First Impressions are the Best

Hideaki walked through the woods quietly. It was quiet and serene. The trees were spaced well apart with enough room for the light sunlight to make it through the canopy. The temperature was warmer than Ame, but it wasn't too bad. Hideaki even liked the weather of this land.

He was finding his way through these woods with little effort. After navigating his way through Shikeru Forest, these Jouryoku woods were child's play. He looked back at his directions as he continued moving north. He had to get very deep into the woods before moving towards some mountains. There in a valley he would find what he was looking for.

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Hideaki searched through the hundreds of shelves in the Underground Archives. He was looking for a few specific books. One he managed to find with easy thanks to it being on the top shelf, but these books on the bottom have been heavily damaged. The damage looked like these books had been half dissolved by acid.

He was about to give up the search when he saw an old man with a stack of damaged books. The green-haired boy walked over to the man. He was casually scanning the insides of books. Most of which were illegible. It seemed like this man was capable of reading them though.

"Excuse me sir," Hideaki said, "I'm looking for a book about summoned animals."

The old man looked up from his book with a strange look on his face. He didn't say anything so Hideaki decided to continue talking.

"I need to find some info on various animals before I can even begin attempting to communicate with them," Hideaki continued.

The old man pulled out a small piece of paper and began scribbling on it. Hideaki couldn't tell what it was at first until the old man gave it to Hideaki. He coughed as Hideaki looked over the sheet.

"Go to that location young man. It's a long walk, but I'm confident that you can make it," the old man wheezed, "Good luck~"

Hideaki looked at the sheet and then back at the man. The old man had returned to reading. Hideaki said a quiet thank you before departing. He wasn't sure what animals he would find at this location, but he decided to not both the old man again.

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Hideaki did a quick leap to the tops of the trees. He scanned the area to see mostly flat trees. However, just a little ways ahead of him were several mountains that Hideaki guessed were his destination. He landed softly at the tree floor once again.

It took a few minutes to make it near the mountains. Hideaki followed the incline as the space got smaller and smaller. Soon enough he found himself within a valley. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary about it. He kept his eyes and ears open. If there was something here he didn't want to get attacked by it.

Small curious eyes shinned lightly in the shadows. There was the soft crunching of tiny footsteps, and then the sound of grass being rustled. The small creature lowered it’s head, sniffing in the scent of something…new. Something foreign. It’s small round ears perked up. A new sound met it’s ears, and curiosity filled the animal. It sounded nothing like any other life form in this forest, and it most certainly didn’t smell anything like a animal from these parts.

A little investigation shouldn’t hurt, would it? The animal darted forward. It moved through the forest at fast rapid speeds, drawing closer to the ruckus. It moved with a surprising grace, and it was obvious that this forest was it‘s home. The way it moved seemed to scream a connection. A familiarity between nature and this animal that prowled through it. Suddenly, a green blur was spotted overhead. The small animal felt terror spike through it’s heart. There was a sound of ground being shift as the animal slid through the dirt, drawing to a sharp stop. Quickly, it darted under the nearest bush, it‘s instincts overriding it‘s curiosity. It cowered for a few moments, to scared to lift it‘s head from the security of it’s paws.

After a minute or two of silence, the small creature slowly poked it’s head out from the bush, looking at the cause of it’s curiosity and fright. It sniffed the air slowly, making sure that the sent was the same. How bizarre. A human. All the way in these parts? The creature remembered humans. Of course, never had it been in close contact with one before. Humans were powerful, and tended to be feared. With good reason too. The small animal did not like the concept of being turned into a fur scarf. It crouched down slowly, using the tall grass around it as a cover. It didn’t want the human to know it’s presence. Not yet anyway.

It prowled closer, and then ever so slowly, lifted it’s head from the grass. The mongoose made eye contact with the human before it very carefully. It was obvious how timid the small mammal truly was. What it did next, was something that none of the other animals around here could do.

