Starring:
Date: October 25, 2015
Summary:
It was two days after the village suffered one of its greatest tragedies at the hands of the Kinokochi Clan that evil decided to once again rear its ugly head in the form of a murder. Covered up by the events, no one discovered signs of a murder until recently, but now only questions remain regarding how and why it happened. Itami, Hiroto, and Arika are now on the case to determine the source of this crime seemingly hidden in the undergrowth of the attack's aftermath.
"Hidden in the Undergrowth"
Nishikaze Street - Sunagakure
"This is the place where we found the body," Tokichiro spoke to Itami as they approached the street where the murder took place. "We have it sectioned off to prevent any tampering with the scene." She clasped her hands behind her back and walked along while nodding to the shinobi and his explanation. "You and one other found this, yes?" She inquired. "Yes. He is at the scene right now."
The street, despite what took place here, was normal enough. The other bodies have been removed, including that which was murdered. Unlike the other bodies, it was separated and sent to the hospital to be kept in preservation until they could solve this crime.
"Hiroto, I'm glad you're here to help. I intend to try and figure this all out and determine what this crime is all about. Once we do, I'll submit it and have you compensated for it as it does count as a mission. While this would be something normally reserved for police, I do feel it's good for shinobi to experience these sorts of things."
Hiroto would arrive to the greeting he gets from the shinobi already there. "Yeah. I think I can learn from this. Of course I don't care about the mission part of it really. I just want to find that murderer." He would look around for a moment before asking. "So any leads to track so far, or is there no clue to what is happening?"
"I understand your eagerness. I wish to find the murderer too, but in order to do that, we must know what to look for so that we can trace this person," Itami smirked. At the scene of the crime, another shinobi, Bakin, was present. He was a medic utilizing his knowledge to better lay out possibilities at what happened here at this scene. He waved to Itami and Hiroto as they approached saying, "Hello," followed by a bow to them both. "This scene is…baffling," he started out.
"There's signs of an obvious fight, but then right after that, nothing." He points to the areas that took damage from bodies running into walls and lamp posts. "There's no blood or…anything."
Hiroto would look at the area around here. Maybe his eyes were good enough to spot things the others couldn't. "Hmmm… Well that is weird. Different then anything else I have seen." He would then try to see if he could see more. "How does this even happen at all? I don't even understand it."
"That's what we're trying to determine. This is an unusual case," Bakin states as Tokichiro stepped nearer to help add some eyes to the area. "Whoever performed this murder did it cleanly, but I don't have enough here to determine why the murder happened the way it did. If I had more information, I could draw up some likely scenarios for us to look into. So far, no luck. It's just dents and cracks in the walls and a few skin samples, but nothing that's enough to make a decision on."
Itami hummed. "Well, that's why we're here. There may be more that can be picked up on by Hiroto, here. I'll try and provide help to the best of my abilities as well." She went around the scene carefully to see if there was anything else around that she may be able to find.
Hiroto would continue looking for a moment before noticing the blood. "Right here… Faded drops of blood." He would point to some of them while leaning in closer waving people nearby to look. "Is it something you missed? I might be able to find more around here, but I think we should check this out some first."
"Eh?" Bakin hummed as he came upon the area Hiroto was looking into. When he kneeled down lower, he saw the faded spots just as the Hayato did. "Ah, wonder how I missed those?" He smirked. "Good job. Now, this might open up more about what's happening here…" The medic took a few swabs and scrubbed them on the ground to collect as much as he could from the faded blood. "Why faded, though? Looks like someone didn't want to be caught.'
He would nod when he shows them the blood. "I can look around for anything else now if you like." Without an answer he would glance around though. Just in case he would spot anything extra around the place. It was easier for him then others, but it didn't mean it was actually easy. "It does make sense they would try to hide it though. It shows they are smart either way. They planned it most likely."
