Starring:
Date: December 14, 2015
Summary:
A mysterious candy thief in the guise of a snowman has been terrorizing the town! Team Four of Iwagakure has been sent to capture the thief.
"Snow long, Candy"
Iwagakure
Oh, it's a wonderful day in the neighborhood! The sun is shining, the birds are silent, and there's a soft sparkly layer of snow on the ground~ Now, this would be all well and good, but there have been a few complaints about moving snowmen taking food from some of the food stands. This, of course, sounds very ridiculous. No one has actually /seen/ this snowman (or these snowmen) stealing food… But there is a very distinct path that has led from food cart to food cart, and there also tends to be missing food items along that trail.
So who could be sent out but the genin of Team Four? Kaneko's breath was visible, which she took some delight in. She would, every now and then, puff out some air to make the small cloud before her as she stood near the food stands' area. This mission sounded fun, like always, and she had her sword on her just in case as she waited for the others to meet up with her.
Akio moved rather quickly to meet up with Hotaru and Kaneko. Another mission meant another day he felt like he was actually doing something. He had recently thought some on that one proposal from Kaneko, and even though Hotaru seemed a little grumpy about it he actually wouldn't mind having others he could live with. Upon arrival he waved towards the both of them. "Hey Hotaru! Hey Kaneko!" He even smiled a bit, but it quickly faded as he walked closer. "So what do we start by doing huh? I mean…it has to be something besides actual snowmen."
Just the perfect day to be outside. Hotaru had a pink scarf, her only scarf, wrapped around her neck tight as her own breath condensed. A cane in her hand appeared to make little indentations in the snow alongside her footprints. "It's always food." Hotaru would grumble. "People are having a hard time getting stuff to eat, and they resort to silly tricks to steal it." Life in Iwa is hard, it seems. Hotaru would pull out a copy of the mission reports. "I still can't believe it is a snow man… … Hey Kaneko… After this… Do you want to build a snowman?" Hotaru looked up at Kaneko, "I mean… It doesn't have to be a snowman. We can make… Snow forts too." She looks to Akio. "And throw snow at each other… N-ne? It's the first time I've been outside in the snow…"
Kaneko shrugs helplessly to Hotaru, offering a wave and smile to Akio when he arrives. "Akio-kun! I think after this mission we can go talk to my dad. He said he was almost done working on this piece of chest armor, so he could take a bit of a break this evening." Hotaru would get a small hug for her greeting. "Hmmm… Sure, if I'm not sick of snowmen." She grins, then says, "Tomorrow, though. And I noticed that most of the stands that got hit, it was all small food stuff. Treats and desserts. Y'know?" She taps her chin in thought. "Hmmmmmm…. Well, we won't get anywhere if we don't start looking. Where should we look, though?"
Akio smiled and nodded. "Okay. That should be great. Maybe he can help teach me some of the blacksmithing type stuff huh? I was never taught because they didn't want me to be able to create any small blade that were hidable…and they knew I was unable to do such with my metal manipulation." He frowned at the thought of all that, but looked at Hotaru for a moment. "Snow…throwing it at each other? Sure that sounds like fun!" He smiles before looking at Kaneko again. "So are you saying that if these snowmen are actually people using the snow or something then maybe it is little kids? You know trying to steal some sweets. But yeah.. I don't know where to begin looking." He thinks on that for a moment.
Hotaru continued to read the mission parameters as Kaneko hugs her. Hotaru was being super cereal about the mission. It was cold and she really wanted to go home, kick her shoes off and warm her feet by the fire. The young Watanabe leans her head against Kaneko as she listens to the shopkeeper's complaint. "Glad you think so too, Akio. We'll build snowmen, and then build a fort around them for protection…" Her eyes close as she sighs deeply. "So, according to this we're looking for ninja who are henging into snow men. I mean… Actual men shaped like snow, right? Even they would leave a footprint. So! As unofficial team leader, I want each of us to spread out and check for footprints! Strange footprints, Snowy footprints… … Akio, you go do that. Kaneko, I want you to talk to the shopkeeper and get details about what these snowmen looked like." Hotaru would fold up the mission paper and sniffle. "I will reach out with my sense, and see if I can't find anyone who feels like they're expending too much chakra… If that's okay… Let's spread out! Or… Don't spread out too far…
Kaneko nods quickly and gives Hotaru a salute. Then she goes off to hunt down some of the shopkeepers that were robbed. "Excuse me, sir!" she says brightly, stopping at one of the noted stands. "I wanted to talk to you about that snowman situation you had earlier today," she explains.
