My Rabbits! [Modded Mission]

[Tatsuo]

The old lady was just barely a meter and a half tall, her sobs could be heard from anyone on the street. Her door was wide open as she began to cry out, “Daisy! Rose! Tulip! Where are you!?” the lady made her way around the yawn as fast as she could, but the toll of age had caught up to her. She couldn’t move like she once did, but using the fence as a support she continued to call out to the rabbits and made her way across her yard.

Other than the cries of the elderly lady, the day seemed to be calm. The sun was overheard, but the weather felt good. Enough breeze to keep it cool, but not enough to require a jacket or anything. The elderly lady nearly fell down before catching herself on the fence once again, she looked down the street and noticed Shinzo coming down the street. Despite her voice getting sore, she called to the young soon to be shinobi. “Please help me! My rabbits got out! They’re like my children, I don’t know what i’ll do without them. Please help me!” the lady begged the boy hoping he would assist her in finding the rabbits.

 

[Minamoto Daisuke]

Shinzo had his head down, eyes fixed on his feet as he pushed himself to run faster down the street. His ears caught the sound of an old woman which caused him to look up, being as distracted as he was, he hadn’t realised exactly how close the woman was and as he saw her in his vision he lost focus. He stumbled, fell forwards, panicked but then out of nowhere he perceived time to slow for a moment. Shinzo shot his hands forward onto the ground, springing off to land on his feet and skid to a halt just before the old lady.

His facial expression was one of dismay turned surprise at the actions of his body. He spread his arms out to his sides as he stood there for a moment to regain his balance and composure, taking in what just happened. Shinzo turned to the old lady, rubbing his left hand on the top of his head, giving her a quick smile as he read her expression. Upon seeing that she was in distress his positivity lowered and his brow furrowed.

“What about the rabbits?” His eyes grew wide, as he listened to her. “I can help! Where did they go?”


WC: 205

 

[Tatsuo]

The old lady smiled weakly, happy that someone was able to assist her. Lifting an old and wrinkled finger she pointed towards the small tree line on the edge of her property. "They ran that way.. i'm too old to keep up with them, there's foxes and things in that forest. I don't want them getting hurt. Please, help me." the lady said as she made her way to a bench on the edge of her fence. Sitting down she huffed and puffed and tried to catch her breath as she rubbed her now achy joints. "There's three of them Daisy, Rose, and Tulip. They're fast but friendly, they won't bite you or anything. Daisy is white with a big black splotch right over her left eye. Rose is a tan rabbit with black on the tips of her feet and Tulip is completely gray! I'm sure they ran that way into the forest, a creek cuts it off from most of the village so they probably aren't far. If you can find them, i'm sure I can scrounge up some type of reward. But please they're like my children!" She pleaded with the boy to succeed as if her very life depended on it.

The small thicket was no larger than an acre or two, the wood itself wasn't thick but a the bushes at the bottom added to the density of the collection of trees. Other than the rabbits there are is a variety of animals, ranging from foxes to squirrels. While the area was not too large it was harder to traverse due to the thick vegetation at the bottom. However there was enough space between each tree to provide enough light to see, even if it was a bit dimmer in some places.

Spoiler

Tan = Path
Blue = Creek
Green = Forest

 

[Minamoto Daisuke]

Shinzo nodded along as the woman spoke, he took a second to commit the details of the rabbits to memory. He places his right hand on the rear side of his right hip, pressing on the small bag resting from his belt. The boy nodded as he felt what was inside, deciding that he had what he might need with him.

“I won’t be long. I’ll be back before you know it.”

With that said he turned his attention towards the woods, eyes darted up and down the perimeter. Within seconds Shinzo began to run up the path towards the trees and bushes, he reached the edge and jumped. The shrubbery parted as the boy flew into the area with quite some speed, but it was not long before he came to a halt and began to focus. Though this was just the entrance to the woods it was important to Shinzo to begin finding his bearings and to search for any evidence of wildlife. His eyes searched the lowest levels, searching for any hint of fur on twigs and miscellaneous greenery that covered the floor. At this point in time there was no need to climb the trees for what was needed at that moment was evidence of the rabbits or any other animals in the area.