“Hello?” He spoke.

Hideaki walked quietly through the woods. He kept his senses open as he caught some random sounds. It was scurrying which was common in the woods. Hideaki didn't think much of it as he made his way further into the valley. It seemed that he was being tailed by some sort of animal. No harm in that.

There was a furry creature that popped out of a bush, "Hello?"

Hideaki stopped dead in his tracks. It was certainly uncommon for an animal to talk to you. He analyzed the creature. He wasn't much of a biologist, but it was obviously mammal. It had a long back and tail. It seemed like it was like a ferret or a weasel or maybe a mongoose. Maybe these were the animals Hideaki was suppose to make a contract with.

Hideaki took a deep breath, first impressions were key, "Hello."

That was a great meeting. Totally nailed that one Hideaki.

"My name is Hideaki Aoba. I'm a shinobi from Amegakure. I assume I'm invading your territory so I would like to apologize first. I wanted to learn about the Kuchiyose no Jutsu. An elderly gentleman gave me directions to come near this location."

Hideaki thought he covered all of the bases. He was in their area and needed to stat his business and identity. He pulled the piece of paper out of his pocket and unfolded it. He flattened it, and placed it on the ground.

"These were the directions given to me if you'd like to see them," Hideaki said while maintaining eye contact, "I will leave immediately if I am in the wrong location."

The mongoose tilted it’s head to the side as it listened with rapt attention to the human in front of him. Another human wanted to summon them? Such requests hadn’t occurred in a long time. A very long time, well, long before he was born. The mongoose wagged it’s tail back and forth, looking down at the paper the human had set down before him. Well, human sounded rude. He’ll just call him by his name now that he knew it.

“Uh, You almost invaded. I was on the border of my family’s territory when I heard you coming.” The mongoose explain shyly. He wasn’t supposed to leave his post, but surely leading Hideaki to the proper place wouldn’t hurt, right? He was doing his task as a summon.

“This map looks pretty old, it leads to our territory, but you would have ended up at our old den. We left it awhile ago. Who ever gave this to you didn’t know we switched. Our new den is…here I think.” The mongoose set down a claw on a location not far from the one marked down.

“I can lead you there. I don’t think the others would mind too much. I hope.” The mongoose then turned around, and proceeded to run back a few feet. It tilted it’s head, signaling towards the forest to tell Hideaki to follow him. The next moment, the small mongoose ran off again, but made sure to stay at a steady pace. He was small, and it’d be easy for the human to lose him.

Hideaki felt a rock dissolve in his chest as the mongoose acted friendly. He payed close attention to his speech and movements. He looked closely at where the mongoose pointed. It seemed they moved from one end of the mountains to another. Maybe they needed more room or perhaps it was just nicer there.

The green-haired guy bowed slightly and said "thank you" when the mongoose said he'd show the way to their den. When Hideaki lifted up the mongoose was already taking off. He smiled as he started sprinting, reaching down and grabbing the map.

Hideaki watched the mongoose while it ran. It was obvious the creature was limiting its capabilities for Hideaki's sake. It made sure to stay on paths and out of bushes to make sure Hideaki could follow. They ran for perhaps five or so minutes, it would have taken much longer walking at Hideaki's previous speed.

It seemed that the forest was getting a little thicker the further they went. There weren't exactly more trees, but the tree tops were thicker. The amount of light making it through seemed to be less. Hideaki made sure only to look a little as he kept up with the mongoose. He began to notice how large this creature was. It wasn't huge, but much larger than any animal like it he had seen.

Hideaki began to feel prodding eyes as he continued to follow. It seemed they were entering the den just as the little guy had said. A bead of sweat went down his neck as he thought about how many other mongeese could be here. His resolve stayed firm. Since his business wasn't unheard of, Hideaki wasn't leaving here empty handed.

