Mission: Capture the Missing Pet Tora (D-rank)

“A cat? They want me to find a cat? Who do they think I am?! This is a waste of my time…”

Makikomu, initially excited to be assigned his first mission, was feeling disappointed, insulted, and annoyed. Here he was: a NINJA. A ninja with HONOR.  A ninja with honor and JUTSU and WEAPONS. And the adults are sending him on a stupid little cat chase for a stupid little cat.

“This blows.”

If an outside observer were to witness Maki at this point in time, they would see a miserable little kid walking down a crowded street, folding his arms and kicking his shoes. If the outside observer looked close, they would see he was making a pouty face, clearly expressing his contempt for dumb adults and stupid little cats.

“How am I even supposed to find this cat?”

He continues walking down the busy street, looking for the obnoxious orange-haired furball.

“ I hate cats.”

After a bit more mumbling and swimming in his downtrodden misery, Maki spotted a nice-looking crate outside of the local butcher shop that he thought would make for a good seat. He sat down.

Maki reflected on how he got to this point in life. Well, he reflected as much as a 12 year old boy can reflect. His thoughts quickly found their way to lunch plans, not-coincidentally inspired by the searing sounds of steak being sautéed and the savory smell it sends into the air. In fact, Maki had forgotten what he was thinking about moments ago and decided his current goal was to find food.

To his delight, he knew exactly what needed to be done to complete this goal, and he had just the right skill set to do it. Maki rose from the crate with a smile across his face, looking forward to enjoying, in his mind, some well-earned food.

311 words

Tora sojourned the empty ally ways that lined the busy streets, investigating her newly found world. She shoved her nose in piles of decaying food, taking deep, plentiful breaths and savoring every foul discovery. Tora had escaped her owner a few days ago and was having the time of her life; she was young and in her prime, a kindled soul recently released from her confinement, and she was going to make the most of it. Nothing would stop her. Nothing would stand in her way. The world was her oyster and she was going to eat every damn one.

"Mew?" Something from the street had caught her attention. She had kept off of them until now for fear of the haphazard unknown; the chaos that spurred up noises and smells so plentiful that they'd overwhelm Tora with ease. She may have been sheltered, but Tora knew a potential threat when she saw one. She also, however, knew a potential meal when she smelled one. This is what led her to the streets; the aroma of sautéed delicacies. Meat?

Tora rounded the corner out of an alleyway leading to the back of a small restaurant. The building had bamboo walls decorated with streams of fabric in a variety of colors. The front had traditional cloth acting as an entrance, however Tora wasn't familiarized with standard restaurant layouts. All Tora knew was her prey. She walked up as close as possible to the restaurant's back wall, then stretched up and sunk her claws deep into the supports. She took a deep breath in and began growing impatient, as cats often do.

"Meow!" She let out a moderately loud whine and began investigating the wall some more, growing closer to the back left corner in an attempt to find a way to her next meal.

Maki surveyed the seating availability as he stepped into the restaurant, the entrance cloth slowly falling back into place behind him. This was one of his favorite restaurants: a calm atmosphere, friendly staff, and, most importantly, the food was cooked just right. His parents used to take him here when he was a little kid; they knew the restaurant owner and his dad had some kind of deal with him.

“Hey! Maki! How’re you doing?!” yelled the butcher from behind his work station. Maki put on his fake smile, just as he’d been taught to, and made a cheerful wave in return while he headed towards his usual seat. He didn’t understand the point of rhetorical pleasantries, but knew enough that it’s both easier and beneficial to go along with them.

In Maki’s opinion, the best thing about frequently visiting the same restaurant was that they learned what your usual order is. Maki’s food arrived shortly after he took his seat, interrupting the battle-filled daydream that was causing him to stare off. The powerful scent of his meal reminded him why he was there, and without hesitation he began to assuage his hunger. After a short period of time his body’s autopilot kicked in, allowing his thoughts to yet again drift into a daydream.

“And THAT is why you are about to die by my hands”, Maki uttered without a trace of sympathy. With a quick maneuver, Maki decapitated the foe directly in front of him. After watching the loose head fall to the ground and come to a standstill, he lifted his gaze to meet the rest of them. Maki continued, “I do not plan on stopping until I personally witness each one of your heads fall.” Maki gestured towards the two recently lifeless pieces of human flesh. “I will not blame you if you try to run, but do not think you can get far. Consider yourselves already dead.”—


Maki’s spoon made a sad noise as hit the bottom of the bowl without any broth to slow it down. He looked down to confirm that he had finished his meal. As he scooped up the very last bit of soup, he smiled to himself, happy with how dramatic he sounded in his daydream. Maki knew it probably wouldn’t happen like he envisioned, but he didn’t let that stop him from enjoying his vengeance-to-be.

