Onward and upward [contract search]

[Daigo]

The sound of his steel toed-boots clicked with each step he took on the path towards the mountain range. He had unfinished business that he simply had to attend to concerning the connection that he so desperately sought in life and he would not allow anything to stand in his way. The sun slowly began to set when Daisuke had left the village and now he, as he always had, stopped his accent into the clouds and simply gazed at his god’s perfect creation. The sunset painted the sky in a beautiful shade of red and orange with a hint of pink that faded into one another so perfectly. After gazing at the evening sky for a few more seconds, he turned his attention onto the cliff side city of ruins, the lost city. Daisuke had never seen the city from high up and never really understood the architecture. Despite the distance, stars had begun to sprinkle themselves into the sky while the sun’s light now barely stretched over the mountain top Daisuke was so eager to arrive at.

He continued on the path up one of the highest mountains in all of lightning country. The same exact mountain with smaller mountains surrounding it that he had observed on his last quest for truth. Although it was a mysterious mountain that had probably never been explored before, to Daisuke, it held so sort of truth to it; it had some sort of truth to display to the world. As he continued his accent, the mountain path, which stretched in an upward spiraling fashion, grew steeper and steeper. The slippery snow did not help his situation either. Spring season was approaching and the snow had a propensity to melt slightly, making traveling through the mountain’s pathways even more difficult and dangerous than before. Daisuke knew this all too well, but unlike his last visit to the mountain range, Daisuke came prepared with everything he’d need. When the sun finally faded away behind the mountain peak, shadows and darkness flooded the sky. The full moon and brighter stars replaced the sunset that could only be painted with by lord raiden’s dexterous hands; that mere men could only hope to capture with oil pastels.

Nearly at the top of the mountain, Daisuke felt tired and weak, but his determination would not allow him to give in the power of nature just yet. He began to channel chakra into his feet in order to keep from slipping off the path and falling into the dark abyss. However the water from the melted snow on each and everyone of the paths and mountain peaks throughout the mountain range combined with the reflection from the full moon and the bright stars caused Daisuke to look at the other masterpiece of his god. The young kaguya could not believe his eyes. The mountain range was lit by the reflections and the pathways looked as if the paths were made of heavenly bright light and absolutely nothing more.

“Wow! It‘s so beautiful.” he said as a tear fell from his eye. Daisuke was certainly amazed at his god’s creations and continued onward and upward on the spiraling path of light. On his way upward, he could not help, but feel as though it was the stair way to heaven itself. With the peak in sight, Daisuke began to run as quickly as he could. He clicks in the snow now imitated the sound of a galloping horse and accompanying that sound was the sound of the natural wildlife within the range. Reaching the top, Daisuke spotted another cave and a giant tree at the top, which he found rather strange, but it did not matter to him. He was exhausted and collapsed where he stood. Sitting there, he breathed heavily and waited. He had no idea what he was going to discover, but hopefully it was the connection he now desperately sought out.

WC: 655

OOC: hello, I had the canine contract from the old site and brought it here before it was voided on this site. I’m here to try and get it back.

 

[Mienai]

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

 

[Daigo]

Yes, please!

 

[Mienai]

As Daisuke sat down, catching his breath, a random blizzard would blow in out of nowhere. The wind would be frigid and biting, whipping everything around angrily and howling like a benevolent spirit. As the evening set in, as would the temperature. The sun would finally set, and the surrounding area would grow dark. A heavy snowfall started to come down. Most would find themselves in grave danger in these type of conditions. Suddenly an errie growling would be caught upon the wind. A large white blur would appear in front of Daisuke, hunched down on all four paws. It's teeth were sharp, it's ears were pressed against it's head in defense, and it's eyes glowed and angry yellow.

It stood fairly tall, with fur as white and pure as the snow around it. It was smaller than a bear, but slightly larger than a normal dog. It looked powerful. If one could see it through the snow, perhaps they would consider it to be a wolf. Either way, it crouched and growled further as it would come upon Daisuke with jaws snapping, as if ready to attack, but a loud yell issued out. "Gosh dang it! Azura get back here this instant, you mangy mutt!" The large white canine whipped it's head to the direction the voice came from before bolting down the pathway of the mountain. Aside from the angry wind and thick falling of snow, nothing else seemed to move. The voice rang out again. "Azura! We don't have time for this! Azura!" The voice would belong to that of a female, if the wind didn't distort it too much and it was actually heard. She appeared to sound desperate to get her dog back, but it was long gone. She was currently not visible, though her voice still gave insight to the fact that she was nearby. If one were to investigate, they would find the owner of the voice.

[OOC: Sorry for the longer than expected wait. I've been on vacation.]

