Chapter 11: Return to the Field

"Nothing, nothing is better than this." Thought Hatake. His arms pushed against the wall as he craned his neck backwards to better feel his most favorite pleasure. The hot water flowed over his body, slipping across the tight muscles he had built up over the last six months. Hatake's battle scars were highlighted by the hot water that caused his skin to redden.

It had been three months since the Marble Battle between the Dragon School and Owl School. Upon their victorious return, TeamRocket had been greeted by an ecstatic crowd. They found themselves overwhelmed by the popularity they were receiving. It took the Headmaster's gruff voice to break through the students of Dragon Academy and create a path for the triumphant contestants to escape back to their club room.

It took more than a week for things to start to return to normal. The victory at Marble Battle stadium was still held in high regard, but the destructiveness and craziness that was TeamRocket began to overshadow the victory in the minds of the students. The requests to join the club declined to a manageable number after the first month and the celebrity following of the winning team members stopped soon after.

The memories of the battle, the close calls, and the chaos after their victory flowed through Hatake's mind as he stood under the cascading water of his dorm room's shower. "I'm glad that all this madness has finally ceased" he thought to himself. "TeamRocket has more important things to do than to try to dodge the News Club". Hatake sighed and turned the faucet's handle, shutting off the water flow.

He grabbed a towel that was hanging nearby as he stepped out of the shower and wrapped it around his waist, tucking the end in so that it wouldn't unravel. Hatake opened the bathroom door and stepped into his living space. The climate control was on and the cool breeze teased his wet skin. A shiver went down his spine from the cold.

A sharp whistle gained Hatake's attention and he quickly spun around. His room's door was open allowing the morning sun to shine in. Next to the door was a short girl with grey hair and a pretty dress. "Morning Hatake" she called with a smile. "You wearing that to class today?" she said pointing at the towel around his waist.

"Good morning Pypski" He replied with a slight blush. "And NO, I will be wearing my uniform like usual"

"That's a shame. Bet all the girls would be after you if you did."

"What are you doing in my room so early anyways?"

"I came to inform you that TeamRocket shall be having a special officer meeting this afternoon. The Headmaster has a special assignment for us and as an officer you will need to be present."

"Thanks, but couldn't you have told me that through a comm message?"

"Of course I could have, but then I wouldn't be able to have the fun of teasing you." Pypski said with a giggle. "Oh and the Headmaster says that since we have been promoted into the 3rd grade, you need to start wearing the new uniform you were given and not that blue one you have been sporting." With that she skipped away, the hem of her dress dancing around her legs.

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Hatake was the last of the officers to arrive for the meeting that afternoon. As instructed he wore the new uniform of 3rd grade striker. The uniform itself was still made mostly of leather and cloth. A metal shoulder pauldron was fastened onto his left shoulder with a grey leather strap that ran across his chest. He wore a black shirt trimmed in silver with a purple overcoat on top that was secured with more grey leather straps. His bracers ran up the length of his arms leaving just a small gap on his upper arm between the bracers and the sleeve of his shirt. His pants were black and tight fitting and his supply leather boots were knee high with small metal blades on the tips of the toes.

Hatake took his seat at the table. Around him sat the other officers of TeamRocket. Pypski sat at the head of the table, still in her frilly dress but her hammer leaned against the wall nearby. To her left sat Daybunny his newest artillery rifle strapped across his back. Across from Daybunny sat his cousin, the brilliant attack priest Blissbunny. Hideki Hinata leaned back in his chair next to Blissbunny as he stared at the ceiling. Across from Hideki sat the remaining officer, an elementalist who spent most of her time in solo training. Hatake had only seen her a few times before, but if the rumors were true, and her position as an officer in TeamRocket certainly pointed to the fact that they were, than the elementalist Sahara was a force to be reckoned with.

"What took you so long" Sahara snapped at Hatake. "The rest of us have been waiting for twenty minutes for you to show up."

"I was busy wondering the road of life." Hatake replied.

"Wondering the road of life?" Daybunny laughed. "I would much rather wonder the road to pretty girls."

"Is that all you ever think about?" Hideki asked, still staring at the ceiling.

"Of course it is." Blissbunny supplied. "Daybunny thinking about girls is like you breathing."

A light floated above the officer's table followed by a crackling sound. The light slowly shifted shape until it created a perfect replica of the headmaster's head. The hologram stood three feet tall and two feet wide. The Dragon Headmaster's intimidating presence was intensified by that massive hologram as it slowly rotated around, his single eye boring into all of their souls.

"Hahaha." The Headmaster laughed richly although his voice was somewhat distorted by the nature of the hologram. "I am glad to see you all so lively on this fine afternoon."

"Thank you Headmaster" intoned Pypski. "Might I ask why you have requested all of us here?"

