Smell Me Later [Tutor for Akira]

[Suika]

Another day, another tutor. Who would be the young kunoichi’s victim today? This time, Suika ensured she received the person’s name BEFORE reaching the Academy. Flipping through her assigned paperwork, she grinned instantly when she caught sight of his name. “Akira and friends, again? This will be fun!” Her last tutor with the Inugami wasn’t too long ago, so she was a bit surprised that she was assigned to him again. Her last lesson, a basic genjutsu defense tutor, went well. It was simple, but it proved effective by the results it yielded. What did she feel like teaching the boy next? Hmm.

After a few minutes of deliberating, a lightbulb flicked on above her head. Due to his bloodline, Akira and co. were most likely efficient at tracking. Why not put that very ability to the test? Although more elaborate than initially intended, Suika formulated her lesson plan. This tutor, she decided, would be an epic game of Hide n’ Seek!

When Akira arrived at the Academy, the front desk person would offer him alternative directions that were quite contrary to the typical. He’d receive a small note written in very neat cursive.

Yo, Akira-kun and friends,

Our last tutor together learning about genjutsu defense was fun, but let’s switch it up a bit. The Inugami are notorious for their superior nose and tracking, so let’s put that to the test! I am hiding at a random location in the Susukino District. If you find me, you’ll receive an A+ for this tutor.

Have fun,
Suika

Her instructions were simple. Akira and co. were to find the girl at the Village’s marketplace. It was midday, so the Susukino District was clamorous business exuding from the masses of people. When Akira and his friends would arrive, they would notice Suika’s scent scattered into at least five different directions. The locations were as followed: a blacksmith’s forge, a dessert pudding shop, the water fountain, a random skewers’ stand, and a dark alleyway. Apparently, the girl did her best to cover her tracks. Where would the boy and his fur friends search first?

[WC: 353 | Post 1/5]

 

[Hak]

Arriving at the Academy, Kuro was seen resting on top of the Inugami child’s head with his tail wagging lazily behind the duo. Aoi seemed to be swinging off the tip of the wolf pup’s tail, quite thoroughly enjoying herself at the moment. As Akira read the note, a small sheepish grin appeared on his face as he knew it was time to play games! He thoroughly enjoyed chasing things, perhaps a predatory instinct deeply imbedded into his veins from his canine bloodline.

He pondered for a moment how Suika planned to hide from them long seeing as she knew the disadvantage she was at in terms of the Inugami being excellent trackers with their superior senses of smell and hearing. He learned from last time not to underestimate the seemingly sweet Suika, she was perhaps far more cunning than originally given credit for.

Unlike normal Humans, Akira’s senses were as keens as Kuro’s. His sense of smell was highly developed, able to track senses for several mile and being able to pin point locations in a nearly 2 mile square radius, able to follow prey for several miles under even the least favorable conditions. As such, like many ‘dogs’ and ‘wolves’,

His sense of hearing is his second most acute sense. He can hear as far as six miles in forest and city conditions and up to ten miles in the wide open. He can hear extremely well, several times higher than Humans and possessing greater sense of hearing than even dogs, being similar to a wolf rather than a domesticated dog.

Although not his most relied upon sense, his sight was still dramatically sharper than a normal Human’s. His keen eye sight is able to detect even the slightest movement of anything in front of them. As such, he knew Suika must know that unlike herself and normal Humans who relied on sight, hearing, and scent in that order, an Inugami relied on scent, hearing, and lastly vision. As such, Akira fully expected her to be somehow prepared, he was almost excited to see just how she would handle the disadvantages in hide and seek.

He already was familiar with Suika’s scent, and it still lingered on the note and in the air. He dashed out with his companions still on his head, tracking the scent like the hound he was. He was extremely comfortable in a predatory position. Knowing she had Genjutsu skills, he prepared himself for possibly Genjutsu during the chase. He was remarkably adaptive and learned quickly, already learning quite a bit about Genjutsu since his last embarrassing encounter with it.

Upon reaching the Susukino District, various scents filled the air. However, Akira had a firm grasp of her scent and did not allow himself to be easily distracted by the various city scents filling the air. However the large noise and masses of people did make it more challenging, if Suika had chosen an empty forest or plane this game would not have lasted long at all.

He noticed the scents were scattered in different directions. Some however seemed stronger than others. He almost followed the strongest and most recent scent, however he learned not to underestimate Suika. If tracking anyone else, he would have done the obvious thing and tracked the strongest version of the scent. Instead he chose to go with the weakest, he still had opportunities but he would adapt on the fly and figure out Suika’s tricks in due time.

