Dog Grooming [Kagami | Yoko]

Mission Details:

It was hot outside to say the least with the sun blazing over the land and there is very little wind blowing through Konohagakure right now. That part was a bit of a bummer, but Mistral likes the warm weather to begin with. Sounds of barks and whines can be heard in this shop which happens to be cooled off. As he arrived at the groomer's shop Mistral is approached by two individuals. Both were young maybe in their early twenties or late teens. One was a female brunette that wore casual clothing of black tank top with a set of shorts. The other was a blonde man who wore a similar setup as he flashed a dazzling smile.

”Ah you must the extra set of hands that we were told about. My name is Choko Vanders, and this is my associate Katrina Sun.” Mistral recognized the Vanders last name as they're one of the lesser nobles, but he didn't make a big deal out of it. Mistral smiled as he shifted his eyes between the two.

”Mistral Senju, pleased to meet you and your Sakura blossom. There's two others as far as I know that should be here shortly.” The brunette rolled her eyes, and Choko nodded his head before speaking.

”Good good, allow me to show to the dogs that needs to be groomed and bathed by this evening.” With that Mistral followed Choko through the shop to find a variety of dogs in spacious pens that gives the canines plenty of space to move around. Once he's shown a pen of eight dogs, Mistral begins working on a german shepherd as he starts it off by giving the dog a bath.

She had forgone her jacket today, seeing as it was another hot day, and windless on top of that. She didn't like days like this, but it was fine in the end. She was doing her first real job as a shinobi, and even if she didn't care for it, it was a start.

She found herself at a dog grooming parlor, 'The Happy Puppy' it was called. A little too cheery for her taste, but it was probably good marketing or something. Either way, she figured she should be able to help fairly well with so many arms.

When she arrived, she walked in, and bowed politely, "Hello, um... I'm Yoko Matsubara, I was assigned to come and help groom some dogs? This is the right place, right?" She wasn't used to being polite to those not of a noble family, but she knew that it was best to not cause problems on her first day. She would save her snark for later.

The man blinked a moment, then smiled, nodding, "Yes, this is the place. Thank you for coming, one of your associates is already here, come, I'll show you." She followed quietly, folding her six arms in front of her, as she was shown the spacious kennels, and she looked around a bit, seeing a small dog that was yapping. It was a Maltipoo, though she didn't know the breeds name, but it was small with curly and fluffy fur. She stared a moment, then stretched her arms, as she entered the kennel to begin cleaning the dog, starting as her companion did, with getting a bath running, making use of her arms to get the dog and several cleaning tools ready while testing the water, not too hot, but not cold either.

Another hot day. Kagami didn't mind the weather being like this. He had grown to accustomed to it since he was a kid. But it was the one day he wished it weren't so hot. The Uchiha had finally reached his destination, the Happy Puppy Dog Groomers. Apparently upon ruining his day taking the job to be 'dog walkers', the weather had come baring down its warmest rays of sunshine. No clouds. Kagami sighed, as he had accepted this mission because he as a Genin he needed to prove he was ready to take more important missions. Walking through the entrance, he was able to see the place was bustling with activity. In front of him was a young man greeting another girl.

She was around his age it seemed. As he walked forward he was able to hear her name spoken to the women. Yoko Masturaba. Yoko explained that she was apart of a group. She was the other Genin. The man began to show her where to go, Kagami paused for a moment. Then he would follow them. This would be the only 'ninja' like thing he'll do today. They moved through the back till they came to an area filled with dogs in pens.

The two began to walk in and Yoko went to tend to a dog immediately. And he also noticed another boy. The gang was all here. Kagami spoke, "Uchiha Kagami here as well. " He would say to the two and the man, startling him as he walked by. Then he would find his own dog to groom. He came to pen, within it was a large pitbull, a red nose golden-beige one at that. Kagami's initial displeasure disappeared. Such a beautiful dog. Maybe this won't be so bad after all. He grabbed his tools and set them down next to his pen. Time to get started.

