Starring:
Rockpath (emitter), Jon, Sakuya
Date: February 15, 2016
Summary:
Jon and his apprentice, Sakuya, work to gain information about a strange organization.
Poster's note: foul language filtered in obvious places.
"Thieves of Torture - Quest for Truth"
Land of Lightning
Not long after the investigation of the Koutamani family whereupon Koutamani Shigeru and Jinzen Hayami were found together, Jon would have taken three 'prisoners' and the two from the suspect families in for questioning. How he would organize this investigation effort now was left in his hands, but he would be working with Sakuya while the other members of the team went off to do their own thing. The investigator can handle interrogating, right? He had a student with him!
Tenza, Moudo, and Ensa would sit there in their binds. Separate cells for each, of course, and they were split as best as possible within their jail cell. Thankfully, they didn't seem to have an ounce of shinobi ability, so it was easy to just leave them as is. The current location: NOT the local jail within Raiun City. There were a few reasons for this… But the main one was that shinobi were uncertain on the integrity of Raiun City's current court systems.
Time to poke and prod, huh? Jon has a few tricks for that. "Sakuya-san, how about you see what you can find out from Shigeru-san and Hayami-san," Jon instructs. "Considering we rescued them, we probably won't need intimidation with them. I'll work on the obvious thugs."
Heading into the cell area, Jon walks down the hallway to where the first delinquent, Tenza, is held…and passes by without a glance. Scruvo, however, hops off his shoulder and perches on the lock part of the cell door. "G'day, mate. Got y'bum tossed inta th'clink propah t'day, eh? Bet y'wish ya listened to yer mum now, wot?" n.n Scruvo's not trained for interrogation or anything, but Jon has found that suspects can be a bit softened if he lets them listen to Scruvo yammer for a while before getting around to them. ;)
Meanwhile, Jon moves on to the next suspect, Moudo. He unlocks the door, enters, and closes it behind himself. Then he sits down across from Moudo and gives him a level gaze. "Well now. You get to be the lucky one. I've got three stoolies, and whichever one gives me the most useful info about your boss gets the most leniency. Aren't you glad you're going first?"
Sakuya's response to Jon was of course, utmost respect (which she hasn't been giving to many lately in terms of Kumogakure authority). "Yes Sir!" Sakuya would say as she stood straight and tall and gave Jon steep bow at the waist. "I think I have just the tool to help relax them further… Zuzu, you can do that thing you like to do." That thing he likes to do? What thing is that? The snake would slither down Sakuya's leg, and Sakuya's eyes would follow the serpent. Animals somehow focus chakra differently, and so despite being inept with seals, Zuzu at least would be able to have trained himself in the most basic of henge. He would henge into a very bubbly looking female that might have been Sakuya's sister, though the snake has gotten rid of slitted eyes or other things that make Sakuya rather unappealing. White hair, a pretty white Kimono, Zuzu's new form would make him look rather aesthetically appealing. This will allow Zuzu to interrogate beside Sakuya, and not creep anyone out. Sakuya looks at the 'girl' who would salute Sakuya with a wink. "How is this, Sakuya-chan?" She said in a bubbly voice.
Sakuya would shake her head and sigh. "I'm going to wear a mask…" She would complain. Then it was off to go see Hayami and Shigeru. Both were sitting pleasantly in the room, likely able to talk to each other freely. They are not suspect to being directly linked with the corruption. Shigeru was just the usual drug dealer. "Hello you two!" Sakuya says as she enters. "I brought a friend along. Her name is Zuka!" … Zuzu, now known as Zuka, would bow towards the two happily before taking a seat. «Are you searching kidding me, Sakuya? 'Zuka'? You… You can't name anything properly, can you?» … »Hush, Zuzu, it's mission time…«
"Do you mind if we talk? You are both innocent, but there are things you can tell us that could really help us find out who the real criminals are on the streets. Those three brigands that were hurting you, Shigeru… They aren't the only ones, are they? There are others, aren't there." … Zuzu would chime in. "Even worse ones, that they are likely taking orders from. Have they spoken of anyone in front of you? Do you know anything?"
