[Mission] Diamond in the Ruff

[Punslinger]

"Oh dear, oh dear, oh dear." Yamamoto Daisuke paced the floor of his grandiose entryway. He had been selected as a member of a very important diplomatic envoy to the northern tribes by his father, and he didn't want to disappoint the man by being late to get the trip started.

On the floor around him, nearly twenty pairs of anxious eyes were watching the aristocratic nose swing back and forth as the young man changed directions. The dogs were given free reign of the mansion, and were more or less treated as equals by the staff, which said quite a lot about the Yamamoto household, for better or worse. They ranged in age and size, but among the largest was Yami, a slightly overweight and lumbering chocolate brown dog with great soulful eyes and a perpetually stupid look stamped on his drooping features. This was the dog that he was going to have to trust to some inexperienced genin.

"Why oh why wouldn't they let me rank this mission a little more highly? These are ninja hounds, after all." the young man moaned morosely. "And where is that genin at? Someone go check the door."

At their master's command, one of the dogs got up and walked to the front door, opening it as simply as any human might; with one paw and some downward pressure. Seeing someone coming down the walk, the dog barked.

In Tobi's hands was the mission briefing, which told him only that he was to retrieve an item and return it to his superior upon completion of the mission. He was in for an unfortunate shock, to say the least.

[Mortalvis]

"Huh, I guess I kinda like dogs..." Tobi mumbled as he read over the mission briefing that he held in his hands. He moseyed down the path to the house, feeling pretty good about this mission. At least it had nothing to do with people.

As Tobi arrived at the lot, he took a moment to gawk at the sheer size of the mansion. He didn't often wander into this area of Iwagakure, and seeing a house that was easily four to five times the size of his own home was simply stunning. Besides envying the large home, he wished that all of his future missions would take place in such luxurious-looking locations.

Done with his ogling, Tobi came up to the doorstep where a barking dog greeted him. Dogs, loud or large (or both), never bothered him, even if they always seemed to intimidate people he knew. The genin was more comfortable with animals, give or take a few (ahem, Patsu), and preferred their company over that of another human being.

That, however, might change by the end of this mission. Tobi wasn't prepared for what the task at hand actually entailed.

[Punslinger]

"Oh good, you've made it just in time. I really must be going but Yami" at the mention of his name, the overlarge dog heaved himself to his feet and lolloped over. "simply cannot go with me on this trip. I wish I could simply have one of the servants get my crest back but I'm afraid Yami's just a bit too much of a handful for them."

Of course, Daisuke had no idea that Tobi hadn't a clue what he was talking about, and continued yammering on blithely,

"He likes to take walks here on the grounds, but if you find that he's not inclined to do his business there, then I suppose I trust a shinobi enough to take him to a park or something of the like. I do warn you though that he's rather headstrong when he takes a mind to something." the aristocratic scowl cracked into a crooked grin as he patted the big animal on the head, who in turn leaned into him with enough force to make him shift his weight avoid being knocked over.

"Oh, and you'll need these, I think." he said, handing Tobi a small stack of paper bags, a flask and a handkerchief. "That's alcohol and soap. I think you'll be wanting that later."

[Mortalvis]

"...Wait, what?" was all Tobi managed to mutter at first. With his hands full of paper bags, a handkerchief, and a flask, everything was suddenly falling into place.

'Oh heck no,' he cried inwardly as part of him died a little. He looked at all of the dogs and then back to the contents he held, and then at Yami. Yami was a big dog, and most animals had... well, they let out something proportional to their size.

"...Thanks for the stuff. I'll take care of it." Tobi was reluctant to admit that he was now on doggy doodie. The thought of cleaning up the waste of a dog took away all of the appeal that the location had given the mission. Now he knew that he'd be walking a dog, waiting for it to crap out-

'Oh god..." By some unholy force, it had suddenly occurred to Tobi what the alcohol and handkerchief were for. This man actually expected him to pry the crest from a steaming pile of... oh, Tobi was so sure that he was going to be sick. He tried to keep himself composed, but he couldn't get over the fact that a mission that seemed so appealing at first just turned into a ring of hell.