Thankfully the golden retriever that he was tasked with happens to love baths. Perhaps a little too much as sometimes the dog would roll over into the water and then shake the water everywhere. Still Mistral had his long platinum hair pulled up into a fluffy tail as he rubs the soap on the golden retriever before it rolls over again. Least to say rinsing was not a problem with this one. Two others arrived, and one had six arms on top of that. Looking up over to the two as he was somewhat hunched over scrubbing the dog with soap and Mistral was wet up to his knees and his hair damp. Yet he just smiled as he waved a bubbly soap covered hand.

”Howdy. Name's Mistral Senju, and I hope you two don't mind some of the energetic pups. They love to move around.” It wasn't long after the greeting that Mistral was done bathing the golden retriever. Escorting the big dog to the designated table, Mistral began to dry off the carefree dog as it kept trying to lick his face. He just chuckled as Mistral finishes drying off to just damp fur. With a good pair of scissors, the Liaison started to trim the retriever's fur. Particularly getting rid of the potential matted fur and then even out the rest.

Yoko looked up from her dog, and tossed a hang in the air to wave at her companions, "Yo." But said little else right away. She was focused on getting this dog who clearly did not like water into the tub. It wasn't super difficult, but annoying, as she had to keep two hands on the small yapping thing to keep it from jumping out.

Lathering it up, she made sure to get the soap into its thick curls all over its body, and in doing so, found out the dog was a boy. She tried not to think about how she found that out, but kept scrubbing to make sure she didn't miss anything, though she did take her time with its head and face, being careful to keep the soap out of the small boys eyes, while still getting his ears and muzzle.

When it came time to rinse, she grabbed a bucket full of water, and slowly poured it over the dog, starting with its head, and then covering its body with the clean water, rinsing most of the soap away, but she refilled the bucket, and did it again, scrubbing to make sure to get it all out of the curls, before pulling out a fluffy towel to wrap the little guy in.

Finished with the bath itself, she wrapped him up, and took him to a table to properly begin drying him, unwrapping the towel, then getting a hair dryer, and set it to a soft warm setting, to let the fur fluff more naturally, having scissors and a brush nearby when it was dry enough. The dog seemed to enjoy the warm air, as it kept trying to put its face in the way of the dryer, but she kept a hand on it to keep it still enough so she could get it dry all over.

Kagami nodded to the Genin that was there before the other two entered. He introduced himself as Mistral Senju. Kagami's eyes raised slightly, it had been his first run-in with one. He mentioned the puppies around them were energetic and were certainly a handful. "I can handle it." He said confidently. These type of jobs were below him, they seemed a little to lighthearted and easy.
Yoko didn't say much but a singular greeting. Kaga also nodded to her as well.

This was going to be a piece of cake. Or so Kagami thought. As soon as he tried to tried to grab the dogs collar. The pitbull rushed him. Kicking the bucket he had set for the dog. Water slashed on the floor and the dog end up on top of Kagami licking his face. Under the dogs tongue was a non to pleased Kaga, regretting ever taking this job.

The woman of many arms only responded with a wave of a hand. The other simply responded that he has the task handled. Yoko was managing fine with the dog under her care. However the pit that Kagami is taking care of got a bit excited and in short made a mess with the water. Mistral chuckled as he went back to trimming up the golden retriever who proceeds to rub her face on the back of his hand. The Senju coordinated by having one hand petting dog which removes any loose hairs that Mistral might have missed. While the other was sneaking around the dog's attention to carefully snip the matted fur off.

Eventually Mistral was done and taking a brush in replacement of the scissors Mistral brushed the golden retriever thoroughly. It had that expression with eyes half closed that slowly closes themselves that might suggest that the dog likes the brush. It didn't take long before Mistral was done and took a minute of cleanup after he takes the dog away into a separate pen. That is when he heard a bark that emitted the energy like it was greeting. Mistral turned his attention to see a husky of pure white fur with beautiful blue eyes. However one look was enough to see that this hyperactive husky is shedding. It was looking up at him from it's pen with a wagging tail before talking with a mixture of whines and half barks.

