S-Rank Mission: Dispose of a Rogue Ninja

Chapter one: A New Beginning
*To say that Katsumi was excited today would have been a massive understatement, She couldn’t hide the silly grin on her face as she was making her way up to the village’s leader office with her best friend Bristle. Bristle was Katsumi life-long friend and Nin-dog, but unlike most Nin-dogs Bristle was somewhat of a lazy mutt that never really “trained” with Katsumi or even learned how to fight. However, he somewhat made up for this with the fact that like other Nin-dogs he had an amazing sense of smell that could track people down from miles, something that would come in handy for today’s mission without a doubt. Which brings us to the reason that Katsumi couldn’t help stop smiling on her way to the office building, today she was going to be given her first mission as a Ninja Hunter, something she had been striving to achieve ever since she was a little girl. She always thought stories about bounty hunters were so fascinating when she was a little girl and she couldn’t wait to finally start her very own tale.*

 Katsumi:  ''“Hmmm The tale of the Katsumi, The Valorous. What do you think about that Bristle? Think that would be a good title for my book?”''

 Bristle:  ''“Rrrr Arf Arff”''

* Hearing Bristle’s opinion, Katsumi squints her eyes and glares at him at the corner of her eye, clearly feeling dissatisfied with what he said to her. She flips her long black hair over her shoulder and mumbles under her breath as they start to walk up the steps of the capital building of Yumegakure.*

 Katsumi:  ''“Right.. I will remember you said that next time you ask me to feed your fat ass. I will show you what something with bad taste really is…”''

*Although what bristle said to her did slightly tick her off, it was nowhere near enough to sour her overall good mood. This was made evident just by the way she walks up to the front door receptionist with a cheerful smile and a small wave her hand when she greets her.*

Katsumi : ''“Ohayou, can you help me with something? The kage told me that he had a mission for me and to come meet him at 8 o’clock in the morning.”''

 Ninja Receptionist:  ''“Ah yes, you must be Katsumi, he did mention you this morning. I will ring him up for you. In the meantime, please sign these simple forms of basic information. Don’t worry, it shouldn’t take longer than 5 minutes to fully fill them out.”''

*Katsumi’s face winced slightly just at the mere sight of pen and paper being pushed into her face. She never did like filling out paper work, but she understood the reason for it and just put on forced smile as she takes the pen, paper and clipboard to fill out the information they were asking from her. As she was doing this, the receptionist presses a blue button located on the left side of her desk and speaks into a small mic that was stationed right next to the button. *

 Ninja Receptionist : “''Lord Kage, there is a Ms. Katsumi here waiting to see you. Uh huh, yes, ok, right away Lord Kage.”''

* The receptionist lifts her finger off the button and looks over at Katsumi’s paper work to see how it’s coming along. Coincidently, Katsumi had just finished the paper work by the time the lady was done speaking to the kage and pushed the clipboard back to her.*

 Katsumi:  “''There, I believe I finished it all, now am I allowed to go on up to see him?”''

* The receptionist puts one finger up to let katsumi know to give her a moment while she double checks everything*

 Ninja Receptionist:  ''“Name check, Rank check, DoB check, ID number check, reasoning for leaving the village check, yep everything is in order here. The Kage will see you now, please take the stairway to the left up to the 3rd floor. His office will be down the corridor 5th door on the right, you cant miss it.”''

*Katsumi gives her one more smile as she thanks the lady for her directions and motions her left hand to signal Bristle to follow her to the office. It didn’t take them not even four mins to actually reach the Kage door, but once they got there Katsumi paused for a moment at the door. She looks down at Bristle and takes a deep breath before wrapping her fingers around the doorknob and opening the door. She takes in a deep breath and walks into the office and stands at attention.*

 Katsumi:  ''“Katsumi Sukoru here, reporting for duty!”''