WC: 218
TWC: 423

 

[Tatsuo]

As our hero bravely rushed into the forest to assist the damsel in distress, he found himself in a small clearing where the sun poked through the thick brush. As the sunlight beat down on his face, probably forcing him to squint. He would catch in the distance the sight of one of the rabbits. The gray rabbit Tulip, was munching happily on a blade of grass unaware of the enemy stalking it. Tulip's ears perked for a moment as she looked up to Shinzo, the rabbit tensed up as if it was about to run away. But before it could react, from the bush jumped a gray and tan coyote. The dog had not eaten for weeks, apparent by the sunken face and it's ribs poking through the skin on its side. Without outside help, the rabbit would have no chance to escape from the coyote's grasp.

The distance between the soon to be massacre and Shinzo was nearly ten meters. While Shinzo was quick, there was no way he could make that distance without the assistance of any chakra but what could an academy student do? Things seemed helpless for Tulip, but would Shinzo give up in the old ladies time of need?

 

[Minamoto Daisuke]

Shinzo watched in frustration as the rabbit moved to flee, but this was only worsened as he saw the coyote. In an instant his right hand reached for the bag on his hip, his fingers wrapped around one of the kunai that he was carrying. He brought the cold metal forward, swinging his arm wide to give his throw the most energy he could. As he released his hold on the weapon, it flew forward, blade singing as it cut through the air. The ninja-in-training had aimed for a space just behind Tulip, this was in the hope that it would reach the rabbit in time to intercept the pounce of the coyote.

Deep down he knew that this wasn’t going to work out. But what was he to do? He hadn’t the training to make it in time, all he knew was the basic skills. None of that would help now, he couldn’t bring himself to face the old woman with the bad news that she’d lost one of her precious rabbits. His frustration was building, and with it his energy and motivation. He couldn’t let this happen.

He shifted his weight forwards, leaning towards the rabbit and the coyote. Soon he had pushed off, a larger cloud of dust than usual grew behind him. He sped forwards, his feet slamming against the ground as he ran. He had little hope, but still held on to that sliver of faith. An energy grew inside him, pushing him further, his boundaries were always holding him back but now was not the time for boundaries. Shinzo had to keep pushing, there was a life on the line (albeit the life of a rabbit) but a life nonetheless, he would not let harm come to his quarry. His vision seemed to warp slightly as he ran, this energy inside him pushed him forward. It kept him moving, surpassing what he had thought were his limits. This energy pushed him on, unlike anything else he had ever experienced.

He could see his kunai floating in the air, it was still moving but it was as if he was gaining on the blade. Shinzo found himself reaching out with his right hand, his fingers outstretched and soon he found himself with the kunai in his hand. His eyes grew wide but still brimmed with focus. He sprinted towards the rabbit, in a moment he was there, left hand on the rabbit, his right hand with kunai held horizontally as he aimed to place it in the coyote’s mouth, blocking its bite with the metal of the blade. If he couldn’t block it with the blade he’d have to block it with his body as he positioned himself between predator and prey.


WC: 457
TWC: 880
MFT

 

[Tatsuo]

Like a bullet shooting across the field, had anyone been around to see Shinzo and blinked, they would've seen the image of him float across the field as if it was a movie being fast forwarded. Somehow he managed to catch the knife he threw just moments before and using it to stop the would be assailant.

If animals could speak, even the rabbit would be in awe of what they just saw. Even the most trained shinobi were not capable of such speed. That speed was something only few could ever attain and for an academy student to push himself to such a limit was insane. The cold metal landed straight in the now awestruck coyote's mouth. Luckily for the coyote his teeth were caught on the metal and avoided any slashing of his gums. The coyote scared and afraid, ran away back into the forest where he came from. Leaving Shinzo and the rabbit alone. Tulip looked to Shinzo and hopped straight up towards him, the rabbit seemed a bit more intelligent than your average rabbit. Had he caught it, the rabbit would've snuggled happily in his arms. As if the rabbit understood Shinzo was here to protect her. However as satisfying as that all was, he rarely had time to figure out what happened as there were other rabbits possibly in danger that needed his help.

He saw two paths in the forest, one was clear and you could see the water towards the edge and the other was more broken and lead deeper into the forest where you could notice it got even darker. Possibly more threats lurked down there. With Tulip snuggled into his arms, he had to make a decision.

 

[Minamoto Daisuke]

Shinzo watched as the coyote fled back into the woods, satisfied that the threat had been dealt with, he swiftly put his kunai back into the pouch on his waist before looking down at Tulip. He smiled briefly and patted her lightly between the ears, though this didn’t last too long. His attention was drawn to the two paths.

His eyes scanned both trails, he thought to himself. If he were to go down the clear path and find one of the rabbits then he’d have to carry two with him into this seemingly darker area. The limited light could lead to an encounter with some sort of creature and fighting with two rabbits held close would limit his capability. For now, heading down the dark path with one rabbit in hand would give him more options, should anything go awry.