"Planned is sounding more like a reasonable answer," Itami replied to Hiroto. "Very rarely do things ever happen for no reason and it seems like this case is no exception…" She pushed a trash can aside to collect some glass fragments lying on the ground. She could still smell the scent of alcohol coming from them as she flicked her tongue out. "Hm." She proceeds to search around for more fragments until the bottle begins to take shape on the ground. "I've got something here…" She spoke out. Tokichiro walked over to the trashcan and observed the fragments. He takes out a number and sets it on the ground to mark it.
Bakin could see the story shaping up the more they used their collective minds to piece together what has happened, but he has to admit, he doesn't want to be too quick in sharing his findings until he's more sure.
Of course at the very wrong moment, in comes an Arika! She may or may not mess up all the evidence as she comes into the area, though she /did/ climb up and along the walls in lizard form before she suddenly dropped onto Itami's back! The girl peeks up and around curiously. "Itami-chan, wha's going on?" she asks, even as she hears the faint grumble about Hayato falcons. 'Hush up.' she scolds inwardly.
Hiroto would get a better idea about the blood. "Yea it was definetly cleaned up by someone. Or it looks that way. Either way the person who killed them didn't just plan the murder he knew how to cover up the murder. Most people would just kill, and run hoping the quickness would leave nothing. This person tried to make sure to leave nothing." He would notice lizard Arika charging in, and would stare at her for a moment. He had a smile on his face, but his mask was on.
Bakin nodded his head slowly to Hiroto's words as he observed the stains of blood and the way the area is left. "I will use that as my basis for my work until we find more to determine what's happened here. Now we just need to figure out which direction the murderer went in…" He looked around at the area. "This sake bottle came from the bar here. Hiroto and I can go check out things there and see if anyone knows anything there." Just as she finished speaking, she felt a certain weight on her back, already having deduced who it was. "There's been a murder here, so Hiroto and I are looking into it. We're about to head to the bar now, actually." So, she gestured for them to leave the street and walk to the bar.
At this time of day, it was a bit busy, but not the heavy kind of traffic that it gets closer to night. Hope the memories are fresh around here.
Arika hmmms a bit and says, suddenly, "C'n I join you, then?" She peeks between the pair, clinging a bit to Itami. Looks like she is joining, though, as the girl isn't getting moved from Itami's back! "MMmm… Wait, what kinda murder? Why was there a murder? Who was murdered?" comes the barrage of questions that … really, only someone young could rapid-fire like that. "What kinda weapon did they use? Were they being a meanie? How come it looked weird back there… Did it happen recently?"
Hiroto would nod when Itami reccomended checking out the bar. Of course he would follow along with her, and Arika who was on her back. "I would answer for you Itami, but she is on your back. Obviously means she wants you to answer. I will say you can join us though Arika as long as we can get the work done with you here." He looks at her lizard form, and smiles with his mask still covering his face. He seemed to forget it was there.
"I suppose you could. Technically, we're already—" Itami doesn't have time to finish as the questions just start flying out and she attempts to keep pace with them to remember what they were. "Err…" She began to think. "I…hm. Yes?" She asked with clear reservation in her tone. She had no idea what she just answered or how. She winced at Hiroto for passing Arika's questions off on her, but she'd let it slide for now. They were now at the bar.
"Hello, hello! Coming in for a drink at this time of day?" The owner of the bar spoke as they entered. "Please, have a seat and I'll get you all served up quickly. Except for her…and him," he pointed out Arika and Hiroto specifically. "They get the non-alcoholic stuff." Itami waved a hand to decline the offers, but she did continue asking, "We aren't here for drinks at the moment. We were hoping to see if you could help us solve a bit of a conundrum we're having. We need to determine if you have a ledger of a sale that took place here within the past couple of days or so." The owner scrunched up his face in thought for a few moments. "I'm sure I could pull somethin' up. Do you know what you're looking for?" Itami nodded and proceeded to describe the sake she was interested in.
When the owner went to go find the ledger, he pulled up a few names that had bought this specific sake. "It's not often someone comes in trying to buy this one. It's on the expensive side, so here are some names who bought it in the time you gave me." He pushes the papers forward for Itami to have a look. "Do either of you two have questions that may help here?" She asked offhandedly to Hiroto and Arika.