"Meow!"

Maki sat up straight and turned his head to face the direction of the sudden noise, but he couldn't exactly place it. Recognizing it as the sound of a cat, he remembered the mission he had been assigned. He called out to the butcher, "Did you hear that?"

The butcher replied, "It sounded like a cat", and got back to work after shrugging dismissively.

With that confirmation, Maki stood up, threw down enough money to cover the bill, and set out to investigate. Where did that come from? He knew the meow didn't originate from inside the restaurant because it was too muffled. The next obvious location to check was around the perimeter of the building.

Maki made his way towards the back after he didn’t see any cats in front or to either side. If it’s not behind the restaurant, it must have either (1) run away, (2) climbed to the top, or (3) be hiding nearby.  He placed his steps carefully, avoiding anything that was nosier than the soft dirt that composed most of the side-alleyway. Upon reaching the end of the rightside of the restaurant, he ever-so-carefully peeked around the corner.

Ahhah! A cat! Luckily for Maki, the cat was facing away from him. He noted it matched the description of Tora. Good enough for me. If this isn’t the right cat, at least it will be practice. Maki stopped peering around the corner and focused on how to capture this animal. Cats are nimble creatures. It will be tough to catch it with speed alone. He walked back towards the front of the restaurant as quietly as he came.

“Could I borrow a small hunk of meat?” he asked the butcher.

“Borrow?” the butcher questioned skeptically. He used his head to gesture to a pile of meat scraps. “Take whatever you want; those are all being thrown out.”

“Thanks!”

Maki put 2 small pieces of meat in his pocket and walked out of the restaurant with one meatscrap in his hand. After securing the meatscrap to some wire, Maki jumped on some conveniently placed boxes and reached the roof of the building. He snuck towards the rear side of the roof and heard the cat still investigating the bamboo. Let’s see if this works… Maki slowly lowered the piece of meat down the backside of the building, releasing wire from its spool as necessary. This should get its attention.

800 words

Tora was investigating the corner of the restaurant with great interest. This was it, her ticket to some Real food. Meat. Her health-nut owners bought her only vegetarian food and grains, which she detested. But now, all of that waiting, all those forced-through meals, the escape and the chase and the wondering, it was all going to be worth it. She could smell it; it was only a matter of time. Around this corner, all of her wildest dreams would come true.

Just then, however, she heard a noise. It was coming from behind her, and immediately gained her full attention. She shot a look back and froze completely still. As she turned around, however, there was no one/nothing there. She caught a sliver of some movement near the opposite corner just as she had turned, but it was certainly not there now. Tora waited. She was still. Her breaths long yet shallow, and her eyes were steady on the distant mark. She could feel her heart beat.

1... 2... 3... 4... 5...

Tora heard footsteps now trailing off in the direction she faced, and immediately took off. She knew she had heard/saw something! What was it? It sounded quite large, but if it was heading away from her, she could only assume it was prey. Tora darted towards the opposite corner, scrambling across the ground as she turned around it. Nothing was there. Well, there were people, but there are always people. Where was the non-person? The prey? Where was the noise?

After several more moments of overly-cautious curiosity, Tora was about to give up. The smell of food was beckoning for her delicate jowls, and she wasn't about to let down such a call. Tora began-what was that? The sound suddenly started up again! It was now coming from, well, it was hard to tell. It was distant again, but it almost sounded as if it was coming from around each corner. Tora instinctively took off around the nearest corner (the one she had just come from) and searched for the source. When she had gotten to her original position, however, it had moved again! Now it was coming directly from the wall! Perhaps even higher, though it didn't seem likely with the towering expanse of bamboo. She waiting, and listened, and watched. The wall was unwavering, yet the sound fumbled before her. Where?

Suddenly, the smell of a familiar appetite became present. It's direction was obvious: directly above. Tora looked up immediately to see an oblong object floating in the air. It appeared to be getting larger, and as it did, the smell became more prominent. Yet this was not the source of the noise. In fact, the noise was silent now, and soon Tora would assume it had vanished entirely. The mysterious flying creature hovered above her, enticing Tora to take a swing. And using the wall to push on for balance, that's exactly what she did.

