Rock'n...fish? [Mission]

Mission Name: Raw Rowdy Rocktails
Mission Type: Chore
Mission Rank: C
Mission Goal: Help some fisherman to catch a bunch of Rocktails.
Description: One of the strongest and hardest to catch fish is the Rocktail, which earned its name due to its sturdy tail with which it can deliver some powerful slaps that could hurt people very badly and is rumoured to even break rocks and the shells of crustaceans with it. It also has a pair of powerful boney jaws that can bite through the hardest leather with a single bite. No matter how tough they are though, their meat's a delicacy...
Payment: 15,000 ryo
Requirements: Chuunin or genin team

Ann was the first one to arrive at the fisheries. This was her first assignment after being accepted by the Yuki clan of Kirigakure no Sato and being integrated into the village's military as a Jonin. Truth to be told she expected a fair bit more action, like beating up some kids or mercilessly murdering some bandits. But times had apparently changed since the last time she performed a "mission" for the samurai 500 years ago. As it turns out, people had become more civilized and stabbing through the chest of someone was now somewhat frowned upon. Ah, all the little quirks Ann still had to learn!

Alas, she stood by the docks and while her teammate hadn't arrived on the scene Ann had taken it upon herself to approach the boat where the fishermen were getting ready to go out on the sea. This was where they were supposed to board. She curiously looked at the boat while the fishermen worked, carefully examining how fishing ship design had improved over the past 500 years. Frankly, judging by how old these ships looked, they hadn't improved a lot.

"Oye, what are you doing here woman? Can't you see the men are working? Get off the docks!"
Ann looked to her left, then to her right. Just to make sure the man was talking to her. He was. "Who, me? I'be here fo'the mission oldman. Hunting fish'n'all." Ann's heavy accent from 500 years ago was noticeable. The man raised an eyebrow. "They're sending women to do a men's job now? The fish will crush that pretty face of your-"THUMP a white steel kunai hit the ship, passing a mere few inches next to the man's head. The look on his face was priceless.

"Y'dare insult me warrior honor oldman? Come forth, I challenge ye t'duel! Bring it o" -*SPLAT* Ann spit quite a deal of blood onto the wooden floor of the dock. Only a moment ago she was ready to fight and now she could barely stand. Such was the effect of being frozen for half a millenium, her body hadn't quite recovered yet. Her gaze was still focused on the man they were supposed to aid in fishing tho. He was unsure of whether he should help her or draw a weapon.

The sounds of approaching steps can be heard from the entrance of the docks. It was a different sound of steps as sandals and boots make different sounds. Inarie’s hair was pulled up into a fluffy tail with strands of her hair framing her face. She is a 5’4” wearing a simple brown shirt with a mesh shirt underneath. Her legs is covered by sandy brown pants as the ends hug around her ankles. On her feet is a pair of open-toed sandals. Finally her headband is positioned around her neck with the Kirigakure’s steel plate facing forward.

Inarie’s piercing eyes of rose red sparked some curiosity as it would seem like there was an argument boiling near a boat. Between a man and woman it seems. Perhaps a lover’s spat? Inarie dismissed that possibility as it seemed like that wasn’t the case. Not exactly knowing what is going on, Inarie simply approached like she was meant to be here before responding.

”This is the boat we’re supposed to use for fishing some Rocktails correct?” Hopefully with Inarie’s intervention it’ll dissuade the tension even if it is minor. Though the beautiful blue scales around her forearm that covers up to the back of her hands. The scales themselves appear to be metallic. Some intricate scales makes their appearance known on her face of fair skin. The scales on her face is positioned under her eyes covering the cheeks forming what appears to be similar to bat wings.

Ann was still glaring at the man when she first heard the steps of an approaching girl. She turned her gae towards the newcomer and with a quick look took her measurements. Considering she had just asked about the Rockfish mission, it was clear that she was a ninja and thus her teammate. As such, the Yuki had to wonder what this girl was capable of. The thought of challenging her right there for a match crossed her mind, but the girl didn't seem to be carrying a sword which meant she would need likely need to resort to ninjutsu, which in itself meant the potential of destruction of such a match was very high. Alas, Ann had no choice but to give in to the idea that perhaps this was not the best time nor place for a match.