Arika slowly but surely would lose her henge as she asked /all/ the questions! So she was a bit surprised when the barkeeper said that she couldn't be there until she looked down. Oh… Arika proceeds to puff up a bit, though. "I dun want yer icky alcohol!" she grumps at the owner, sliding off of Itami's back to climb onto Hiro's. The girl settles there all pouty looking and rests a chin on a free shoulder. "Ne, Hiro-kun, where's Ten-kun?" she suddenly asks, looking around curiously as the falcon comes to mind. One would think that she'd have thought of it earlier, but the murder mystery was just too alluring!
Hiroto would walk in with the others pulling his mask off. He wasn't anbu, and he felt since he wasn't he had no reason to wear his mask indoors. Once they went to the counter he would wait patiently for Itami to do her bunch of questioning, and would look around the place to see if there is anything suspicious. Like maybe something started here. Probably not without us knowing, but better safe then sorry. During his looking around Arika decides he would be a better seat, and quickly hop onto his back. He was suprised, and barely kept himself from falling over before he heard her asks a question in his ear. "Oh Tenshi is outside. I have had him flying around keeping an eye out for anything suspicious. Of course the guy has been keeping silent so far." When Itami goes to him to see if he has a question he does ask something. "Ahhh yes. I was wondering if you have seen any people arguing in recent days. Not normal drunk aruing either. More along the lines of possible fighting, and threats against the others person. More horrible the threat the more I want to know."
"Good, cause I didn't want to give you any, anyway," the owner of the bar grinned at Arika. "Now, let's see here…" He gave Hiroto's question some thought. "We get a lot of people coming in here to argue and cause problems, but we tend to break it up. It's a bar, y'know?" He shrugged. "But other than that, nothing too out of the ordinary…"
Itami looked over the ledger and saw how few names were present on it. She wasn't in much of a mood to look for them, but she may have to. "The names on this paper, here. Do you know any of them?" She inquired. The barkeep looked to her and then down at the paper. "Ah, yes. I know almost everyone who walks in here. That list is no exception. Although, the people that tend to buy this particular sake are well put together. We only have a limited number that we produce at a time, so we try and keep track of who has purchased them, mostly for liability purposes. The sake is very potent and powerful. After all, it's a more refined version of the Sandshark that we serve here. Made with different stuff, but still alcohol."
Itami nodded to herself. She observed a purchase date for the alcohol and saw it fit within the time of the murder. "Urayama Danjuro…" She hummed. "Hiroto, would you mind taking this information down? The name and date of purchase, please." She stepped aside to give the Hayato some room.
Arika hrms. "You should bring him inside! He's prolly gonna see more than us, anyway!" The girl nods slightly, then peeks over at Itami and the bartender. "NNnnnnn…. Hair…" She just doesn't really care about alcohol in general, instead clinging to Hiroto happily and just studying that information. "Take the information? I c'n do that!" she brings out a piece of paper and copies the writing on the paper with nary a pen! The ink seemed to flow from her finger and turn into words, which she offers Itami.
Hiroto would turn his head slightly to speak to Arika. "I guess he can come in. Not yet though lets get this." So he would look at the info, and bring out his own paper. Even though Arika seemed to have beat him to it he wanted to make sure he had an extra copy for himself. "Arika you seem to be enjoying helping." He would grin a little bit before looking around the bar once more. "Hmmm how powerful is this drink. How much would it affect them rather then the normal one you find everywhere."
"It's not so much drinking it that gets ya. Goes down real smooth," the barkeep notes with a proud smile. "But it doesn't take long to settle in. Feels like you're gettin' a real good knock to the head. Can put ya off your feet real fast with a small amount. If ya drink any more than just a small cup of it, your family will wake up thinkin' you're dead. Makes ya look like a corpse," he laughed heartily.