The foodshop owner blinks a bit, then rubs his chin. The man owns a stand that sells premium cookies! "Aye, tis the strangest thing, you know… I was just selling some of m' wares when I had t' restock. Turned around to a white blob taking a cookie and jus' dis'pearing," he describes with a puzzled expression.
Akio got the boring job of looking at footprints. He figured Hotaru knew that and if she had to choose wanted Kaneko to have the interesting job. He slumped off to look at the ground near one of the stands that supposedly had been stolen from. He had an idea that maybe his tremor sense could match the shape and size of the print to any foot when the are walking or when they see a snowman thing. That way it might make it easier if the snow was not already clumping up some. Just in case he would still look with his own eyes to examine them and see what details he can find.
RPCOMBAT: Akio defends against with a TREMOR-SENSE…17
RPCOMBAT: Akio defends against with a PERCEPTION…14
Hotaru of course attempts to stand there and uselessly try to sniff out the powerful ninja that decided to steal cookies. "I'm telling you, Akio… This is a big one! A powerful ninja with strange jutsu that we will be locked in story-worthy combat with! Aaah… Someone that powerful would be easily found!" She rubs her nose as she pridefully imagines a glorious fight!
She would focus her power and attempt to reach out to feel those butterflies in her stomach that her natural senses allow her to feel… Nothing… She felt nothing. "… I hope Kaneko is getting more information than we are Akio…"
COMBAT: Hotaru focuses 819 stamina to turn it into 1000 usable chakra!
RPCOMBAT: Hotaru defends against with a CHAKRA-SENSITIVITY…26
RPCOMBAT: Hotaru defends against with a PERCEPTION…12
Kaneko hmms… "Weird. Well, we'll be looking into it, sir, so don't worry too much. Is there anyone else you know that's suffered from these weirdos?" she then asks. The man shakes his head a bit. "Ask around. I heard that there was a candy-maker that uses a lot of honey… She seems to have gotten robbed as well." Hotaru would sense nothing, as she had noted, and Akio would just not have good enough senses (chakra or otherwise) to find the trail, it seems…
Akio plopped onto the ground and looked at Hotaru. "Hey… find anything?" It didn't take long for the cold to make him get up as it started melting beneath him and he walked towards her. "You know… I have decided that I think you should tell Kaneko your secret." He made sure to whisper this in case Kaneko suddenly came back. "I don't like the lying anymore, but still….it is your secret to give up." He would look around with his eyes while doing this though to see if anything pops up that is suspicious.
RPCOMBAT: Akio defends against with a PERCEPTION…12
Hotaru comes up blank. "Sorry Akio… This is a -little- more difficult than I originally thought… Let's go to Kaneko to see what she was told by the merchants. That didn't stop the Watanabe from trying again, though she would do so after awakening the first stage of her Kekkei Genkai. "I mean, seriously… This individual must be a powerful ninja if he didn't leave a visible trail. Something tells me that it probably isn't. HEY! KANEKO-CHAN! C'MERE AND TELL US WHAT YOU FOUND OUT!" Hotaru calls out.
RP: Hotaru transforms into LINES-OF-BEGINNING.
RPCOMBAT: Hotaru defends against with a CHAKRA-SENSITIVITY…39
RPCOMBAT: Kaneko defends against with a PERCEPTION…20
Kaneko winces a bit when her name is called out, but she comes anyway. The girl would bow in thanks to the shopkeeper she was speaking to, first. "Well, apparently it's been all the sweets vendors. They were just minding their business when a white hand would grab something off their counter, you know? I don't think this is an experienced ninja or anything since they're so easily spotted… Maybe we just aren't looking around hard enough? I mean, there are also a lot of footprints around here…. Makes it hard to see things." Kaneko would look around herself, then. "Oh! There!" she says, pointing to a white blob that's making its escape.