"Great, another woman sent to do a man's job...And this ain't even a proper woman, lizzard girl..." the man muttered more to himself than to them. Ann caught up on his comment despite being distracted and lost in thought. "Yes, this is tzeh boat that's supposed to take us out fishing. But that old fart refuses to let us aboard." Ann glared back at the man, who seemed about to give up on the idea of refusing them. Ann gave him a little "push" on that direction upon smirking and uttering the following words: "I say we sink'em quietly...call it a work accident." The man's face went pale once again.

To say that Inarie is annoyed will be putting it mildly. Her eyes no longer soft held a certain level of fierce behind them like a predator glaring at a prey. That prey of course will be old gramps as she will not tolerate insults thrown around so carelessly.

”Excuse you, it’s Dragon girl to you. If you’re going to insult someone at least get it right.” On that note Inarie clapped her hands as if to close off the tension between them all as she only came here for one purpose.

”You requested help in your job and you’ve received help. There was no specification in the job about being a man or woman so you got what you can get. Now hop to it these fish aren’t going to catch themselves.” Inarie held a commanding firm tone now as she glanced over at the boat and noted that the gear has already been loaded. All they needed is to board and then they can leave. So Inarie turned her attention to Ann as her expression slightly softens.

”Judging from the sounds of it you’re my partner in this mission. It is a pleasure to have you on board. My name is Inarie Yoru Kaguya. May i acquire your name?” Her tone held firmness, but the way Inarie speaks held etiquette.

"Ah, so we're not going to sink them?" Ann stated with a bit of disappointment in her tone. She wasn't entirely sure she wouldn't sink the ship given the opportunity. after all this man was really getting n her nerves. And judging by Inarie's response, he was getting on her bad side too. They were ow about to board the ship. Ann noticed the dragon girl had some words for her, but as she stepped inside the boat she realized the girl was using a lot of words she didn't quite know or understand. The way people talked had changed quite a bit in 500 years and it wasn't always easy to figure it all out. Inarie's manner of speech, with such etiquette, was unfamiliar. She pondered for a bit on the meaning of the words and then spoke back.

"Nice to meet you, Inari. It does seem like we're partners on this mission, and that the fishermen aren't really glad we're here." The small ship crew of 5 men lowered a small sail and they started moving. "My name is Ann Yuki, but you may not acquire it. I need it. Plus Inarie is a fine name." Ann raised an eyebrow at Inarie's weird question. Why did she want to have her name?

The way Ann spoke was a bit bizarre Inarie noted. It was the same language that much was clear, but the dialect and accent is something Inarie isn't familiar with. Still it didn't take long before Inarie clicked with the accent and was able to understand Ann, but there appears to be a misunderstanding. At least with the name part.

”Oh no i didn't mean literally taking your name. It is just a formal way of asking for your name, and Ann is a nice name as well.” Inarie did hear that Ann was a bit disappointed that they were not to sink the boat, but mainly because it'll cause more problems than solving them right now.

”No we cannot sink the boat im afraid. But we can still address this man's concern to the administration later. However i doubt the village will care less about such a trivial thing.” Inarie boarded the boat as well as she looks around for a moment. It was true she didn't know much about sailing, but that was the beauty of observation. Particularly in how they unravel the ropes connected to the sail so that it can unfold and catch wind.

"Ah I see, I'm glad you don't want my name." Ann simply stated. "Say if he offended us why does this "Ahdmee-instration" guy get to hang him? And if the village doesn't c're, can't we just chop off'a'leg?" Ann was truly surprised at these strange times. Someone had offended this Inarie lass and instead of chopping off an arm or a leg, she was just going to have some random guy from the village handle it. The man was tending to the sails and paying the utmost attention to the conversation the two kunoichi were having. One of them at least seemed to be very mentally unstable!

But this wasn't true. Ann was actually very stable, with strong convictions and always willing to fight for her ideals. Her only problem was that her ideals were 500 years late.

