Starring:
Ei, Ogosokamaru, Hiei, Hiroyasu, Hel (emitter)
Date: June 18, 2013
Summary:
Hiei watches as a Kumo Jounin disrupts the market and runs for the village gate. Hiei and Ogo stop the man for questioning, but the runner bumps into Ei in disguise. The Kamen Rai Da show up only to investigate everyone at the scene (Hiro is mistaken for the runner). The Jounin runner actually passed a chakra paper hidden note to Ei with the Senior Financial Advisor's name written on it.
Poster's note: foul language filtered in obvious places.
"Kumo Daimyo Plot - A Note is Passed"
Village Center of Kumogakure
It is the middle of the day and the village center is buzzing with activity. The sky is covered with thin clouds, allowing a fair amount of the sun to warm the stone path-ways of the center. Despite the threat of winter looming over the horizon, the autumn day is still warm. The various stalls of food and clothing and medicine are all packed. It is a good day to be a vendor it seems…except…that one stall suddenly has its wares sent flying into the air. A frantic looking shinobi leaps with grace onto the stall's make-shift ceiling, runs hopping from one stall to the next, before leaping and rolling back into the crowd. The man is running away from the direction of the Raikage's office and towards the village entrance.
Hiei was in the marketplace standing in front of one of the vendors. He's enjoying one of Kumo's famous sweet rolls when he sees a guy hop out of a cart and the vendor's stuff goes flying. Hiei looks in the direction of where the guy's running and sighs. "Really?" Popping the rest of the roll into his mouth, he turns and immediately gives chase. He leans forwards with his hands trailing out behind him as he puts on the speed to catch up with the other shinobi.
Ogo was at a weapon stall in the marketplace. Seemed this was a fair or some sort? Maybe a fare, which one has to pay to get a good income to the village, but you have to wait in line to buy the normal goods one would normally walk up and just grab and purchase. Waiting, such a pain. But with waiting comes eventually what you are waiting for. The owner of the weapon shop brings out a custom sword which Ogosokamaru inspects very thoroughly. He turns to look behind him, at which point he sees the running person, and Hiei giving chase.
A tilt of his head as he hands the sword back, and with a single leap he was landing right next to Hiei, keeping up with him, "Why are you chasing this guy? What did he do?" He asks, eyeing the one running in front of them.
Ei had been out of the village for a time, in her disguise. A thick cloak that looked fairly out of place given the weather and a cloth mask that covered just her nose and mouth. It was adorned with the stylized image of a demon's mouth, tusks and fangs pointing in different directions. Of course, as she was moving to come into the village, she was about to remove her mask, only to look ahead and see an individual trying to escape the confines of the area. She squinted, wondering what would make one run so fast.
Trouble, that's what, and it didn't help her opinion on the matter that she could make out two others chasing him. Even if she wasn't sure, at this point, who it was behind him, she shifted to step into the path of the retreating shinobi.
The fleeing man is dressed as a Kumogakure Jounin, yet no one is chasing him (other than Hiei and Ogo) it seems. The crowd parts like a loaf of bread to make way for the man as he moves with a fair amount of speed towards none other than Ei. As the man spots her, his step wavers, he looks behind him, and…finding his hesitation giving Ogo and Hiei some time to catch up to him…he stumbles. He'd attempt to fall right into Ei. It is merely a diversion though, for as he stumbles (whether or not he actually makes contact), he tries to slip a small piece of paper into her hand (even if it is by throwing the paper).'
Hiei looks over when Ogo joins him in the chase. "I'm not sure. I saw him jump out out of a vender stand after all of it's wares spilled out onto the ground. He's dressed like one of us, but I think he might be a thief. At the very least, we question him on why he's running for the gate at top speed." Looking ahead, he spots the man stumble and says, "Now, Sensei!" He leaps the last few meters attempting to tackle the guy.
At the moment, he and Hiei were going for it. "Yes, might be connected with those kumogakure uniform items that were used against Kirigakure." And Ogo sped and leapt just about straight horizontally at the guy's legs. Quite ready to goat-tie this guy by the legs, Ogo sees that there is another in the fray now! With a mask and everything. Man, does she look familiar.
Ei stood there, not moving nor flinching as the individual came at her. Even if he did run right into her, she'd raise one hand to brace against his shoulder, stumbling back a bit at the impact. In either case, the paper would find her hand and she'd blink. Squinting a bit, she didn't entirely respond to it just yet… she didn't look at it, she just adjusted it slightly in her hand and looked toward Ogosokamaru and Hiei. No words came from her, either. She just nodded her head slightly in greeting, holding onto the coat of the 'Jounin' if he had, indeed, run into her. If Hiei looked at her, she'd subtly wink, hoping he'd keep quiet.
