"I'm not here to fight a Tailed Beast," you mutter under your breath. "I'm not here to fight a Tailed Beast," you repeat the mantra again, then again, and again, clenching and unclenching your fists, even as you move away from the fighting and towards the desolate little town. You repeat it again and again, biting your lower lip as you do so. You don't even notice that you've bitten through it until you taste the blood on your tongue.
Behind you, you can hear 'Etekou' and 'Iruka' engage with the One-Tail, thunderous sounds of combat and the monster's cries carrying over to you loud and clear.
Whoever was left in the tiny village after the previous battles are now streaming out through the opposite side of town from where the Iwa-nin clash with the One-Tail. Luckily for you, the one person you're looking for isn't one of them.
You find the contract bearer cowering in the corner of a small house, dust raining down on him from the echoing crashes of the distant battle. You have to stop yourself from staring at the contract bearer hard enough to bore a hole in him.
"So, you're the one with the contract I'm here to get," your voice is flat, not conveying any of the bitterness you're feeling towards yourself. Or him.
"That's right," he clutches the long, thin scroll in his hands even harder. Strange, does he just have the scroll, is he not a summoner himself? "You must be the one Ame sent to get me out of here. Let's go then." He stands up on shaky legs, his body language completely betraying his petulant tone.
Pressing your mouth into a thin line, you respond. "Fine, yes, I'll bring you back to Ame, but first," you point to the scroll in his hands, "are you a summoner, or do you just carry the scroll?"
He looks down at the scroll, then up at you. A massive explosion goes off in the distance, and he flinches as he responds. "No, I just sm-" he catches himself, but you already have what you're after, "I am," he holds it closer to himself, "if anything happens to me, you and your village won't have your summoner, or your contract."
Based on his body language, you can tell he probably has some way of destroying the scroll should you try to take it or attack him. But you can also tell that he's very, very weak, and you would have no trouble taking him by surprise.
"Just get us around that fighting out there, I have no place in it and clearly, neither do you."
Not to mention his attitude is absolutely toxic.
[] Do your best to bear with it. It will take a while to escort him back to the Land of Storms, but that's plenty of time to get over your lost opportunity and find out more about the contract.
[] Make it clear to him that you won't listen to his attitude if he keeps it up. Don't threaten him outright, but make the implicit threat clear.
[] You've already lost the opportunity to fight a Tailed Beast, and taking too long to leave the Land of Demons would leave you open to either of the Iwa-nin to pursue you. Since there is no summoner, your mission comes down to retrieving the contract. Kill the contract bearer and take the scroll back yourself.
[] Write-in (QM retains the right to veto!)