He stood up, still holding Tulip under his arm, and began to run down the broken path. He ran as fast as he could while trying to make sure the rabbit was comfortable. Shinzo ducked and weaved through the increasingly heavy undergrowth, his mind sharp now after having recovered from the shock from earlier. He was focused, searching for signs of another rabbit or any other creatures that could lurk in this deep part of the forest.

WC:218
TWC: 1098

 

[Tatsuo]

With Tulip secured Shinzo took the path less traveled by. His reasoning was sound and hopefully it would pay off. As he made his way deeper into the forest, it began to dim, at first it would be hard to make out clear details until his eyes adjusted to the light. After a few moments he would hear a shuffling behind one of the bushes. Tulip hid her face into Shinzo's arm as if afraid of what might appear. Out from the bush, with the confidence of a king walked out a white rabbit with a big black splotch over her left eye. Unlike Tulip who seemed to like Shinzo, this rabbit was totally indifferent to him. Daisy stared at him as if he couldn't care more or less what happened. Odd behavior for a rabbit, they tend to be skittish animals, but this one seemed braver than even the most battle hardened warrior.

He was lucky enough to quickly locate the second rabbit, but would it be as easy as the last? The rabbit didn't seem like it was going to run away, at least.

 

[Minamoto Daisuke]

Shinzo slowed himself as he laid eyes on Daisy. Her seemingly confident composure threw him a little. There was no need to worry though, she was only a rabbit after all, he thought to himself as he began to approach. His knees were bent slightly to lower his centre of gravity, despite being able to see the rabbit, Shinzo still held up his guard just in case any other animals decided to make themselves known.

As one foot repeatedly stepped in front of the other, the young trainee glanced left and right to scan the closest greenery, occasionally his eyes would flick up to look over the rabbit making sure that there was nothing coming to pounce on her. It could be the coyote from earlier but it’d probably keep its distance. Soon he came close to Daisy and offered a hand to her, looking to take note of how she responded to an open action. Hopefully she would come with him, he needed to find the last rabbit and get back to the old lady. His mind wandered back to her face as e=she cried for help, he couldn’t let her down. He lowered his posture to get slightly closer to the rabbit and then waited for a moment. He took his hand back, reaching into his bag once again and pulled out a stick of celery. This was to be part of his lunch, but as this rabbit seemed to be so indifferent he considered his food ample sacrifice to try and persuade her to come with him. He snapped off a piece and offered it to Tulip before holding the rest in between his last two fingers on his left hand.

He paused for a moment, hoping that Daisy would take the bait before he attempted to place his hand under her stomach to lift her.

WC: 309
TWC: 1407

 

[Tatsuo]

The enticement of food was more than enough for Daisy to grow a liking to the young academy student. Taking a nibble of the celery before resting in the arms of Shinzo. He had recovered the two rabbits with amazing speed and precision, but the last was not likely to be as easy as the ones before it. It never is. The only place left to check was the brighter zone of the forest. On the side of the creek. The creek was about eight meters below the surrounding ground and the whole area was rocky as the tree line ended. The sounds of growls could be heard from the east, both of the rabbits in his possessions quivered in fear pressing themselves up against Shinzo for protection. Depending on his knowledge of woodland creatures perhaps he could judge what the growls were, but one of the small cliff sides he saw a collection of rabbit holes dug into the side of the grassy hill. He might not have time to investigate both of them if something were to go wrong. Shinzo had made a wise decision last time but would that wisdom follow him into finding the last rabbit?

 

[Minamoto Daisuke]

Shinzo swiftly made his way back to the fork in the paths, this time it had been much easier to navigate his way through the area. His eyes rested on the clearing before him as he rushed forwards, still holding both rabbits to his side. The area was large, lit well and gave off a peaceful atmosphere as the sound of water was heard. Although this was soon drowned out by the growling of the creatures to the east. Shinzo was aware that both rabbits were burrowing themselves into him for protection and so he tried to comfort them both.

“It’s alright, we won’t be long here.” He spoke softly to both the rabbits. In reality the young shinobi-in-training had no idea how long they would be, but he tried to let his own words comfort himself a little bit as the thought of being slow to achieve his goal only served to frustrate him.