*Her face was slightly flushed with a cherry hue from the emotion of awkwardness in the room. Bristle just looks up at her and shakes his head and places his right front paw over his face as if he was face palming himself. The Kage was clearly feeling a bit awkward himself as he just drops his pen on his desk as his facial expressions freeze when it stares at Katsumi for a moment, thinking to himself what in the world has gotten into this girl. Its not like this was the first time they met. He shakes his head and places his hand over his mouth to muffle a cough and tries to reset the mood in the room*

 Kage:  ''“Umm. Right. Well Katsumi, you should already know why I called you here today from the letter I sent you. So lets just cut to the chase shall we?”''

*The Kage leans back in his chair and pulls open one of the side drawers in his desk and pulls out a steel tin box and places it on his desk. He unhooks the clip that’s holding the box close and flips the lid open to show Katsumi and Bristle the contents. First he pulls out and holds up a picture of a picture of a balled man, that looks like he is in his late 20’s and has several scars on his jawline and nose.*

 Kage:  ''“Your job is to find and neutralize this man, along with his “family” His name is Florencia Rodriguez, he is a highly trained shinobi that is in the possession of some very dangerous information about the village. Make sure that information doesn’t get out.. at all costs, understand?”''

*Katsumi eyes blink for a moment as she stares at the Kage and slowly raises her right hand to ask him a question*

 Katsumi:  ''“Im sorry, I know what you said was very important but, what in the actual fuck kind of name is Florencia Rodriguez??”''

*The Kage just shrugs and sighs as he shakes his head.*

 Kage:  ''“that’s not important, but I do believe he was originated from a foreign land between the land of earth and wind. Anyways, our last report pegged him somewhere in the land of waterfalls.”''

*The kage reaches back into the tin box and pulls out something that looks like a blood stained T-shirt and places it on the table*

 Kage:  ''“This is all that we have left of him. It’s the remaining scraps of his shirt he lost during a battle with some of our Anbu. I’m sure you and Bristle will make great use of this and use it to aid you on your search. You  have your mission, you’re dismissed.”''

*Katsumi walks over to the kage’s desk and nods as she picks up the shirt and picture.*

 Katsumi:  ''“you heard him Bristle, lets get moving.”''

*With an eager bark from Bristle, the two casually walk out of the office and out of the capital building to make their way down to the village’s gates. Katsumi places both her hands behind her head and interlocks her fingers to brace her head as she looks up at the partly cloudy morning sky. Her mind was thinking about how she go about this mission to find this man.*

 Katsumi:  ''“well, it’s a no brainer that we need to go to the land of waterfalls, but he didn’t really tell us what village he was nearby when they saw him. Geez and that place is just known for strong ninja too, no doubt he is trying to find himself some bodyguards there. Hmm.. ah oh well, our first main stop is to make it to Land of Iron first, so we better get something nice to wear on the way there huh?”''

 Bristle:  ''“Arff Woof”''

*Katsumi cant help but to chuckle to herself at Bristle’s words and nods in agreement as they walk past the gate of Yumegakure.*

 Katsumi:  ''“Yea, I have to agree with you there. It’s gonna be nice to see everyone again, its been so long since I seen other samurai since we moved to the land of fire… I wonder how everyone is doing.”''

Chapter two: Land of Iron, Home Sweet Home
*After about a week of traveling through the dense forests and meadows of the land of fire, Bristle and Katsumi footprints finally started to find themselves deep in snow, a clear sign that they had crossed the border between the land of fire and the land of iron. The scenery of the Land of Iron was so much different than what they had come accustomed to in the land of fire. The world around them was a winter wonderland surrounded by sky scrapping mountain ranges. The snow covered stone paved road Katsumi and bristle was walking on looked like it was made for traveling merchants to quickly transport goods from city to city. With this in mind, Katsumi was thinking that the surely they would run into carriage on one of their daily routes and with luck hitch a ride to whatever city. Katsumi leans her body closely to Bristles to feel the warmth of his fur and try to not to think about the cold too much.*

 Katsumi:  ''“Holy shit, if I knew it was going to be this cold, I would have bought a thicker set of cloths with me. This fur coat and hat just isn’t cutting it”''

*Bristle just growls softly and leans nudges his head against Katsumi, letting her know that he wants her to ride on her back the rest of the way. She gives him a soft smile and rub his head behind his ears as she looks back behind them.*

 Katsumi:  ''“Thanks for the offer, but it looks like we may not have to walk the whole way. Look, there is a carriage right behind us. Im sure they will be willing to give us a ride into town.”''