The small mongoose felt nervous as he approached the entrance to his home. He already knew that the others were watching. He was the youngest here, his elders tended to be rather strict with him. It was understandable. They trained him to excel, and sometimes being strict was the only way for that to happen. The mongoose tucked his tail between his legs as he moved, and he slowed down considerably.

The small mammal finally grew to a stop outside of a large cavern that dug deep into the side of a mountain. He was home, but he really wasn‘t supposed to be. He bent his ears back, and approached slowly, keeping close to the ground as he moved through his damp and chilled home.

“Ah…Sir?” The mongoose spoke out slowly. He was wondering if his superior was asleep at the moment. If this mongoose had learned anything, it was that their leader enjoyed his rest. The male mongoose was considerably larger then the rest of them, so the younger mongoose supposed that it made him more lazy.

There was a deep growl from somewhere deep within the cave. “Brat. Your on border duty. What the hell are you doing back?” The voice was low and powerful, but the younger mongoose raised his head, gaining some confidence. The youngest of the mongoose already knew he would not be reprimanded for being here.

“Someone wants to summon us.” The youngest replied. “A human.” There was a pause. The younger mongoose looked back up at Hideaki, motioning for him to walk forward.

“We haven’t had a summoner in quite a long time” Came the raspy voice.

“Come forward. Human.”

Hideaki slowed his pace with the mongoose's. He took a moment to look around now that they had stopped. The area was large, but confined. It was like being in a large cage with the sky most blocked out. The cave on the side of the mountain was foreboding. It was huge which lead Hideaki to guess that the creature within was also huge.

His attention turned from the cave itself to the darkness within when the voice called out. It sounded as though it belonged to a large creature. Hideaki thought that this might be the 'boss'. He had read that most large animal tribes had one who assumed the role of leader, or "Boss". Hideaki didn't think he'd get the chance to meet the Boss so soon.

He kept a firm expression as he prevented himself from doing anything that would seem submissive. Hideaki didn't know the customs of the Mongoose. His first instinct told him to not act submissive towards the creatures else he'll seem weak. Plus he was a jounin. Hideaki was no pushover himself.

Hideaki noticed the only visible mongoose motioning him to come forward. He walked forward slowly. He stopped once in the mouth of the cave. The voice bounced off of the cave walls as he heard "Come forward, human." He walked until he was on the edge of the light. He knew that his eyes wouldn't adjust to the darkness.

"I am Hideaki Aoba, a jounin from Amegakure. I would like to form a contract with you," Hideaki said with confidence. His voice boomed in the cave. He stood firm as he cut straight to business.

There was a dark chuckle. This human was quite the spunky flesh bag. It was a pleasant change. The elder mongoose had lost track of how many humans he had intimidated, or how many summoners he had scared away. He opened his eyes slowly, they sparked in the darkness. He wouldn’t move behind his veil of shadows, perfectly content in the lack of light. He knew the human couldn’t see past the dusk, but he knew that the smaller mongoose could, the elder motioned for the younger to join him.

The smaller mongoose nodded, and ran towards his leader. “Normally, there would be a test.” he elder said, watching the youngest mongoose do as he was instructed. The elder turned his gaze right back towards the human. Hideaki was it? A jonin from Ame no less.

"Go get me a fish." The mongoose responded.

Hideaki tensed slightly as the chuckle resonated out of the cave. He could feel how deep the voice was. The owner of the laugh could very well be a giant. Right now the creature had the advantage if it wanted to destroy him too. Still Hideaki stood his ground. He wouldn't let himself be scared off.

The green-haired shinobi noticed the glint in the darkness. The smaller mongoose who lead him here ran past him. It seemed the cave dweller wanted him. He listened as the giant told him that there would normally be a test. Perhaps he would get this easy.

"Go get me a fish."

Hideaki's facial expression changed to one of confusion. This didn't sound like a big test. He thought about it for a moment before deciding that he would count his blessings in how easy this was. The green-haired shinobi coughed into his palm lightly.