 

[Daigo]

The weather grew more and more troublesome as he took his much needed break. Snowfall followed after, and it was something for which he was prepared. Living in the clouds taught the chief many things, especially to dress very warmly for the poorest conditions. He took pride in his foresight and preparation skills from the most interesting missions to the most effortless of tasks like dressing his self. His steel-toed soak-proof boots, his long cloak, his double layered socks, his battle gloves with the cloud emblem on it, and both his long sleeve thermal shirt and matching thermal leggings he wore under his clothing were are chosen just for this occasion.

Still, even with all his preparation Daisuke could not have foreseen what would happened next. The storm grew more ferocious and his eyes began to deceive him. A large white blur suddenly appeared in the mix of the storm. His eyes widened a bit in disbelief, then squinted to get bit to try and get a better view of the specter. It seemed to be some belligerent creature, perhaps a wolf though he could not be sure, making its way towards him. "What is that?" he thought, focusing chakra into his arm. Being a living weapon had its advantages after all. Before any further action could be taken, a woman’s voice was heard. It seemed that she was looking for someone and, from one traveler to another, he would provide assistance under normal circumstances, but he was otherwise occupied with the being in front of him. When the creature darted away, Daisuke went in search of his fellow traveler saying, "Hello? Is someone out there? "

 

[Mienai]

Through the wind and snow, the woman heard a voice. So, she wasn't the only one out here. "Yes! Hello? Who's out there? My name is Kaya." The woman, now known as Kaya, would walk away from her current location and just so happen to stumble upon Daisuke. She saw him dressed in all his warm clothing and knew immediately that he was a native. She, herself, was dressed in thick thermal heated blue cloth, adorned with several furry white pelts around the wrists and hood of her long sleeved jacket; the same could be said for her pants. She had light tan gloves and dark boots attached to snow shoes. She all in all looked like she was ready for this kind of weather as well. As for her physical appearance, she was of a darker tan skin tone with dark brown hair that was tied back and bright blue eyes. She looked to be in her early twenties.

As soon as she spotted Daisuke she waved and ran towards him. She would stop somewhat close to him, still being wary of strangers in the mountains. It wouldn't exactly be the first time someone was killed in the mountains and forgotten. Anyone could 'go missing' up here. "Hey! I didn't think anyone else would be up here! You haven't by any chance seen my dog have you? She's pretty big, white fur, possibly aggressive? It's important that I get her back." Kaya looked rather annoyed than worried for the animal. If he looked past her, he would be able to see a dark outline of a sled, with white blobs attached to it. One could probably surmise that she was a musher of some sort. Kaya pulled her jacket closer to her body as the wind caught her hair and whipped it to the side. She hoped this newcomer would be able to give her some insight as to what happened.

 

[Daigo]

Through the storm, a woman appeared before the chief. "A young woman...and...is that a slide? I wonder what she’s doing atop of a mountain. And that creature? Azura was it?" he thought as the woman, now known as Kaya, stopped short of him. While he was relieved to meet another person, he was still curious about her. For the moment, however, he would put aside his questions and assist this lovely lady as best he could.

"Hello, I’m Kaguya Daisuke. Medical chief of Cloud village. I, too, am surprised to find another person up here. A believe I did see your dog, rather large indeed. Looks like I can't accuse 'kibbles and bits' of false advertising. Anyway, just before I heard your voice, a creature approached my direction. It matched your description. When it heard your voice, it ignored me and ran down the nearby path way. If its okay, I’d like to help you in your capture effort. I know we aren't familiar with each other and I don’t trust easily, but I would not feel right if...I could not call myself a man if I left you here alone without at least offering some type of assistance. Especially in a storm like this. It’s what I do, besides I have no prior or pressing engagements." he said, trying not to sound too creepy. Constantly being accused of being too nice or coming on too strongly as a youth made him weary of his direct tendencies.

He was well aware of his self since he had a hard time trusting in strangers, but he would not be able to look his self in the mirror and respect the man he saw, if he didn’t do what he thought was right. And leaving a woman alone atop a mountain in a storm would be disgraceful at least in his eyes. Regardless of how strong or resourceful that woman may have been... Hell, even if she was the Raikage...he still couldn’t do it. He would go on to point out where her dog stood and the nearby pathway Azura used to escape. "If you don’t mind my asking, you called out for Azura before. I’ll assume that is your beast’s...I mean dog’s name." It seemed around Kaya and new people in general, the chief struggled to keep cool. Even in the middle of a snowstorm... atop a mountain... in lightning country, Daisuke just couldn’t keep cool.

