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Post by Dog M.D. on Feb 7, 2009 18:16:03 GMT -5
Swish, swish, swish, step, swish, swish, swish, step.
A tail to the left, and then to the right, and a paw forward, and then another. A happy bark here, and a smiling woof there. A flying stick overhead, and a bolting shadow down below.
Snap!
Mighty jaws clamped down onto the stick, and the furry figure landed on all four paws, giving off a graceful step the moment he landed. The sunlight shined down on his wet fur, and sparkled as he shook the water off. Tiny droplets of shining water flew everywhere, and then with a proud stance, the Ninken let out a powerful bark, followed by a wagging tail.
"Good job boy! Come 'ere, boy! Come on!" A young genin shouted, patting his hands over his knees while squatting. Inuniku ran forward, stumbling over his tiny paws a few times, but managed to leap into his boy's arms. He then greeted his boy with a barrage of licks, and continued to wag his tail. His boy scratched him behind the ear, and laughed as he was licked.
The joyful memory was silenced as the wind brushed past his fur. There he was, sitting to the side of the pond, where he would chase the toads when he was young. His gaze drifted to the left, noting the trees where he and his boy would play hide and go seek. His ears perked up, then settled down as he indentified the noise. It was a young couple, walking their dog through the park. A feeling of nostalgia overcame Inuniku, and he couldn't help but wag his tail.
The feeling disappeared however, as he watched the couple walk off towards the gardens. He stood, licking his leg and then shifting his body as he stood. He shook as if he was covered with water, and began to prance off throughout the park. It was rather empty, unlike most other days. Normally, academy students would be out of the academy right about now, playing ninja and shouting playfully. Young genin normally came to rest after training, or to get away from parents. Chūnin normally were here supervising academy students during after-school detention, or working on some type of mission, such as a D-rank.
Yet today was quiet. Only a few people here and there. The academy students weren't out playing today. It only seemed like civilians were there, which wasn't bad, not at all. Inuniku enjoyed the silence, but he loved to see the young ones play. He was only five years old by human standards, but by dog years, he was nearly forty years old, and he had the wisdom to prove it.
There was a sigh of loneliness, and his head was hung low. Another breeze blew against his neck, and he looked up to find a leaf land on top of his muzzle.
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Post by LIVEnSPIRALS on Feb 10, 2009 19:41:56 GMT -5
"He's been through so much. This is too soon."
In a house in the middle of Konohagakure no Sato a red haired youth lay resting on his bed. Covering his face was a green covered with the words Detergent written on it. For the past couple of hours Marutake had been catching up on the series. At this point, the orange haired main character had just managed to defeat one of the series recurring villains with a power-up that seemingly came out of nowhere. It's stuff like such as that which made the series hard to follow, but it had explosions so he continued to read it.
"It has been a year, Tomoe. The boy is fine. Even the doctors have commented on his recovery."
Letting out a sigh Marutake grabbed hold of the book, and pulled it off of his face. There were still about five chapters left, but he just wasn't up to read them any more.
"Otōsan, please. I am his mother, I know what is best for him."
There it was. The most famous line any parent could utter. After hearing that Marutake's expression grew dull as he stared at his rotating ceiling fan.
"And he is my grandson! He's done his time. He's ready."
This was getting old. Ever since he had finished with his therapy sessions and decided that he wanted to continue his career as a shinobi his mother and grandfather had been arguing the same thing. As if they had a say in what he decided to do with his life. Sliding off of his bed Marutake stood to his feet, and picked up a slip of paper from his desk.
"Razuri Oni, huh?" he said to himself as he looked over his newly assigned teammate would be. The kid was a rookie, but that was alright. He was more than willing to show this kid the ropes when it came to being a shinobi. Opening his window he quietly slipped out and carefully jumped down the side of the house. Landing near the kitchen he could still hear his mother and grandfather arguing over his fate. Sighing and shaking his head Marutake quickly and stealthily made his get away.
Today...
He would find his new teammate!
『 ...Hours later... 』
Or...not.
For nearly three hours Marutake had been scouring the village looking for this little brat by the name of Oni, and yet he hadn't so much as found a hair. He'd been to the Academy, the gym, various food establishments, the manga shop, and all of them were dead ends. So he figured that he'd stop by the park before heading back to his house.