Maki felt a slight bit of tension in the wire, stopped lowering it, and noticed the vertical portion—the portion of wire hanging down after it bends on the rooftop edge—start to swing like a pendulum. Ah, so she’s playing with it. Maki calmly pulled back on the wire to raise the hunk of food a little higher than it just was. I’ve got her interest, now to lead her up here. Maki paused, realizing how bizarre his strategy was. Why was THIS the first thing I thought of? He decided to ponder this question later, when he wasn’t in the middle of tricking a lost cat into climbing onto the roof of a butcher shop. He then quietly crawled towards the side of the roof, bringing the wire with him, trying his best to lead the cat around the corner of the building.

I hope she’s still following the bait. Maki continued his awkward half-slither-half-crawl along the side of the rooftop towards the front of the restaurant. He had felt a slight pull on the wire a couple of times, but he wasn’t sure if that was the cat or the wire getting snagged on something. Ok, almost there…

Assuming the cat is as nimble as it looks, there were enough boxes and crates out front for it to be able to jump up here. Though, I think I’d prefer if its looks deceive; capturing a cat that isn’t able to jump on a few boxes would be easy. The moment of truth was approaching as Maki, now at the front corner of the restaurant, began rewinding the spool of wire, raising the meatscrap with grace like it was an angel rising to heaven.

Maki strained his ears, attempting to hear any evidence that the cat was following the bait up the boxes. When I pull the meat over the edge, the cat will hopefully leap after it like it was a mouse escaping into its hole-in-the-wall. I’ll be ready to catch it! If needed, I can use some wire to bind its legs before it can (1) take off and/or (2) scratch me to death.

Here it was: the moment he has been waiting for; the moment that will reveal if his plotting was a success; the moment that proves he is a full-fledged ninja; the moment that will hopefully not result in a scrap of meat to the face and a body full of scratches.

He pulled the bait over the edge of the roof, ready to catch the cat.

424 words

As Tora batted around the meat, relishing in the torture of her helpless prey, she began pulling slightly on the wall in an attempt to stretch. Tora attempted biting at the meat, finally claiming her, as she saw it, inevitable prize. As she did, however, the delicious scrap of food began rising into the air even further! What a cruel world this had turned out to be! People everywhere, the most unfriendly strays a purebred had ever met, and this! Meat that refused to be caught! A meal that refused to be eaten! Nothing was as insulting as this, and Tora would not let the tender delicacy go unpunished.

As she scrambled against the wall in vein attempts to capture her prey, the hunk of meat began to sway yet again. This time, however, it had a more defined motion. It was heading towards the corner she knew all too well, and Tora could only assume this was her prey's attempt to escape. She continued after it, changing pace from stalkish walking to eager leaps without any sign of rhythm. She rounded the corner just as the meat did, and kept on its trail without any trouble at all. Yet despite her attempts, the dangling prize still evaded her every move.

Soon enough, however, Tora's prey would make a fateful mistake. As it bumped across some boxes and crates, Tora could see a long, thin cord twitching ahead of it. This cord would get snagged on the edges of boxes every now and then, only to free itself with a spring of motion. Tora's attention was immediately drawn to this string, as it proved to be a much more lively target than the slugged meat she had been obsessing over. Food? No Tora, not food.

Her mind was made up; the string would soon meet its fate. With a single leap, Tora would cut off the dangling meat at its source a few boxes up. She bounded towards the jerking wire in a swift, decisive dash.

In an incredibly anticlimactic fashion, Maki witnessed the scrawny piece of meat fly over the edge and plop on the ground with a squishy *thud*. He stood frozen, ready to seize the feline as it follows.

…

His eyebrows furrowed. The cat hadn’t followed. Something went amiss.

Replaying what just happened in his head, Maki remembered hearing a second *thud* at the same time he heard the first. It came from the direction of the crate the cat was supposed to be jumping from. Being optimistic, Maki lightly tossed the piece of meat onto the raised ledge that demarcates the roof. Wanting to ensure the cat knew it was there, he placed the other two pieces of meat adjacent to it. There’s no way its sense of smell won’t lead it up here. He crouched down behind the raised ledge, wire in hand, ready for attempt #2.