”What? You want to be next?” Mistral asked which was rewarded by another whine as it takes a step back with a tossed head to the side. Mistral walks up to the pen and the husky grew excited as it walks up to the gate and was trying to push it open with its paws. Mistral opens the gate with caution as the husky immediately tries to bolt, but he manages to catch him just in time before it could go anywhere outside of the pen. It tried to push his hand down with a raised paw, but Mistral shifted to the side with the other arm scooping up the husky around the rear legs and Mistral picks up with the other hand at the front. The puppy was yammering away and lightly trying to squirm free. Probably thinks that Mistral is playing and Mistral first closes off the section for brushing the shedding fur off. Then putting the husky down it immediately took off for a lap around the section before stopping to look at Mistral who is partially covered in white hair on the shirt. When Mistral takes a step, the husky bolts again, and when Mistral doesn't move the husky yaps at him. The whole time though Mistral just smiled and chuckled at this little one's energy.

Yoko looked up when the commotion happened, and didn't try hiding a laugh as she saw the dog sitting on the Uchiha's chest, happily panting in his face, "Yeah, looks like you really got it," She said sarcastically, then turned back to her small dog, getting the brush in one of her many hands, and the scissors in another, as she brushed out the fluffy dog, then trimmed its fur as she went along, taking her time to make it even.

She left its face and ears for last, finding that to be the most difficult of places to trim, without hurting the dog that is. She kept the dogs attention with two arms, while two others tried to gently hold its head still, while her last two arms worked on its ears slowly, one at a time.

She managed to not nick the dog, and keep them relatively fluffy as she went along, which was good, though challenging, and the dogs face proved equally challenging, as the dog didn't want to sit still with scissors in its face, trying to actively pull away from it. Yoko Sighed a bit, as she held a bit firmer, trying to preform her job without causing the dog any pain, and she eventually did, beginning to brush the dog again, trying to find any tiny pieces she might have missed.

When she was convinced she was done and had done a well enough job, she picked up the small dog, that was now wagging its tail excitedly, still barking in a happy excited way, and took the dog to a new kennel to relax and be happy. She returned to the small area between the various kennels, and looked around for her next target, and finding one in a border collie, a pretty mix of white with dark brown colors. It was pacing around its kennel excitedly, barking upon seeing Yoko looking at it, and she nodded, "So, your up next, huh?" Then went to the door, and entered to begin her next grooming session.

The pitbull began to lick a slightly irate Kagami. The other two Genin shared a few chuckles at his expense. Seemingly the calm cool and collected one. The pitbull did not care for his image. "Alright enough of that. " He picked the dog up, his tail wiggled with excitement.

It probably wanted the bath actually. Sure enough he began to calm down as Kagami sat him in the tub. He then began his grooming process. The pit was enjoying the brushing and relaxed in his care. This gave Kagami time to finish up quicker than expected. He would pet the dog and move over to the next pen. A white German shepherd, a rare type of dog not seen around these parts. What a strange catch.

It was surprisingly simple this job was and the other two were pretty efficient at it too. This puppy is actually only seven months old come to find out which explains its large amount of energy it seems to have. Still Mistral debulk the husky before giving it a bath. The bath part was the troublesome part because the dog wants to play with the water and even tried to eat the bubbles from the soap. To which Mistral sternly reprimands the puppy by telling it no and such. Eventually the puppy learns that the bubbles aren't appetizing so it just settled in splashing water at Mistral.

By the time Mistral got done with the bath he was essentially drenched from head to toe. The shirt he has on feels restricting enough that in the end he just takes off the shirt. Not minding the odd looks he received by Katrina despite he still wears the mesh shirt, and Mistral just went to drying off the husky. Once it was mostly dried the Senju went to the process of trimming the husky. By now the puppy seemed to have calm down as it just let Mistral do his job. Mistral looks up at the other two to see how they were doing.

”So any of you ever had a pet before? Such as dog, cat, lizards, birds, or snakes even?”

Once she was in the kennel, the dog excitedly jumped on her, and she stumbled into the gate, her various arms grabbing the dog to stop it from doing any harm to her, though it had no intention of such, and she was simply reacting. The dog still seemed excited, and she set it down after a moment, sighing, shaking her head. "Alright, alright, lets not waste any time."