"We're approaching the fishing area!" a voice said coming from the bow of the boat. They were approaching the center of the bay where the water was deeper. One could hear some strange noises coming from inside the water, as if there was a literal war being fought inside it. "It's mating season. The Rock fish fight each other for a few months, using their tails to crush each other's skulls and get a female to mate with. We're not approaching any more than this, it's dangerous."

”It is a bit more complicated than just chopping a leg and be done with it. If we did such a thing it would put a stain in the Kirigakure’s reputation, and it could have multiple ill effects on all of us as a whole. Additionally my clan and i aren’t exactly in good terms so if i was present when such an action has taken place i wouldn’t doubt it if the clan will deliver harsh punishment against me.” Inarie admitted nonchalantly as she doesn’t appear to be at all fazed from the insults the man was throwing at her nor bothered with the thought of her family, or rather just Kaguya, would take any chance to dish out a punishment. Inarie just does a good job giving them little to no reason to do so.

The trip to this fishing spot was short-lived and thankfully quiet in regards of these sailors. However they stopped at a distance from the lapping waters. A reef? It was one of the things that popped in Inarie’s mind. However with the sailors explaining that it is mating season so it’ll be incredibly dangerous to go any further. What would probably worry Inarie is how these fish will react to nets being thrown at them. If the nets are made of woven steel wire and mesh then surely they couldn’t chomp through it… right? Of course if the mission description is accurate then these fish can chomp through hard leather. Steel is a bit sturdier, but who knows how strong their tails really are.

”At any rate, we have some fish to catch. Are you familiar with catching schools of fish with this pole here?” Inarie asked Ann as she lifts up a pole that’s taller than Inarie and one end has a metal ring with a net on it. The Kaguya would hand one to Ann, and then lifts up another pole for her to use. The net pole has an extension as Inarie demonstrated how to do so and the pole extends out quite a bit. The problem as Inarie will note is that it can be unwieldy and difficult to hold. So Inarie kept it at the length of a staff and will try to dip the pole net first into the sea's depths over the boat's side. She'll repeat this pattern for a couple of times and if she has caught a couple of rockyfish then Inarie will try to be quick on storing them in a designated container. If not then… Well she'll have to suggest to further and if the sailors disagree and provides no method then Inarie will walk onto the water surface towards the lapping waters as Inarie will spot some tiny fins poking through the surface. Skating along the water, Inarie with the pole in hand will try to scoop up these violent fish and get them into the containers on the boat. Hopefully without incident.

"Hmmm alright, I understand." Ann would say as Inarie explained the reason why they couldn't simply chop off one of the man's legs. Ann could certainly understand the importance of maintaining one's reputation- to the samurai she was raised with, that was everything. But while 500 years ago chopping off the leg of a man who had insulted you would only protect and perhaps even raise your reputation, today it seemed like things were different. Things were...more complicated and it would take some time until Ann could settle down and get used to these new ideas.

She stood in silence as Inarie handed her a pole. They were catching fish with these? Ann could almost feel the sailors scoffing at them. If simple fishing poles could catch these fish then the sailors would have brought them home by themselves. They were assholes but life at sea was tough and Ann did not doubt they had the body strength to catch large fish. Regardless, Ann watched as Inarie demonstrated how to use the pole and she did the same. Using a fishing pole was not much different than using a katana- in fact a katana was most effective when swung downwards exactly like a fishing pole. So to Ann that movement felt quite natural. She swung the pole and extended it, swinging it a second time to send the bait towards the center of the school of fish. The reaction was immediate.

Even before the net pole could land on the water a rocky fish jumped out and hit it with its tail, sending it back to Ann on the ship. It was quite a sight to see, that move. That was one truly dextrous fish. But Ann didn't have a lot of time to ponder the fish's movement as she was busy reeling the string back in. "I don't think this will work. We're better off using ninjutsu, those fish are quite strong." she bluntly stated as she examined the damage a simple tail swing had done to the net pole. She glanced at Inarie to see how she was doing.