The first option was a water fountain. Many had believed the myths that water somehow made it difficult for a bloodhound to continue tracking a scent. This was of course false, however someone as intelligent as Suika would have done her research. Would she play tricks on Akira by making it too easy and making him overcomplicate it? That was the challenge, she knew of him and they knew of her. It was a game of chess and Suika had the advantage, having prepared beforehand. Thus he went to the water fountain anyway, either she avoided it due it being too simple or she purposely went there because it was too simple. He would eliminate the option regardless.

Word Count: <i></i> 698
Total Word Count: <i></i>698/1500
Post Count: <i></i>1/5

 

[Suika]

The game of Hide n’ Seek began! Observing through a Crystal Eye that wandered throughout the District in stealth, Suika instantly spotted the young Inugami and his friends searching for her. Akira was a bit animalistic in stance, primal even, but she knew he didn’t care for how that looked. He was in hunting mode. She observed the blue-haired boy use his superior senses to track her. Question was, which strategy would he first pick? As he dashed toward the general vicinity of the fountain, she grinned.

“Interesting…”

As Akira neared the fountain, there would be crowds of people surrounding the fountain as children tossed in coins for wishes, artists painted portraits of the fountain, and lovers engaged in subtle, romantic gestures. Not so subtly was one couple that were openly smooching in public. The woman had a small, curvy figure as the man was large and full of muscle. Most notably, however, was the weak, lingering scent of Suika in the area. If Akira focused, his nose would direct him to the two lovers. They had Suika’s scent!

Sensing the ‘target’ had arrived, the woman slowly pushed herself off the man’s embrace and turned around to reveal herself. This is what Akira would see. It was a grotesque sight, really. Was that really her face? And why did she smell like Suika? It didn’t real make sense, but as she observed from her tiny Crystal Eye hiding in the crowd, the girl snickered from afar. This really was amusing. She never delighted in such antics, but Akira brought out a lighter side to her. No harm in a little fun, right?

The woman stood and approached the boy. She called out to him with a nasally tone. “Looking for someone, deary?” She knelt and held out her arm. “Momma can give you a hint about Suika’s whereabouts for a bit of sugar. What do you say?” The woman was clearly disgusting.

[WC: 322 | Post 2/5
TWC: 675]

 

[Hak]

The horror before him was one that even Kuro and Aoi felt as all three stood there, mouths wide open and shivering in fear. What in the name of all that was Raiden did they just witness? What was seen would never be unseen, this was more horrifying than that one time his father grew angry with him and buried the child with only his head out of the ground for three days straight. Yes, he wanted to bury himself now, like a flamingo to hide from the sheer monstrosity he was forced to witness.

Suika was an enemy now, an enemy of all Inugami for traumatizing the three with this horrendous creature before them. How unfortunate that this barely Human monstrosity seemed to be the definition of Hell taking shape in what could only be imagined to be some resemblance of a Human form. As fast as they arrived, they vanished. No hint needed, nothing. It was almost amazing how fast they vanished out of there, barely a speckle of dust left in their wake. No, they did not need tracking advice. Definitely not from whatever demon hell spawn that creature was. That thing fell off the ugly tree and brought the whole damn tree down, screw the branches. The tree disappeared, morphed with this foul menace, became one with her and became the living embodiment of everything a young child could possibly fear.

No after shadow, no nothing. The lady would likely assume he teleported with the sheer speed they vanished from the area. Aoi was nearly in a comma from the event. Round two….off to the random skewer’s stand. May Raiden have mercy on their souls.

Word Count: <i></i> 279
Total Word Count: <i></i>977/1500
Post Count: <i></i>2/5

 

[Suika]

This little tutor was solely meant for proper tracking techniques, but man, did Akira and his crew bolt out of there fast. She admired their sheer agility in escaping the grasps of the foul-looking woman, to the point that she almost forgot the purpose of this exercise. Focusing in more streams of her chakra, Suika did her best to track the bunch with her tiny, hidden Crystal Eye. What would their next destination be?

Skewer's stand.

Suika was not sure the reasoning of Akira’s decision to go there next, but she hoped he’d find opportunity in what would turn out to be another dud. As the blue-haired Inugami and his friends made their way to the skewer stand, the kunoichi’s scent was mixed with the invigorating, savory aroma of barbecued meat. Even if Suika wasn’t there, the smell of skewers was enough to draw anyone in. Once there, they would see a young brown-eyed girl there with a sun hat and two braided ponytails. Her expression was stern as if she was in deep thought. If they neared her, they would notice the child, who carried Suika’s scent, scanning the small menu at the skewer stand. She was clearly deliberating what she wanted to get. After a few seconds, her eyes widened and a small grin erupted from her neutral expression. She looked up at the skewer stand man and held out her hands.