"Sure thing," he said.

Hideaki turned and walked out of the cave. He kept a constant pace until he had completely exited the cave. He gave a quick look around as he tried to home in on all of the eyes watching him. He leaped up into the treetops, and started to run around.

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It took Hideaki thirty minutes to find the stream. It was difficult to find due to him being forced to stay close to the ground. The shinobi walked close to the stream. It was probably thirty feet across and incredibly deep. He looked into the water which was a dark blue. The bottom wasn't visible from the bank even on the water's edge.

Suddenly a black blotch approached the surface. It grew larger and larger before it burst out of the water. It was a fish that was easily larger than Hideaki himself. The creature's mouth was large enough to swallow Hideaki whole. The shinobi jumped back in surprise. His breathing became rather hectic.

A loud chuckling could be heard a few yards away. Hideaki turned towards the sound to see a mongoose with shaggy dark brown fur. The uncommon thing was that this creature was twice the size of the one that lead Hideaki to the den. It was close to Hideaki's size.

"The look on your face was priceless," the mongoose said, "what's your name human?"

Hideaki gave a frustrated look, "Hideaki Aoba."

The mongoose wiped a tear out of his eye, "Well Hideaki, it's uncommon to see humans around here. I'm glad to see someone's new enough to be scared of the fish."

Hideaki gave a grunt before making a series of hand seals. The water in front of Hideaki began to churn before rising up, and making a silhouette of him. The water turned into an identical copy of Hideaki. The water clone walked out into the center into of the stream.

Hideaki continued to make hand seals. He held his right arm out next to him where metal particles began to form together into a large spear. Hideaki waited for several seconds without moving. The water under the clone grew darker until a large fish, a bit larger than the first one, leaped out of the water. Hideaki chucked his spear with all his might as he skewered the mighty fish.

The green haired shinobi jumped out, and grabbed the fish. It was just as heavy as it looked. He pulled the fish to the shore, and then pulled it onto his shoulder. He was about to move out when he heard from the mongoose.

"Hey human, how'd you find the den?"

Hideaki turned slightly, "I was...was lead here...by...by a small mongoose."

"Ah, that must be Kenhachirou," the large mongoose said, "I'm Kengorou."

Hideaki gave Kengorou a nod before walking back towards the den. It took another thirty minutes to make it back to the den. Hideaki grunted lightly as he carried the large fish that still had a metal spear in it. Hideaki lowered the fish in front of the cave. He wiped some sweat from his brow.

"I have returned with a fish," Hideaki said loudly, "A bit larger than I expected."

The elder mongoose rose from his slumber at the sound of the human’s return. It stood up slowly from the shadows, and moved into the light sluggishly. He yawned loudly, each canine shining dangerously in the new light. Hideaki had been right when he thought the elder was large. This elder mongoose could swipe away the human with a flick of his claw. The elder inspected the human with his gaze, and then moved to the fish. The elder gave a deep rumble in approval. “Good good.” He muttered, and quickly sunk it’s teeth into the stabbed fish, it used one of it’s paws to remove the metal spear easily. The next moment, the fish was gone into the depths of his jaw and then to his stomach.

The elder mongoose laid down on his stomach, using the metal spear as a toothpick, and then flicking it away, watching it impale itself into the nearest rock. “Now we can start the real test.” The mongoose enounced, his tail thumping against the ground as he looked at the human with amused eyes.

“I need you to get something for me. You already know where our old den is, don’t you? I need you to grab a crate from inside. It’s around your size, and possibly a tiny bit lighter then yourself. Bring it back here unharmed and we’ll take about a contract. Our old den is well guarded with traps and such.” The mongoose trailed one large claw through the ground, slicing through the stone beneath him like a knife through butter.

“So, while your inside, try not to get killed.” The large mongoose finished lamely.