[MFT]

Daisuke's full appearance

Spoiler

Appearance​

Age: 24
Date of Birth: The 10th of January

Gender: Male
Height: 6' 1"
Weight: 180 lbs
Dominant hand: Right

Blood type: O-
Home Village: Cloud Manga version & Cloud anime version

Hair Color: White
Eye Color: Crimson red (Rikudo sennin ripple pattern)
Alignment: Neutral Good (find out about Lawful / Neutral / Chaotic descriptions here)

Occupation: Special Jounin / Med-nin Chief (Office description: here)
Chakra color: Black outlined with dark blue


Kaguya Daisuke is a tall and slender man with a dark brown skin tone. He has shaggy matted hair, as white as snow, which extends to the length of his shoulders. The ends of which are gelled into spike-like tips to prevent it from getting in his way during battle. His hair covers the majority of his head including his forehead, the back of his neck, and his eyebrows. However, the tips of his ears still protrude from the side of his head. Daisuke possesses crimson red ripple patterned eyes, indicating to all he encounters that he possesses the rinnegan. Below his eyes, his has a shaven face with the exception of having a neatly trimmed goatee that rounds off around his chin. If someone is ever lucky enough to witness him truly smile, instead of the constant smirks he tends to display, then that person will notice the small dimples in his cheeks. Another notable feature is that his right arm, from his knuckles to his elbow, is wrapped in bandages. There are no wounds and his arm is kept perfectly warm, but he wears it as he is right-handed and melee attacks with his right arm.

As for his clothes, Daisuke is always seen wearing both a dark grey sakkat and shroud with a crimson red interior and a black cone tip at the top. After all, there’s a reason he’s called The Phantom of Cloud. Daisuke also has a metal plate with the cloud village emblem embedded in the tip of the sakkat; the same plate that could be seen on a cloud headband. The emblem is always vertical aligned above Daisuke’s eyes. While the shroud carries the same crimson red interior and dark grey exterior design as the sakkat, it also conceals Daisuke’s entire body from his neck to his ankles. Underneath his shroud however, Daisuke wears everything you see in the picture below minus the sword.

 

[Mienai]

Peculiar. What was a medic doing this far up the mountains? It wasn't exactly common to take an evening stroll up through the peaks. Ah well, that was not really for Kaya to judge. She perked up a bit when he explained that he had in fact seen her animal. Azura was gonna get it when they found her...if they found her. Ah, but the time. If Azura had ran, what were the chances they would find her in this blizzard? A better question, was what would the chances Azura would even have stayed in the area. Kaya pinched the bridge of her nose with one of her gloved hands and sighed. "Yes, Azura is the dog's name. It's kind of you to offer assistance in finding her, but I just don't have the time. You see, I'm in the middle of a Sled Dog Race and I really wanted to win this year. My team is over there, where I came from. Azura was my lead sled dog, but her strap broke." Kaya opened her hand and showed Daisuke the piece of brown leather with the hookup that would normally attach to the dog's harness. It looked like it had been gnawed through. She then motioned for him to follow her back to her sled. There was a team of four adult sized white samoyeds and then another large white bear sized dog sitting at the front. The dog looked over as it's musher returned, but Daisuke would be able to tell a distinct difference with this dog aside from it's size. It seemed to be hold an air of intelligence about it that Kaya did not notice.

Kaya looked over the man again. He seemed nice, good looking, talked a lot, but responsible. A thought came to her mind, but she would save it for later. "You wouldn't happen to have any idea how to fix this would you? There's only a short window of time that I can spend looking for her, if I want to win the race. I really don't want to quit, there's a lot riding on this for me." Kaya looked torn between her decisions. She wasn't great at making choices for herself. When she had a plan in mind, it usually worked out for her. She never thought of if things went wrong, in order to stay optimistic. Kaya would look Daisuke in the eyes and ask the decision to be chosen for her. "What should I do?"

 

[Daigo]

Being a shinobi of cloud and an introverted person, Daisuke found it most effective when he stood back, listened, and observed. Forming hand signs, he found it best to weigh his options for assisting Kaya. He stood quietly and listened as Kaya explained her situation and Daisuke continued to take mental notes with the aid of the snapshot jutsu. "She said that Azura’s strap broke, but it looks like the dog wanted to escape. Another large white dog? Something’s off with this one. Given that the lead dogs are both larger than the average, perhaps only one dog is needed. It doesn’t improve her chances unless she has her dog back. But then why did the dog gnaw through the harness? She’ll need another dog. Then again, she did say she wanted to win this year. Maybe it’s an annual race. She could compete next year. " he thought just before Kaya asked for his thoughts. Daisuke was curious how She might win a race while missing her second lead dog.

After a few seconds, he said, "Having one of your lead dogs out in a storm will not improve your chances of winning and I just don’t like that a dog, with a master and a home, is out during a blizzard. Short of me transforming into a dog to pull your sled, we’ll need to get your dog back." he said before taking a few steps back and slammed his hand on the ground, summoning one of his paths to help him.