“One chicken and mango skewer, please!” In return, the man held out his hand for some cash. The girl reached into her coin pouch, but was instantly saddened when she realized she didn’t have enough. “Sorry, no skewers for you then!” A look of disappointment flooded over her face. Why was life so unfair to a hungry kid with no available cash?

[WC: 296 | Post 3/5
TWC: 971]

 

[Hak]

The finally arrived over to the Skewer’s stand. Akira’s nose picked up various scents here, including Suika’s seemingly strong scent. The scent of food certainly made it a bit more challenging to pick up a proper scent in the area, as such this was an obvious choice to go and attempt to hide herself within the various scents of people with the lingering powerful scent of food filling the air.

Aoi on the other hand had seemingly found herself in a heaven with the scent of food overtaking the air. Yes, this was her kind of place after all! Her cheeks were already full; had she already stolen food before anyone noticed?! Who exactly was the shinobi here? Aoi was frightening when it came to her apparent food stealing skills.

Akira and Kuro saw the seemingly pretty yet serious girl as the Suika’s scent was seemingly on her being. She seemed excited with her order but unfortunately as fast as her smile appeared, she was flooded with a disappointed face as Kuro looked up at Akira, seemingly the two having a mutual understanding. Most would use this opportunity to pay for the child’s meal and gather information for their current task, but Akira seemingly didn’t think that far ahead.

He reached into his pouch and smiled to the man ”One chicken and mango skewer for the young lady please!” he stated a chipper and seemingly large warm smile. Upon receiving the skewer, he handed it to the young lady with a warm smile and apparently expecting nothing in return. There was not a single essence of greed in the young child, he was seemingly bad at playing a shinobi in this aspect, not taking the situation as an opportunity to pry information off the child, instead simply being worried about her being well fed and taken care of.

”Please accept this from us! I’m Akira, this pup here is Kuro, and this little princess is Aoi. Pleasure meeting you!” he stated in a chipper mood. Perhaps he would risk failure by seemingly not focusing the task in hand, however it was against his nature not to be a helpful and kind individual, something even Suika experienced in their first meeting. He’d risk failure simply to help this child, apparently the idea of asking her why she smelled like Suika went over his young mind. Perhaps he was a prodigy in many aspects, but the darker arts of being a shinobi alluded the young Inugami.

Word Count: <i></i> 416
Total Word Count: <i></i>1393/1500
Post Count: <i></i>3/5

 

[Suika]

The tiny Crystal Eye continued to hover in secrecy as Suika peered through it like a looking glass. Akira was offering the girl food, ay? The kunoichi grinned. Akira’s god-given kindness, while not too useful in the bloody world of shinobi, would sometimes prove his greatest strength. She doubted he realized this, but that would illustrate itself perfectly in this situation.

The brown-haired girl, with a puzzled look, attempted to interject throughout the boy’s generous offer. “Oh, no, it’s okay-” But the deed was done. Before she knew it, she was now holding a delicious smelling chicken and mango skewer. In that moment, as well, her stomach grumbled. The girl began to bite into the skewer as she emitted a soft, satisfied moan. It tasted great! Distracted by the lunch she was given, her eyes slowly shifted up and toward the Inugami and his furry friends. She blushed instantly.

“Thank you so much!” She bowed cutely. “Thank you, Akira! You really didn’t have to.” The girl could not stop blushing even if she wanted to. Was she even so deserving of generosity? After all, this was the second act of it she had seen today. “My name is Ayame.” the youth introduced as she continued to grub. “Again, thanks so much, Akira, Kuro, and Aoi. Life hasn’t been to kind lately, but I’m glad I have run into people like you and Suika. In fact…” The girl reached into her pouch and pulled out a small perfume bottle. It was feminine looking and adorned with a rose-gold overlay. “I actually ran into her today, and she gave me this perfume! I can’t really smell it… but I have bad allergies. Anyway, here I am rambling. You probably don’t even know what I’m talking about.” The girl laughed nervously and took another munch into her skewer.

Akira and Kuro, with their superior noses, would smell the scent of Suika strongly from the perfume bottle that Ayame carried. Was it all somehow connected? “I wonder where she is…” added the girl, as if thinking out loud. “Last I saw her, she was grabbing pudding at the dessert shop.”

[WC: 357 | Post 4/5
TWC: 1,328]

 

[Hak]

Suika…Suika…Suika…Suika… the name resonated in his head several times. It was almost as if a fuse was slowly burning into a large lightbulb lit up in his head. Crap! He was so busy feeding the stray child that he completely forgot the task at hand. Yes, this was Akira in a nutshell, sometimes a genius sometimes chasing shiny objects and strays.