These fish were strong as they were dextrous. That was going to be a problem as Inarie can see when a rockyfish gets too aggressive that it leaps up from the water and takes a bite at Inarie’s left arm that she opted to shield herself with. It chomps down into her skin as it tries to tear a chunk of meat, but surprisingly the scales that is on her hands and forearm are tougher than they appear. It still hurts though as Inarie winced from the many teeth scratching against the scales.

”Enough of that.” Inarie leapt up as raiton chakra crackled across her skin before it expands into a meter of electrifying aura that shocks the rockfish on her arm and the fish nearby due to the water. It wasn’t enough to kill them or anything to that extreme, but it will be enough to cease their movements for a moment. Reaching over to pry the fish’s jaws open, Inarie skated over to throw the rockyfish into the container. Then Inarie went around and scooped up the stunned rockyfish that are still alive and put them in the container.

”I have an idea Ann-sama. How about we have a little competition? Whoever gets the most rockyfish in their buckets wins a little prize as a bonus.” Inarie offered before she hops up on the boat not minding the gawking at her as she doesn’t seem to be bothered much by the bite mark on her forearm. The young Kaguya retrieves an empty bucket and makes sure to tie it to the side of the boat so that it’ll stay there. This is just so that both of them will have a fresh start, and it’ll make things interesting.

”What the prize is is up to the one who wins. If i win, could you be my sensei?” After all wasn’t Ann Tetsudashi a Jounin of Kirigakure? Or at least that’s what Inarie recalled. Inarie has been trying for weeks, months even to get someone to train her. Alas either everyone was busy doing other things or simply didn’t want anything to do with her.

Ann watched as Inarie fought a rock fish. Could one even call that fighting? It was more of a brawl really. Not that Inarie couldn't fight but the way that fish viciously attacked her and her scales reminded Ann of the vicious attacks of the outlanders who lived beyond samurai lands. They would rarely ever attack but if they did they would not retreat until they either plundered what they came to plunder or every single man and woman in their unit was dead. Truly those men were savage and the rockfish reminded Ann of that spirit a little. In a way it was a poetic death... one the samurai admired and sometimes even craved for.

Alas there was nothing poetic about the bite on Inarie's arm. Ann was about to approach her before a blot of lightning erupted from her arm and basically fried the fish...or rather stunned it for a bit before it was thrown out into the bucket. Ann was surprised at Inarie's resilience- she wasn't used to seeing that kind of resistance in anyone but herself. It was only then that she took a moment to truly notice and appreciate the scales on the girl's body. She had of course noticed them before but Ann had no idea that they were so...resistant. Scales by themselves didn't offer any protection. Fish had scales, and so did snakes. And Ann could cut both quite easily. But Inarie's scales were of a different sort, clearly superior to any animal's.

A wild thought crossed Ann's mind. "I wonder if I would be able to cut those?" it was of no use to try and lie to herself here, Ann had the mindset of a samurai and when samurai met worthy foes they always wondered whether or not their blade would be able to cut them down. But Ann was not in samurai lands anymore, the Land of Iron and its past had been left behind and she was now working with ninjas. Asking Inarie if she could try to cut her arm off would probably give off the wrong kind of vibe so she simply decided to remain quiet and observe while Inarie dealt with the fish.

Then Inarie proposed a competition. Ann naturally enjoyed competitions but the prize Inarie asked left her a bit hesitant. Was there anything she could really teach to this girl? Ann herself had only recently arrived in the Land of Water and Inarie was more likely to be familiarized with shinobi procedures than her. Ann thought for a moment and then shrugged her shoulders. "Eh, why not? I'll take you on!" she said confidently as she smirked. She wasn't all that confident inside- the thought of being a teacher and an example to someone terrified her. But she wasn't about to lose this!

Placing one foot on the boat's edge Ann leaped towards the center of the bay where all the fish were swimming. One leaped up to hit her in the head but Ann was prepared and punched it away with a metal fist. Then she placed the hand in the water and....it began freezing. And with it, the fish. Slowly but steadily the water would freeze and trap the fish inside it. Now Ann just had to wait for the fish to die which wouldn't take long since they'd just suffocate and then she'd manipulate the ice to bring them up.