Walking down one of the paths he reached into a plastic bag and pulled out a fried round piece of bread. Taking a bite out of the curry bread Marutake's eyes seemed to shift to the right. He then came to a stop mid-stride as he noticed a strange canine just standing there. Blinking a few times he gave the dog a questioning look. It was wierd to see dogs running around by themselves. Normally there was an Inuzuka right behind them, but this one seemed to be all by itself. Swallowing his bite of curry bread he broke off a piece and held it out.
"Hey boy...," Marutake said as he dangled the food infront of him, and slowly began to advance towards the dog. "Who's a good dog...? Do you want some food?"
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Post by Dog M.D. on Feb 10, 2009 20:35:31 GMT -5
Achoo~!!
Inuniku sneezed, causing the leaf to fly off his nose and sway to the ground. He rubbed a paw against his itchy muzzle, then rubbed it deep in his fur, proceeding to lick down his leg a few times before looking back up. It was habit, and Inuniku preferred to leave self-cleaning at home, instead of out in public. Though, it couldn't be helped.
His ears perked up at the sound of an unfamiliar voice. He didn't even notice the kid stalk up behind him. The teen was fair and had an average height for someone his age. Inuniku guessed he was around thirteen, fourteen. The red hair was a nice touch. Possibly a dye? Kids these days were always running around with crazy hair colors.
Then, it happened. The most predictable thing a human could ever do, and yet, Inuniku still wasn't used to it. The boy had slowly begun his advance towards the ninken, holding a piece of bread in his hand. Oh boy, here we go again. Hopefully, he won't overact like that cloud kid. While he was hungry, he was perfectly capable of gathering food on his own. Though, why pass up a chance to get some free food?
Putting on his best act, and throwing his good morals out the window, Inuniku gave one look at Marutake, and unleashed the power of his puppy dog eyes. The mixture of an extreme sad blue eye, and a wise brown eye formed together into a look that could shake mountains and cause them to cry tears of sympathy. With those eyes, and a low whine, Inuniku slowly approached the teen as well, moving like caution like a stray and injured dog.
Talking could come later...
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Post by LIVEnSPIRALS on Feb 10, 2009 20:54:11 GMT -5
A smile started to form on Marutake's face as he continued his slow approach to the dog. It was starting to move towards him, which was a good sign. The last thing he needed was some kind of wolf-dog mauling him in this almost vacant park. Especially since he had left his ninjatō back in his room.
"Hope that you like curry bread," he said as he looked the dog in the eyes. It was then that he felt his heart sink as he was caught in his puppy dog eyes. Slowly he placed the bread on the ground and took a step backwards, as to not alarm him. His eyes looked over the dog to see if there was any sort of collar, but at first glance he couldn't see anything. "G'on. Try it. It's good," he said as he took another bite from his piece of curry bread.
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Post by Dog M.D. on Feb 10, 2009 21:15:19 GMT -5
Mmm... delicious curry bread. How long has it been? Far too long by my counts.
He slowly continued the advance, freezing in mid-step as Marutake stepped back, watching him for a second, then continuing the cautions approach towards the curry bread. Inuniku always thought himself as a good actor, but he never really had a stage to work on.
Slowly, his head lowered, and his muzzle opened. Slipping the bread into his mouth in a dainty fashion, Inuniku began to chew, savoring the taste. He was never allowed to eat table scraps back at home, so it was nice to get any food he could get in the outside world.
After finishing, Inuniku sat down and wagged his tail. His sad eyes were replaced with a joyful expression, and through more investigation, upon Inuniku's face was a dog-like smile.
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Post by LIVEnSPIRALS on Feb 11, 2009 0:50:40 GMT -5
After taking his step back Marutake kept his eyes locked intently on the canine. Even though he had gotten this close to the dog without it showing any signs of aggression there was still that air of caution. The smile that had appeared earlier only seemed to grow as he watched the dog happily eat up the bread. Quickly swallowing the piece he had just eaten Marutake chuckled a little the dog wagged its tail and seemingly smiled at him.
"You liked that, boy?" he said cheerfully as he broke off a larger piece of the curry bread. "Well the, eat up," Marutake said as he tossed the chunk of bread into the air. If he was going to get on this dogs good side then he might as well play a few games with him first. Hell, if he got the dog to like him enough he might even get a chance to pet him. Or better yet, he might end up with a new pet.