Akio followed Hotaru and frowned because of her ignoring the most important words of his. Though he didn't say anything else when they found Kaneko. She told them what was going on and he frowned once more as he rubbed his hand over his neck and looked around only to see the white blob as Kaneko points it out. "Oh…." Akio moved and he was sadly unprepared for anything to big though he could probably bind them in metal if he was quick. So he tried to do just that.
COMBAT: Akio attacks target 1 with BRANCHING-METAL-BINDS with a roll of: 35
[NPC System]: Kids roll(s) Too many Kids! vs. Akio from 20 to 40 and get(s) a 27. - Rolled by: Kaneko
[NPC System]: Kids roll(s) Too many Kids! vs. Akio from 20 to 40 and get(s) a 31. - Rolled by: Kaneko
[NPC System]: Kids roll(s) Too many Kids! vs. Akio from 20 to 40 and get(s) a 32. - Rolled by: Kaneko
Looks like it was just kids. "… Well." Hotaru would sigh a moment as Akio seems to simply wrangle them all up. "That was anticlimatic… … I think I'm going to go see what happens when you put snow in a bowl and drizzle honey over it." Hotaru said, clearly bothered that a buncha kids was the cause of this mischeif, and not a worthy opponent of the shinobi kind!
"ACK!" calls out the snowman. It topples over when the bindings come up and over them. While they try to flee, the kids in the snowman costume are caught, thus ending their fun. "Get us outta here!" "Where'd this come from?" "Dang Murasame, prolly!" The children all struggle with the bonds while Kaneko makes her way over to the group to see just which three the culprits are…
Akio holds the binding around them and follows Kaneko. "So Kaneko. What do we do since they are just a bunch of kids? Surely they wouldn't get punished the same as the adults would." He would look at the three of them annoyed that they were what caused this mission. Similar to how Hotaru felt is just that he wanted an actual challenge or fight. Not some kids that he couldn't do anything about. "Why did you steal this candy anyways." He shakes his head some.
"This village has a big kid problem…" Hotaru would grumble. "There are kids -everywhere- stealing cookies and stuff all the time! You know what?" Hotaru taps her cane on the ground, turning around to face Akio. "We should paddle them! Like papa does to me when I get in trouble! That'll teach them to steal! That, or give them a proper sentence for stealing… What do you think Akio?" Was she trying to psyche the kids out?
"We just wanted some treats," one kid would grumble. "And we don't have enough money." Kaneko tilts her head a bit. "What about your parents? They could give you money." The kid would frown at the Murasame. "Too cheap. 'Candy is a waste of time'" the boy would say, voice pitched higher to mimic his mom. Kaneko would rub the back of her head and sigh. "Well, next time don't steal… And …" She pauses when she hears Hotaru's suggestion. "Well, a punishment isn't too bad… You three are gonna have to help the people you robbed from, okay? If you don't show up to work, then they'll report you to the police. Got it?"
Akio looks at Hotaru and grins some before looking back at Kaneko. "You know what. I agree with Kaneko's punishment. This gives them one more chance. Any more slip ups and we send Hotaru after you. And when Hotaru is angry she doesn't play nice. You would pretty much be her next meal in her eyes." He chuckled some, but gave each of them a little bit of ryo. "Hey. Pay this back to some of the shopkeepers for the candy you surely ate and give the rest back. Then after helping them I think it can be considered even. Anything else done with that ryo and it won't be metal that gets you next time…"
Hotaru likes playing the bad-cop! It makes her feel domineering, and Hotaru hates not coming out on top. "Right… If you aren't on your best behavior, and do -everything- the vendors ask… I'm going to drag you off in the middle of the night and take you to ninja-jail… Forever!" Hotaru would likely laugh a little. It all was menacing if you take not that her eyes would be considered 'demon-eyes' to the uninformed person. It's a Watanabe thing of course.
Kaneko chuckles a bit as the kids all seem to nod in terror. They take Akio's money and skitter off. Tracking them down would prove that they were doing what was asked, at least, so that was good. Kaneko breathes a sigh of relief. "Well, I'm glad it was as simple as that… If it was an enemy ninja or something, I'm not entirely sure what we'd do…" she frowns a bit, but smiles. "So then, Akio-kun. Hotaru-chan. I guess we can relax now."