"Gotta treat it less like an alcoholic drink and more like somethin' to savor. It's built to last and be somethin' to enjoy on a nice, cold night, waxing philosophy or some junk," he shrugged. "Y'can't suck it down like some barbarian." Itami chuckled to herself as she heard his explanation, but she has to admit, this sounds like her kind of drink. "I think we may have all we need here for now. We should head out and get going. I'd like to stop by the hospital."
Hiroto would follow along with Itami when they go to leave. What the man said had got him thinking. Of course mid thought he notices something, and decides to snatch it up. Some paper with a weird drawing on it. "Itami. Look at this. Do you know what this drawing is?" He would try to pass it over to her before continuing out the door. Hiroto would also make a quick bird call to Tenshi. Tenshi would fly down when he heard it to greet Arika.
Itami glanced at the drawing, but it didn't ring any bells. "Beats me…" She hummed. It appeared to be a spiral with dots placed in different places on the line. Whatever it meant, she hadn't any clue. "I suppose we'll figure it out later. For now, we're headed to the hospital. We have a body to look into."
So, they left the bar and went to the hospital. It wasn't exactly a comfortable visit, given the circumstances, but this will probably boost the group's potential to solve this murder.
"We require access to the morgue, please," she spoke to the receptionist. The man nodded and proceeded to contact the medics that were on duty tonight to assist. When one arrived, she took them back towards the morgue so they could see the body that was recently brought in.
"This body was brought in about two nights ago… According to what you showed me, this should match. Granted, I have to warn you it's a bit of a strange sight. Nothing too big, but unsettling nonetheless." She approached the body and drew back the sheets to show it off. Sure, the body looked like it suffered a few bruises, but nothing out of the ordinary. "Seems fairly normal to me," Itami remarked.
"Yeah, but you haven't seen this yet," she proceeded to open the eyelids to reveal the body had no eyes.
Hiroto would walk with her to the morgue carrying Arika on his back. She seemed to have fallen asleep, but he didn't mind to much. Either way they made it to the body. "I don't think I remember getting the guys name?" He waited for an answer as he eyed the body when the sheets came off. "It is mostly normal yeah….Oh those eyes not so much. Is he someone who happened to have a Doujutsu?" Hiroto examined the body himself. Tenshi was in here as well to help, and would be lying on Hiroto's head. He would try to use his eyes to spot things others couldn't.
The medic tsked to herself. "Guy is in really bad shape, yeah?" She spoke. "To our knowledge, he didn't have a doujutsu. He's been identified as Nakao Yoshino. He's in his mid 30s and his family was a middle class family of merchants. Might be someone did this because they had some bad blood with his family, but that's speculation. I haven't investigated myself, so I don't know," she shrugged. "Since it looks like you guys are on the case, maybe you can solve what's happened."
The medic retrieved a chart sitting at the front of the bed he was laying in. "What we do know about the guy is that he had a lot of alcohol in his system. While ripped out eyes wouldn't kill him, it's possible he suffered some internal damage from a fight he got into that sealed his fate," she pointed out the bruises he had. They were sizable, considering. "That's about all I've got so far."
Hiroto would look about noticing the way the eyes were taken. "All of this info combined is rather interesting. I think I know something that could have happened, but I don't know for sure. Hmmm. Have you had someone named Urayama Danjuro come in for any injuries recently?" He would pause before thinking about all the info again. "Alright so Itami it seems someone probably used some sort of tool to tear out the eyes. Not just random grabbing, and pulling. Itami should I wait to tell you what I think happened until we are with the others who were investigating this as well?"
Itami gestured for the man to be covered back up and the medic did so. He was a bit of a sight, after all. "Tear out the eyes? Someone didn't just yank them out?" She questioned. "Well, I don't think you have to wait to tell me, but…" The medic considered for a few moments while they were talking and temporarily left to find any files about someone named Urayama Danjuro. When she returned, she said, "We have one file on this guy. Uruyama Danjuro, also in his mid 30s. He came in with damages from a fight. Come to think of it, he smelled like alcohol too. Must've come from the bar or something. Anyway, he had cuts and bruises. The cuts were consistent with the type that'd come from glass. He had a few fragments in his wounds that we extracted before we patched him up and sent him on his way. He looked a bit ragged as is the case with fights. Hands were trembling. Strangely, he seemed a bit hyper for someone who smelled of alcohol."
