Pelicans Hate Plebs [Private]

Age : 25 Posts : 1767

Spoiler:

The day was one of reflection, the tone not being sombre but more tranquil, the mind of our man Saitou rather contentious to even his own mind. He had not felt like the usual riot of exertion he endured. Nay, he felt as if he wished to avoid embarking upon a tiresome, perhaps dangerous mission, or evade the strenuous fathoms of training. Sometimes he could enjoy the feeling of pushing his body to new limits. Today was not the day for that, for his laziness had developed into a new plane of fruition, a place in which his mind was calm and he wished to break the trend of what he would normally do, to go and find somewhere and to simply ponder. In contrast to what he would normally do, Saitou found miles of walking to somewhere slightly more isolated and natural less than tasking. The spot he eventually came to choose was one of connate beauty, the sight highly anomalous. He found great pleasure in this, the knowing that he was the only human being about. Not the only living being, however.

The rolling hills came to a stop, the less than steep rises and falls leading towards a large lake surrounded by willows that dipped towards the water, as if they were a gentleman, removing their hat to bow for a fair lady. In the comforting shade they provided, all manner of life did exist, but it remained rather quiet and innocent. The heads of the majestic structures of biological simplicity and wood graced the surface of the water delicately, the tips of every drooping leaf making little disturbance as it hung above the clear water, its reflection stunningly perfect. However, the ones that did reach longer were a different story. They elegantly perturbed the surface, cutting open what might as well have been shimmering glass. These leaves masked many creatures. Bugs lazily appeared, going about their weird business. Yet these were far from most noticeable about this area; a graceful swan glided across the lake, its beauty emanating from with-forth its sheeny coat. Pelicans sat about the water's edge, dallying about or occasionally venturing into the depths of the lake as to retrieve a meal. Each fish they obtained was gulped with surprising speed. Finding a comfortable area against the rough back of a willow tree, Saitou perched upon the roots jutting from the grass. He tipped his head back and closed his eyes.

The feeling of the tree's surface was acquiesced by the youth as his physical discomfort became a sort of odd serenity to him. His mind could meander as his body remained still, no disturbances about him. There were noises, of course; few parts of the world were without them, but they were not aimed at Saitou and he was not expected to respond. They were calm noises, the noises of life and living in its simplest form. At least, that's what he thought. These moments of tranquility and placidity were soon to be interrupted by a voice with a mysterious source. "Look at that ruffian. Just sitting there, motionless. Doesn't even introduce himself! Scum, I tell you; but that's what this world is nowadays, just bastards and plebs surrounding and overwhelming the purer masses. You know what? I bet he's poor!" Eyes snapping open at this odd intrusion, Saitou looked about, one hand already shooting downwards to retrieve a weapon of some kind. This reaction was one that he'd simply gained from his many years as a Shinobi. Withdrawing a kunai from the depths of his pouch, he spoke, his voice firm and solid, making sure to enter as much authority as he could. "Halt! Who goes there? Show yourself!" However, this inquiry was met only with a low chuckle. A laugh much like his own. His frown burrowed, as his narrowed eyes scrutinised the scene afore him; but he could see nobody, just some animal dicking about and doing their thing. Saitou checked around the tree, looking about for any signs of intelligent life.

"Ooo, big boy with a knife, too! Looks like he's a shinobi; not often we get his kind about here. Let me guess, a little child genin? What a poor oik he is. And look at those clothes, no uniform, no authority! Everyone knows one must adorn their official attire, to represent their nation and their ability, it is a requirement; or maybe you can't read any rules they hand you, huh? Silly pleb!" The voice goaded him once more, and it did indeed irk the youth. Where in the fuck was this voice coming from? It had to have a source. Then it struck him; of course, above! Quickly casting his eyes upward, he nearly yelped, for staring down into his very soul were two beady, yellow eyes, a burning fire of intensity within. But what surprised him more was the fact he was staring at probably the biggest bird he had ever seen. It couldn't even fit its body onto the tree branches. The massive beast had placed his feet on the top of the trunk, and simply bent his head downward through the canopy of leaves as to get closer to Saitou. Without warning, its tremendously large wings beat against the air, somehow allowing the huge fucker to become airborne. He shot off into the air, gaining altitude fast.

The purple haired youth still stood, feet firmly planted on the ground, mouth gawping in amazement at the large, feathery phenomenon. This could not be any ordinary animal. This beast was a Shinobi animal, a creature of war; using formal contracts bound in blood, a ninja could come to summon these incredible creatures to fight for them, or for other uses. He'd seen them before in a few books, but they'd always been boring and small. Something like an average sized squirrel. In fact, he'd come across one before, a long, long time ago, when sparring with a friend of his. That had been a panther, a rather exciting animal, but ultimately not very useful. It was fast and had claws, but against a shinobi who could simply dodge the bastard, well, it needed more. In some fiction books Saitou had picked up, he'd seen incredible summonings mentioned, things that were out of this world. Hundred feet long snakes that could spew fire, or massive exotic beasts with many abilities not normally reserved for animals. So, this pelican, clearly, he was one of them.