All he could do now was accept it; no turning back now that he was here.

[Punslinger]

"Well alright then fellows, I think it's time we were off." the young man was speaking to the rest of the dogs. "Best not keep father waiting."

He handed Tobi one last item, a thick leather leash, and with that he began pacing sedately down the walk, the group of dogs cavorting about him on all sides. He certainly didn't seem like the type to play master to a small army of ninja hounds, and it begged the question as to whether or not he'd ever lifted a finger in combat. Regardless, he was likely a formidable foe.

In a minute, they had gone through the ornate gates and were gone from sight, leaving only Tobi standing with his supplies in the foyer, and Yami, who was looking stupidly up at him, his massive tail slapping the marble floor rhythmically.

[OoC: I guess this is one of those missions where you'll kindof have to take the initiative as far as the action of the posting.]

[Mortalvis]

With some resentment, Tobi watched the man leave the property. As soon as he was out of sight, the genin looked back to Yami and sighed.

"Guess it'd only be rude if we didn't get to know each other before I went digging through your crap," he muttered. Tobi held his hand out to Yami before he carefully slid it around his head and patted the dog on the top of it.

"You're not so bad. Well, not yet, at least." Wasn't much left to do other than to get out there and hope that Yami'd pass the item before Tobi got fed up and left. He fumbled with the dog's leash for a bit before successfully clipping it onto his collar and praying that he was taking Yami for a walk and not the other way around.

"Let's go, boy," he said, his voice flat with disinterest. He led the large animal out the door and closed it behind him. With a house as big as this one, Tobi wondered if Yami ever went for walks through the lower class areas of the village.

"Well, Yami, let me go show you where the less fortunate of us live. You can poop on their stuff and no one will care." Tobi took Yami back the way he came, remembering a park (read: gathering of dirt and rocks) that he passed on the way there. It wasn't a long walk, but the pair clearly transitioned into a lower-end area of the city just by walking a few blocks.

As they came into the park, Tobi looked at Yami and put a hand on the dog's head. "I bet you're trained. I'm sure you'll be okay off your leash for a bit while we're here." Clipping the leash off, he looked expectantly at the dog, waiting for it to go and do whatever dogs did.

[Punslinger]

It was a beautiful day for a walk, or at least as beautiful as it got in Iwa. The sun peeped in and out behind rolling clouds, and a cool breeze was blowing down from the mountains, the first indication of the oncoming fall. For a big dog, Yami was fairly energetic, and perhaps a little too lovable for his own good. When Tobi petted him, the dog leaned into the gesture, almost falling on his face when the boy stepped aside to put him on his leash.

As the pair walked outside the gates, the dog became increasingly hyperactive. It could have been that he was used to these trips outside the compound and thoroughly enjoyed them, or because he'd never been, but by the time they'd reached the park, the dog was beating Tobi with his tail as he rushed ahead to sniff a patch of road, linger until he could feel the strain of the leash, then rush forward and do it again. However, the second he was off the leash, the dog rushed into the park at full tilt, eager to sniff every rock and crevice he could stick his nose on or into.

Of course, he was trained well enough that he wasn't going to simply run away, but by the way he was galloping, Tobi might not realize it, much less keep up if he actually decided to.

[Mortalvis]

"I can't believe this..." Tobi groaned. This was possibly the worst mission in the history of missions. Like most things, it looked promising, but turned out to be a huge disappointment. The mission could have very well said that there would be unicorns and rainbows and pots of gold and it would have led to the same feeling of being utterly deceived.

If not for the fact that his mother had forced him to go job hunting, which in a ninja's case was technically mission hunting, he would be off doing something useful with his time.

"Sigh. I guess I should just try to get thi-" Tobi stopped mid-sentence and noticed that Yami was getting a little too far away from him. Even if he didn't think that the dog would run away, he couldn't really take any chances.

Jogging over to the large animal proved to be more work than it was worth. On the way, Tobi felt something squish beneath his boot in the most unpleasant way possible.