Spoiler

Name: "Fudo" = god of fire & wisdom

Clan: Uchiha, now (Link here)

Age: 18
Date of Birth: The 5th of July

Gender: Male
Height: 5' 10"
Weight: 150 lbs
Dominant hand: Right

Hair Color: White
Eye Color: Crimson red (ripple pattern)
Alignment: Neutral evil​

"If its okay with you, I’ll track the dog with my sharingan while the other me acts as a substitute dog replacement. Unless you have a better suggestion of course?" he said know full well how silly he sounded. He never was good at thinking on his feet. Still, his heart was in the right place and that was all that mattered to him. Looking back at the other dog, Daisuke walked towards the large canine and attempted to he more assertive. Dogs respected that, right? Gesturing that he wanted to go near the other lead dog, he tried to gently pet it on the head and say, "Hey good boy! What’s your name?" as he tried to read the collar tag if they had one. Daisuke could tell there was more to this dog than what met the eye, but he just couldn't put his finger on it.

 

[Mienai]

Giving a sigh, quickly covered by the wind of the snowstorm, Kaya shook her head. It was important that she win. She was left with no other choice. Kaya looked around and down, seeing nothing but an endless white blanketed haze. She listened to Daisuke as he gave her some suggestions, but she didn't know what to do really. Azura could survive in this? Couldn't she? Kaya jumped a little as another person appeared before her, interupting her thoughts. "Ok, ok. I guess that's acceptable. I'll go with...um...him. However, I don't like that you're going out alone. Here, take Koda. I know, it's not conventional to get rid of both lead dogs, but I'm sure your friend will help a lot and my other dogs have been slacking anyway." With that, Kaya unhooked the large dog from the harness. She would wait fasten together the broken harness to the good one, making it more accomodating for a five dog sled team. The balance would equal out the pull.

On the other hand, as Daisuke went to pat his head, Koda snorted in his face. He wasn't being impolite, but he did not trust easily. He was not his master, and even if his master did not seem to be afraid or cautious of this man, Koda listened to his instincts. He shuffled off to the side as his harness was unlocked and would grab at Daisuke's clothes with his teeth, gently, as to usher him away as well. Kaya had made up her mind, nothing else that was to be said would change her mind. Koda would sniff at the snow, trying to find a scent. He barked once, a massively loud, deep bark that could make anyone jump.

Kaya turned at the sound. She smiled and came over to scratch Koda behind the ear. "You be a good boy for Daisuke. As soon as you find that troublesome Azura, head straight to finish line and find me? Okay?" The dog nodded his large head and licked her face. "Good luck to the both of you. Thanks for the help Daisuke, take care of Koda." Kaya gave a wave and took her place on her sled. When Daisuke's man was already, she would mush and begin moving. Koda would also gesture with his head to Daisuke to head in the direction he had caught Azura's scent in.

 

[Daigo]

Not surprisingly, Koda did not allow Daisuke to pat his head and he understood why. It made no difference to him as there was a job to complete first and foremost. There was a woman who needed her lead dogs to finish a race, a sled dog lost in the mountains, and a cloud ninja with skills and free time who happened to like dogs. There seemed to be hope in the situation. Kaya shared her plan with Daisuke who simply agreed. Afterall the woman was placing a lot of faith in the cloud shinobi and how could he intentionally disappoint her. He took a breath to prepare his mind and cracked his knuckles saying, "I appreciate you sending Koda with me. Don’t worry, everything will work out the way it is supposed to unfold. We split up, find Azura, and met you at the finish line. I understand." Koda then sniffed the ground and startled Daisuke with a loud bark.

Being pulled away by Koda, Daisuke motioned for Fudo to get in the sled with Kaya and say, "We will do our best to assist you. I can even give you updates on their progress so don’t worry. I’m ready when you are, so let’s do it." Fudo took one last look at Daisuke and found it rather strange that Daisuke could look at himself from another angle. It was as if he was watch to different television screens at the same time. Now was not the time to take interest in himself and his powers, but help out a lady in need. Without further delay, Koda and Daisuke rushed off towards the last place he saw Azura. "Koda, did you pick up on Azura's scent? This is where Azura was before running off. I’m sure of it. Come on, boy. Find the scent." he said encouraging Koda to use his enhanced senses to the best of his ability. He intended to find Azura, even if it meant using anbu jutsu to assist him.