Itami hummed to herself. "Do you know what night he came in?" She questioned. "Oh, yeah. He came in the same night this body did." The Kazekage tilted her head. "Same time?" She inquired. "Nah, he checked in earlier." Itami folded her arms as she put more thought into this. She knows that the guy could have been checked out prior to the body having been found. "I see…"
Hiroto would frown when he heard the news. He was glad he most likely found the killer, but it still is a sad thing for what happened. "Thanks for the information. Now should we leave to look at all the evidence we have found. We want to make sure everything is correct. Although there is one thing I don't get yet? That drawing. Hmmm Maybe you have seen it somewhere?" He would show the drawing to the medics if he could. "This might not be related, but if anyone knows what it is then…well that could be good to know."
"This drawing? Looks a little weird to me. Closest I could think of are those crazy eyes that clan in Konoha has," the medic remarked about the drawing. "Granted, I don't know what the rest of it could be, if anything. I don't have a clue. Sorry, bud," she offered to Hiroto sincerely.
"Well, I suppose we ought to get going with what we have now. Thanks for the help," Itami nodded to the medic who bowed in return.
"I still don't know what that drawing could mean, but maybe we can figure it out along the way…" The Kazekage offered to Hiroto as they left the hospital. "It's unfortunate what happened to this man, but I'm hoping to find his killer soon enough. We have a name to work with." It wouldn't be long before they returned to the scene of the crime where Tokichiro and Bakin were still handling the investigation here. "Hello, hello. Find anything out while we were gone?" Itami asked of the duo. "Yes. We found a weapon covered in blood. It's a kunai," Tokichiro mentioned, pointing out the object mentioned. "Also, we've done further analysis to see if any prints were left behind on the weapon or bottle you both found. So far, no luck. We're only hoping the blood on the weapons and bottle is not soiled enough for us to determine who it belongs to. Once we have that information, we can find the killer and put an end to this case."
Hiroto would be silent most of the walk back so he could think. His only response to Itami when she spoke was a few nods. Of course eventually they made it back to the scene of the crime. A kunai was interesting. Could that have caused the cuts on the suspected killer. Either that or some glass. "We have a lot of information as well. Firstly do either of you know what this drawing is. You can think about it while I tell you the rest." He would hand the drawing over before speaking some more. "We found at the bar that someone bought some powerful alcohol which if drank to much it could cause the persons body to seem like a corpse. That someone also bought it during the time that would work for the murder. His name is Urayama Danjuro. We also have proof that not to long before the body was taken to the hospital he was checked out with injuries showing of a fight. Both him and the body smelled of alcohol. Next the body. It had bruises that were pretty big as well as missing both if his eyes. It seemed like someone took special care to get the eyes without damaging them." He would stop for now to let them take it all in.
Tokichiro took the paper in hand and winced at it as he attempted to identify with what it was. Already, a number of ideas were running through his mind of the abstract sort. He could see the argument made for an eye, but this didn't look the part. No, this appeared to be more of a map. He flipped the paper back and forth just to be sure there wasn't any other information he should worry about before proceeding further. "This…" He began. "This would require special attention being paid to the village. It's one of those subtleties that's easy to bypass," he explained while coming to a conclusion on what it was. "Essentially, it was drawn purposefully to draw the attention to those who it was made for. Otherwise, no one else would concern themselves with it. That's the nature of cryptic messages, right?" He smirked. "Anyway, it's in the form of a circle and there are few things around here that are shaped as circles. Administration Dome, Arena…" He named a couple. "But these dots are significant and their placement. These dots are placed in areas where lamposts in the village are situated. If anyone was to follow the placement and direction of these dots, they'd find their way to their target, perhaps. Or something else."