"..." He stepped back and looked at what he had just stepped in. "I... don't suppose this is yours, is it?" he choked out. Tobi gagged on the smell and fiercely rubbed his boot against the dirt to get the feces off of the bottom of his boot.

"When will this nightmare end." The genin dragged his foot along the ground as he continued on his way to where Yami was at.

[Punslinger]

Seeing Tobi approach, Yami came to the conclusion any like-minded animal would make: Tobi wanted to play. In keeping with this most grand and ancient tradition among dogs and people, Yami took his stance, laying his front legs out in front of him on the ground, while keeping his tail as high in the air as possible and cocking his head to the side.

And like all dogs know, when the offer to play is ignored, it is taken to be a consent. Barking joyfully, the massive hound charged at his keeper, bouncing up on his hind paws to perch himself on Tobi's shoulders, putting the two face to face.

Sadly, while Tobi's world was coming down around him, the rest of the village carried on as though nothing was out of the ordinary. Across the street, children played with a rubber ball, and a street vendor pushed his cart around the area, selling his wares.

"Nikuman! Taiyaki! Get your yakitori! Takoyaki served fresh!"

[OoC: Shortest post ever.]

[Mortalvis]

Yami was too much. Caught off guard and unable to catch his balance with the weight of the dog pressing into him, Tobi toppled over and hit the ground with a dull thud.

"Yami!" he yelped, pushing the dog away from him. A little rattled by being jumped by a large dog, Tobi put some distance between him and the Yami as soon as he was on his feet again.

"Okay... okay, does Yami wanna go for a walk again? Does puppy wanna go for a walk?" He sickened himself a little with his baby-talk voice, but dogs, like many other animals, responded to tone of voice and not the actual words--though, he trusted a trained dog would at least recognize the word 'walk' to some degree.

Tobi approached Yami, holding the leash in front of him, making sure he was making it clear to the dog that he wasn't there to play. As he fiddled with the leash, hoping Yami would stay still to let him clip it on, he looked over at the street vendor shouting his menu at passersby.

"You hungry boy? You want food? C'mon, let's go get you something to eat." Finally getting the leash attached to the dog's collar, Tobi led him over to the vendor.

"Excuse me? Two yakitori please," he said, digging into his pocket hoping to scrounge up enough ryo to pay for them.

[Punslinger]

Trained, untrained or otherwise, Yami understood that goofy body language, exited voice meant something fun was about to happen. He quivered with excitement as Tobi put his leash on, and nearly went insane with joy as he smelled the meat coming from the street vendor's cart, barking and jumping on his leash. To his credit, he didn't jump on the vendor, nor did he attack the man's cart, but his nose, which was easily level with the top of the cart, was dangerously close to the lid, and while the transaction was taking place, his eyes never left the food in the man's hand.

"That'll be six mon." the man said, passing Tobi his change and the meat skewers. He nodded politely and went on his way, still eying Yami nervously. Seeing that the man was leaving, Yami turned to Tobi, his eyes massive and pleading as his long tongue lolled out of the side of his mouth, dripping on the ground.

[Mortalvis]

"Oh, you don't need to give me the puppy dog look. One of these is for you." Tobi looked at the skewers in his hand and back at Yami. "Probably shouldn't give it to you on the stick, though... kinda pointy at the end."

He pulled Yami over to the side of a building and sat down against it so that he could feed the dog. Pulling out one of the few paper bags he was given by Yami's owner, he set one down and planned to use it as a makeshift plate for the dog. Tobi knew that he likely wouldn't care if he had to eat it off the ground, but the genin would feel better if the food wasn't covered in dirt when it was consumed.

Pushing the meat off of the skewer, the pieces formed a small pile at the center of the paper bag, and Tobi slid it over to Yami's feet.

"Dig in," he invited, doing the same with his own.

[Punslinger]

The meat was gone, and the look returned immediately. Yami was a large dog, and cute was not his forte. Still, it was his duty as an eating machine and man's best friend to lean heavily up against Tobi with the fullness of his weight and stare hopefully, desperately, imploringly up at the delicious morsel which the genin was eating.