Hiroyasu is running full speed to the marketplace, he had been taking a nap only to find out that he had overslept! "By the goat-ogre's beard, all the good snacks will be gone!" he huffs running with the speed of stampeding goat. "cannot be last in line!" he churns along coming a skidding halt when he blinks several times seeing that some kind of altercation had broken out, things were strewn about, the crowd split like a crusty loaf of bread right down the center and several familiar souls lurking about, he charges towards them! Hi-Ho Hiroyasu awaaay!
The man goes down, partially because he stumbled into Ei and mostly because Hiei and Ogo took him down by the torso and legs. The trio all land in an interlocking pile of limbs right in front of Ei. Oddly, her hand is still on his shoulder. The crowd gasps and clears a circle around the shinobi. One man even calls out, "Fight, fight, fig…" and quiets as no one else takes up the chant. The Jounin isn't struggling. In fact, he's silent. He is doing his best not to look at Ei either. Instead, he goes limp, plays dead, or resigns himself to his fate.
Hiroyasu meanwhile, is a shinobi, running through the marketplace toward the village entrance, so he becomes a case of mistaken identity. For those with chakra perception, or any other perceptive capability that can pick up shinobi coming in at great speed, three masked shinobi, recognizable as the Kamen Rai Da, flash in front of Hiroyasu and try to stop his progress. "Halt," says one, while the other two stay ready for a fight.
Ogo stands up from the pile, apparently he landed right on top of Hiei. Probably not good. He holds the guy by the back of his collar, and looks at Ei, not knowing it was her. "Much appreciated for your help," and he looks at the hair and eyes. He's got a guess at who it might be.
Then he hears familiar voices behind him as well. Other members of the Kamen (Rai Da). He would wave at them all big-and attention-getting like, hoping they would see him pointing at the guy he now had in custody. If not, he'd have to yell at them, "Hey! Over here Kamen Rai Da!" People didn't like hearing that usually, but Ogo didn't care, he knew when they get involved, something important is going on. "That's one of my students! Making two in one week you'd be… well you'd be 'handling'!" He just watches and waits.
The woman quietly nodded to Odo, stepping back and glancing toward the men he was calling to. She glanced down to her hand and flipped the paper over twice. Nothing… Her fingers wrapped around it and she looked back up, glancing only briefly at the man who'd given it to her. Strange one… More of her attention was on Hiroyasu's predicament. Poor kid…
Hiroyasu stops when commanded, and waits until they seem to disperse and rally to his sensei's call. He cautiously walks to where the scene is unfolding, he looks to everyone gathered making no attempt to out Ei in her disguise. "Sensei, what has transpired here?" he asks calmly looking at the man whom they have held.
The trio of men about to rough up Hiroyasu for being in the wrong place at the wrong time stop when Ogo calls out for them. They even start to follow Hiro as he moves. The Kamen Rai Da that said 'halt' is actually the one to look to Ogo, then back to Hiroyasu, then back to the man that Ogo has in custody, and then he sighs. "This isn't our target. Let him go." The other two KRD back off. The masked men slide right up alongside Ogo and hold out their hands for the Jounin runner. The man doesn't even seem like he's going to fight this fate. He is still doing his best to not look to Ei. The KRD leader looks between all gathered and asks, "Can you please all state your names? Has this man said anything to you? Why did you stop him?" The KRD leader seems to have a lot of questions. As the leader talks, the two goons walk around, staring at those gathered. When one spots Ei holding something, he tilts his head at her and the leader asks, "Did this man give you anything? What is that there in your hand?"
To make things even more awkward, the one with firsthand knowledge of how this situation began was on the ground semi-concious. "Um, well, Hiei was following him, which I would not give him any doubt that it was reasonably supported with proper facts. Or at least to question him as to ascertain some information to some previously ascertated negligible action." Ogo looks back up the street to maybe see if one of the stalls was roughed up or someone was coming this way maybe to re-obtain stolen items or find out who did what to something or another. "Perhaps you could find information at a stall back there?" And he looks at all the KRD there, then at the guy in his grasp, and pushes him towards the KRD. Then he looks at Ei. "And you," now forgetting the KRD, having given as much information as he could to them just now, "look very familiar."
Meanwhile, Hiei had hit his head during the initial impact of tackling the suspicious shinobi. As he's coming back around to consciousness, he looks over at the masked ninja and feels a great swell of rage. These were the flipnotes that tortured Misaki for no post-it reason. But he also notices that even Ogosokamaru is being 'tolerant' to these guys so all he does his rub his head and grunt to let them know he was awake. "Ow…I was the one that saw this guy jump out of a vendor stand like he stole something. Harass him, not the bald one. He's a friend of mine."