Itami lofted a brow. She felt like she knew this village like the back of her hand and she did, truly. But those things that are more detailed, well, they flew right over her head. Lamposts used for misdirection. An object few people focus on. "I'm sure the center of this circle is the village center. If you follow the lamposts out of it, you'll end up where you need to be." He handed the paper back to Hiroto.
"Urayama Danjuro," Bakin repeated to himself. "I was only at the hospital for a limited time to have the body delivered, so I didn't know of any other visits that took place. I kind of wish I'd have stayed longer in order to catch the guy. It would've been a closed case if I had found out about it," he huffed. "The scent of the alcohol in the bottle you guys found would be unmistakable. It's one of few of its kind," he remarked. "You've put together all your stuff well and we now have a name for the killer, but we still don't have much of a reason. Maybe that paper can help you, though. We've made great strides in this investigation and are coming close to concluding it. For now, some loose ends still need to be tied up."
Hiroto would frown at the news. A map is what this thing was. How did he not notice. It should have been obvious that they were considering how much he observes the village. He didn't reply any to the guys as they spoke besides the few nods every once and awhile. So it seemed they had to follow these now to the end. So now they had to find out why the guy did it hopefully. He would take off once everyone finished speaking expecting that Itami was with him. The first lamposts he paused at to say something. "What are we gonna do when we find this guy?" He would not wait for an answer before running off expecting her to speak while they moved. After a while they would arrive in a sort of warehouse district. He would use his eyes to look around himself first before asking. "So what next Itami?"
Itami followed after Hiroto as he led the way by following after the lamp posts. While in transit, Itami shrugged saying, "I can't say he'll be killed. If anything, we'll need to capture him alive so that he'll have to answer for what he did. Once he's booked, he'll likely be sent to one of our worse prisons," she admitted.
And so they followed the map until they arrived at a section of Sunagakure that was filled with warehouses. They wouldn't have to search hard for the one they were looking for and soon, they'd come upon it. "Looks like this is the place," Itami offered to Hiroto. Already it appeared to be suspicious, but one thing was certain, a foul smell was rising from within. In fact, the one responsible for the crime could be seen through a crack in a window. "I'm sure you can smell that…" Itami remarked. "Let's move on my mark."
She counted down on her fingers and gestured inside to proceed side by side with Hiroto. The man hasn't noticed their presence yet.
Hiroto would have responded to the response to his first question. "Yeah good. I didn't want to see the man die. He deserves to be imprisoned for this." Although he waved off anything else until they spotted the guy in the window. "Hmmm yeah I do." He nods to her as she readies to move in. From the count of her fingers until the moment the went in he was as silent as can be. Then they both would enter side by side before the guy could notice them. He did not know how Itami wanted to go about this so he didn't say anything. He did pull a forked arrow out, so if he tried to run he could slow him down by pinning him against a wall.
The foul stench is clearly that of rotting flesh, but it appears that this isn't this man's first offense. In front of him appears to be a 'sculpture' of sorts, if it could be called that. It was assembled out of different parts of bodies and the final piece appeared to be eyes that he'd snagged just a couple days ago. Truth be told, they were an amazing pair of eyes, but in this amalgam of parts, they were more discomforting than anything. "We're going to proceed quietly and when we're close enough, we will capture him. He won't have any chance to escape…" Itami whispered to Hiroto.
In the man's mouth was a pipe that was currently filling the air with smoke. Anyone that had been around during the attack on the village would know that the scent it carried matched that of the emissions the fungus made over the village prior to the population being subjected to a mass genjutsu. It was a sweet, appealing aroma; deceptively so. The contents were clearly dangerous and seeing what's in front of him, made that even more evident.
Itami lifted her hand into the air to indicate a holding of position once the two of them were in the right spot to strike. Once she was prepared, she checked with Hiroto to see if he was ready. Once he was, she counted down with her hand and upon reaching zero, she launched herself forward to take hold and pin the criminal down.