She then walked over to the tub, with the dog at her heel, excitedly jumping on her whenever it had the room and spare moment, to which she would set it back down on the ground, till they reached the tub, where she had to use four of her arms to not only put the dog in the tub, but also keep it in there. The dog did not seem enthusiastic about bathing, but Yoko was having none of that, and intended to do her job.

While she was soaking the dog to be washed, the Senju, Mistral she recalled, asked about pets, to which she laughed in a short, almost biting tone, "I had a fish when I was younger, but my cousins cat got it after a week. So, I suppose not really?" She continued to get new water and soak the dog, as it tried to shake it off, and she would grab it tightly with multiple arms to stop it from doing so. She had the bottle of soap nearby, but she wasn't using it quite yet, she had more water she needed to dump on the dog.

The German shepherd was much more calm than the energetic pitbull. Its white coat was properly taken care of and it was already well groomed. It seemed it had gotten dirty, probably playing outside. However attention to detail was available to Kaga as he noticed the owners took great care. It was brushed a certain way every time. That's why its coat was so laid back, he followed the process. Cleaning the coat and grooming what was already there him.

He was able to hear Mistral ask about any pets they had before. Yoko spoke of her experiences before, Kaga felt inclined to join but could not. As his parents never allowed for pets, thinking that this type of attachments were distracting. He was expected to focus on his training instead. Which was one of the reasons he unlocked his Sharingan at such an early age. "I never had one because of my parents. But maybe one day I will, who knows." He said finishing up his grooming of the white shepherd.

Hearing the news of Yoko once owned a fish whom became dinner to a cat when she was younger Mistral can relate to somewhat.

”I heard a similar story except someone's kitten managed to sneak outside one night and it got snatched up by an owl. Poor kid was distraught for a few days.” Mistral commented as he was trimming the husky. Kagami spoke of how he never owned one because of his parents which Mistral was more or less on the same boat.

”Yeah we Senju are mostly relaxed and neutral; but my brother and I weren't allowed to bring pets inside either. Didn't stop us from taking care of a stray cat or dog so long as they weren't inside.” Mistral smiled remembering Hideki was telling him how to approach animals and the basic care of a pet. Now that Mistral finished combing the husky and has a pile of white fluff around them. Mistral gets the fun part of cleaning up his station after putting the husky up in it's pen.

With the border coli, Yoko finished soaking the dog, holding it with four of her arms, as one of her other arms goes to grab the soap, and beginning to cover the dog with soap, scrubbing it in with her many hands.

However, hearing Mistral speak of a kitten getting taken, she stopped, and looked over, "I think thats a little more traumatizing than losing a small fish. The fish was cool, but a kitten? Thats kinda on a different level, isn't it?" She would then go back to scrubbing the dog, pressing the soap deep into its fur, it still trying to get away every once in a while, with her tightening her grip to stop the dog, loosening back up after a few seconds each time and continuing her cleaning.

After listening to them both, she would initiate a question, "So, if you two could have any pet, what would you get?" It was a simple question, but it pushed things forward, and she figured she would work with these two again in the future, so it might be worth her time getting to know them.

The shepherd was actually quite firm and calm. A perfect specimen in all facets, Kaga noted. He sent the dog on its way as he companions continued on in their storied history. Mistral touched base on the nature of the Senju being a little more lenient towards their kin. The Uchiha were born into a curse, a curse of sadness and hate. Such attachments even towards pets was doomed to have a short shelf life. It was something that they would not be able to stop individually. He had already experienced that type of pain to unlock his Sharingan.

Yoko also asked what type of pet they were interested in. "It's a strange pick. But I would actually like a tiger for a pet." He paused for dramatic effect. "Non native to our country. But I would like to tame the beast." He happened to pick up a cat next ironically, a small one that was ginger.

It seems that the kitten story caught Yoko’s attention while Kagami acknowledged it in some way. Mistral figured that was roughly the reaction he would get since some people tend to feel more sympathy towards the kid. Anyways Mistral nods his head in agreement.