*She guides Bristle to the side of the road with her and waves at the carriage to get them to stop in front of them. As the carriage rides up to the two, the two pure white horses that where pulling the cartage stomped their hoofs against the stone of the road as their owner pulls back on their reins to get them to slow down to a stop. The man that was driving the carriage looked as if he was a farmer from the clothes he was wears, at least from what Katsumi could tell as he leans over the side of his carriage to look down at Katsumi and her furry friend. He moves his left hand to tip up his rice hat and looks over them.*

 Merchant:  ''“You don’t look like you are from around here. Done got yourself lost or something?”''

*Katsumi chuckles slightly and rubs the back of her head as she replies to the man with a minor blush on her face.*

 Katsumi:  ''“Aha, yea I guess you could say that. Me and my friend were actually heading to Okazki. I was kinda hoping you would lend us a lift if you was heading in the direction Haha.”''

*The merchant leans back in his seat and rubs his thick goat tee as he thinks about the request before giving her an answer.*

 Merchant:  ''“Aye, you may be in some luck young lady. It just so happens that im currently making a run to Okazki to deliver some goods. However, what do you plan on giving me for letting you ride with me?”''

*Katsumi’s face fell blank as she stared at the man with a sense of annoyance. Her left eye brow started to twitch as she gave the man a cold glare.*

 Katsumi:  ''“Aye, old man.. Have you ever heard of just being a good Samaritan? Ya know, just being a decent person and help others in need?”''

* The merchant chuckles under his rice hat and leans back in his seat again, giving her a slight nod as if he was acknowledging her point.*

 Merchant:  ''“Aye, I can see where you are coming from, but once you been in the business long as I have, you learn one simple but very fact of life. It’s all about give and take, we all give for something we want in return. So, young lady, I’ll ask one more time. What is it that you will offer for my services?”''

*Katsumi closes her eyes for a moment as she lets out a sigh and rubs Bristle’s head. Her hand reaches into her pocket to pull out a pink apple shaped purse and unzips it to pulls out five golden coins*

 Katsumi:  ''“Surely this will more than enough to cover the cost for a trip into town. Right?”''

*The merchant eyes sparkle at the sight of the gold coins and thinks to himself with a long drawn out humming sound.*

 Merchant:  ''“Hmmmm I guess I can agree to that. However, the price will be five of those coins per person, yes that includes your dog too.”''

*Katsumi rolls her eyes at the man, clearly understanding that he is just being a greedy old fart at this point and figures that she will play along.*

 Katsumi:  ''“I see, looks like you really got me in a bind Sir. Would you mind having a bit of mercy on me and leave the amount I will pay you up to a game of skill and luck? The jackpot you could win will be up to 20 gold coins..thats double what you was asking for. The best part of this game is the worst thing that can happen is that you win 5 gold coins, you win either way.”''

*The old man just couldn’t help the idea of winning 20 gold from Katsumi, even though he was trying to think about what kind of trick she could be planning, the thoughts on what he could do with 20 gold pieces was just way too much for him to resist. *

 Merchant:  ''“What kind of game did you have in mind?”''

*Katsumi licked her top lip as she smirked, thinking to herself “hook, line, and sinker” She reaches into the black bag Bristle wore attached to his side and pulled out three cups and a piece of flint.*

 Katsumi:  ''“Im sure you know this game, Its known as the shell game.”''

*She hands the cups and flint to the man and sits on Bristle’s back as she watches him set the game up, taking not that he places the piece of flint under the middle cup.*

 Merchant:  ''“Alright, lets get this show on the road, keep your eye on the cup that has the flint under it. Ok lets go”''

*with that said, the merchant switches the places of the cups around and around to try and fake out Katsumi, but little did he know of how good she was at keeping track of fast moving objects. After a few shuffles, the man leans back and crosses his arms and smirks. *

 Merchant:  ''“well, go on. Pick the cup you think that has the flint under it.”''

