruka shot at glare when Natsu decided to let his cockiness show. That idiot! We don’t need challenges that are hard. We aren’t here to prove ourselves. We need to change back and fast. The easier this is, the better! While she steamed over her thoughts, the two approached the field. The tiger striped kitten that was Natsu shot at challenge towards the jet black cat. Was he trying to get her fired up to insure they would past the test? “I don’t really play games unless a prize is at stake, Do-San.” She coldly responded. Without letting him say another word, she bounded off into the grass as the starting signal fired.

She saw the first mouse and the thread pulling it along. Creeping low to the ground, she pushed with all her might to leap into the air. Landing on the string, she pulled it taunt and swiped the thread in two. It seemed the little Kaguya kitty had the same idea, but he was ahead. She kept up fairly even with him for the most part, but running was still a trick for Haruka. She often tripped or missed her target completely.

Although she had done well, Natsu had clearly won.

 

[Shinrya Kitsune]

Re: Hurry, Hurry! The Boat Is About To Leave! [Contract Sear

The king grinned. ”Perfect. And, yet… With this test, we’ve limited the contestants to one.” he said ”You.” he specified and looked at Natsu ”You get to fight Taiga. Final challenge. After that, well. It depends on what happens in the fight” he said before looking at Haruka ”You, however, isn’t done yet. You get to be tactical advisor, and get to tell him what to do. It’s fairly simple. You get until tomorrow to discuss initial tactics, and everything after that has to be handled in the heat of the battle. Simple as that.” he finished and sat down and began to lick his right paw.

The conversation was over, and Natsu and Haruka were dismissed. They’d have to discuss how to handle it on their own, and it was fairly simple. Haruka commands, Natsu follows. However they’d have to take into account that Taiga was huge compared to them. They’d also have to take into account that he was most likely much stronger, much faster, and skilled at fighting.

 

[Hameru Ren]

Re: Hurry, Hurry! The Boat Is About To Leave! [Contract Sear

Comparing his pile with Haruka's, Natsu found it hard not to smirk. The Doctor hadn't done badly, but not quite as good as he had. Perhaps it was the fact that the Spymaster had focused more on physical training than mental over the course of his Shinobi career. Perhaps his bloodline aided him in adapting to the new form more easily than Haruka could. Regardless the reason, Natsu felt quite confident in the body of the cat. While he'd much prefer to return to his original one he at least didn't have any of the annoying tendencies most cats had. Like kneading or spraying. Or Raiden forbid, hairballs.

"Final challenge? You promise?" Natsu asked skeptically. "We beat Taiga, we get turned back into humans, correct?" The King answered vaguely positive, too distracted by his pawlicking. Looking at Haruka for a moment, Natsu sighed and made his way back to where they had spend the last night. A sizeable distance apart, of course. Natsu had been a slight bit too wary of the scary Med-Nin turned cat to try sleeping closer. For all he knew, she'd be plotting to bury him under a pile of books by the following morning.

Finally reaching the destination, Natsu lay down on a pillow and looked up at Haruka. "Well then, final challenge. I want to get out of this damn forme as much as you, so if you have any plans or tactics, I'll gladly hear them." The Spymaster offered as polite as he could. Truthfully, he just wanted to get this over and done with. As a trained Shinobi, the cat wouldn't pose too much of a danger, surely. Yes, Natsu was stuck in an unfamiliar body and did not have access to any of his Jutsu or weapons. But combat was combat. Hit them hard and often enough and anything would crack down. If Haruka would have any theories on how or where to hit hardest, that would only be a benefit.

[Word Count: 330]
[Marked for Training]

 

[Hameru Ren]

Re: Hurry, Hurry! The Boat Is About To Leave! [Contract Sear

[OoC: Due to a busy timeschedule it seems Haruka won't be able to post nor does she feel able to finish this CSearch anytime soon. Hence I'd like to void the Search according these rules: http://www.ninpocho.com/viewtopic.php?p=52987#p52987.]