Starring:
Date: March 23, 2015
Summary:
Michiko, Raion, and Hige go to track down a criminal. A bingo book target, even, who has been assisting the escaped criminals in leaving the Land of Lightning.
Poster's note: foul language filtered in obvious places.
"Bingobook: Finding Kenri"
Land of Lightning - Docks
Michiko grumbled softly as she looked over the latest report that was brought in, shaking her head a bit as she signed some of the paperwork. Message one: "To Maneshi Raion, Kumogakure is requesting some of your tracking skills. Please meet Iwata Michiko on the Mountain Path in four days." Then the second was delivered to Konohagakure. "To Senju Daisuke: Kumogakure is in need on an Inuzuka at the moment. Please send one to the docks within four days. Signed KRD Commander Fox."
And four days later, Michiko was standing on the mountain trail waiting for Maneshi Raion and his companion Pansa to arrive. The girl sighs faintly, today wearing all black clothes. It's not raining at the moment, but the ground is wet since it did the night before. "Next time…" she sighs to herself, unhappy about just where they'll end up finding the man they're after.
Raion comes, literally running up the trail, he is happy, but slightly less so than normal as the ground is wet, Pansa is running with him. When he arrives by Michiko he will give her a respectful bow and say, "Hello Michiko. A tracking mission the letter said? Heh, this should be fun. Just wish it wasn't so wet out here. I don't really like water much at all. But hey! It's a mission. The mission comes first, before my personal opinions." He smiles his fanged smile at Michiko once more. Pansa standing calmly beside him. "Ready to move! What details can you share with me about what's going to be going on?"
Michiko nods lightly in greeting to Raion. "Hmm… Yes, well… We're chasing after someone who has been reported to assist the escaped criminals escape the Land of Lightning. Follow me, please." She waits for the two to nod and prepare to follow before moving herself, heading towards the docks. "Kumogakure doesn't have many trackers, so we're being forced to outsource… Which is why you and another are going on this mission. We can take care of things afterwards, though, hopefully. I do apologize, but we're likely going to have to explore /near/ the water, as that's one of the few major ways to escape the country. Border-crossing via land is harder with everyone on lookout." Eventually they would get to the docks, and Michiko looks around for a shinobi that would obviously be an Inuzuka. Red fangs on each cheek, spiky hair… a dog…
Admittedly it might be a little hard to spot Hige what with the docks being so busy and the boy himself being so…small. Yet he /is/ there and has been waiting a while for someone from Kumo to come along, his semi-feral eyes flicking here and there as he watches for someone with the hitai-ate of Kumogakure. In the end it's not the seeing that does it however, but the scent of someone familiar mingling with the salty sea air. Hige grins his fang-toothed grin as he slips easily through the crowd, Konsho happily trailing along, and stops a short distance from Michiko, Raion and Pansa. "Hey Michi." He offers in greeting, grin widening a bit as Konsho yips his own greeting and bounces at Michiko's feet.
Raion's usual smile lessens significantly when he hears he'll be near water. "Oh…" is all he says before following Michiko. When they arrive at the docks he will wait by Michiko, and when Hige and Konsho arrive, he will look them over briefly before smiling his fanged smile, like he usually does to new people. "Hello! I'm Maneshi Raion, its a pleasure to meet you…" He holds out his hand for a handshake as he also waits for the boy's name. The smile on his face unwavering. He's trying to be friendly!
Michiko blinks a bit when she hears and feels the familiar footsteps of a certain Inuzuka duo, a grin crossing her features. "Hige-kun. Konsho-kun. It's good to see you both. I hope things are going well in Konoha?" she asks, half-wanting to keep up with what's going on in his life despite the fact that they need to get going on this mission. "Maneshi Raion and Pansa are accompanying us. Ah… Meet Inuzuka Hige and Konsho, you two. And know that we're seeking out a 'Kenri', who is a bingo book target that's been assisting escaped prisoners.
Hige looks up at Raion, then at Pansa as they introduce themselves. "Oh, hey, another Maneshi." He takes the hand and shakes it, his grin widening a bit more even. "Been meeting a lot of your clan lately, although most of them are from Konoha." He looks back to Michiko as he releases the hand and shrugs a bit, "It's going fine. Nothing really exciting to report. Just a lot of training, dealing with some nasty folks, trying to find a way to help take care of a bunch of orphans." Stories lie there but the mission comes first. "I'm hoping Taiki will life my ban on Kumo soon. I need to talk to him about it." He listens while Michiko explains what they're doing before giving a small, thoughtful nod. "What class target is he? Is he suspected to be around here?" Pause. "Have anything of his, scarp of clothes or anything?" That would make it so much easier. Konsho, barely two feet tall, yips a greeting to the Maneshi pair before looking to Pansa. ~Hi I'm Konsho!~ he yips excitedly.
Raion nods, "Hige, absolute pleasure to meet you. And I havent actually paid Konohagakure a visit." That happy grin he normally has on his face, he looks over at Michiko, waiting for a response to Hige's question. "I'll keep an eye out for any signs of him being through here, although I'm sure Hige is perfectly capable of doing the same." He means that legitimately, he will just keep an eye out for it as well. Only he can't smell as good as the Inuzuka.