 

[Mienai]

As Kaya and her team mushed away into the blizzard, Koda turned on his heels and started moving down the mountain side. He didn't want to waste any time that could be put towards finding Azura. Now, Koda was a very big dog. In some essense, it made sense to have him as a lead sled dog, but he just looked like he was more fit like that. The other dogs were smaller, like they were of the same family. Koda and Azura though were huge, massive, dangerous looking even. Why were they different from Kaya's other dogs? A thought that many would question. Koda however paid no mind to the fact that Daisuke probably found him to be different.

Koda would take the lead, as he usually did and sniff at the ground. He looked at Daisuke when he was told to find the scent. Koda's eyes appeared to be intelligent, staring and observing, not like a regular breed of dog. Now, the next thing Koda did would probably shock most, if they weren't normally exposed to it. "I picked up her scent running eastward, at a slow, downward, declining slope of about 20 degrees before cresting off into a snow bank, made up up of roughly 30 percent rocky sediment, 40 percent snow, 20 percent ice, 8 percent pine needles, and 2 percent gold. From there, her trail starts to run cold. Perhaps we should proceed to investigating the area around the snow bank about 2.6 miles from here, yes? Keep up, human." Koda gave a little doggy version of a smirk, happy to have showed off this new developmental plot twist of communication quite well. After that, he started to pick up his slow gait to a medium run. He was going to see what this man was made of, while in the process of looking for his running partner, of course. Once they were to reach the snow bank, obvious due to it's large size, Koda would allow for Daisuke to look for clues. He would be out of directional knowledge as far as that went, as her scent would be nowhere to be found.

 

[Daigo]

"Wait, you can talk?!" he said shocked by what he had witnessed. As to why he why shocked was a different story. One would think that after signing the feline contract, the ninja would have assumed that there were more species in the world that displayed a high level of intellect just like them. Still, he was taken aback by this new development. The fact that Koda had amazing tracking skills only furthered Daisuke’s impression of him. "That’s impressive. Your tracking skills are excellent and I’ll keep up just fine! My name is Daisuke by the way! Kaguya Daisuke, medic at your service!" he said running faster.

Reaching the snow bank was easy enough but now came the hard part, Koda relied on Daisuke to find the clues and so he would. He took the lead looking around the snow bank to find any trace of Azura, but he wasn’t trained to be a tracker. Still, he promised to help and he would do what he could to keep that promise. He began his search by looking around to the bank for footprints. Since Koda could not track Azura’s scent, Daisuke came to the conclusion that perhaps her scent was covered by the water from snow that melted on her fur.

"Okay, the snow storm could very well have covered her scent, but everyone and everything can be tracked. Footprints, anything she might have dropped, any nearby caves that she might use as shelter? " he thought. There was still a bothersome thought in his mind however. He wondered how Azura got free in the first place and he wondered why the harness was gnawed through.

"You know this Azura better than I do. Earlier I notice that her harness was gnawed through. Did she ever express any dislike in Kaya or the sled team? Did she ever have a desire to leave?" he asked as he continued to look for any trace of Azura.

 

[Mienai]

Perhaps Koda had been wrong about this human. Koda gave a friendly nod to Daisuke, humans all looked the same, so it was difficult to remember names of people he wasn't around often, but at least he would do his best to remember it for the time being considering he was nice and helpful. He had even complimentd his tracking skills and Koda loved compliments. Koda was interested in that he was a medic, but more so in case something bad had happened to Azura or Kaya.

The snow bank was something that made Koda feel like a bit of a failure when it came to his doggy pride. He wanted to help, but his nose failed him. He dug through some of the snow though to help Daisuke look for clues. The shinobi seemed devote in finding it, so that was a good sign. Koda stopped digging after the partially melted snow and ice started to get stuck in his paw and hurt him. He shook it out, but it stuck there. "Why must we live in a place of snow. It always gets stuck in my fur." Koda grumbled as Daisuke proceeded to ask him about Azura. Koda rolled his eyes and snorted. Azura was always a picky thing.

He perked his ears up, catching sound of something, but he left it alone, thinking it must be a squirrel or something. It sounded like scratching on bark. "Azura is my kin. She's always been a spirit of ambition. We were ordered to be Kaya's guardians. Kaya is a...special child. When we got word that she wanted to enter this race...we wondered why. Kaya's grandmother has fallen ill, and this race was the only way that she could get the money for her grandmother's medication. I stood in to help. Azura...well, let's just say that she wanted to steal the money to assure that Kaya would recieve it. I fear she may have done just that. She means well, she only wants to help Kaya, but this was not the way to do it. I hope I am wrong." Koda bowed his head low and shook it. His pack sister could get into world's of trouble for this, but it just seemed like so much disappointment to him. Still, they needed to find her regardless. No one gets left behind. As Daisuke looked for clues, Koda would use his large furry body to block some of the snow that came pelting at them. Koda heard another sound again, this one to call attention. "Is it just me, or do you see a bear running this way..." Koda blinked, well, things were gonna get messy.

