That Darn Cat (Mission)

[Kildred]

Usio walked down the street, going over his mission once more. It was to find a cat for a wealthy woman in town. He knew of this particular woman, and of this particular mission, due to listening to complaints from others. Still, a job was a job and he needed the money. Well, not really. He needed the money, but was more than willing to do anything besides farmwork and tending the store. He loved his parents, bless them, but that work was just the most tedious load he would ever come across. Compared to that, he would go and find Fluffles any day. Folding up his mission paper and sliding it into one of his pockets, he continued down the street where the woman resided.

Finally arriving at the house, he gave a few knocks and waited for a while. Eventually, the door open to reveal an obviously grieving woman. She introduced herself, sniffling, and proceeded to invite him in. He asked her some basic questions about the cat, such as size, color, last location seen, and such like that. While she answered almost immediately, the client also had a tendency to go off on some kind of oncoherent rambling concerning different moments she had had with her precious feline. While it was obvious that she was deeply depressed by it's departure, Usio couldn't help but wonder if she was actually drowning the cat with her affections.

After quelling many of her concerns, he finally managed to leave the house and look for the cat. He was already exhausted just listening to the woman, and feared that he may be the worse for it. Not the best way to start a mission... Stretching his legs, he started off to the southern part of town. The owner made mention that she last took the animal for a walk near that part of town on it's leash. That in itself seemed enough reason for the cat to run away, but he wasn't here to judge. If memory served, there was a small park near the main road that could have a few hiding places a cat could utilize. If he was lucky, maybe he'd even find it asleep in one of them. One could only hope.

[Kildred]

Traversing through the park, Usio looked through the various spots he had thought of before. The park itself was kept up nicely, in spite of it's constant use by the residents and their children. A few play areas, plenty of foliage, and several shadowy spots to hide where in sight. There were a few people here, so if any children were playing, he doubted the cat would be anywhere near them. The more likely spots in this case would probably be in any enclosed space. A log, somewhere behind a structure and a wall, or perhaps something as simple as hiding inside a bush. Starting nearest the area where there were less people, he started his search. Ruffling through plants, gazing across various expanses of wood and concrete. Still, nothing here pointed to any animal having been hiding in the park.

He gathered a few curious children time and again, whom he informed that he was simply looking for something he had lost. After brushing off numerous attempts for help, Usio decided that with as much searching as he had done, he wouldn't find the animal here. The cat must have moved on to a new location. Standing up and thinking of where else he could look, a small noise caught his attention. A small jingling sound, which was becoming lower and lower. He quickly went over his notes about the cat, and spotted the item of interest; a collar around its neck which had a bell attached. Now here was something to go on. Taking off in the direction of the bell, he ran with renewed hope.

After a few minutes, he stopped and looked at the forest around him. The mission dossier noted that this cat had run away constantly for years on end, which meant that it probably knew Kusagakure no Sato and the surrounding forest inside and out by heart. He himself never bothered to memorize anything but the local streets on which he lived, which made this particular search that much more difficult. Adding that the cat was likely running and jumping across the branches of the trees which made his Doton: Ryouuken worthless, and this was turning out to be quite the aggravating mission. Sighing, Usio focused on the noises surrounding him and kept a sharp eye out. He couldn't afford to miss a single clue, lest he need to relocate once again.

[Kildred]

It had been about twenty minutes since he had started to track this cat, and he was starting to get very aggravated. The cat was in this general vicinity, but every time he got near it, it would dash off faster than he could catch up. It was faster than any cat should be, normally. I guess years of running away from that woman trained it's abilities to a higher level. Gearing up to have another go, Usio took off and jumped atop the branches, chasing after the furball. After so much chasing, he was starting to be able to anticipate it's actions. A couple of times, he would actually be able to successfully guess which direction it would take off based on his previous attempts. Unfortunately, it was still far faster than he was, and easily outmaneuvered him.

Dropping to the ground, he sighed and crouched down. Simply chasing the cat wouldn't yield any results. If he was going to do this, he needed a plan. The only thing he had going for him was he could kind of herd the cat in certain directions. Since this was his only usable ability, he'd have to make good use of it. Making a few hand-seals, he molded his chakra into forming three bunshin clones. They ran off in different directions, looking for the cat while the original stayed behind. "Now, what do I have that can be useful here?" Checking his pockets and satchel, he managed to come up with a plan. "It's a little basic, but it should work. Hopefully."

The clones had managed to locate the cat, and each took turns in chasing it. They managed to cut off various directions and were leading it back to where Usio had stayed. He was in hiding, waiting for the moment that the cat returned. Doton: Ryouuken was already active, and made sure that his trap was taut with his chakra. The clones made various yelling noises, alerting him to their arrival. Already, he could see the cat running in his direction, jumping from branch to branch. Preparing his legs, he waited for the opportune moment. Once the cat was within range, he jumped forward and scared the cat into jumping to the ground. Usio grinned, already back on the ground and feeling it's footfalls. Once it came into the appropriate area, he pulled his wire. Instantly, the cat was trapped within his netting of ninja wire, meowing loudly and struggling to get out.

"Sorry, buddy. This is a mission, after all." Avoiding the claws, he took the cat out by it's neck and proceeded to make his way back to the client's house. After the door opened, he was almost deafened by the gleeful squealing of the overjoyed woman. She immediately grabbed the cat from his hands and proceeded to suffocate the poor thing. Jeez. Maybe next time, I'll skip on taking this mission. After accepting her thanks and procuring her signature on the mission slip, he said his goodbyes and departed the location. He couldn't help but feel sorry for the feline as he walked away. Years of trying to escape, only to be caught by the ninja in the village it lived in? Harsh life.

--Thread finished.

[adero]

+22

Get Kage approval of mission completion and someone else will pay you mission rewards.