Ei listened cautiously as the KRD started to question the group. What had she gotten herself into…? Part of her wanted very much to avoid giving her name in this situation… but another part knew it would cause more issues if they caught her in a lie. Being a good actress, she might have been able to get away with it, but… Whatever the case, she let Ogo handle the answering questions, her attention focusing on the one man that came closer to her. Between him and Ogosokamaru suddenly mentioning she looked familiar, Ei started to panic. Her attention shifted to Odo then, using it as a distraction, if brief. "I imagine you are mistaken," she murmured, her voice raspy. "I'm just a traveler." Then she looked toward the KRD that questioned her specifically and answered, "It is a piece of paper from my notebook. As for my name… I am a traveler and I don't want just anyone knowing my name…" She looked at Ogo, eyes narrowed just slightly in a suspicious look. "If you'll permit me, I can give you my papers."
Meanwhile, Hiei had hit his head during the initial impact of tackling the suspicious shinobi. As he's coming back around to consciousness, he looks over at the masked ninja and feels a great swell of rage. These were the flipnotes that tortured Misaki for no post-it reason. But he also notices that even Ogosokamaru is being 'tolerant' to these guys so all he does his rub his head and grunt to let them know he was awake. "Ow…I was the one that saw this guy jump out of a vendor stand like he stole something. Harass him, not the bald one. He's a friend of mine." (repose)
Her request was aimed at the KRD, even if she was looking at Odo still. She glanced at Hiei, though, glad to see he was alright.
Hiroyasu looks all giant goat eyed at everyone, "Katayama, Hiroyasu" he points to the groggy one "Yotsuki, Hiei" as it seems that he was not able to answer proper questions after getting what little sense he had knocked out of him. He needed to save his princess in need, her identity was supposed to remain a secret from sensei.. "I can vouch for the traveller, we crossed paths outside the village." omit when, cross out the where, dot the why "This is the only foreign source of chakra, not accounted for" pointing at the culprit
Hiei and Ei fail to give their names. Hiei might have forgotten, but Ei outright denies it. Still, at least Ei offers her papers. The KRD leader nods and says, "Yes, the papers please." Assuming Ei hands them over, the documents would be studied, nodded about, and handed back to Ei. "Understood." The paper is studied for a moment longer, but the tow flunky KRD men just take the Jounin runner into custody, nod, and start ushering him back into the crowd to get disappeared. The leader looks back to Hiroyasu as he offers the two Genin's names. "Fine. Thank you for helping us capture him. Good work. We'll handle it from here." With that, the KRD leader follows after his cohorts and leaves the group to themselves. Ei, meanwhile, still holds that odd piece of paper.
Hiei watches the KRD men leave and mimics in a mocking voice. "Thank you for helping us capture him." His fists ball up at his side as he growls. "I'd like to help my fist connect with his stupid masked face. That sonofa ball-less goat…" And there are a whole string of curses that come from Hiei's mouth that would make a sailor blush. "Better be glad that my new sword isn't ready, or else I'd give him an enema the hard way…" He snarls, his voice dripping with malice and murderous intent. "Things need to change around here soon. If we had a Raikage, none of this memo would be going on. Thinking they own everything and everyone.."
Hiei would feel the handle of a sword rest on his shoulder when Ogo had drawn it while Hiei was cursing. "Hey, go ahead and try him. I give you about twenty seconds after he's done laughing before you are either dead or a quadraplegic." He didn't stop looking at the 'stranger' for a few moments. Even if Hiei went for the sword, Ogo would draw it back and sheath it. "Of course I wouldn't let you go after a member of the Kamen Rai Da. That's nearly suicide. If they are nice to you. Torturous if they are in a bad mood."
He glances at Ei one more time, and just shakes his head for a second. Was that a moment of sadness he just showed? "Man, those eyes remind me.." and a deep breath, he looks at Hiei and Hiroyasu, "You two hungry?" And he gets an idea, looking over his shoulder at the stranger, "You're probably hungry after your trek. Want to join us? Or make another reason for noone to know you? Don't need to know someone's name to be nice to them." And he would start toward the largest rameneer restaurant in Kumogakure… just up the way.
Ei listened to the Yotsuki and her eyes twinkled, hinting at a grin behind her mask. "Worry not, Hiei-kun," she offered with the rasp still in her voice. Then she looked at Hiro, raising her empty hand and summoning him over to her. Palm down, fingers curled slightly and the hand swinging slightly at the wrist. Assuming he came closer, she'd step up close to him, leaving little room between them. "I lied," she whispered, holding up the paper. "I haven't any idea what it is… It's blank," she claimed. "What do you think of it, Hiro-kun?" A simple piece of paper, she knew, could be very important. Even if she /had/ learned that from her parents in a strictly non-shinobi-related way, it still applied, she was sure.