Spoiler

The bear was big, so big that even as a black shadow through the snow and a good distance away, it's size made it's black coat noted. It was barrelling towards them in the snow. Loud thumps could be heard as each foot slammed into the calm surface of the snow. Koda had never seen a bear this big in his entire life. He feared for himself and this human. "This bear is massive, bigger than myself. It looks very aggressive. Perhaps this is a food storage of some kind? I don't know. But Azura's smell ended here. I will not betray my kin." Koda looked determined, his stance was defensive, ready to take a bruntal assault should the bear attack him. He was ready to stand and fight, whether that would cost him his life, or not.

 

[Daigo]

He searched for clues, but the storm did not do them any favors. Still, the medic could not complain about his current predicament. Sure, being up high in the mountains looking for a wayward dog while entrusting his path with a woman he was not very familiar with in exchange for her lead dog in a snow race, all to help him track another dog, was not only confusing but crazy. Daisuke loved every bit of it still and Koda’s insight on Azura helped him to understand her a bit more. "I see. So this Azura seems to be a little headstrong. That could explain the harness. Why try and win the race when she could take a shortcut and just steal the prize money. At least her heart is in the right place." he thought as he continued to look for clues. He had to wonder how she managed to mask her scent, or did she do so unintentionally.

He continued to listen to Koda, trying to soak up as much information on Azura as he could. The more you know about your target, the best chance of you finding them. "I’m sorry to hear that. What Kaya and you are doing is very noble indeed. It makes me want to help out even more. I can kinda see where Azura is coming from. If I were as misguided, I might rig the race myself." he said pausing for a moment. He began to wonder about if they had kept Kaya in the dark. "I take it Kaya does not know about your true intellect and identities? You haven’t revealed yourself to her?" he asked, but before he could say anything else, Koda replied with a true scary question. "B-B-B-Bear! Running towards us?! Where?!", he thought. His eyes widened and his feet were planted. Hearing Koda’s words moved Daisuke and made him stand his ground as well.

"You’re not only, Koda. I admire what you are trying to do for your charge Kaya and your friend Azura. I’ll stand by you.", he said forming hand signs and extending out one palm. Being a powerful ninja who mastered over one hundred and fifty jutsus was one thing, but mastering advanced jutsus like gravity was something entirely different. He performed the gravity jutsu known as graviton (link). He attempted to lift up the large bear and hold it in the air.

Although he was a kaguya, he preferred not to fight unless he deemed it necessary. He was no fool, however and activated his bone armor just in case the bear got free. Under the assumption that the bear had been subdued, Daisuke would now have Koda make a decision. "Koda, I believe I have the bear contained. I can push it back and hope it leaves, or I could...ya know what I’m saying?" he said motioning his head towards the edge of the pathway. He meant to inform Koda that he could toss over the bear onto another mountain ledge in the distance if he preferred. Daisuke had the power to do it, but could have underestimated the power of the bear.


ooc: Sorry for the long wait. My internet has been down for the last few days. I’m back though.

 

[Mienai]

As the bear barrelled towards them, giving no heed to the two members that stood in its path, Koda saw that Daisuke wasn't about to leave him. Perhaps this human was different as well, but it was still not enough proof for Koda, but maybe it was getting there. Given the heat of the event, Koda would be unable to answer his questions immediately, but that did not mean they would go unanswered. First and foremost though, it would be best to stop the bear standing about about the size of half a small building. Koda began to charge forward, ready to throw his own large size at the bear to give a bigger target to attack, but right as Koda reached the bear, paw raised to strike, the bear was lifted up and over his head and his nose met snow as he faceplanted from the unbalanced confusion. He stood and snorted, looking around. "Where did it go? Bears don't fly!" He turned around and looked up, and there the bulldozer sized bear was hanging there, clawing at the ground for some traction.

Koda was impressed. "For a second there, I thought we'd have a real problem on our hands...wait"Before he could decided what to do with the bear, his nose caught wind of something. His eyes hardened, his jaws snapped once, and a loud rumbling growl ripped through his throat. "It smells of her. He did something. There's blood on his claw!" Koda wanted to jump at the bear, but he had bigger matters to attend to. "I can smell the blood south of here. It leads to a cave entrance. Leave the bear alive, but first..." Before his sentence would end, Koda rose up on hind legs and took his large front paw, scratching the entirety of the bear's left eye. The bear would forever be blind in one eye. Koda then motioned for Daisuke to let the bear go, it was in pain, it would leave or risk getting killed.