As his eyes drifted up the hill, spotting the multiple holes in its side, he began to wonder how he could quickly check all the potential burrows. His options were slightly limited at this point, an idea flashed across his mind and almost as quickly he put both rabbits on his shoulders and reached inside his bag. He took one kunai, leaving the last two inside, and threw it at the closest tree, just above his head height. It hit with relatively decent accuracy and embedded itself into the wood. After having done this, Shinzo removed his bag and emptied its contents onto the floor. Two kunai, a few assorted food items (half a stick of celery, two rice cakes and some jam), a water bottle, a few pencils and a single shuriken fell onto the ground.

Having emptied his bag, he unclipped it from around his waist. Now having emptied it he began to move both the rabbits into the now empty bag, he also took the celery and halved it again to help convince Tulip and Daisy to get into the bag. After moving them into the bag he then hung the bag from the kunai embedded in the nearest tree, the bag held strong at around four and a half feet from the ground. Shinzo hoped that this would keep them out of harm’s way, should anything go wrong.

He moved back to his belongings on the floor, taking his water bottle in his left hand and the two-remaining kunai in the other. Shinzo opened it from the top and made his way over to the holes in the hill. He removed the top of the bottle and began to pour water into each hole, this was in the hope that it would cause whichever creature was inside to appear.

WC: 459
TWC: 1866

 

[Tatsuo]

At first the rabbits resisted being put in the bag, but the celery enticed them both into obedience. The rabbits were completely safe from pretty much anything after being raised from the ground. The two rabbits happily munched on the celery as the waited for Shinzo to return. For a few moments after pouring water in the hole there was nothing. But sure enough he could hear some stirring at the base and then a chipmunk appeared from the hole. Using a large acorn as a projectile he would toss it straight at Shinzo's forehead before making a chattering sound and running back into his hole. The rabbit was nowhere to be found in the holes, but just after the chipmunk angrily shooed Shinzo away the growling got louder. It still came from the same direction, the path twisted around a small thicket of forest. While he couldn't see any wolves, coyotes, or foxes he could vividly hear the growling off in the distance and it sounded as if it was getting more and more ferocious. If Shinzo was going to figure out what was happening, he had little time to get over there.

 

[Minamoto Daisuke]

Shinzo was taken off guard by the chipmunk. He wasn’t expecting the creature, never mind it’s use of an acorn as a projectile. It was thrown towards him, time seemed to slow for the young trainee, his eyes followed the acorn as it seemingly slowed in mid-air, he shifted the position of his head by lowering his right shoulder. He turned his head as he watched the acorn pass him, as it moved on further past his body it began to accelerate to the speed that it was originally. Shinzo was confused, but the increasing volume of the growling to the east caught his attention.

His heels drew him round to face the growling, and without a moment’s notice he ran. His sprinting pushed his limits once more, not surpassing them but with every thought that the final rabbit could potentially be in trouble he grew faster. Devastating images of a mauled rabbit flashed across his mind, pushing Shinzo further. He dropped his water bottle and placed one kunai in each hand. His speed continued to increase as he ran, hoping that he’d be able to make it to the growling in time.

WC: 193
TWC: 2059

 

[Tatsuo]

As Shinzo made the bend he found the source of all the growling, over the creek was a fallen branch only a few inches wide. On the edge of the branch hanging over the creek laid Rose, the last rabbit. At the base of the branch and forcing the rabbit into such a bad were two coyotes. One looking very similar to the last one he stopped, they both seemed hungry and their ribs were visible. The two coyotes were too distracted by their potential lunch to notice Shinzo incoming like a speeding bullet train. The boy had made it in record speeds, but either way how much could his speed help him? The situation seemed nearly helpless, one slip of the rabbit and she would fall twenty feet. Most likely to Rose's death. If she tried to get closer to the land, she would be mauled by the two hungry coyotes and if Shinzo made a misstep, he could break the branch himself sending the rabbit down to it's death.

 

[Minamoto Daisuke]

Shinzo analysed the situation with each quick step he took, he couldn’t stop himself now for that would risk the life of Rose. The horror of the multiple deaths she could face if he made one mistake played on his mind, the eight-year-old shed a tear in frustration as he ran. There was little time for him to think through things but he had to make a decision. He had noticed that the coyotes were fixated on the rabbit, in class he had been taught to tread lightly and so he decided to use this skill. By lightening his footsteps, Shinzo aimed to go around the coyotes and flank them from their left side, his hope being that the combination of their prey distracting them and his quieter footsteps would give him the upper hand in attacking. With any luck, approaching from the side would make it less likely that the canines would step on the branch and throw Rose off balance.

