Starring:
Date: January 9, 2012
Summary:
Two Kiri shinobi are sent to collect taxes from protesting fisherman.
"Protest meets Force"
Fish Harbor
Fish Market [Land of Water]
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As one enters the market they will be bombarded by the strong smell of fish, both freshly captured and rotting. There are many stalls set up here in a bazaar fashion and many merchants shouting at the top of their lungs to get one's attention. Though this is not a highly populated area, it seems one of the best for fresh fish.
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Contents:
Yuuka
Exits:
Water Ferry Docks - (N) [Water Ferry Docks]
For most in the land of Water, fishing was a living. Of course like any land, it was a living that was taxed. For the most part most people obliged, but every so often a group of fishermen would form and complain over it. Most of the time a good show of force set them back in line. However when that does not work, the Water Daimyo sends out shinobi.
It seems today is one of those days where a group of fishermen have decided to protest the tax on their trade. Two shinobi from Kirigakure are sent to investigate and bring in this month's tax, or set the cargo free.
Yuzuna silently lifts her gaze to the worn buildings around her with slow steps, narrowing her blue green eyes faintly in thought. The dockyards were always a bit more rough around the edges than the village itself, it showed in the architecture, but fishermen were usually honest and hard working men. It wasn't strange at all that they would be protesting the taxes set into place. She breathes out lightly as she lifts the piece of parchment in her hand and unfolds it with the tip of her thumb, "It looks like the first one on the list came in on his ship last night, so he'll be busy unloading his catch."
Tsiro follows behind Yuuka as she leads the way towards the ship. "You think he'll pay up?" the boy asks. His eyes dart from hut to hut as he takes in how these people live and how poor they seem. Then again he was not sure if they were poor or not. If they spent all their time on the water, they might not have too much time to deal with a land residence. "The village looks much nicer." he finally states.
"Not sure, but we will see." Yuuka murmurs, pulling her gaze from the huts to the return her attention to the docks instead. Each ship docked bobbed slowly in the water, wood creaking from the constant strain and pressure with shiphands unloading and loading for the next trip out to see. "People seem to forget that the village exists a great deal because of the living we make off of the sea." her eyes flick between men that appear to be commanding the crew of the next ship, "Tell me if you recognize this man." she points to the picture.
Tsiro looks over the picture, then scans the group of men on the boat. "You mean that guy over on the left?" the boy does not point, but his eyes could easily be followed across the boat towards the man. He looked enough like him. Of course as dirty as most of them were it really was kind of hard to tell. It's not like they had Kaguya dots or anything.
While she scans the men, Yuuka flicks her eyes in the direction Tsiro motions towards. Indeed, its quite possible that its him under the grime and scruff on his face. Even better, it looks like most of the sailors are leaving for the nearest pub, to spend a good deal of their earnings in one night no doubt. Yuuka waits for that opprotunity before she approaches, smiling at the Captain politely. "Konnichiwa. May we have a small moment of your time?"
Tsiro stands besides Yuuka as she asks the captain for a moment of his time. He simply looks up at the man with his red eyes. He remains silent.
The captain stops as Yuuka asks him for a moment of his time. He's obviously been drinking already. "Sure missy. What can I do for you?" The eyes look over the girl, then up at her headband and he seems to sober up a little bit.
The look in his eyes was familiar, he knew why they were there already. Still, Yuuka smiles gently as she gives him a polite nod, "We just wish to speak with you about your taxes. It appears we do not have a record of them being paid this month, so we need to help settle the discrepensy before the matter becomes worse." She shuffles the papers in her hand before finding the appropriate documents, holding them out for the man to review.
Tsiro eyes the man as he now seems to be sobering up. He then glances back towards Yuuka. It seemed she had things well in hand. He then moved off to the side behind the man. He was looking around the boat. It did seem fairly nice. He glances over and looks towards the recent catch of fish.
The captain becomes very quiet as he sees the papers. He almost does not notice the boy walk around him. "Uh.. we're not paying…" the man finally stammers out. "The Daimyo has no right. We earned our money." There is a little more confidence in the man's voice now.
Yuuka pointedly arches a brow at the captain for a moment's pause. He hadn't even glanced at the paper to know whar it was about. The corner of her lips tugs with a slight smirk of amusement as she leans forward, her demeanor changing from polite to someyhing with more of an edge. "Is that your final answer, sir?"
Tsiro walks around the catch and looks over board. He then glances back towards Yuuka. He was waiting. He knew what needed to be done and perhaps even this guy would become an example for everyone else in the area. He then ponders just how much the ship is worth.
The captain trembles a little bit but decides to stand firm. "Yeah… until people stand up, we will end up bullied around by you people." The man then reaches for a blade from his pocket. "Just get out of here. Leave me alone!" he yells. The man then looks to see if any of his crew had stuck around. Sadly enough, none stayed.
She gives the knife a glance and her expression instantly shifts, her eyes hardening before Yuuka flicks her gaze back up to him. "Do not pull a knife unless you plan to use it." she snaps at him, the growl rumbling from her throat. "And so be it. You made your decision that has coincequences. Just remember that you are the one that did this to yourself." Yuuka flicks her eyes back to Tsiro, who was eyeing the net of caught fish from their last voyage. "Tsiro-kun, go ahead."
Tsiro nodded his head and picked up the net. He began to dump the fish back into the water. "Ya know Sensei, if we just took the boat, we could sell it and maybe the taxes would be paid for all of them for the year. Course if we take his boat the others might just pay without an issue." The boy says finally dumping the entire net over the side of the ship.
The captain decides not to draw the knife. Then he turns to watch the satan child dump over his catch. "No, my catch! Dont take my boat. Just leave me alone!" he yells. He seems really sober now. Almost as if his dreams are being torn from him.
Yuuka smirks at the boy's suggestion, clearly amused by the idea. "Its a good idea. I will keep it in mind." she murmurs, flicking her attention back to the the captain and narrows her eyes. "He will only continue to pour more of it into the sea until you decide to pay your taxes. Either the money, or you lose your whole catch." Her voice is hard, unwavering. "We will get paid one way or another." Her slender arms loosely cross over her chest as her aquamarine eyes narrows. "Do not force us to take your boat. It is your livelihood."
Turning away from the man, Tsiro seems slightly dissapointed in the mission. He was getting paid to do it though. 'A few shitty missions to get to the good ones.' he tells himself. He looks at the next net and begins to lift it towards the side of the boat. He would wait a few moments to see if the captain would change his mind.
The captain, now feeling pretty worked over, looks towards the next net. "Fine." he pulls out a pouch of coins and tosses them to her. "Just get the hell off my ship." He keeps his head lowered.
The snowy-haired woman reaches up to snap the pouch in midair with a dark glance at the captain for a short moment, weighing the coins in her hand. "If you try to cheat us, we will destroy your boat without hesitation." Yuuka murmurs flatly, tucking the pouch away for safekeeping. Her jaw firms as she flicks her eyes to Tsiro, beckoning him with a tilt of her head before turning around make her way to the docks again. And there were more on the list after this. Goody.
Tsiro drops the net as the order is given. As he walks with Yuuka off the boat he says, "Ya know, if we sunk it everyone would line up to pay… Now we have to do this the hard way." Now the question… was Tsiro's morales trumped by laziness? He glances towards Yuuka with a sigh. "So how many more of these do we have..?"