Koda calmed himself before he would mention they needed to get a move on. "Thank you for your assistance. But you must never tell Kaya of what we really are, or we would have to leave her. My superior is very strict about that. We are simply meant to help her help herself." Koda left it at that, for many more details would give things away. Koda only wanted the best for Kaya. But that was not the most important thing here. Azura's blood had been on the bear, did that mean she was hurt? Worse? Koda was getting anxious. "We should get moving. Azura needs to be found so we can get to Kaya before the race is over." Koda could outrightly be seen as nervous, worried, and concerned. His eyes were clouded over as he began moving, and his gait was slower and he kept gnashing his teeth together, which could loudly be heard. Yes, the dog was very worried now. Hopefully they would reach the cave soon.

 

[Daigo]

It seemed his jutsu was successful, perhaps too successful. While standing beside Koda was great, Daisuke’s teamwork need to be more developed. Lifting the bear into the air just before Koda could begin his assault was a rookie mistake and if he wanted to help Kaya, Koda, and Azura, then he would need to get his act together and fast. He seemed concerned when Koda face planted into the snow after his jutsu. It wasn’t his intention to do that, but he hope that the canine wouldn’t be sore about it. Suddenly with a sniff, Koda’s demeanor chanced and maybe the battle hardened shinobi very nervous. “Ah, Koda? You okay?” he asked, but the first answer he received was the sight of a snapping jaw and the sound of a loud rumbling growl. “Whole crap. He hasn’t gone rabid has he? What’s up with him? Is there trouble close by? The bear is neutralized.” he thought as he stood still keeping the bear in the air for the time being.

Upon hearing about the blood, Daisuke knew what had to happen next. If a loved one is harmed and the inflictor was to be left alive, then a crippling wound was usually a suitable punishment. Receiving the signal, he put the bear on the ground and awaited Koda’s judgment. It seemed his kaguyan ancestry taught him well as Koda revealed Azura’s location just before Koda slashed the bear’s eye. Being a medic, even Daisuke could tell that the bear’s wounded eye would never heal properly and it would most likely go blind. They then took off south towards the cave entrance with haste as there was no telling how bad Azura’s injuries were and time was of the essence. He could see that Koda was worried and so Daisuke attempted to comfort him as best he could saying, “Hey, Koda. Everything is going to be alright. I’m a little nervous too, but I’m also a medic and not just any medic. I’m a senior member of the medical branch. If Azura’s in any kind of danger, I’ll heal her right up. But if she is as tough as you say, then I’m sure she’s just fine.”

[mft] wc: 366

 

[Mienai]

It was quiet. Quiet and still. Daisuke's words did only a little for Koda's nerves and he waited, on edge, for them to reach some kind of cave. The snow was blowing harder, Koda had to squint his eyes just to make out the outlines of trees in some cases. His fur whipped back and forth as he pushed against the howling wind. "It's beginning to look worse. Perhaps we should move faster" Koda tried to pick up his pace, despite the ice between his paws and the cold chilling him slowly, despite his thick pelt. Koda lifted his head and sniffed. "I can see it! Over there!" In his excitement, Koda started to surge forward, but as he ran, his paw met snow, but no resistance. His leg sunk down into the snow, followed by the rest of his body as well, this caused a chain reaction to the ground around both him and Daisuke, leaving no reaction time, sucking them down into a hollow cavern.

The fall was long, and Koda tumbled several times before hitting the ground hard. He whined, and tried to stand, but his front leg appeared broken. He lifted his head and looked above them. There was a rumbling and several pounds of snow came pouring into the cavern, possibly an avalanche having caused it, but the whole was sealed over and must have been several feet's worth, making it near impossible, even with jutsu to get past. The cavern was dark, and even Koda could barely see anything in it. "Daisuke, are you alright? I think I might have broken something." Koda worked his way up slowly, not putting any weight on his left front leg. He picked up no scent but the musty smell of mold and dampness. A dim light flickered quickly before him, slightly illuminating the cavern, but showing nothing. It happened once more, twice more, and they were just in random places around the cavern.

Suddenly Koda saw a white blue, which slowly formed into something that looked like a voodoo doll, but alive. If Koda could see them, perhaps his companion could as well. He could not smell anything, he could not hear anything, but yet he could see it. Were these etherial beings? Koda had never interacted with such things. "Do you see these creatures? What are they? There's more of them showing up by the second and they're getting closer? What do we do?" And true to his word, several of these white, dead looking little spirit dolls kept showing up everythere, all with tortured expressions, but making no sound. Just staring at them. Were they aggressive? Curious? Who knew, but they were disturbing at the least.