She glanced at Inarie to see what sort of tactic she'd use on her side of the "pond".


Trained:
Deep Freeze A-rank

Inarie was pleased to hear that Ann accepted the challenge, and with a twirl of her pole Inarie went to make sure her net was still intact. Not really minding the bite wound as it already stopped bleeding which might suggest that the bite was shallow enough to clot up. Still Inarie took a moment to get a feel for the pole once again. Hopping over the railing along with Ann, Inarie went to one side while Ann froze the other side. The Kaguya was a bit jealous about that since ninjutsu has been something she has trouble with. So while she can't do that kind of stuff just yet Inarie improvised by skating along the water surface and with a hefty swing of the pole she scoops up a couple of fish and then travels back to dump the fish in her bucket.

However when Inarie made her second trip, something unexpected happen. One of those rockyfish leapt over the surface, but not directly at her. It was traveling to the side probably to kill another male fish. However Inarie's pole happened to be in the way and suddenly with a spinning tail it smashes the top part of the pole before diverting off its original course. Well she was now in a pickle, and before Inarie could form another plan of action another rockyfish burst through the lapping water at Inarie's direction. She reacted defensively by holding the pole between the fish and herself. With her hands strategically placed away from the center, the leaping fish chomps roughly at the center of the pole and creates a sizeable dent on it. Still the force was something Inarie couldn't hold back, but she improvised by falling backwards with the force before launching a precise knee at the fish's body. As once it finds steel in the jaws it opened its mouth, and when Inarie's knee came up the rockyfish is thrown up and over Inarie before landing in her bucket with the other fish that she caught.

The Kaguya reached back with one chakra coated hand to keep herself from submerging into the water and pushes herself back up to her own two feet. Seeing as how her pole is now a dented metal stick, Inarie tosses it to one for the sailors who fumbled to catch it as he watched it tumble into the water. Now Inarie sees that she lacks the strength to resist the fish, but if she plants her strikes accurately at the right moments she can score a fish. However that could take a while, and so Inarie thought back to how one of the Chunin was ranting about chakra claws. Supposedly it had the strength and durability to clash against other metal weapons.

”Now how did it go again…” Inarie mumbled to herself as she tries to mold chakra within her body and then flow that chakra into her hands. Specifically her fingernails. It felt like her nails were buzzing as Inarie attempts to extend them, but nothing happened. So the Kaguya tries once again, but to the same result. Refining the chakra, she infuses the molded chakra into the cells of her nails. Third time's the charm as some would say, and Inarie accelerates the normal growth of her nails. Due to her Draconic nature however these nails turn dark and curls like a set of oversized talons that extends up to 5 inches. Refining more chakra, she accelerates the growth of the nails on her toes as well and produces the same result.

”Much better.” Utilizing the art of precision, and training for it as well, Inarie purposely stabs one of the rockyfish's body as a red like mist clouds around it. Then using the curled nail to hook into the fish's intestines Inarie yanks the fish from the water as the rest begin to attack the red mist in a wild frenzy. The Draconic Kaguya tosses the bleeding fish into a separate bucket, and then begins to make precision strikes to stab her claws into the fish's body or through the eyes if possible. Even as fish leaps at her shins, Inarie kicks her claws that are on her foot into the fish's head just under the jaw before throwing it back into the bucket. Perhaps not the most effective and easy method like Ann displayed, but Inarie gets the job down.

Trained
Claw Creation Technique - C rank
Art of Precision - C rank

After the fish had died out on the ice, it became a matter of breaking the layers of ice and taking out the dead fish, then placing it on her bucket. As a bonus, the fish were all already quite frozen and ready for storage. Ann was pretty good at smacking things with her metallic fist and while her ice put ou a good fight, it didn't take long for her to break through it and find herself in an ice hole she'd dug. She had caught quite a lot of fish, but Ann was taking her time to slowly bring each fish, one by one, to her bucket. This gave Inarie a fighting chance and allowed Ann some time to relax. She was competitive, but the fishing wasn't really her thing. She was all about swordsmanship.