Realising the bird was now circling, eyes locked upon him, the wannabe Jônin became aware of the fact that this beast was preparing to engage in battle. What on earth for, he could not imagine. However, this notion made something awaken within the youth, and he grinned, grabbing some string from his kit and tying it onto his kunai. It was a good eighteen metres long without being cut, which he hoped would be enough. Deciding to stay on the safe side, he bound the extra string he carried about with him to one end, making it now a whole twenty eight metres long in length. When this was done, he clambered upward, to the top of the tree. He could now see that the pelican was diving towards him, nose first, wings extended in a tremendous wingspan that could easily triple Saitou's height; he knew he had to act quickly. If the Shinobi did not find a way to divert the collision course, he'd be done for. Grabbing his one and only flare, he directed it into the bird's flight path, before making sure he'd aimed it the right way and pulling the string toggle that set it off.

The result was rather brilliant. From with forth the small tube did a swirling dragon of red light emit, bursting into the open air as the bright light consisting of raw, burning heat nearly hit the pelican in the face. In order to avoid it, he had to adjust his movements. This manoeuvre left him rather wide open. Because he'd been attempting to hit Saitou, he was still rather close, but his underbelly was now projected unto him slightly. Throwing his long, long grapple that he'd made himself, the shinobi wound the wire about his wrist three times for extra safety. His throw was intended to not hit the bird, but to wind about the thick part of his wing, where body met... err... limb? The flare meant the bird had also slowed down, making this business a whole lot easier. Saitou pulled on the wing which was now tied to him, but he was not strong enough; it would take a real heavyweight to pull this massive creature in a game of tug of war. Mind quickly flicking to a different tactic, he flicked through a string of handseals, before muttering underneath his breath. In his right hand, the one not holding the wire, a 2 foot wide disk of chakra appeared.

On either side of this disk were small wings, not the most effective things ever. Throwing the weapon that consisted of raw, sculpted energy, Saitou quickly used his free hand to grab onto the hurled entity, the momentum and the wings allowing him to climb a few metres higher, edging ever closer to the bird. Unfortunately, it could not quite carry his weight. He had to propel himself the last couple of feet by grasping the wire and tugging it, causing the second segment to snap. However, he still had the larger part on the bird's wing, but he had to tie that around his wrist once more. This final thrust cast him onto the birds body, which was rolling uncontrollably in the air. The fucker emitted a great squawk of rage, before barrel rolling once more, attempting to dislodge the boy firmly grasping onto his back. Using the kunai to cut the wire in half, Saitou formed two nine metre long threads, which he utilised as if they were reins. Not that his 'steed' was particularly compliant. The full body rolling came to a stop, but the resistance did not. Either leg straddling each side of the creature's body, the boy felt less than secure, and the beast was ever climbing higher. This could not end well.

With a sensation of horror, Saitou realise why the unwilling mule had taken its unwanted rider so high; it was going to plummet. And not just to shake it off, nay. He was going to hit the lake surface at a high speed and penetrate the surface, taking his 'flea' clean off; or perhaps just get very close, and hope the boy atop his back would get scared and jump off. Either way, Saitou did not want to be enduring this 'thrill' of a ride, and realised he'd have to stop the animal. But how? The only real solution would probably be to direct an attack that came from below, to cause the bird to have to come to a detour and instead direct its course somewhere less... well, homicidal. Yet this seemed rather difficult. If he had a second man, he could simply request that he do such a thing. But all that was below the two was vast water. Wait, of course! Water! Ripping out a string of handseals, Saitou yelled as loudly as he could, the words 'Suiryuudan no Jutsu' coming somewhere in between his incomprehensible bellowing. The pelican, too, made lots of noise. At first, a squawk, followed by a string of curses best not repeated.

As the unlikely pair plummeted downwards, a column of water rose, forming the shape of a dragon, a scary sight indeed. It headed straight for the pelican, who realised what was coming. The direction was suddenly changed as he moved to head for the shore; however, changing his direction gave time for the powerful jutsu to edge ever closer, and he took off at incredible speed as to avoid it. It was a race for the finish, and the bird was winning. That was, until, Saitou realised they'd just reached dry land, and so he initiated the final phase of his plan; grabbing the makeshift reins about the animal's wings, he leapt from the beast onto the ground. Of course, this impact was mildly painful. But it wasn't that bad and could be endured for now. His movement, however, had pulled upon either wing of the beast and dragged it backwards, meaning all its speed and momentum was lost. The jutsu came crashing into its exposed rear, sending it tumbling. Not wanting to waste a second, Saitou darted forward, kunai drawn.

"How... how could you? You have bested me..." There seemed to be an odd element of incredulous hesitation and bewilderment on the creature's face. Not that its expressions were too easy to read, what with it having a bill rather than a mouth and all. "Alright big bird, time for a chat. I'm guessing you're a summoning creature, right? Why on earth did you attack me?!" Saitou leapt straight into business, venom and anger in his words. The bird looked up, kunai now placed against its feathered throat. With surprise, the youth noticed a darker patch of plumage about his chin. It was rather distinctive. "I am the Pelican summoning, Arashi Jisan, commonly titled the storm bringer, creature of airborne water based destruction. You will not refer to me as 'big bird'. As a summoning creature with great pride, it is in my code of ethics that the few shinobi capable of besting me are bestowed with the great prize of my loyalty and servitude. Because of this, I offer unto you, a binding contract of blood, personally between the honourable pelican species and yourself. Do you accept this great gift?" Saitou was all a bit taken aback by this. Certainly, the bird probably didn't quite understand human interaction, being a bird and all, hence this behaviour probably seemed normal to it. But he would more than happily increase his arsenal with such a powerful being, and with great pleasure, he did indeed accept.

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