Tenza blinks a bit at the talking …. crow? It's a crow, right? "Umm… I guess..?" he says, not understanding Scruvo through his accent. He looks so confused by this strange creature… And since his hands are only cuffed, he'd reach out with both to try and poke the bird with a finger.
Mokudo frowns a bit. "I dunno if this is lucky…" he mutters, frowning just a bit. "It's not like I can tell you all that much. What am I supposed to say, even? We just work on selling drugs to paying customers. Gotta make some money for our future 'n all."
Shigeru and Hayami stare a bit at the pair that enter. They were sitting together, Shigeru leaning on Hayami a bit because he still felt kinda awful from his beating. "Sorta…" he says, and Hayami frowns. "You really shouldn't be talking," she says. "You're still hurt." "I have to… tell them…" Shigeru would look to Sakuya, pain in his eyes. But he struggled through it. "I used to lead those three… Just a normal gang. We didn't do much except rough people up. Then… Ensa said we should make some quick bucks and sell drugs. So we started that. But I ended up getting caught…"
Scruvo flutters away from the probing fingers, landing on the crossbar near the top of the door. "Oi, hands off th'merchandise, mate. I dunno where they been, an' I can imagine plenty wot don't seem very appealin'." :P This, of course, from a creature whose idea of fine dining is digging for grubs. "When was th'last time y'washed, anyway?"
Jon spreads his hands expressively. "What do you think a cop would want to know? Names, places, times. Who do you get your drugs from? Where do you do deals? When were you supposed to meet up next?" Jon leans forward. "More importantly, though, I want to know about who you're working for. I heard you guys back in that alley, you said you were 'doing what you were told.' Who's doing the telling?"
Sakuya is surprised at what she is hearing. Zuzu? Not so much. The white-haired and far cuter version of Sakuya pipes up in a cute soft soothing voice… "I see! You got caught, and you decided to stop being a part of gang life, but it wasn't so easy was it?" 'Zuka' asks. "You're a good person at heart, and knew that drugs were a bad thing. Drugs caused pain, and you wanted out…" Sakuya -really- hopes Zuzu was on the right track, because she was going to support him… her… *Sigh*
"I think I can strike you a deal. Call it protection for you and for Hayami. Protection for even the three you once called friends, and brothers. If you tell me who the person supplying you the drugs are, we will make sure they do not land a hand on you or your family. I can promise this, as a shinobi of the Hidden Cloud. You have my word." Sakuya offered. "Shigeru will never get hurt if you accept. He will never be hurt by them again…" She looked at Hayami in particular. "You don't want him hurt, do you? You want him safe, right?"
"Uhh… Couple days 'fore I was in here, I guess…" Tenza says with a small frown. "Why're you in here, anyway? Shouldn't you be with that other dude? Cop… Something…" Tenza sighs and leans back, closing his eyes. "Not that it matters, I guess. You all get to take your time and do whatever. I'm not going anywhere."