147 words

As Tora pounced on her prey, the ever-illusive thread slipped away right before her eyes. It flew up at unimaginable speeds, and try as she might to frantically swipe the air before her, Tora's target now safely retreated to the roof. She waited for a moment: listening, smelling, staring at the edge for any sign of motion. Soon, a lump of meat presented itself, laying lazily on the edge as if not even aware of the fierce Tora's presence. She exclaimed,

"Rrr." In a high-pitched, curious voice. Tora lowered herself so as to only see a sliver of meat upon the precipice, raising her butt into the air and condensing her spine into a spring. She waggled her rear ever so slightly in preparation; her next meal was imminent. With a sudden leap of pent-up preparation, Tora bounded towards the edge with great hope.

Maki’s grip on the wire tightened when he heard the cat’s questioning trill. Still crouched behind the raised ledge, he secured his footing and was as close to a battle-ready stance as he could be without giving away his position to his foe. Maki’s eyes widened. Here she comes!

The cat landed on the ledge like an arrow striking a bullseye. Maki wasted no time. With swiftness, he jolted towards Tora and attempted to scoop her up by lunging his left arm under her belly and up around her far-side. If successful, he would carry her towards his body so that her back was against his chest and his left arm was locking her into place. He would then use the wire in his right hand to bind her front legs together. At this point, the cat wouldn’t be able to get very far, if anywhere at all.

148 words

As Tora began clearing the edge, the image of a crouched, white-haired human began to emerge. Just as she came down on the food she had spent so much time cornering, the human lunged at her with alarming speed. Threat! Tora immediately forget about the meat entirely and her attention wrapped around the inbound ninja. Her body instinctively flexed, and her legs were brought up towards her chest. The boy was suddenly on top of her and wrapping his arm beneath her belly, but by this time Tora had reached her back paws up towards her stomach and pushed off against his arm. Her claws extended and would dig into his arm immediately, and with her violent kicking she would attempt shredding up the underside of his forearm with all of her strength. As this happened, Tora would also try grounding herself with her front paws and pushing off, attempting to turn around and make her escape. Whether she would be caught by the inbound wire would depend on how this frightening predator responded to her fitful attack.

Chakra: 50/250:

Maki’s teeth grinded as he felt Tora’s back claws scratch and latch on to the inside of his left arm. The cat was not powerful enough to do nontrivial damage, but the scratches would trickle blood. He saw the cat’s spine arc slightly to the right, indicating she was about to bolt in that direction, away from him. To counter the escape, Maki flung his left elbow upwards in an attempt to flip Tora over backwards. His elbow would make contact with her chest (between her front legs), lifting her weight off of her front paws and sending her slightly backwards along the ledge. Since her back claws were tightly gripping his left arm, they would serve as an anchor point to her momentum and result in her flipping over in a jerk.

Maki’s right arm was closing in as he maneuvered his left to control the cat. Still holding one end of the wire, his right hand would land firmly on the cat’s back as she was flipping, catching her from smashing into the ledge. If Tora managed to let go of Maki’s arm before she flipped over, Maki’s right hand would reach up and catch her back to prevent her from flying across the rooftop. Either way, he would tighten his grip on the skin and fur on her back once he stopped her momentum.

In the former case, with Tora’s back claws still dug into his left arm, Maki would use his grip on her back to turn her over so she was right-side-up. His left arm would twist appropriately, though awkwardly, to prevent further injury. He would then forcefully yet cautiously push her into the ledge and use his body weight to pin her down.

In the latter case, Maki would grab both of her back legs, now that they were free from his arm, with his left hand while his right gripped her back. He would pull her down from up in the air, twist her whole body so she was right-side-up, and forcefully but cautiously push her into the rooftop while using his body weight to pin her.

In either case, if the cat tried wriggling or jumping away, Maki would apply more pressure to keep her pinned down. He would proceed to start binding the cat.

383 words

Tora hissed as she tore through Maki's arm with her claws. Then, as she turn to her right, her front paws would suddenly lift off the ground. This was not through Tora's will, however, and consequently scared the living hell out of her. Threat! Tora's back arched as she tried to move with the motion that was now lifting up from beneath her. Unfortunately it would be too late, as the force was moving at an alarmingly overwhelming pace. She dug her claws into the arm lifting her even further, trying to escape as quickly as possible. Tora gained a few inches or so, however would ultimately be tossed backwards as she had feared. How could this have happened to her? She was free, a warrior, and no small nor large threat was going to stop her today. How could it have happened that this, this human gained the upper hand on her? Tora arched her back in the air and contorted her body so as to make it twist. This was an instinctive defensive maneuver by her: an attempt to spin her body back around and turn herself rightside-up. This wasn't the end, oh no, not yet. A momentary change of plans maybe, but no more than a hitch for the skillful warrior cat.