*Katsumi bites down on her bottom lip as she makes a worried look on her face, something the old man was glad to see. With what seemed to be hesitation, Katsumi reluctantly points to the middle cup. The old man laughs and picks up the cup on the right to reveal that the flint was actually there*

 Merchant:  ''“Ha! You lose kido, that’s 20 gold for the ride. Time to pay up.”''

*Katsumi winces as she looks at the man’s over joyed face and puts up her hands in an attempt to bargain with him.*

 Katsumi:  ''“Shit! Wait wait, give me one more chance. Double or nothing! 40 gold in the jackpot! I could have swore could have won, interesting..”''

*For some reason that the man couldn’t understand at that moment, he felt an even greater rush hearing her beg for a second chance at the game. It was a he was given a high, a sense that he couldn’t lose seeing that she fell to his trick, or so he thought. Also with the thought that with 40 gold piece he could buy himself a small house with that kind of money.*

 Merchant:  ''“Alright young lady, one more game on one condition. Hand me over your purse as collateral, I don’t want you flaking out on me when you lose again.”''

*Katsumi nods and hands over his purse to the man and sighs*

 Katsumi:  ''“Alright, lets just get this over with alright?”''

*He chuckles and nods as he sets the cups back up and starts to shuffle them around again, trying to confuse her by skipping the flint into different cups the blind spots. After about 20 seconds of shuffling them around, the man stops and does the same thing he did before and leans back with his arms folded.*

 Merchant:  ''“Well, go on. Pick your cup young lady.”''

*Katsumi bites the corner of her bottom lip as she makes a cheeky smirk at the man and points to the middle cup. The man returns her smirk and laughs at her.*

 Merchant:  ''“Wrong again kiddo!”

*He moves his right hand to pick up the middle cup with the intention of showing her that the flint wasn’t there, however to his surprise it was there.*  

 Katsumi:  ''“Wrong huh? Funny cause it looks like I just won old man.”''

*Her cheeky smirk now transformed into a full blown cocky grin, mocking the man on how he just lost to her.*

 Merchant:  ''“What the hell? No.. No fucking way… you cheated!”''

*Katsumi’s cheeky grin dies and is repleaced with a very serious glare as she moves her left hand to grip the sheath of her katana.*

 Katsumi:  ''“Careful there old man, you are starting to sound really flakey right now and you being flakey with my coin purse…. Is making me “nervous”. You don’t want me nervous got it?”''

*Kastsumi’s entire demeaner made a 180 shift and it was very clear to the old man that she meant business of the worse kind. The tense of the aura Katsumi was giving off made his heart stop for a moment out of fear and caused his body to sweat despite it being nearly below zero outside, even the horses stared to stomp and nay from feeling startled from Katsumi’s shift in nature. The old man gulps down his fear as he couldn’t find it in himself to look Katsumi in the eye anymore and just nods*

 Merchant:  ''“Y…yeah, your right. You beat me. Just pay me the five coins and we can get going.”''

*Katsumi tilts her head to the side and narrows her eyes at the man as she questions him.*

 Katsumi:  ''“Five coins? Funny, I believe I said double or nothing on that last bet.”''

*The old man nods quickly and tosses back her purse readies himself to start driving his carriage again*

 Merchant:   ''“Yea.. that’s what I meant. Please lets just go, im going to be late for routes.”''

*Katsumi’s dark nature seems to vanish in an instant and returns back to her seemly carefree joyful self*

 Katsumi:  ''“Wooot! You hear that Bristle? We got ourselves a ride. Lets go! Haha.”''

* The merchant just stares at her as with a mixture of emotions of fear and confusion as the two climb into his carriage, wondering to himself who or what this girl is. With a sigh he shakes his head and cracks the reins of the horses to get them moving again. Meanwhile when Katsumi and Bristle were snuggling together in the back, Bristle growls lightly and nips at her hand. She flicks his ear and whispers.*

 Katsumi:  ''“Don’t get made at me for using genjutsu on him, you saw just like I did that he was trying to cheat us. Sure fair enough I planned on playing him from the beginning, but still, we got this free ride right? So stop fussing about the small stuff dude and chill.”