"Yes Pypski, we shall get to that soon enough. First let me congratulate you all once again on your victory three months ago. You brought pride upon Dragon Academy and honor upon your club. I would also like to thank you for a job well done on your previous assignments."

"Thank you Headmaster" the officers said in unison.

"North of here, past the town of Perpetual sunset is a rural community of farmers. This towns fertile soil and vast grassy landscape has earned it the name of Greenville. Greenville is a peaceful town that has not been plagued by trouble since the time of the knights of the round. This sadly is no longer the case. The diminishing barrier that has allowed skalari back into our world has been breached by an army of skalari under the command of a powerful Queen. These skalari have a vast array of shapes and abilities but the most fearsome ones are the three guard types that patrol the area around the Queen's base camp. I charge TeamRocket with selecting an eradication team to journey to Greenville, reduce the skalari numbers, and eliminate the guard troops and the Queen."

"Headmaster" Hatake implored "If the situation is as dangerous as you say, than it will be a difficult job for just one team."

"Your concern is noted Hatake. Fortunately, I believe you all to be capable of this task. You will also not be alone. A second team is also being selected for this mission."

"Might we know who this second team consists of?" Sahara asked. "Knowing the makeup of the other team will allow us to better plan for the encounter with the skalari."

"Unfortunately I do not have that information at this time. I can tell you that the second team will consist of students who are also capable of completing this task. They will meet up with you in Greenville. "

"Thank you Headmaster for your faith in us" Pypski said. "The six of us will act as the eradication team represented by TeamRocket."

"Then may victory shine upon you all. Arrangements for travel to the Dragon Base in Greenville by airship have been made for tomorrow morning. Good Hunting." The hologram of the Headmaster burst in a bright light that sent sparkles raining down on the officers gathered around the table.

"Well I guess I will have to tell Charlotte, Cindy, and Candy that I can't take them to the chocolate house tomorrow." Daybunny sighed.

"You had three dates tomorrow?" Hideki said raising an eyebrow.

"No, I had one date...with triplets" Daybunny said with a grin.

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The sun rose early the next morning and with it too rose Hatake. It has been too long since we last went forward on a mission he thought to himself. Hatake buckled on his pants, pulled on his bracers and tied his knew high boots. He touched the scar on his chest that was left from their meteorite adventure and then slipped on his shirt and buckled his overcoat on top. Hatake pushed open his door and ran to the air station to meet up with his friends and club mates.

Daybunny, Blissbunny, Pypski, Hideki Hinata, and Sahara all arrived at the station soon after Hatake. After checking over each other's gear and confirming their plan the group boarded the airship and departed. The trip to Greenville took only thirty minutes, a trip that was very quick compared to the amount of time it would take for the team to complete their mission. While in the airship they had all noticed just how many skalari were roaming the fields of Greenville.

"Well this is going to take a while" stated Blissbunny.

"Let's begin by clearing along the road to the east." Pyspki decided.

"Sounds legit" agreed Daybunny.

"With any luck the second team will have the same idea and we will meet on the road" Sahara added.

Hatake tightened his grip on his claws and concentrated sending a wave of energy through his body and out around him, increasing the parties agility. Attack, mana, defense, health, and critical boosts followed Hatake's agility buff. Hatake dug his feet into the ground and dashed off, leading the eradication team towards the east road.

The first few skalari didn't know what hit them as Hatake dashed past, slashing out with his claws as he went by. The stricken Skalari had no time to recover as Hideki's bullets ripped into them followed by Sahara's lighting blast. The next group of skalari were dealt with in a similar manner, clearing the way to the east road.

The east road was a narrow, country, dirt road. It was however, well maintained and fairly clear. The skalari were all too busy plundering the farms and harassing the cows to be concerned with travelers on the road. If it were just a mission to eliminate certain skalari, this would have made the teams job easier, instead it meant that they would have to hunt down all the skalari by checking every farmstead.

"Up there." Shouted Blissbunny. She pointed towards the closest farm. Skalari that looked like cats were hauling off bags of food from the farm's storehouse.

Pypski charged first, hammer held high she barreled into one thieving cat. Daybunny sent a barrage of hailstones that impacted the ground around Pypski for support. Blissbunny added a shield barrier to Pypski's already impressive defense and Sahara sent a chain of lightning through the cat's ranks. Hatake dashed towards the fray before leaping high and somersaulting into a claw dive that sent a shockwave out as he impacted the ground.

A chill blast assaulted the cats from the far side and a barrage of missiles sailed over the top of the farms roof exploding in a tremendous blast. The cat thieves were finished off by a pair of fire seeds that erupted into their ranks setting everything on fire.

"Hahahaha, stupid cats! You shall never take my Momos away!" cried a familiar voice over the roaring flames.

Hatake, Daybunny, Blissbunny, Hideki, Pypski, and Sahara all exchanged a look before turning to see another team stepping around the farm house.

Chapter End