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Post by Dog M.D. on Feb 11, 2009 1:59:12 GMT -5
Inuniku raised his head in a noble fashion, pressed with his back feet, and snapped his jaws onto the flying curry bread. He happily gulped it down, savoring it less than the last piece. Feeling rejuvenated, Inuniku rose up to all four paws, and pranced around Marutake. Just because he was a dog didn't mean he had to act like one. He was a ninken, after all. If he was going to get into any trouble, he could handle himself.
Wagging his tail some more, he sniffed at the curry bread, then looked back up to Marutake. He was practically standing right beside him, gleaming with happiness. The old dog always enjoyed being around the younger generation. Something about their scent reminded him of the good ol' days. The days of his carefree attitude.
Putting the past behind him, Inuniku decided that he'd test the boy for a bit, before deciding if he should talk or not. After all, he really didn't want the same incident with the cloud kid happening again. If this teen proved himself in the ways Inuniku was about to test him, he'd grace him with the sound of his voice.
Let the games begin then, shall we? Inuniku pressed his head against Marutake's leg. An odd thing to do for a stray dog, but hey, if your gonna ruin the act, save yourself before it's too late. He motioned with his nose towards a stick, which was laying beside a rock, right next to the pond.
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Post by LIVEnSPIRALS on Feb 11, 2009 10:38:28 GMT -5
"Haha! Nice catch!" the red haired boy said as he gave Inuniku a small little applause. Marutake's mind was filled with nothing but childish bliss at the moment. Right now, he was genuinely laughing. It wasn't forced or anything, and he looked as if he was truly happy -- a feat that some of his therapists thought would take years to recover. Yet there it was, clear as day.
As the dog pranced around him Marutake spun around along with him, and stopped as Inuniku did. When the stray sniffed at his remaining curry bread and then pressed his head against his leg Marutake raised a curious brow. "You want some more?" he questioned the dog, not really expecting much of an answer in return. Raising the bread up so that he could break off another piece he glanced down as Inunika started pointing towards a stick. "Huh? That's a sti--OH!" the red haired youth exclaimed as he smacked the palm of his hand against his forehead. "You want to play. Alright, then."
Placing the bag of curry bread onto the ground he began walking towards the stick that had been pointed out to him. Drawing closer to the stick he noticed the koi pond. His head tilted to the side for just a second as a slight thought of paranoia surged through his mind. He quickly dismissed the thought thinking, The dog's smart but not that smart. Finally reaching the stick he crouched down to pick up the stick, and examined it for a moment before standing back to his feet. "Alright, you ready?" he asked as he turned back to face Inuniku.
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Post by Dog M.D. on Feb 11, 2009 13:44:05 GMT -5
Watching the red-haired teen approach the stick, Inuniku wagged his tail and moved with excitement. Just what was it that interested him so much about flying objects? Sticks and balls, even kunai and shuriken all looked like play things for him to grab in his mouth, then gnaw on for later. He knew better than that, though, but instinct told him otherwise.
It was then that he noticed a slight hesitation from the boy. It could mean nothing, but his thoughts were move focused around the unguarded curry bread. He was an actor, not a thief. He'd have to earn that food some other time.
His eyes followed the movements of the stick, then shot up to gaze into Marutake's. The previous sad puppy dog eyes were now replaced with a rejuvenated playfulness. It took everything inside him to bark, instead of speak. He thought of it as degrading for him to bark. Woof, bow wow, bark bark. If all dogs could talk, they'd never want to revert to those petty sounds.
Putting that aside however, Inuniku let out the happiest bark he could muster. He crouched down low, jumped up in the air, then landed on all four paws, staring at the stick half the time, and at Marutake the rest of the time.
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Post by LIVEnSPIRALS on Feb 11, 2009 14:17:15 GMT -5
Seeing the dog literally jump for joy at the sight of the stick sent all the paranoia he was experiencing before from his mind. Perhaps he was just thinking of what he would do to himself if he were in Inuniku's position. An unsuspecting kid leaning over with his back to you and a pond practically in front of him. That was just a perfect setup for a prank in Marutake's mind. Oh well, there would be time to teach him all about pranks later.
Should this whole thing blow over well that is.
"Okay then...," Marutake said as he cocked his stick arm back. A devious smirk formed as a locked eyes with the dog. "Fetch!!" he roared as he hurled the stick with as much force as he could muster. Consider this to be a test of his own. He wanted to see just what this supposed stray could do.