She knew she could win resorting to her Ice Release techniques, by freezing a huge part of the that bay and basically creating a huge iceberg from which all she had to do was dig out the fish. But she didn't do that, and instead she took her time to watch Inarie and how she handled her task. Her techniques were rather curious. Ann could only wonder what she'd do next.

The amount of blood that drips from Inarie's nails into the sea attracted a lot more of those fish that it honestly appears like a swarm of piranhas. Squirm and flailing against each other makes the area Inarie is in into a bloody mess. Even Inarie with her precision strikes and usage of her claws was starting to feel overwhelmed by the sheer amount of fish leaping up at her. Eventually she had one rockyfish chomping onto her left wrist, another on her shin, and a third fish was leaping up to her face. Of course Inarie was starting get angry as the sharp teeth sinks into her flesh even with her scales protecting her body.

Sparks of electricity courses over her skin before it expands outward that stretches for a whole meter. When it connects the water it travels further outward electrocuting all of the fish within range. It still wasn't enough to kill them, but Inarie swiftly struck her claws into their eyes and used the curled talons to hook their brain until she essentially had roughly 15 fish in her claws including the ones on her feet. Inarie dumped them into the bucket before prying off the stunned fish on her wrist and shin. It was starting to overflow from the amount of fish in her bucket. Inarie took a moment to look over at Ann's progress and least to say that she was instantly jealous that Ann can take out so many without so much as raising a blade.

”Man I wish I can do something like that…” Burning sensation can be felt from the bite wounds on her body. They weren't deep to be lethal and her body quickly clots up the open wounds. However these fish is starting to become a nuisance.

”Honestly kid if ye can get another twenty of these fish ye two can go home early. Ye two women did so much that it's gonna be a big haul by the time we're done.” One of the sailors spoke to Inarie whom nodded her head acknowledgement. It seems like their efforts has changed the attitude these sailors had about them.

”Will do. Alright Ann ready for round 2?!” More than likely Inarie is gonna lose in this competition because of Ann's freezing technique covering such a large area while Inarie has to physically take out these fish. Still Inarie was enthusiastic about it as either way this was still training to Inarie. Either way Inarie will take a moment to clean her claws from the hotel before resuming into swiftly taking out the fish.

[48hr Skip]

It did take a while for Inarie, but eventually she caught a few dozen fish into her talons and put them into her bucket. The sailors waved for Inarie and Ann to come back. By the time they counted all of the fish it turns out that despite Inarie's effort she happens to be a few fish short than what Ann caught. Inarie was a bit disappointed on the outcome that she effectively lost, but the sailors were still congratulating her as she caught roughly 140 fish. It was only noon too so they finished up in a few hours when it would've taken them virtually all day to evening. Frankly Inarie was tired as she can feel the fatigue within her muscles and bone. Still Inarie smiled as she formally bowed to Ann in respect.

”I might have lost this round, but next time I'll be sure to come up on top.” With everyone on board of the ship now and a large haul of rockyfish with plenty more still thrashing in the bay. They sailed back to where they came from and were both rewarded equally 15,000 each. Inarie bid her farewells to Ann and the crew before departing the Hozuki Fisheries for Kirigakure. The trek back isn't long, but Inarie would rather be back before night falls on them.

[Exit -> Kirigakure]

Ann smiled at Inarie. Today had been a really fun day, this was the first time she had gone out fishing. Back when she lived with samurai, fishing was definitely not one of their favorite activities. Instead hey relied on men of lesser social classes to do this kind of job while the samurai and their disciples focused fully on training. This might seem strange or elitist, but the system worked. The samurai would not starve, the people could make a living and the warriors were able to dedicate all of their time to training their mind and bodies to defend everyone from threats and attacks. And sure enough, threats and attacks were very common in the Land of Iron. If it wasn't a wild white bear, then it was a raid (or even full scale invasion) of a different clan. Alas, those times were gone and now Ann could rest and take on these kinds of activities.

"I'm sure you'll win our next match." The Jonin replied towards Inarie. Then she stood silent as the ship sailed back to the shore. From then on she would return home and rest there before taking another mission.

[Exit]