Across the way, the children's laughter rang across the street as they played with their ball, and some birds flew gently overhead as a breeze rolled across the open area of the park.

[Mortalvis]

Tobi shrugged off Yami's pleading look as he finished his share of the food. When he was done, he picked up the paper bag, shoved the skewers into it and crumpled it up, only to stuff it into his pocket until he found a place to dispose of it.

"Alright, well..." Tobi wasn't quite sure what to do at this point, but he figured letting Yami off his leash again to run around wasn't a bad idea. He brought the large animal back into the park, grabbing a twig on the way.

As he unclipped the leash from Yami's collar, he waved the stick in front of his snout in attempt to let the dog know he had it.

"Go get it, boy," Tobi said, just before tossing the stick a fair distance, hoping Yami would chase after it.

[Punslinger]

If Tobi had by chance forgotten that he was babysitting a ninja hound, he'd certainly remember it now. The second the stick was flung, the ground near where Yami was standing shook with the force of him launching himself into the air. The twig in question seemed to hang in the air for just a moment before it disappeared in a blur of fur.

Almost twenty yards away, Yami landed, wagging his tail joyously at his acquisition of the stick and his genetal enthusiasm to be alive and playing fetch on this particular day. Then, almost as quickly, his head cocked to the side, and he ran behind a bush nearby.

[Mortalvis]

"It's about time." Tobi was relieved when he caught sight of Yami running off behind a nearby bush. Although Tobi wasn't looking forward to the cleanup, he was one step closer to getting his mission completed.

"That's gonna hurt on the way out," he mused as he made his way over to where Yami was doing his business. The genin could only hope that this was not a false alarm. He armed himself with the items bestowed upon him by the dog's owner, preparing himself for by far the dirtiest job he's ever had to do.

All the while, Tobi prayed that no one would see any of this. He didn't have a reputation, but if he were to get one, he didn't want it to be as the kid who plays with dog poo.

[Punslinger]

It was rather impressive, actually. The pile was at least a couple inches high, and was even steaming. The deed done, Yami wore an almost proud expression, looking back and forth between the pile and Tobi, almost as though he were expecting what was about to happen.

Luckily for Tobi, there was a gold chain lying off to the side of the pile, leading back to the center where the tip of something round could just barely be seen.

[Mortalvis]

As appalled as he was at the situation, Tobi inched closer to the steaming pile of animal feces. He made a conscious effort to breathe through his mouth instead of his nose to avoid gagging on the smell.

"...Never again. Never, ever again..." Tobi whimpered, bending down next to the dog poop. He took one of the paper bags and put it over his hand, but the barely solid mass that stood in his way intimidated him. Slowly, he reached out and grabbed onto the chain and removed it from the pile, and the rest soon followed. It made a horrible wet sound as it slid out of the warm heap of waste, causing Tobi to make a face to match the utter disgust that he felt at that moment.

Gathering the pendant and chain in his palm, he got the soap out and squirted an overgenerous amount onto it, followed by a splash of the alcohol. Next came the handkerchief, which he wrapped around the item, cleaning off all of the wet, brown poop that had clung to it. Every so often he'd catch a whiff of it, and off he went gagging. It wasn't so much the smell on its own, but the entire scenario as a whole. It took him a while to give it a thorough scrub, but when he was done it neither looked or smelled very bad. That didn't stop the genin from drowning it in the rest of the alcohol just in case, of course.

When he was finished, he gathered all of the used materials up and stuffed them in one of the paper bags. He was starting to get over it, but Tobi couldn't help but glare at Yami a little as he leashed him so they could make their way back to the manor.

[Punslinger]

Back at the manor, one of the servants met the genin at the door, reliving him of his charge. Yami ran barking happily into the house, and the servant made a polite bow.

"I shall endeavor to make sure this is kept somewhere safe until the young master returns. You have done him a great favor; we are grateful."


[OoC: Congrats, you "passed".]