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Post by Dog M.D. on Feb 11, 2009 18:29:04 GMT -5
And so the games begin~!!
Inuniku lowered himself slightly as Marutake's arm cocked back. He had to make a choice right here and now. Was he going to act like a normal dog, and run at one eighth of his possible speed, or would he put it into full gear, and be the wonderpup he was called by the cloud kid.
Choices choices... and a flying stick... Flying stick!! Inuniku reacted with only half a second of hesitation. He darted forward, moving at incredible speeds for an average dog. Before he had caught himself in the, he was already in the air, with his jaw open and his tongue hanging out. There was no going back now, but hey, this could act as another test.
His muzzle snapped closed, and the stick was guarded by an army of fangs. His handed, and threw his head up in a noble and proud fashion, before running back to Marutake and dropping the stick in front of him. If this kid was worth his time, he wouldn't run away. If he was like the average young shinobi he's been meeting, he would have darted the moment he had approached.
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Post by LIVEnSPIRALS on Feb 12, 2009 14:22:59 GMT -5
A blank expression overlapped Marutake's face as he watched the dog take off after the stick. His mouth was open slightly and his blinking had become sluggish. This dog was fast and not just fast in comparison to a human. This dog was leagues above any other dog that he had come across. There was no doubt about it. At some point in this dog's life it had recieved some ninja training.
Looking down at the stick that was dropped before him Marutake tilted his head. He then looked at Inuniku for a moment before his smirk returned. "Well, well, well...," he said as he reached down and picked up the stick. As he looked down at the ninken he waved the stick side to side. "Let's see just how high you can jump," Marutake said as he looked up at the sky, and then pitched the stick up into the air with all his might.
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Post by Dog M.D. on Feb 12, 2009 14:45:17 GMT -5
Taking a quick step back, Inuniku watched the stick like a chain smoker would look at a pack of cigarettes. His eyes followed it left and right, then, up into the air. Such grand heights! Don't lose your cool... it's just a flying sti-- He interrupted himself as he bolted off in the opposite direction of Marutake. Within seconds, he was around twenty feet away, then, with all his might, he leapt up into the air, aimed at the stick like a bullet.
Stiiiiiiiiiiiick~!!! His teeth clamped down on it, and he found himself in the air higher than any dog could ever go. His cover was blown, that was for sure. This could act as a last test. He landed on the ground, all four paws seemingly touching the ground in a dainty fashion. Good god... what is wrong with me...? All this for a stick? It's a good stick, I'll give it that...
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Post by LIVEnSPIRALS on Feb 12, 2009 15:27:42 GMT -5
After launching the stick into the air Marutake's eyes locked onto the dog. They narrowed on him in concentration, his eyes watching his every movement. Crossing his arms as the dog scurried back he would observe this one last test. This would determine just how skilled this supposed stray really was. Alright...let's see what you can do..., he thought to himself as he waited.
He blinked.
Within that time the dog seemingly vanished from his spot, leaving only a small cloud of dust in his wake. Looking to the sky Marutake watched as the dog seemed to soar towards the stick, catching it in its mighty jaws, and landed practically perfect. Turning around with a smug look on his face he took a few steps towards Inuniku.
"Nice catch, ninken. What other tricks can you do?"
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Post by Dog M.D. on Feb 12, 2009 15:57:10 GMT -5
Looks like he's passed my little test... and, it seems like I passed his... Inuniku dropped the stick and licked his leg. he blinked slowly, before looking back up to Marutake. "I've got a couple of tricks up my sleeves." If he wore sleeves, that is. Human metaphors never really made sense to him. The thought of saying you had a trick up your sleeve... that was just strange.
"What about you? You seem to know a lot about ninken to classify me as one." His voice was rather deep, but not to an extreme. It had a soothing tone, and a pitch of wisdom in it. His eyes were no longer polluted with sadness or the look of a beggar. They were full of intelligence and experience. He had the look of a dog that has seen it all, but longs to know more.
"What's your story, eh?" He sat down, licking his leg again before looking back up to Marutake. There was still a chance to back out of the test. Many people had passed the test, but they never did anything with their success. They all freaked out at the sight of a talking dog. Hopefully, Marutake would be different.
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