Mokudo eyes Jon a bit. "Few bigger dealers like to give the small fish stuff… Or we pick it up. Sometimes we make it, but that's usually a lot harder…" Mokudo narrows his eyes a bit. "We do the deals where we can find. Alleys, usually. Never in the same place in a couple weeks. Try to keep it a bit irregular. Dunno who it is that we work for. He sent his goons, though. They come 'n make sure we're doing our job…"
Shigeru would blink and shake his head. "Sorta… I got caught, yeah. But… It's different, I guess. I still wanted to make money. And the guy that caught me… I end up in jail, and then I get dragged into this weird scheme. Was told I had to take care of some people with debt. Worked with my gang to do it. Roughed them up, got money, and left them." That was where they acquired their reputation for roughhousing, really. "Then it started getting weird. Had to bring them… To a certain spot. And we'd leave 'em there. Just unconscious. When we come back, they're gone. And then… After some time… I started going out with Hayami-chan…" Hayami would frown a bit and say, "I managed to convince him to quit it with the gang business… I wanted to give him a small chance… I don't know /why/, but … I guess I thought he was worth it or something. Figures that once he quit, there was mail… Mail that said he needed to come back. Threats. I told him to ignore them because I didn't think they'd actually go through with all that…"
Scruvo ruffles his feathers. "Oh, he don't like me bein' in on it when he grills a goon. Says my interruptions mess up 'is flow. I think he's afraid I'll put 'im out o' a job wi' my keen wit. I mean, I've already figured out y'top secret plans from wot y'said so far." 3P
Jon returns Mokudo's calculating peer. "You dunno, huh." Jon gets up. "Well, maybe one of your buddies knows. At this rate, they'll get out of here a whole lot sooner than you will." Jon leaves the cell (and locks it of course) and heads on to Ensa. "This is more a formality than anything else at this point," Jon remarks as he sits down. "I've already pretty much got what I need from your pals. If you happen to know anything you think would interest me, better speak up now, I've got release papers to fill out."
Sakuya is getting a bigger picture. Zuzu didn't need to actually press anymore. It seemed like Shigeru might be willing to talk. "I see. So you became a debtor's thug. Better than drugs, but still illegal. Can you tell me more about this scheme… Do you know who was behind it?" She asks. «Sakuya, one moment… Perhaps we should ask them to… 'Go back' to doing their business.» … »Are you insane? We're shinobi under the service of the Daimyo!« … «No, fool. If he goes back and agrees to continue to work, he could purposely lead us to those who are causing the trouble.» … »That is really risky, Zuzu. What if it is a trap? What if the person behind this collections agency sets us up a trap?« … «We're shinobi, I am sure we will not be fighting Jounin or anything.» Sakuya outwardly sighs. "We were wrong about your story. For that, I am sorry Shigeru… At the same time, I'd like to ask you about this collections agent that hired you into his schemes… Perhaps, I'd also like to ask you about… meeting this man one more time… To guide us to him?"
Mokudo frowns and sighs a bit. There goes getting out. But he wasn't all that sure of what was going on. His orders came from the leader more than anything. Ensa would blink a bit at Jon's information. "What? How? I didn't tell them anything about it… They… They were snooping through my stuff! I bet… Dang it… I told them not to go near it, too. They'll pay…" The teen would grit his teeth, anger in his stare seeming to try and burn a hole in the ground.
Shigeru would blink. "The 'Dispenser of Justice' or something. That was who they said they worked for… Umm… Last time I spoke with them, though, I said I was done. I don't think I can go back… Unless I break up with Hayami. And I don't want that…" He would glance over to his girlfriend with love shining in his eyes briefly, but then his gaze is back on Sakuya. "You might be able to convince Ensa. He's the new leader… A lot more cruel than I first took him to be, too. I guess the Dispenser of Justice was only sad to see me go because I knew a pretty decent amount. Nothing to really piece together, though, from what I can tell…."
Jon chuckles. "No, they're getting off scot-free. And it's going to look like you ratted out your boss. Wouldn't be surprised if you run into a few cronies where you're headed, but hey, nothing I can do about that. If you've got nothing to say, I'll just be about my business." Jon gets up and heads out, and the lock scrapes as he turns the key…but it doesn't quite click. Not seeming to notice, Jon walks off down the hallway. Shortly thereafter, he arranges to have the other two gang members moved somewhere else temporarily, to facilitate the illusion they've been pardoned and prevent further contact with their leader.
Sakuya would nod her head and nudge Zuzu. "Thanks for all your help. I won't force you to do what you don't want to." Zuzu would chime in sweetly. "It was worth a try though. We promise we will do our best to keep you two safe from this debtor. These self-proclaimed righteous people…" Sakuya would be the only one to bow in thanks before leaving the two to recover from their terrible experience.
