"I have to learn it though!" Kiyomi whined, sitting on a stool in the greenhouses. Masaomi was going to and fro, tending to all of the extremely important herbs and plants in there. She moved out of his way so he could get something off the table she had been sitting at. "I just don't have time to teach you right now, Kiyo. Besides, you have to have a contract with the animal you intend to summon, or you sign it."

"So, what will happen then since I don't have a contract? If I were to use the jutsu right now, would nothing happen?" Kiyomi asked with an inquisitive voice, looking at Masaomi. Masaomi flipped his blond hair out of his eyes and smiled at her. "You'll go to the home of whatever animal you're naturally affiliated with. They usually keep their contract there," he told her, going towards the back of the room and grabbing a couple of purple leaves. He threw them into a bowl as he began to mash multiple herbs together. Kiyomi developed a wide grin instantly. "Wicked! I'm ready then! Don't worry, I'll be back with a contract of my own before you even know it!" Kiyomi said with excitement evident in her voice. Ignoring Masaomi's ensuing words of warning, Kiyomi slammed her hand on the ground, mimicking what she had seen Masaomi do long ago. "Kuchiyose no Jutsu!"

...

Kiyomi coughed, opening her eyes to find herself in near darkness, the only light coming from four torches positioned around the large cave (or it at least appeared to be a cave). Where the bloody hell am I? she thought, not daring to move a muscle. There were tunnels in all directions on the walls, meaning she was likely in the middle of some kind of underground maze. Her right eye looked around, and a large snuffling, sounding much like a large beast, sounded a few metres away. Kiyomi's eye quickly sought out the source of the sound, and she let out a shocked yell. To her left, a large (easily 20 feet tall) armadillo sat on its behind, staring down at her with large, milky white eyes.

"What's with all the NOISE?! Who ARE you?" the beast boomed, his voice loud enough to rattle Kiyomi's very insides. Masaomi had not warned her that she might be meeting such huge, intimidating creatures as this. Well, actually he had, but she had brushed it aside like she could handle it. It was a bit more intimidating when you actually see the creature up close"WELL?"

"Orihara Kiyomi, a wanderer who currently resides in Territory L, under the instruction of Hara Masaomi." Kiyomi's voice was no different than normal. There was no quiver, or quietness, just normal Kiyomi. Over her initial shock, Kiyomi smiled up at the beast. "Are you my summon?" she asked innocently, instantly liking the idea of having this huge, powerful-looking armadillo as her summon. His claws looked extremely sharp and lethal. He looked old, but that just meant he would be more experienced.

Before Kiyomi knew what was going on, the beast fell forward. She quickly got out of the way before his front two limbs hit the ground. His face was now closer to hers, and she coughed from the dirt that had been struck up when he fell forward. The creature squinted it's eyes at her, scrutinizing her. Then, it laughed. "Well, Orihara, you think I, the Great King of the Armadillos, Reginald, will be YOUR summmon?" he managed to get out with a laugh. Kiyomi noticed how powerful and strong the armadillo's armor looked. Kiyomi looked the "King" straight in his eyes. She had adjusted to the dim lighting of the underground tunnels by now. "Well, why not?"

The king took another look at her, then glanced to his left. Kiyomi's gaze followed his, finding herself looking at a blank scroll that was near one of the torches. "So, no one's signed it yet," she noted, and Kiyomi thought about why not. Surely they weren't that young of a species. Masomi said most summon species were older than humans themselves. "Keh, none of them were deemed WORTHY enough to be entrusted with our contract. WE don't let just anyone hold something so PRECIOUS as that. We have PRIDE, and wont be represented by some WEAK shinobi or kunoichi." he told her. Kiyomi's eyes narrowed, and she crossed her arms across her chest. "I know I'm worthy. There's no way I'm leaving without that summoning contract. I told Masaomi I'd return with one!" she stated.

"Well, we'll see about THAT!" As Reginald said this, his easily 2 metre long claws lashed out at her. She barely had time to register what was going on, but she reacted just in time. She jumped, doing a somersault in the air as she did so. In an instant, she flung several kunai and shuriken at the beast while still in the air. All of her senses had heightened when he had attacked. The weapons didn't even seem to phase the beast as he brushed them aside with his armored tail then, faster than Kiyomi thought possible, he transformed into a ball. Kiyomi landed lightly on her feet, her eyes widening at the realization of what he could do. She immediately dashed towards the far wall of the cave as the ball began to spin in place. Come on! I can make it! Just a little farther.. Just a metre or so from the wall, she felt the ground begin to shake. The ball was shooting towards her at an incredibly fast pace. She knew she'd make it.

Kiyomi ran straight at the wall, then placed her left foot as high up on the wall as she could jump. Using it as leverage, she pushed off the wall just in time to flip through the air back, watching as the armadillo hit the wall, spinning incredibly fast (fast enough that it was creating a hole in the compacted dirt). Kiyomi landed pretty far back, watching as Reginald slowly stopped spinning and unraveled himself, now facing Kiyomi. He didn't even look dizzy, let alone fazed by the fact he had just missed her. He looked determined as ever, in fact. Oh crap! I wasn't at all prepared for this! she thought worriedly, noting how serious this fight might turn out to be. She bit her lip as she thought about Masaomi. Don't worry too much, I'll be back soon. she thought determinedly, her face changing into a serious expression as her goal became clear. She had to win.

In that moment, everything changed. Her mind's processes started working quickly as she figured out a fail proof strategy in her mind. She used her dome method formation jutsu first, as Reginald made a snuffling sound as he sniffed the air. She had no clue what he was sniffing for, but she didn't much care.

Jutsu Used:

Name: Barrier • Dome Method Formation Rank: B Type: Ninjutsu Element: N/A Description: This technique is a Ninjutsu barrier technique which senses an opponent based on movement. After clacking his feet together, The user can extend a sensory barrier to detect the movements of a hidden foe in a large area. Should the field be slightly touched by his opponent, he will know their position immediately.