As she twisted, however, Tora would be met with a sudden force of pressure against her back. This pressure would keep her from properly righting herself, so instead Tora would do what any skilled combatant does in such a situation: panic. She took the fall with grace and prepared her paws for defensive maneuvers. On her back/side, Tora would unleash a fury of scratches, bites, and hisses in every possible direction her body would allow her. Her fit would only seize the moment her captor gave her a chance to escape, which Tora hoped her furious attack would accomplish. With claws bloodied and jowls snatching, Tora was not going down without a fight for her a life. Yes, yes a skillful warrior cat indeed.

Chakra:

Tora was flailing too wildly for Maki to grab both of her back legs as he held her in the air by her back. Tightening his grip on her, he swung her away from his body to keep her fiendish attacks out of the range of his body. Thank god cats aren’t good at defending their backs. This one is wild! His left hand, finally free from her claws, was slowly being painted red by the thin streams of blood trickling down his arm. After cleaning it with a quick wipe on his thigh, he used it to scruff the cat.

With extended arms, Maki knelt to the rooftop while maintaining his grip on the cat’s neck and back. He leaned forward, pushing her body onto the surface of the roof, pinning her down. To his surprise, she continued throwing her hissy fit even with her face and legs gently smushed into the ground. She should calm down soon.

…

She wasn’t calming down.

“You have a strong will to be free”, Maki said with admiration. He continued, “Unfortunately, it’s my job to take your freedom away from you.” The wire was still in Maki’s right hand as he pinned her. Careful to avoid her desperate attacks, he inched his body closer to hers. When close enough, he placed his upper body above her, allowing him to more easily control her wriggling by leaning directly downwards. The added pressure would subdue her enough to allow him to release his left hand from her neck and take the wire from his right hand. Waiting until the opportunity presented itself, he would bind her legs, one at a time, until she couldn’t move. Maki spoke with regret, “Sorry about this, cat.”

289 words

Tora flailed about, trying to grasp anything in her reach. As a hand met her back, however, her twisting motion to land on her back would be prevented by the strength of the grip forcing her downward. Instead her paws pressed up against the roof, scrambling about as they did. She instinctively twisted her neck/back to retaliate, snapping at the wrist that held the hand that held her. She would sink her teeth in with all the strength she had and, if it refused to let go, release and try again. Again and again she would bite her oppressor, hoping to eventually chomp her way free. Eventually another hand would grasp the back of her neck in an attempt to prevent this, but not without Tora getting a few good bites in first. Ultimately, however, she would be held down by two hands quite forcibly. How disdainful for the warrior cat.

Soon a heavy weight would begin lowering onto Tora's body. She was still scrambling, hissing, and now whining profusely. Why oh why had such a terrible fate befallen her? Had she done wrong? Of course not! How could she? Tora, the fierce, skilled, brave warrior cat was infallible! Yet still this weight pressed down upon her. Soon the hand that grasped her neck would release her, and instantly Tora would take her chance. Though compressed on the ground, she still had just enough mobility to wiggle her weight to the side and twist her neck backwards, biting at her oppressor once again! She could only probably get about half her teeth to reach this time, though, so it would be a somewhat weaker attack. Still, Tora would do her best to give this fiendish foe what's coming to him.

As if matters weren't bad enough, the villain began binding her legs! There was hardly enough room for her to move, making her twitching extremities give half-hearted scratches at best. Alas, within moments they would be immobilized completely, and the skillful warrior cat Tora would be captured.

Hurrah! The cat has been bound!
She was quite unhappy to be found.
Suffering kicks, scratches, and bites,
Maki had finally found delight.
Now to make my way back to the ground.

Tora sung a cacophony of sound,
As she was helpless, headed back to “the pound”.
She put up a good fight,
Did her best in the plight,
But suffered Maki’s strategy: to confound.

Before setting off he looked around,
And saw the wire was in a mess, a mound.
He started to rewind it tight,
Enjoying the peace and sunlight.
Finally, it has been rewound.

Maki and the cat were housebound.
Knocking on the door, he expected to astound.
The owner, her smile was bright.
She took the cat inside, out of sight.
Maki looked forward to his reward inbound.

130 words

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