”Aye it is. Perhaps it is because of the maternal connection between the kid who was so innocent and the young kitten. But it wasn’t as traumatizing as finding the very same kitten gutted and the skull crushed from the beak in your backyard. Thankfully the kid did not see that, but i cannot say the same for the ones who were searching for it.” Mistral left that part vague as he felt like it was irrelevant to say that he was the one who found the kitten. Granted he was just 13 at the time, but still it really felt like he lost one of his own pets if Mistral ever owned one.

Luckily the subject changed to a more enlightenment topic. Kagami spoke of wanting to acquire a tiger which Mistral respected that. Tigers were considered to be sacred to some clans, and are known to be mostly solitary predators. Some of the feudal lords would keep them more as guards than actual companion though to protect their home.

”If i were to choose, it’ll be those timber wolves. You know, the ones that can get as big as us just for standing on four legs.” The two groomers looked up briefly at Mistral as he mentioned timber wolves. That was one type of species that can tear apart a lot of men especially when hunting in packs. Still Mistral finished up cleaning his station as he starts on the third dog for the day. This one was just a chihuahua which had natural short hair, and from the looks of it the dog just needs a bath and some brushing. So Mistral started to give this one a bath, but this little ankle-biter has a temper as it tried more than once to snap its teeth at Mistral when near the water.

She listened to both of their replies taking a moment to think them over in her head, nodding slightly, as she finished making the dog before her look like a massive mountain of tiny bubbles, and began filling a bucket with fresh water. "Seems you both like animals that enjoy the denseness of forests. Do you two realistically plan on trying to get those animals as companions? Or is it one of those daydreams that you wish could happen?"

She dumped the bucket of water over the dogs head, causing it to spasm and freak out a little, causing her to drop the remainder of the water and bucket much faster than she meant as she tried to keep the dog from running away. She fell into the tub itself, clinging onto dog to keep it from running around, the bucket now on her head, and a string of profanities left her lips, as she tried to maintain control in the tub.

The grooming part was becoming a little easier. The ginger cat was as basic as you can get, but wasn't that bad either. He was extremely lazy but did nothing to deter Kagami from placing it in water or washing it. It enjoyed the grooming process. It began to purr and practically played dead. The easiest grooming for anyone in the building, though he enjoyed the cat. It was far to lazy for him, it probably enjoyed doing nothing. Mistral expressed his want for a timberwolf. Another animal that was uncommon and also dangerous. Mostly found in mountainous areas, possibly in Iwagakure.

Yoko wondered were these pets an actual goal set for them. Kaga nodded as he spoke cleaning the cat, "It seems like a daydream. But I do plan to make that a reality. The hard part, is actually finding one. Once that happens, I will definitely have one." Kaga said staring into his daydream world of tigers.

”Oh certainly. Timber wolves are quite lovely assuming they acknowledge you.” Mistral answered Yoko's question before he hears a splash along with a string of curses. Immediately Mistral stopped to investigate what happened and apparently Yoko decided to take a bath with the dog she is holding onto.

”It is a bit early, but I suppose it is hot enough to jump into a pool somewhere. Here…” Mistral jest as he offers a helping hand, or hands in this case of holding onto the squirming canine so it'll allow Yoko to climb out without worry.

”I wonder if there is a Suiton technique that can purify water. Can be useful if something in a cup or soup is poisoned, but I fear it'll ruin the taste.” Mistral spoke more to himself whether or not Yoko accepts his help. The Chihuahua that Mistral was attending too is mostly covered in bubbles as it had followed Mistral. It stood up with one paw on Mistral's leg to prop itself up. Tail wagging as the ears raised in expectation. Mistral smiled with a chuckle at the small one before telling the Chihuahua that he'll return shortly.

She barely managed to push the bucket off her head when Mistral was there offering her a hand. She blushed a bit, not because it was him, but because she was in such a state, and looked ridiculous. However, instead of scoffing him off like one might expect, she took his offered hands, and was pulled out of the bath, the dog still in the tub thanks to two hands of hers still holding the dog there.