Reaching his paw out to one of them, Koda tried to touch it, and it was not physical. His paw phased through it like it was air. However, the spirit did not take kindly to him and instead floated up, in a wispy form, and entered his senses. Koda stopped moving, and fell to the side. Suddenly his eyes lit up a bright blue, energy seeping from around his eyes, creating a hazy glow. He sat on his haunches, staring at Daisuke with the same expression of agony as the spirits. It was all up to Daisuke as the spirits grew ever so closer, and his companion was incapacitated.

 

[Daigo]

"What the hell?! Koda are you alright?! Koda!" Daisuke said preparing to isolate himself and his partner. Throughout his shinobi career, Daisuke was never good at thinking on his feet. It did not matter if it was preparing for a job interview or going on a vague mission. It just wasn’t his strong suit, but that didn’t mean he was complacent with that. To compensate for this weakness, he became better at formulating plans which could be flexible in given situations like being on the battlefield. ‘What if’ scenarios were used to help him through the tough times and now was a great time to try it again. First, however he needed defensive isolation for both Koda and him, then time to think.

"Think, damn you! Think! For the love of Raiden, why didn't I make a Nara path for these kind of situations. Okay, stay calm and assess the problem. We’re trapped in a cavern with seemingly tortured souls or spirits of some sort. Koda said his leg was broken and now I think he’s possessed. Physical attacks will not work on these spirits. It’s either genjutsu or the supernatural and I don’t have any paths in tune with spirits.", he thought trying to keep his breathing under control. The voodoo doll looking creatures continued to approach and after a few seconds, pitiful solutions popped into his mind. "Running...is out of the question. Koda needs treatment. I know a way to stop genjutsu and two or three spiritual techniques, though spirits don’t exist. Step one: defensive isolation and treatment. " he thought forming hand signs and performing the Barrier: Wall of spirits jutsu (link). He made sure to surround both he and Koda within the barrier, where he could help Koda in peace.

"Hey, Koda. Can you hear me?" he asked as he pulled out a summoning scroll from his belt pouch and brought forth a splint. He used the splint to properly align Koda bones and used the Skeletal Fortification jutsu (link). Convinced that Koda physical problem had been solved at least temporarily, he now needed a way to help Koda. He had a hard time believing in spirits so naturally, he would try to help believing Koda was under a genjutsu technique. He focused his energy and performed the Cancel: disrupt jutsu (link) . If that failed, then Daisuke would have no other choice than to converse with the ghost within Koda and hope that it would utilize Koda’s human communication skills to convey what it and it’s peers wanted from the two travelers. "Hello, can you hear me? Who or what are you? What is it that you want?" he asked.

[mft] wc: 443

 

[Mienai]

The spirits were of quite an odd formation, many of which some had probably never seen. Yet still, as a barrier was created around Koda and Daisuke, the spirits would still continue to be moving, though they would just lightly thump against the barrier, placing their horrified faces upon it and start to pile onto one another, plastering their bodies around the sides and the top, till it looked like a giant dogpile upon the barrier. Thankfull, it seemed to at least be holding for now, because the spirits were proving to not necessarily being hostile, but maybe curious. As of currently though, their light glow that came from their bodies were providing some visible lighting.

Now, as for what was taking place on the inside, Koda was still staring at Daisuke with his same posessed expression, no concious thought appearing to be there. Koda's body moved slowly as Daisuke worked to heal his leg, his head simply turning to look at the broken leg. He made no whine, no reaction that he could feel anything as Daisuke placed the splint and was healing it back to a stronger density. Wouldn't one consider that weird? Ah well. Koda's head tilted to the side, as he watched Daisuke as if totally entranced in what he was doing. Of course, this was not really Koda's own actions, but the spirit he had touched. As Daisuke performed some other jutsu, Koda's face turned into one of worse anguish. A loud shrill, muffled scream came from his throat and he fell to the side, unmoving. A blast of blue shimmering light came from his mouth and it suddenly changed slowly to red. This was difficult considering the spirit was very resistant to being coaxed out of it's vessel.

Koda stood up, shifting closer to Daisuke, growling. "*.si eh su fo enO*" The language sounded like gibberish, to even Koda's own ears, but to the spirit, worked as a form of language. Koda's paw was moved, and on the cavern floor, he took his claw and began to carve something for Daisuke. "3 Tests." The spirit posessing Koda was making it clear with limited communication that there would be 3 tests that Daisuke would have to pass before he would set Koda free. Daisuke could still try to remove the spirit from Koda's body, but if done unwillingly, Koda could be gravely in danger. The spirit strained hard to talk, though it still sounded like slightly muffled scratching and sadness. "Riddles.... If I have it... I don’t share it...If I share it...I don’t have it. What is?" The spirit had reason for these tests, but it would not give any more. It would let Daisuke choose his actions and words, giving him the right to guess as many times as he wished, but he would not release Koda without these 3 things being answered.

[OOC: * It's written backwards.]