Raion nods, "Hige, absolute pleasure to meet you. And I havent actually paid Konohagakure a visit." That happy grin he normally has on his face, he looks over at Michiko, waiting for a response to Hige's question. Meanwhile Pansa looks down at the small pup, but doesn't respond hostilely, 'Hello Konsho. I am Pansa. Pleasure to meet you.' he responds briefly, after Michiko gives whatever explaination she has, Raion will say, "I'll keep an eye out for any signs of him being through here, although I'm sure Hige is perfectly capable of doing the same." He means that legitimately, he will just keep an eye out for it as well. Only he can't smell as good as the Inuzuka.
"Sadly, we don't have anything like that. He's a C class criminal, though. A lower rank… A lot of people come through here, so it might be best to find scents that don't mix with the old. Customers that are often about should have lingering scents, yes?" She doesn't know how that works, admittedly. "I'll go look through some of the boat records and meet with the harbor master here, though."
Hige reaches up a clawed finger to scratch the side of his nose thoughtfully, then shakes his head. "There's too many scents and we'd have to follow each one. If I knew what scent I was looking for I could track it but that's about it." He looks to Raion to see what kind of ideas he might have while Konsho continues to work his charm. ~Nice to meet'cha! Since we're traveling together and you're such a big awesome cat, think I might be able to hitch a ride?~ Lazy nemo.
Raion shakes his head as he thinks, "Wow. I have no clue what to do then. Well.. Look around for something remotely suspicious? Find a visable trail and follow it? Uhm… Wow. I got nothing." Pansa sighs audibly, 'I suppose. You look small enough to where I'll barely feel you. Just don't expect this to become a regular thing.' Raion looks down at the two briefly, he can't understand either of them. So he just smiles at them briefly, "either of you have any ideas? We can cover four paths."
"Hmm… Try and talk to some of the people… Ask if they've seen anyone suspicious. If they might have a scrap of cloth or something," Michiko suggests. Then she disappears to meet with the harbor master as mentioned, the girl making her way swiftly despite the number of workers dragging along cargo to go on ships, giant nets of fish that needed to be iced, etc. Whatever the trackers decide to do, something is bound to happen…
With not much to go on except a description things are looking pretty sad. Well, it'll be good for continuing to work on his 'social skills' if nothing else. That's probably why they sent him. He looks over to Konsho just in time to notice what he's asking and he grumbles, "Oh no you don't! We need to split up to ask around and you're coming with me." Konsho looks sad but goes back over next to Hige. "Alright, well…guess we'll meet back here in a little bit?" He offers up to Raion, then shrugs a bit and wanders off. First stop: any type of pub or inn near the docks. It's there he'd start asking questions, describing the man he's looking for and asking if anyone had seen him.
Raion nods and looks around, before looking to Pansa, "You can talk, go ask around too, like Hige said, meet back here in a little bit, got it?" Pansa looks up at him and with a grumble and responds, "Fine." Raion would go and ask the people working with the fish that are away from the ships if they've seen someone with the description he was given, while Pansa goes closer to where the ships are, asking the probably confused sailors and captains and such the same questions, hopefully ignoring comments about him being a cat.
Many of the locals give a shake of their heads when the man is described, or they comment that 'the description is too vague'. It takes a while to actually find someone that knows something. The Maneshi pair are the ones to hear that Kenri had actually been that way! In fact, he's been past the way a few times up 'till now! "Hmm… He never said where he was going, though. He's one of the people that ships produces. Boxes upon boxes of it." the man says.
Michiko isn't having much luck, either. The girl has a ton of records to sift through. Fortunately, she can cut most of them out up until about a month or two ago, but that's /still/ a lot. "Ahem… They go by date. And time. And I don't remember no 'Kenri' signing up. But we do have names and what they're shipping. So I guess ye c'n go by that?"
Well that's no good! All the questions he has to ask and still no one seems to know anything. Hige doesn't give up however and continues to ask, moving from the pub to the nearest inn to ask the people at the counter there. He continues to give the description as well as the name of the man in hopes that something might jar loose from someone.
Raion (or Pansa, whoever got the information) nods and thanks the man, asking another question to him, "So around here? So if we just wait he might come through again? If so how long would we be waiting?" Both Raion and Pansa would be perfectly fine overnight and keeping watch during the night. Being nocturnal has its benefits, and just plain being used to getting little sleep helps as well. If he did get a positive response, the duo would meet up, share the information, then try to find specifically Michiko and relay the information to her. If not he'd still do the same.
Hige eventually gets a spot of luck. Information from a young woman who sells fish. "Hm? Ah, well… He didn't go by that name, though? Actually, he didn't even give me a name! He just bought enough to feed a small army, though." The girl shrugs lightly, giving Hige a small smile. "Did you wanna buy anything? Maybe for your dog?"