Hiroyasu nods to his sensei before looking between him and Hiei.. who seems to frothing at the mouth "You two go ahead, I have business with the traveller. I think Yotsuki-sama needs something to eat before he goes into a full on rage" trying to deflect attention before inching his way over to Ei naturally, "I figured, who carries a single strip of paper when they have a notebook!" he says looking at the paper as she holds it up.
Hiroyasu pinches it between his fingers holding it up the light staring at it covering every possible angle, or if it contained any source of chakra. "It seems like a normal strip of paper" he sniffs it "Don't detect any odors like inks or oils, if it's a secret communique, it's well crafted" he has no idea what it is.
Hiei snarls at Ogo. "I know that! That's why I didn't do anything stupid like attack him!" He grumbles. "I keep telling you people that I may not be smart when it comes to some things, but I'm not a mindless barbarian." He closes his eyes and concentrates on his breathing. He knew he had to calm down quickly. He nods towards Ei. "Tempest." Finally getting a chance to greet her. He explains to Ogo. "Worked with her on a mission with Kayaru-sama awhile back. She's good people." And then there is a growling noise coming from his stomach. His cheeks turn crimson as he places a hand on his abdomen. "I..could eat."
Ogo just walks, gesturing to Hiei to come with (or anyone else to come with if they wanted to) and as Hiei would catch up, Ogo would say, "Then stop talking like you want to be one." And at that point, he would offer to buy ramen on his own dime, and whether or not he did buy Hiei's food for him, Ogo seemed -very- distracted. Like something got dredged up for some reason. After a very brief farewell after eating in near complete silence, Ogo seeemed to be back to his old, quiet, contemplative and brooding self.
When he went home, he'd sit in the dark for a little while, and stare at a few pictures in the quiet candlelight.
When Hiroyasu seemed to have no idea what it could be, the woman sighed and put her hand out to take it back. If he didn't give it up very quickly, she'd snatch it back instead. Then she'd wander after Ogosokamaru and Hiei, stepping up beside the Genin and offering him a look at the paper as well. Whether or not Odo was listening didn't matter. She explained, "That fleeing man handed this to me. Might you have any idea as to its purpose?" She'd hold it out for him, letting him take it to examine if he so desired.
Hiroyasu hands it back as politely as he took it from her grasp, trailing behind her as she went to interrogate Hiei in a similar manner. "Why you in the first place, mistaken identity?" he asks with his hands behind his head as he walks behind her surveying the scenery as he strolls.
Hiei murmurs under his breath towards Ogo. "Let them torture Ei for no commented reason and then ask me again why I'm acting this way." And just then, that very person walks next to him and hands him a blank piece of paper. He takes it, looks at it, shrugs. "It's a blank piece of paper." He then hands it back to her without another word. If she was looking for insight, she came to the wrong person. Hiei's mind was already on food. "Mmm. I smell pork cutlets."
Hiei murmurs under his breath towards Ogo. "Let them torture Ei for no commented reason and then ask me again why I'm acting this way." And just then, that very person walks next to him and hands him a blank piece of paper. He takes it, looks at it, shrugs. "It's a blank…no wait. There's writing on here." He looks at it closer. "It says, Talk to Kashikoi. Who's Kashikoi?" He looks from Ei to Hiroyasu since Ogo had gone on ahead.
Ei squinted at the paper as it started to change under Hiei's fingers. She was far too distracted by this to respond at all to talk of her being tortured… Made acting like she wasn't the girl he mentioned much easier, at least. "Kashikoi," she repeated, the rasp forgotten now that Odo had wandered off. The woman looked thoughtful and hummed, considering. It sounded so familiar… WAIT!
Her eyes widened and she snatched the paper from Hiei, gazing at the paper more closely. "No way… If I'm correct… it's the name of a man that works for the Raikage's office. Chief financial advisor… Yes, that's it. My father has worked with him." Just proved that being a sneaky, curious, and rebelious girl had served her well, especially with a merchant as a father.
Hiroyasu listens in, before looking at Hiei.. what him so special.. gears churning.. "The Raikage's office, a contact he was meeting, or a message he was passing?" he says rubbing his chin. "That is a good thing, I wonder why the KRD didn't set it off" he muses
With Ogo heading towards the food stands, he stops when Hiei comments about Ei being tortured, and looks at all three of them over his shoulder, dissappearing from where he was about a hundred yards away, reappearing right next to them, and tendrils of dust flay out from the epicenter of where he landed, looking at them. "So.." he starts, looking at the stranger. "Either of you seen Ei?" And a look at Hiei, even though he didn't respond to the comment about torture, and a look at Hiroyasu, to maybe see if he had anything to say.