He smiled warmly at the girl as he nodded. ”Pleasure meeting you Ayame! Don’t let anything get you down. As long as your heart remains strong, you can do anything!” he said in a chipper mood. He was a truly innocent child, one full of light and wonder. He would then sniff the perfume, interesting way to handle the challenge! He grinned, time to go back on the hunt.

Well Ayame, I have to go. Suika-chan is actually a friend of mine! I have to go find her…off to the dessert shop I go!” he stated with an exaggerated movement. The trio would then dash out of the area and off to the dessert shop they went. More food, Aoi was sure to steal something once again the little rascal. She had no sense of right and wrong after all, everything belonged to Aoi. The world was Aoi’s. Long live The Squirrelly Queen!

It did not take long for the group to arrive at the dessert shop as the wolf boy scanned the area with his sharpened eyes, listening to anything that would sound distinctly like Suika. After all, she was rather intelligent on dodging him thus far!

Word Count: <i></i> 259
Total Word Count: <i></i>1652/1500
Post Count: <i></i>4/5

 

[Suika]

Before the girl could really respond, Akira and his friends were off. Holding on to her sun hat, the girl simply grinned and waved goodbye to the trio. Perhaps they’d all meet again? As Suika’s Crystal Eye saw the gang dashing toward her direction, she quickly cancelled her jutsu and prepared for their arrival. Once they arrived at the shop, Suika popped up from behind the dessert shop stand with a platter full of sugary goods. She wore an apron that was stained with flour, batter, and other substances necessary for baking. She presented the desserts to her friends with a beaming smile. How was she able to do this? She had connections.

“You guys found me, congrats!” she announced as she passed them the tray. Aware that more than half his crew were animals, the girl made sure the ingredients she used were wolf and squirrel friendly. Removing her apron, the girl plopped open a nearby pudding cup and took a generous spoonful. It was time to sum up this little tutor and give the Inugami boy his report.

“As you know, this exercise was all about tracking, Akira-kun,” she was now moving on to her second pudding cup, “you all did well, but I have a few critiques for you. Thanks to your bloodline, you have extraordinary tracking abilities that are unmatched by many. It’s a strength for sure, but remember, do not rely solely on that. When tracking a target, it is important to gather clues and utilize every resource around you.” Suika, like the sugar tooth monster she was, was now ingesting her third cup of pudding.

“It took a while to figure it out with my medical shinobi friends, but we were able to centralize my scent into a perfume that I either offered various people in the District or randomly sprayed. That’s why my scent was everywhere. Despite her rather unpleasant appearance, the first woman you met could have possibly provided you the intel to find me a lot easier. You were able to make up for it by gaining the trust of Ayame with your natural kindness, but in missions, time is of the essence. Be wary of that.” The girl then pointed to both Kuro and Aoi with a playfully stern expression. “That goes for you, too! If Akira gets distracted, be sure to remind him, friends.”

The girl hopped toward the entrance and shot the trio a wave. “I’d love to stay and hang, but I got to plan my next lesson. Great job, friends, and see you all soon!” And within a blink, the kunoichi was gone. Hopefully Akira learned a thing or two during this lesson.

[WC: 433 | Post 5/5
TWC: 1,500+/1,500]

[Tutor Complete and Topic Left]

 

[Hak]

Suika! the young boy beamed, albeit his attention span was taken to the desserts offered from their young kunoichi friend. Kuro wagged his tail happily as Aoi could be seen literally drooling from the treats, she perhaps was the true winner in this little training session.

Listening to Suika lecture them, Kuro seemed to nod in an understanding as Akira merely scratched his head, telling himself he would remember these tips for next time. Aoi however seemed far too preoccupied eating to care for much else, her eyes literally sparkled with her puffed up cheeks full of food already, the little eating machine. The boys could only hope that the platter she apparently made her own would be shared and not fully devoured by the time Suika finished giving them advice. She wagged her furry tail from left or right, little care in the world for much else as her cheeks were full and blushed from her apparent heavenly food. Success the little creature thought! She received more food and treats from her dear friend Suika!

Impressive, placing her scent into perfumes like that. He’d most definitely have to learn the –human- aspect of tracking in case he ever faced someone who was familiar with his tracking abilities in the future. Before the young boy could respond, the young girl vanished off the face of the earth as Kuro and Akira exchanged glances. With a slight shrug from the both of them, they joined Aoi with…whatever wasn’t devoured by the young rascal already.

Word Count: <i></i> 253
Total Word Count: <i></i>1905/1500
Post Count: <i></i>5/5