"Nope, sorry. I couldn't tell you that. Look to the harbor master for that kind of infermation. Umm… He did mention what inn he was staying in, though. It was in the town over, of all places. I asked why he wasn't staying hereabout and he got all snippy with me." Grumble
"You don't remember where he went or anything do you? Even what direction would be a help." Hige says, trying to act as friendly as can be despite how he naturally is. The fangs might be a little offputting as well. Konsho just looks happy even though he'd rather not eat fish. Still, Hige understands that for information he should probably buy something. So in the end he does buy a fish, planning on giving it to the Maneshi pair. After he gets whatever info he can he heads back to meet up with the Maneshi, offering the wrapped fish to Pansa immediately. "Here, have some fish."
Raion and Pansa will meet up with Hige on the way to find Michiko, Pansa immediately catching the fish and eating it in a single gulp. "Thank you. Did you find anything?" The cat will reply before giving Raion a chance to talk. Raion will then speak up himself "We learned he was seen here recently, and they told us he's staying in a local inn, The Lightning Pig! We could check there next. Assuming you haven't already. Hmm. Other than that we didnt get much information. But anyways yes, please, grumpy cat asked a good question, did you find anything?"
Raion and Pansa will meet up with Hige on the way to find Michiko, Pansa immediately catching the fish and eating it in a single gulp. "Thank you. Did you find anything?" The cat will reply before giving Raion a chance to talk. Raion will then speak up himself "We learned he was seen here recently, and they told us he's staying in a local inn in the next town over, The Lightning Pig! We could check there next. Assuming you haven't already. Hmm. Other than that we didnt get much information. But anyways yes, please, grumpy cat asked a good question, did you find anything?"
"Well, after he left, he headed toward his ship. It was a pretty normal ship, but also big. He actually just made off yesterday after getting all his supplies!" the girl says with a nod, apparently more willing to give information since Hige actually bought something. Dang those merchants sometimes and their desire to make a living!
Michiko could be found in the harbormaster's office, like she said, the girl finally finding a bit of a pattern. It's likely that she still needs some information, but she does have a list of patterns written out and some names taken down of who could be Kenri.
Before he would leave Hige would ask for information about the ship: the name if she saw it, what type of ship it was exactly, and where it had been docked. Then he returns to Raion and Pansa before giving them the informaation. "We should find Michiko at the harbormaster's. See if she found anyhing and then go from there." He gives a light shrug then and looks up to Raion and Pansa to see if they have any other suggestions. If not he'd head off to the office!
Raion nods at Hige, "Sounds like a plan to me. Let's go." And with that both him and Pansa will follow him gladly. Off to find and tell Michiko everything the group had found.
Michiko looks up when the two come in, blinking. "So, what did you two learn?" she asks, getting right down to business. The harbormaster isn't happy at having more people in his office, though, so he shoos them out! Michiko gets to hear about all the information, though, and she sighs. "It sounds like we just missed him… Though if what you say is all true, Hige-kun, then it sounds like we found our guy."
She shuffles through the records, landing on a page that was dated yesterday and pointing to the two ships that were listed in the same port. "Here… The second ship was clocking in and left today, so it's not our target. He seems to be going under the alias of 'Kotama', and there's a number of entries with him… I'll have to send a copy of it to someone in Kumo… But for now…" She shuts the book and sets it where the harbormaster can find it. "Thank you, both, for helping me. Sorry it didn't involve actual tracking, but …" She glances to Hige. "It was very nice to work with you."
After relaying all of the information Hige listens to what Michiko has to say before nodding. "I'm going to try and get some of the more recent scents from where his boat was docked. That way when we're ready to actually track him I might be able to pick him out." Hige offers. But for now it seems like that's it. He gives Michiko a smile then, thinking a moment before reaching out to try and give her a quick hug. "It was nice to see you again Michi. I hope to be able to visit soon." He says as he takes a step back, letting Konsho move forward and hop up into Michiko's chest. Hopefully she catches him! He gives her a few quick licks on her chin before dropping back down. "Was good to meet you too Raion, Pansa. Take care of Michi, alright?" He grins at the Maneshi pair before preparing to depart back to Konoha.
Raion will make sure to throw in his two cents during Hige's explanation, and get all the information out! He will then smile at the amusing Inuzuka and his pup. "Nice meeting you too Hige and Konsho! I hope we meet again." He smiles widely and turns to Michiko. "So now what? Anything else I have to do? I'm here to help after all!" He seems enthuasiastic, and has completely forgot about the nearby water!
Michiko blinks a bit, not expecting a hug. But she does return it! Yep. The girl then scrambles a bit as she has to catch Konsho. Fortunately the pup isn't too big, yet. And now she has dog slobber on her face… Ah well. "Be well, Hige-kun. I'll send Kimura-san to check up on you sometime soon." She smiles a bit. "And maybe I'll visit again, too. Once this whole business is done."
Then the girl turns to Raion, shaking her head a bit. "Ah, no… I think we're done for now. We've all the information we need for now, so we can head out soon. I don't think I should take you, though, Raion-san, as the mission will be tough. But thank you for helping today."