The grass at his feet parted before him as his speed was ever increasing, this was the last moment he had to make a difference. How could Shinzo allow for an old woman to be heartbroken at the loss of one of her ‘children’? He could not allow any one of these rabbits to die, he would not allow it, the red mist descended as his emotions overflowed in his mind. And so, as he approached from the side, he spun each kunai in his hands to hold them both in a reverse grip. As he sprinted towards the coyotes, he leapt, pushing off from the ground with such a force that the ground bore an imprint of his feet. He was now airborne and so let out a shout as the energy within him became overwhelming, he had no idea what this energy was but it pushed him further than anything had before. His thoughts of what could be drove him onwards, surpassing his limits. As he flew inches over the coyotes, he jammed his kunai down, this was in an attempt to slice into each of the animals, to leave two deep channels in the flesh across their backs and to shatter their spines in two places. This would be a quick death.

After he landed on the right side of the coyotes, his attention turned to Rose. He bent his knees, ready to jump towards her if something would go wrong.


WC: 406
TWC: 2465

 

[Tatsuo]

Like a flash, Shinzo appeared behind the coyotes, cutting them down with the calculated efficiency of a Kage. The quick death he gave them was certainty merciful as they fell over dead in barely a moment, not even enough time to realize they were suffering. Luckily the branch hadn't been broken or shuffled during the scuffle. It seemed like he was in the home stretch, grab the rabbit and go, but just as he bent over to reach for the rabbit. Rose was intimidated and took a step back. The rabbit lost it's footing and began to slip off the branch, in a few moments the rabbit would be falling to the ground. If anyone was fast enough to catch the rabbit, it was Shinzo but even if he blinked the rabbit would slip through his grasp.

 

[Minamoto Daisuke]

He was ready for this, he crouched down and pushed himself forwards to shoot off the rockface, the strange energy still driving him onwards. Shinzo reached out towards Rose in a blur of speed, he dropper the kunai in his left hand to enable himself to reach for the rabbit as she fell. He suddenly shifted his focus as he moved forwards, channelling his chakra to his feet, he had been working on his control for some time now. The young shinobi-in-training reached out with his palm open to catch Rose by her underbelly. As he did so, he reached the edge of the cliff, but instead of falling he instead stood horizontally. His own training had paid off. His eyes looked up to see the petrified rabbit, he smiled in an attempt to comfort her.

Suddenly something changed, he could feel himself slipping. He had lost the control of the chakra in his feet and soon began to fall with the rabbit under his arm. In a split second he panicked but managed to refocus himself. With an almighty crack, he slammed his remaining kunai into the rockface, letting out a cry of pain as he felt some tendons tear in his right wrist. The two lives hung in the balance but they were no longer falling.

Shinzo looked up to the edge of the cliff face, it was not too far, he could reach it but he needed a free hand. He lowered Rose and tucked her into his stomach before threading the base of his t-shirt into his hand to make a small pouch for her to sit in. The bottom of his t-shirt was brought up to his mouth, where he gripped it in his teeth. This was a strain but it enabled him to carry the rabbit and climb back to the flat ground above.

In but a moment he was able to pull himself back onto the grass above, still holding Rose close to keep her safe. Having done so he left to collect his bag with the remaining rabbits. He had done what he came to do. With all the rabbits safe, Shinzo made his way through the forest and towards the home of the old lady.


WC: 374
TWC: 2839

 

[Tatsuo]

The branch jiggled as the rabbit fell off but Shinzo was quicker than lightning, he grabbed the rabbit and for a moment it seemed his chakra control would be able to keep him horizontally against the wall. However he was still an academy student, that was more of a Genin level technique but him being able to do it at this age was impressive anyways. But what was more impressive was the quickness in his reaction, as he started to slip he used a kunai to grab himself from the falling cliff, saving both himself and the rabbit.

As he propelled himself upwards the boy made his way through the now calm forest with all rabbits in tow. As he appeared through the forest line, the old lady wailed, "Are my rabbits okay?! Please tell me they're not hurt!" the lady stood up from her bench with a huff, looking to the boy for any signs of her pet rabbits.

 

[Minamoto Daisuke]

Shinzo puffed out his chest with some slight pride as he approached the old lady. With his good hand he held out his bag which now contained all three rabbits and the last scraps of his lunch. “I think I got all of them.” He said thankfully while presenting the woman with her rabbits. “I don’t think they’re hurt at all but they might need checking over.” He yawned briefly, the events of the day having thoroughly tired him out.

WC: 80
TWC: 2919