*After about three hours of riding with the old man, Katsumi could finally hear the bustling noise of the city. She could hear the voices of shop keeps calling out the crowds of people, advertising their products, children running and playing in the streets with each other, and of course the clacking sound of the samurai guard’s armor and weapons as they patrolled the streets and it was music to Katsumi’s ears. She stands up on one knee and looks out the window to take a glance of the village they were in. Their buildings were so different compared to the buildings ninja built. But before she became lost in astonishment of her new environment, she spotted a building with a sign with a picture of a mug of beer on it, the classic sign of a bar. She taps and rubs Bristle’s back as she speaks to him*

 Katsumi:  ''“Come on buddy, this is our stop.”''

*Katsumi reaches into her purse and pulls out a silver coin to leave behind for the old man to find as the two hop out of the back of the carriage. As their feet land in the snow with a loud crunch when they hit the street road, Katsumi stretches her arms and her back out with a wide yawn.*

 Katsumi:  ''“Holy six paths of fuck. That ride got me feeling so stiff. Maybe a cup of hot chocolate will warm me up.”''

*Bristle barks at her and follows it up with a growl. Katsumi just waves her hand back nonchalantly as they walk up to the building.*

 Katsumi:  ''“yea yeah, I will get you something to eat too fat ass. Don’t make a fuss.”''

*As Katsumi opens the door to the pub, she is greeted by the entire bar with smiling faces. This took her off guard for a moment to be honest, not used to being around so many cheerful people at once, but then again she never was the type of girl to go to parties or bars to begin with. She didn’t want to seem like too much of a weirdo so she just put up her hand and waved back to everyone with a smile on her face. She makes her way over to the front counter and hops up in one of the bar stools while Bristle lays down in a corner of the room to stand look out. The bartender looks at her with a rised brow and slides a glass in front of her.*

 Bartender:  ''“Cant say I seen you in here before. Are you from out of town or something?”''

*Katsumi nods and reaches into her fur coat to pull out the picture of the guy she is chasing down*

 Katsumi:  ''“Have you ever seen this guy before? Its kind of important that I find him.”''

*The Bartender takes just a single glance at the picture and as he did so, his left eye twitches just slightly.*

 Bartender:  ''“Nope, I cant say that I have seen him before. Sorry kid.”''

*From across the room Bristle barks at Katsumi, to which she just nods her head and motions with her hand for him to calm down.*

 Katsumi:  ''“Well that’s a bummer, I was hoping you would tell me the truth. You see my friend over there has an expert nose that can pick up a smell from a mile away and you my friend, smell of nothing but bull shit.”''

*Just as she said that, the whole bar turns silent and two samurai body guards stand up from the tables behind Katsumi. Naturally Bristle stood up as well and started to growl, but Katsumi motioned him to calm down and relax again before talking to the barkeeper again.*

 Katsumi:  ''“Look, I not trying to cause trouble here. I just want a little info and I will be on my merry way. Im even willing to repay you with coin.”''

*She reaches into her pocket and  to pull out her purse, but before she could hear ears twitch at the sound of a sword scraping against the edge of a scabbard. One of the samurai behind her hand unsheathed their blade and sent a crescent blade of charka flying right at her from behind, but Katsumi honed reflexes were more than fast enough to spin the stool around and draw forth her own blade, striking down the blade of charka right out of the air.*

 Barkeep:  ''“Hey hey hey, take that shit out side! I don’t want that shit in here.”''

*Katsumi’s eyes twitched with anger at the  samurai that dared to attack her and grit down on her teeth.*

 Katsimi:  ''“Alright boys, you done fucked up. Lets take this outside of the city.”''

*She then turns around and looks at the bartender with glare as well*

 Katsumi:  ''“And once I’m done turning them inside out, im coming back for you old man and this time I want answers. Bristle, I want you to stay here, make sure no one leaves this bar”''

*With that she hops down from her stool and walks out to the edge of the city with the two samurai to have their duel.*