Hiroto was put off by the body assembled before him. How can someone do this. Of course that smoke. The smell. It was obvious that it was related to the recent attack on the village. His only reply to Itami's plan was a nod in her direction. So it seems that it is time to catch this man once and for all. He himself also prepared himself to strike. He moved to the point he was, and waited as Itami raised her hand. Then she proceeded to count down. At zero he did as she did. He jumped forward to grab the man as best as he could, and tried to help hold him down. He had no words to say though. Any speaking he would leave to Itami.
The both of them would reach the man, only giving him a minimal amount of time to react prior to pinning him down. His pipe fell away from his lips, but he seemed happy. "You found me!" He chimed. "Good! I was thinking no one would be able to get here!" He spoke in the middle of Itami wrestling with him until she had him sufficiently pinned with Hiroto's help. "Did you enjoy the search? I hope so. You two are now the only ones who have had the fortune of seeing it!" He grinned with manic eyes. "It's my best work yet, heck, it's my only work! A bit rough around the edges, but I'll always have more chances."
He struggled with Itami and Hiroto, but wasn't exactly strong enough, though he did have bursts where he had excessive amounts of strength. "I was lacking inspiration for a while, but then it all just came to me instantly a couple of days ago. Since then, I'd been trying to finalize my work and this is the result. I have to say, I'm proud, considering."
Hiroto helped grab the man taking him to the ground. The man spoke with a happiness, and smiled the whole time. It was sick, and Hiroto could not stand it. So once the man was done speaking his words Hiroto started grabbing a few of his forked arrows. He would start slamming his arrows into the mans clothing. It would probably cause a few cuts, but mostly it was minor. It would help hold him down allowing Itami to do whatever she could to either knock him out or restrain him further. Just in case it did not hold he would load a regular arrow in his bow, and stand back some.
Itami didn't want to hear much more of this guy either and followed up with Hiroto's plan by trying to extinguish this supposed flame by draining him of his stamina to put him down. "Thank you for that. If it was any longer, I believe I would have lost him to all his squirming. Those arrows definitely did the trick," she sighed as she fell back on her bottom. "Alright…" She looked towards the sculpture and shook her head. "This…also deserves a proper burial…for all who were involved in this work of art, as he called it." Just saying that was enough to leave a bad taste in her mouth. She honestly hadn't expected this murder to go this far, but it seems this man had plans.
"Yeah at least we got him, and have proof of why he did what he did… Even though it is this." Hiroto frowns before looking at Itami, and back at the body. "How does someone do this sort of thing. Well either way it's done. What should we do now Itami?" He sits down next to her with a sigh, and puts his face pointed downwards. This is not what he expected. He is glad he found the killer, but for it to be this far along already. He is obviously upset over the body of parts in front of them.
"Well, it's in no condition to eat." Itami spoke honestly. She is a Watanabe, after all. Cannibalism isn't unknown to them, but is only practiced in moderation. "Anyhow, we're going to have to take the body down and wrap it up so it can be properly buried. I know these parts belong to a number of people, but at the very least, they deserve to have rest, no matter what form they currently take," she explains. "Cases like these are unusual. Still, I didn't quite think this would be the result. Try not to get yourself too worked up about it. Know instead that soon, this person or persons will find peace."
Hiroto nods in Itami's direction. "Okay. I guess we can get out of here now. Get all of this settled, and over with. I am glad that I was able to help so much with catching this guy." He stood up, and collected his things. "Well I will follow your lead from here I guess. I am sure you know what to tell the others." He waits patiently until Itami is ready to move on before leaving with her. At least he helped catch this guy no matter what happened.
"I'll have some shinobi summoned here. For now, we'll take this guy and have him turned in. This warehouse will be sectioned off so that no one can enter other than those given clearance." Itami takes up he body of the man and begins to heft him up. "I'm sorry you had to experience this," she added as she proceeded to walk off with their criminal in hand. "You will be compensated for this. If there are any other services you desire, such as for distress, just let me know and I can have that set up for you. You're free to take a break to recuperate from this mission. I'd like you to gather your strength and senses about you before sending you back out."
