A Dying Flame

[Oddric]

Mission ContractShow

D-rank Mission Contract
For Mitsurugi, Gene | Strategist
From Village Elder Ezekiel of Nimbus Village in the Fire Country
Requesting [Several villagers have reported seeing a phoenix flying low just on the outskirts of the village! The mythical creature was thought to be just a legend, skeptics said it might have just been a shinobi practicing fire ninjutsu, but many civilians have requested that we investigate the situation either way. We aren't expecting this to be a legitimate claim, but it seems worthwhile to at least look into a little. If it exists, don't harm the thing. Capture it only if it wouldn't harm the beast. At the very least, provide evidence of its existence.]
Time Limit for Mission None

Oddric as Story Teller

"It was just over there." The short man scratched his head, using his other hand to point. His finger was aimed at the pink horizon of the rising sun. The expression on his face showed he did not want to be up this early. He was one of the villagers that brought it to the elder's attention of the phoenix, and so it was his responsibility to greet the shinobi that would come to investigate it. "It was a bright thing. Red and orange and yellow and pink... it was practically glowing. If I knew anything about anything, I'd say it looked like it was burning."

The small village of Nimbus seemed very tranquil. A lot of the houses shared a common golden theme, whether it was rooftops or house color or just the shingles they had displayed on their porch. The village elder's office was just the same, a towering golden thing. If one were to ask there would be much debate, did the elder's golden tower take root first and cause the rest of the town to decorate theirs the same, or did the town's people have the gold color first?

The strange man did an odd motion with his arms. Was he trying to flap them like wings? "It was big too. Like a falcon, but... bigger!" He was descriptive, too. "I couldn't make out too much of it, though. No one could. It was kind of just a blur." A well-versed shinobi probably could have done such a technique, but the various warm colors was certainly peculiar. "But it swooped back down into the forest. About half a kilometer off or so. It didn't seem to come back up, neither. It might have kept flying real low. We had someone in town go investigate, but they weren't no ninja." He looked to Gene, giving him a tired smile. "You'll be a lucky boy if you find it. Phoenix feathers sell for a bundle!" While true, the village elder probably had nobler ideas in mind for the objective of the mission.

[Legacy]

Now when Gene had received a notice of summon he hadn't actually thought that he would be again, sent on a wild goose-chase. It seemed that his luck pretty much bordered on tracking assignments but at the same time; even if just a little, the young Genin was happy that the mission details weren't too cumbersome. Sightings of strange things were common place in the Land of fire especially with all the new developments that had been put in place for the sake of safety - he imagined that one overzealous Shinobi may have not been too secretive about their training. Still, being the realist he was, Gene hadn't ruled out other possibilities either.

It was a real shame - with this village being so decorative one would have liked to explore and take back a few trinkets to remember it by but as usual in the Shinobi world: Business was first. The young Genin did make a mental note that he would some day return to the tranquil village. As for now, he focused on what was being spoken to him by the person who had called Konoha ninja all the way out this far. It was a bright thing. Red and orange and yellow and pink... It was practically glowing. Suddenly, Gene felt all of the would be excitement fade away. It was a true phenomena like the water rushing down the waterfall had just - stopped. If I knew anytthing about anything, I'd say it looked like it was burning. The day just became a great deal more troublesome.


A colorful phoenix that just so happened to pop up here in this village? I doubt it's a coincidence. Gene thought to himself, keeping his suspicions reserved until further information could be gathered. As the man continued Gene took out a small piece of paper and a make shift pen which he used to attempt a rough sketch of the creature being described. He hadn't been the best artist in the world but at the very least, it was something to go on. Now his interest in the village spanned beyond its appearance, Gene had actually started to wonder about the history of such a place. With it being so close to the Hidden Leaf village yet a ways away, he imagined that there were a fair share of secrets hidden throughout...

You had someone look into this before? Who? Would you mind if I asked them for the information regarding this creature? If I'm going to solve this mystery I'll need every available resource. Gene chimed in after the man had finished his piece. Maybe, just maybe there was something else to this whole thing and Gene was determined to get to the bottom of it.

[Oddric]

The man blinked, watching Gene began to etch in his pad. Curious, the man took a little step forward, trying to catch a subtle peak at the thing he was drawing. More importantly, he wanted to see if the young boy was drawing it correctly. The kid probably wouldn't draw it well enough. He wasn't even sure if the kid was even using colors! Did he hear him correctly? Red, yellow, pink... glowing! How would he draw that? Glowing? Frowning, the man stopping attempting to peer. He didn't want the boy to think he was actually interested.

"Uh... yeah. Gods, I'm not sure who it was." He scratched the stubble on his cheek, giving a small sigh. "Oh." Pausing, the man stalled for a moment, like his brain was trying to reset. It was too early for this crap. "Sheena. Older woman. Lives closer to the forest that way." The man pointed to the same direction he before, where he had said the phoenix had been spotted. "She was the closest to the forest. She lives in a house with a gold roof." He paused again, trying to remember more about the house. "There's a flag outside her house with a lion. Fiery mane and everything. Can't miss it." His tone was short, immediately followed by a yawn.

Hands on his hips, the man looked away from the boy and to the rising sun. He didn't work all week to have to get up so early on a Saturday. "Look, kid. I don't know what more anyone else would be able to tell you. You can ask anyone you'd like. Or no one. I'm telling you, the thing is out there somewhere. It had to left something. Feathers. Scratch marks. Shit." He made himself laugh a little. "I don't know. I'm not a ninja. Or a detective. You handle this however you want. Do you need anything else?" He either needed a second coffee or sleep. He couldn't decide what.

[Legacy]

Gene resisted the urge to sigh as the man attempted to rattle out any more details that he already voiced about the disturbance. Though once it was clear that he'd obtained all of what he could from the guy, Gene nodded and smiled respectfully. Thanks, you've helped out enough. I'll take things from here. Stepping off into a leisurely stride in the direction that the old man had pointed in Gene sought out to begin working like he was hired to do.

Red, Orange, Yellow and Pink. In this type of environment these colors should stick out like a soar thumb. On my way down to pay Sheena a visit I'll keep an eye out, Gene thought to himself as he trekked along a narrow dirt path that led into to a rocky decline that stood just in the way of the forest where sightings of this - thing had been reported. At first, he hadn't noted anything outwardly eye grabbing. Between the many shifting terrains everything looked normal but roughly ten meters into his hunt - Gene noticed something sticking out from behind a fallen tree. Hm?

His eyes narrowed and his right hand instinctively moved toward the holster on his right thigh, snapping the flap open with his index finger before slipping it through the loop and pulling it out from its confinement. By now, he'd been standing less than a few inches from what he had identified as a Yellow feather. So the old man had been telling the truth after all, had he? Crouching down to level with the strange feather Gene had placed his left hand next to the item and quickly stuck his Kunai diagonally underneath the feather to check for traps - as a Shinobi, there was no such thing as being too careful. Once he'd determined that it could do him no harm the young boy picked up the Yellow feather and placed it inside of his brown pouch on his hip.

What's more, the closer he'd gotten down to the forest area, the more Gene noticed that there had been burn marks either along the ground or along trees where he imagined the creature had headed after fleeing the Nimbus village. If I had a pet this would be a much easier assignment... He thought to himself. Thinking back to his Sensei Kazuo who had a pet dog to sniff out the scent of others - no, there was no point in complaining about it now. He had a job to do.