Hideaki watched silently as the boss mongoose left his cave. He was huge. Hideaki gulped lightly. The boss devoured the fish rather quickly, and used his B-rank Kinton spear as a toothpick. It was scary how size can make a creature superior to most things.

The green-haired shinobi listened closely as the Boss told him what he was suppose to retrieve. He was glad he had grabbed the map now that he had to go back to the old den. It seemed that this test was going to be the actual one. It sounded a little dangerous as well.

"Aight," Hideaki said as he lazily gave a backwards wave as he walked away.

Hideaki leaped into the treetops as he made his way towards the place that the old man had told him to go. It didn't take Hideaki long to make it back where he had first met the small mongoose, Kenhachirou. He looked at his map, and followed it back slowly towards the place he had first been told to go to.

The jounin swift leaped through the trees as he made a straight line towards the den. His senses were open searching for the slightly sign of a possible trap. It was quiet for a while until Hideaki heard a certain sound. It sounded like wire rubbing on a tree. He focused chakra into his legs as he pushed hard into the air.

Hideaki looked down to see an area roughly 25 feet in diameter was now destroyed. He landed lightly amongst the snapped limbs and broken branches. He inspected the wood to realize that the sound he had heard was in fact wire. Somehow the whole area was rended to shreds by a large amount of wire. He didn't stay much longer.

About five minutes later Hideaki found another trap. This time it was a sudden sound of rushing through the brush. He looked from side to side as he ran forward. It was getting close, but somehow keeping up with his forward speed too. Two giant stone mongoose statues flew out of the trees around Hideaki, and threatened to crush him. The jounin threw a clasp from his belt which latched onto a branch. In a quick motion, Hideaki was thrust out from between the statues as they rammed together. Hideaki sighed as he continued towards the den.

A few more minutes passed as Hideaki ran quicker towards the den. He felt as though he had tripped a few traps, but outran them. He could see some rocks up ahead. It seemed he was getting close to the den. Hideaki smiled. It quickly faded as the thick branch he tried to push off of crunched under him. The pieces fell down onto the ground causing the dirt and grass to disappear, only to be replaced by an insanely large spike pit. Hideaki threw another clasp, this time aiming for a tree trunk. He managed to avoid falling into the pit thanks to his belt. The shinobi breathed deeply as he felt as though he could have lost his life three times now. He picked himself up, and ran at full speed towards the rocks.

Hideaki landed outside a cave that was slightly smaller than the one at the new den. It was quiet and dark here. It gave Hideaki the chills. He walked slowly inside the cave. It was empty within. Hideaki couldn't anything at first, but a small glint of light drew his eye in just the right direction. There sat a large crate that was in fact Hideaki's size. He thought about it for a moment before making a series of hand seals. An exact replica of Hideaki rose out of the ground, but was made of various metals this time. It walked over, and grabbed the crate. Hideaki smiled as the clone hefted it onto its back, and walked towards the entrance of the cave.

Everything seemed like it was going to be smooth sailing, until Hideaki saw the figure standing about fifty feet away from the cave facing directly at them.

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"Well hello there young'in," an old voice called out, "how 'bout you hand over that crate nice and easy now."

Hideaki's brow furrowed as he recognized the guy. It was the old man who had given him the map. He stood there in front of Hideaki resting on a small cane. He had a pleasant smile on his face.

Hideaki looked to his clone, and nodded, which the clone returned, "I don't think I can do that."

The old man lifted a hand above his head and exhaled deeply, "Then you won't make it out of here alive."

The old man made a quick series of hand seals. He threw his cane aside as he turned his whole body quickly. Suddenly a large amount of flame expelled from his mouth as he set the forestry on fire. The fire spread quickly making an ominous background behind the old man. His once pleasant expression was replaced with a serious one. He looked ready to kill.

Hideaki was one step ahead. He made a quick series of hand seals. He opened his mouth wide as water poured out of his mouth. It quickly pooled at his feet, and started to build. It was so much that it began lifting Hideaki off of the ground like a geyser. The water making a nice platform for his feet. The water rushed forwards over the old man and the flames.