She took a deep breath, letting out most of it in an annoyed sigh, before speaking, "Thanks..." She then listened to what he was saying about purifying soups and teas, which caused her to raise an eyebrow. He didn't seem to be noticing anything around him while he was muttering about such, but she decided to chime in anyway, "Perhaps not, but I can look to see if there is a medical technique that can do the same thing your talking about, maybe without the side effect of ruining the tea or whatever."

She leaned over the tub, and began to wring out her hair and clothes over the dog, as it whined a bit. "This is your fault, own up to it. Besides, your still covered in soap, you need to rinse off."

Kagami wasn't paying attention and hadn't noticed that Yoko herself had incidentally fell in the tub with the dog she was helping. Soaked in dog shampoo and water, Mistral stepped over to help her up. Kagami withheld a laugh as he was he needed to finish this last dog up. Wiping away the last wet spots on the cat ginger cat, it meowed loudly. Kaga nodded as he took this as thanks, but the cat was merely shooing him off now that he had done what the cat had wanted. The Uchiha showed mock shock as the cat wandered back into her pen. He had finished his side with the dogs and the one cat. He looked to the others to see if they were finishing up there pups.

"Is that so? Well then I will get back to you on that subject in the future. I believe this little one is the last one on my end." Mistral muttered as his brow had risen when Yoko chimed into his sentence. The young Senju picks up the soap covered Chihuahua and walks back to his station to rinse off the little guy off. Thankfully Chihuahuas have really short hair so it requires little maintenance. With just some brushing and drying the dog off Mistral escorted the little one back to the pen. Just as he remembered that Chihuahua was indeed the last dog on his end.

"Alright, once you finish up over there Yoko you three can consider this mission a success." Choko spoke up for all three of the genin to hear as he places three bags of coin on a counter next to the entrance. Of course Choko informed them that each bag is ten thousand ryo for each of them to pick up. Mistral respectfully bowed to Choko as Katrina refused to look at him. Instead she seemed to be looking over at Kagami's direction. Mistral couldn't help but smile as he spoke to her in a hushed whisper.

"Ya know staring at him isn't gonna win him over." Katrina immediately rolled her eyes before she shot an angry glare at Mistral will her cheeks flushed red.

"Oh bugger off with ye! I don't need advice from some hotshot wannabe who thinks he's all that." It was a clear insult, but Mistral didn't seem to be bothered by it and for some reason that seems to aggravate Katrina even more. Mistral shrugged his shoulders while walking over to the counter to pick up one of the three bags.

"You only think that because that's what you want to see. But I didn't mean any disrespect to you." Turning on his towards the other two with a confident grin on his lips.

"Thank you both for your help today. I pray that we meet again for a drink or something. Good day." And with that Mistral left the building to return home for the day. He's gonna need a bath when he gets home for certain.

[Exit]

After a minutes, and Mistral leaving, Yoko got her bucket, refilled it, and began to rinse the dog. It took several times, and several hands to keep the dog still enough, but she eventually got all the soap out of its thick fur. She would begin drying the dog while it was still in the tub, to keep the water from splashing everywhere.

Eventually she did allow the dog out of the tub, only to begin drying its paws individually, which the dog didn't like, but she had enough hands to keep it still while she dried it. She eventually finished, and lead it to its new pen, locking up, and sighing, as she was still wet. She turned, and went to the front to take her bag of money, then looked to Mistral, "Maybe. We will see what the village decides." Then looking to Kagami, "See you around, too." Then begins to head out, without much more than a glance to the shop owners, being more concerned with getting home and drying off.

[EXIT]

One if not the nicest cat let him finish up his business. It seemed that it was used to be taking care of in such a manner. Cats were more independent, seeing human as caretakers. Rather than masters like other pets, which was why Kaga did not like them. But this one was different. He dried the cat off and petted it on top of its head, it appreciated his gesture with a soft purring. Kaga ended up putting her back in her cage and he noticed that everyone was finishing up with their jobs as well. "No problem Mistral." He said responding back to the Senju. "See you guys later on a job well done." Then the Uchiha made his way out of the grooming center.

[Exit]