Silly Sly Cooper. NRP is for Ninjas, not Racoons.

[Shinryu]

Giant Racoon!
Rank: C
Ninja needed: 1-3
Mission info: A massive racoon is roaming the countryside. Find it and kill it. Or tame it - the choice is yours!

The day was sunny, with little cloud, and next to no haze. It was one of those rare days in Mizu no Kuni when the weather was nice. And I was thankful for such a day matched my mood. I beamed with pride. I had officially become a member of Hydra, the Mizukage's personal team. I was now an important part of the village's function, and considered to be one of the Mist's elite. Knowing that made me happy beyond words. I was fast-tracking my way to the top of the chain, and I knew that perhaps following the next chuunin exams, I might even get as far as ANBU. I would have a role so important that I would be beyond petty footmen. Once I reached ANBU, I wold be a significant threat to the men who hunted me. And maybe then they'd send someone who I could exact my justice upon. The thought was thrilling, but I would have to put it aside. My joy was true, but I had a job to do. After all, I could hardly make it to the Chuunin exams without missions under my belt.

I cracked my knuckles and began heading east. The mission description had said that the Racoon was bothering fishermen, stealing from their river nets, and leaving them torn to shreds. That certainly wasn't good for our economy, or our food supply, so I would deal with the giant rodent and rid us of the trouble he brought.

[Shinryu]

The trail was long, as the eastern river was some many miles off. I wasn't particularly bothered by it, but it was boring, really, without anyone to talk to. I did like the solitude that doing missions alone often brought me, but it seemed off now that I was such an important figure. I liked the attention; liked the praise and the fame... My eyes went wide in realization as I shook my head to clear my clouded mind. I was becoming too focused on what people thought of me, and forgetting what it was that I actually was. If I didn't keep a level head, I would forget about the truth of my situation. All it took was remembering my father's mutilated body to be reminded of the fact that I was far from immortal. I bit my lip and did what I could to forget about the fame. It was nothing but a distraction, now that I realized what it was doing to me. I wouldn't allow myself to let arrogance and selfishness take control. Death was too real a threat at this point, to even consider it.

I made my way further down the beaten path, searching for signs of the rampaging Racoon. After all, chances were unlikely that he would still be at the river. Racoons were nocturnal beasts, so I was mainly searching for a den of some sorts, or a cave, where the giant rat would be sleeping. If I could kill it before it woke up, then all the better. It would save me having to chase it in the dark.

[Shinryu]

After an arduous hike of perhaps three and a half hours, I stopped under the shade of an oak tree, and rested. The eastern part of the island was rough and unkempt; rocks and fallen trees rested everywhere, it seemed. I supposed most of it was due to the typhoons we had to deal with, but I paid it no heed. My goal was to take a break, and so break I would. I sat on the ground, and stretched my arms out, yawning softly as I relaxed my aching legs. Shinobi or not, hiking was tiring on a body, and even I had my limits. Thankfully I'd already tackled most of the uphill, and the rest was fairly level; a plateau more or less at the top of a wide mountain. I wondered what Yuuki was up to today. She hadn't come to see the tournament, although I assumed she was probably busy at the time. Maybe she just thought it was stupid of me to go for a promotion, so to speak. I couldn't begrudge her that point. It was both stupid and smart in a way. Drawing more attention to myself was reckless, but it also meant that unless they wanted full out war, they would avoid attacking me anywhere that they could be seen doing so.

I yawned again, and got to my feet, staring at the sky for a moment. It was a beautiful day, but like the clouds at the edge of the horizon, it was laced with dark overtones. Who knew what waited for me in the distance? All I could really do was push on and try to make the best out of everything.

[Shinryu]

Mid-day was approaching, and though it was pleasant, I had begun to sweat a little in my kimono. The sun was baking the ground, the trees, and me, as I continued on. Thankfully the heat was mostly dry, so I didn't feel it as much as I did the humid heat of the lower elevations. I took some water from my gourd and drank it, quenching some of my thirst, while lookng for signs of the racoon. I had still thusfar been unsuccessful at finding any leads. I checked the underbrush thoroughly, and saw nothing. No footprints, no broken twigs... it was as if the racoon was non-existant. I cursed my luck on the issue, and continued searching, unsure as to whether or not this racoon was even real. I didn't completely doubt the possibility, as I HAD killed a giant crocodile the day before, but this creature showed no signs of having been in the area at all. I was about ready to give up, when I finally saw some kind of sign that the beast was near.

In the shade of a pine, a patch of muddy earth that had not yet been dried by the sun bore a footprint. A footprint that was far too large for any normal creature to make. I smiled, almost sadistically, as I noticed that the trail led off into the woods, and that there were various broken twigs and crushed leaves to follow.

"...Bingo."

[Shinryu]

I swiftly made my way down the path, ducking branches and jumping over fallen logs. Only a giant greature could've wreaked the devistation on the underbrush that I now saw. This racoon was bigger than a bear, maybe almost elephantine in size. I was awed by the path it had hewn in the forest. Trees were scattered and broken, bark stripped clean off of trees; paw marks dug deep into the wood. This thing was beyond what I'd initially thought, perhaps even bigger than the crocodile I fought. Thankfully, racoons didn't have nearly the same sort of natural armor that crocs did, so the killing part would be much easier. I just hoped I was lucky enough to catch him sleeping., because I didn't much fancy the idea of fighting something that big face-to-face. I shuddered at the thought of the thing simply kicking me into a tree and killing me. I definitely didn't want to see this one awake.

It wasn't long before I came across his den. Not that it was difficult per se, as the cave he hid in was gargantuan. Looking at it, I figured one could probably fit the Mizukage's tower in there if you put it in base first. I ventured in a couple of steps, and noticed the stench almost immediately. Fish skeletons littered the floor, and the place smelled of festering feces. I could kake out the racoon, sleeping in the corner, head on its hands. I would have to make this quick. The fumes were getting to me, and I didn't want him learning of my presence.

[Shinryu]

I stared down the beast. It was curled up in the corner, most of its body mass hidden. However, I could see the back of its neck bared, the beast's head buried into its arms. It was too obvious a target to pass up. I could off him with one blow, if I was smart about it. I focused, closing my eyes and forming some handseals, letting water seep out of my gourd and form ice needles in front of me. The slivers of water quickly crystalized into 200 beams of ice, and with a flick of my wrist, went flying forward, sinking into the neck of the racoon. The beast twitched wildly, getting to its feet and shrieking in pain and alarm. Its eyes went wild with fury, and it targetted me. Thankfully, however, despite its initial surge of rage, once the beast tried to take a step, it fell to the ground. I breathed with relief, knowing that I'd made the right choice. The creature screeched and howled, but could do nothing. I had penetrated its spine, and rendered it paralyzed.

I walked over to the downed creature, and shook my head. Justice was not limited to humans, and he had been selfish enough to steal. It was his own fault, really, that he was dying. I smiled and lopped off his tail and ears, hearing the increasingly feeble screams as I did so, the racoon realizing that it was helpless to stop me. I took my katar and stung deep into its belly, slicing it from the navel all the way up to its throat. There was no way for it to survive now. I shook my weapon free of blood, and carried my spoils out of the cave with me.

"Two down, one to go..."

[Exit]

[Trigga]

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