The clone ran ahead of Hideaki as the real one stayed right on his tail. Hideaki turned to make sure the coast was clear when the old man grabbed him by the throat. It surprised Hideaki as they both fell into the now deep water. The old man kept his mouth shut tight as they fell to the bottom. Hideaki made more hand seals, and he felt a bubble appear in his mouth.

The jounin breathed deeply as the water broke down into breathable oxygen. The old man jerked backwards as he realized he was at an immediate disadvantage. The old man turned and tried to swim up only to be pulled back down by five Hideaki's. The real Hideaki broke free of the surface as he watched the clone tie the old man to a tree. The shinobi began sprinting on top of his miniature ocean to catch up with his metal clone.

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Two Hideaki's walked up to the entrance of the cave. One carried the crate while the other just walked. The crate was a little wet, but all in all fine. The clone sat the crate down on the ground out front of the cave similar to the fish. After removing itself from the crate, the clone turned into a dark brown and broke apart. Hideaki turned to the entrance of the cave.

"I have retrieved the only crate at your old den," Hideaki bellowed.

During the human’s absence, the mongoose had drifted off to sleep again. Most humans would have trouble dealing with the traps that had been set up, but a handful would always survive, carrying whatever the mongoose ordered them to bring. The elder slowly rose from his slumber as the human returned. The elder gave a smirk. Good. He had a feeling that this one would pull through. He exited from the cave slowly, his limps still sluggish from his rest. The mongoose yawned loudly. He always liked to sleep through the day and wait until night to really rise. It was just a preference. All the other mongooses stayed active through the day, leaving their territory vulnerable at night. With him having the graveyard shift, that was no more.

“I can tell. Congratulations on passing the test.” The mongoose rumbled, and then used one claw to carefully open the box. Inside was a large scroll, well, small compared to him. Gently, the elder removed it, and then placed it on the ground. The scroll opened, and the mongoose stared down at the summoning contract.

“I believe you know what this is? You seem to have some knowledge about summons before you came here.” The mongoose pointed down towards a empty slot for the jonin to write his name.

“Hideaki of Ame, sign you name in blood, and we shall serve you from this day forward.” The elder spoke, his voice rumbling from his chest.

Hideaki stood fast as the large mongoose exited the cave once more. He noticed how he yawned and acted sleepy. It seems that he was napping while Hideaki had done the test. Hideaki wasn't bothered by this. He actually appreciated it. It showed that the mongoose was rather efficient even if he was just using the time to catch some sleep.

He watched the large scroll be retrieved from the crate. He didn't even catch that the scroll was in there. It seemed that even the leader of the mongoose had a sense of humor, or at least a sense of dramatic presence. The scroll rolled out in front of Hideaki. It was brown and gray other than the obvious white. There were only a few names on the scroll, most of which had red 'X's on them.

Hideaki reached his hand to his side, and pressed his thumb against the tip fairly hard. He had heard that many nin bit their thumbs to make the blood, but he wasn't sure how that worked. Hideaki had rather small canine teeth and his other teeth wouldn't break the skin. This was a much easy and less painful way of drawing blood.

The blood came out at an appropriate pace. He dabbed his index finger with it before signing his name. He made sure to make his own specialties to it before finishing up. A mongoose larger than Kenhachirou came over to roll the scroll up. Hideaki wiped his hand.

The mongoose lifted the scroll as if presenting it to him. It spoke in a high pitch voice.

"The previous contract holder is deceased. You have been chosen to take her place."

Hideaki was unsure at first, but accepted the scroll. It couldn't hurt. He grabbed the scroll by the strap that was linked to the roll. After slinging it over his shoulder he gave the place one last look over. He knew this wasn't the last time he'd be here. With that, Hideaki leaped into the trees on his way back to Ame.