Bear With Us Pt. 2

Mission Info:

It was another stormy day in the streets of Kumogakure. The dark clouds cast a gloomy shadow on the huddled settlements and a cool mountain breeze persisted in the light fog. In a particular district, there was an odd lack of activity. Although all areas of the village were usually bustling with merchants and miscreants, a corner of the village overlooking a steep mountain slope was uncharacteristically quiet. Residents peeked out from their first floor windows to watch cautiously a large grizzly bear that has wandered from the woods and ventured deep into the streets of the town. A local hero had been dispatched to neutralize the situation but the locals did not seem to have much faith in his abilities. From atop their houses, they threw glass bottles and buckets at the wild beast to try and shoo it away. On the ground, an adolescent young boy in a mask and cap waved his fist at the local residents who tried to help however they could.

"If you scaredy cats could stop throwing shit at the bear and just let me focus, I'd take care of this thing! Go back inside already!!"

He pleaded unconvincingly, visibly and audibly frustrated. His screams were frail in comparison to the bloodcurdling scream that soon followed. It was a loud wail that pierced the silence and echoed in the valley below. The bear had made its move while the amateur was distracted. With one massive swipe of its colossal claw, it had broken down the door of a local residence and barged inside the ground floor of the house, perhaps smelling fish or honey. "Get back over here!" The youngster chased after the wild animal and yelled but to no avail.

Looking on from a cliff above the town, Saturn shook his head. He was tired of being overworked and was rooting for the amateur to crack this case. "Good grief..." He cursed, resenting the thought of having to go down and deal with the situation. "Where's Goro..."

In a blur, Saturn appeared forming the Ram hand seal beside the big bear and the small one. He had used Body Flicker. "Oye! Chinoike-san! What are you doing?!"  He complained, baffled by the situation. The older Genin earned a trip to the hospital the last time the two of them fought a bear together. He was more confident in his abilities now, but he approached the beast with caution. The animal seemed just as confused as Saturn - and so did the young child and her mother in the broken home. The two of them were assigned on a mission to control the do-gooder, not the bear. As such, Saturn walked up to the caped hero and looked down at him condescendingly with his hands on his hips. After contemplating on how to deal with the kid - whether to guide him or to send him back home - he scratched his beard and groaned out. "Goro, he's got a cape."

He handed his kunai to the caped warrior, and then pointed at the bear. "Go get 'em, kid."

"Wait, just a minute!" The mother screamed and pleaded from inside the house as the bear snarled at the youngster.

WC: 197

"How is this young man ever going to become a Genin if he can't even take on a lousy bear?!"  Saturn retorted at his teammate immediately, throwing a rock at the bear's snout to provoke the beast, making it snarl at the caped warrior. Soon, the bear got distracted and dove into Goro's back pocket to steal a honeycomb. "Amazing.. He's really walking around with a whole honeycomb in his back pocket after all we've been through.." Saturn muttered under his breath as he held the tip of the 'kunai' to hand it to the adolescent do-gooder. It was in fact his familiar Mimas disguised as a kunai. He was even more shocked when Goro proceeded to scold the bear, and it looked defeated already. He must have gotten stronger since the last time..

He turned to the subject of today's mission once again. "Look, kid. If you want to fight the bear, this kunai is what you need."

Looking at the ferocious beast whose visage seemed to differ based on who was looking at it, the kid gulped, taking Mimas and pointing it at the enemy.

"Please, just get this beast out of my house...." The mother pleaded again, crouched in the corner with her child.

WC: 207

TWC: 739

 "Your mother..." The kid pointed the 'kunai' at the bear with his shaky hands. His confidence seemed to have taken a drastic hit - after being in the presence of Saturn and Goro and listening to their banter, he was visibly less sure about his own ability. "Your mother is so dumb, she couldn't tell honey apart from my piss if she tried!" Saturn chimed in in a deep coarse voice, pointing his finger at the bear. The cornered mother covered her child's ears and closed her own eyes, praying for mercy in the back.

WC: 94

TWC: 833