Starring:
Hiroyasu, Misaki, Yuko, Kin, Hiei (emitter)
Date: September 24, 2013
Summary:
A group of Kumo nin are tasked with the job of retrieving a missing nin from Fuuma Alley. In part one, they meet Bastion, an information broker.
Poster's note: foul language filtered in obvious places.
"To Catch A Kumo Nin Part 1"
Fuuma Alley
As Hiroyasu sits at his desk, doing whatever it is that an assistant does, one of the village Elders walk into Hiro's office. "Katayama Hiroyasu." He moves further into the room and plops a scroll onto the desk. "Contained within is the current intel on a missing ninja by the name of Sayamoto Kazuma." He pauses. "Yes. He's the long lost uncle of that…that..thing." He glances off to the side with a look of disgust on his face. "Nevertheless, we need him found and brought back in shackles. He's the head of a mercenary group that is based in Fuuma. Recruit a team to find him and bring him in." Another pause. "Make sure you list the reward for this mission. Ten thousand ryo." He smirks. "Call it hazard pay." And then he drifts out of the office without staying to converse with Hiroyasu any further.
Hiroyasu stands up from his desk, "Sir?" he responds before taking the scroll and glancing it over "Information has been vetted?" he asks but it doesn't really matter as the man just as soon as he appeared had wandered out. "Probably not.." He shouts out into the hall "Send out a Missive.. who do we have not on assignment?" he asks and some disembodied voice says "Uh.. well.. ~She~ isn't assigned, and uh.. everyone else is either out or on leave" he sighs.. "conflict of interest or not.. Send a Hawk to Sayamoto Misaki.. and Send one to the Oshiro Cadet. He needs a trial by fire, this will determine if he has what it takes to be a Shinobi" he mutters before adding "Give them standard mission briefing information, Missing Ninja: Wanted ~Alive~, meet at the front gates in under an hour. Pack for extended trip" he says before moving to grab his cloak "Tell the boss, I'll be out for the rest of the day.. It seems we have a storage of able bodies" before moving to head out and wait at the gate for the next half hour for them to arrive.
Yuko was busy training with some physical exercise when he gets the notification which gives him less than an hour to really prepare. He ends up running to the dorms, flying through the showers, grabbing a pack and dashing towards the gate. His hair is still damp as he rushes towards the gate. His pack over his shoulders is weighted down a bit, showing it is packed for a bit of a longer trip as the message indicated. Despite his fear of being late he manages to get to the gate 5 minutes early. Well, five minutes before the hour is up. He's panting as he jogs up and looks around to see who else is already at the front gate. He runs a hand through his still damp hair, slicking it back a bit in the process.
Misaki showed up at the gate with her required stuff, she didn't bother to read the missive very well as it is, so she didn't suspect it to be family. Nor did she care a lot about said family, at least, that's what she thinks. She looks around, curious as to whom will be leading this mission. Hopefully it wasn't her! She's already getting goosebumps by that thought!
Hiroyasu nods his head as people arrive, "Excellent, If you don't know.. We are going to Fuuma. I'll explain the details on the way, but it's one of our own this time" he says before scrawling something on a piece of paper and slipping it to a messenger hawk "I requested that should any capable Shinobi become available they be sent as reinforcements.. this is smaller than the usual takedown team but it's what we got" he says before looking over as a horse drawn cart is wheeled out. "We need converse our strength since it's a long trip so I got us a ride.. Am I the only one who can drive?" he asks hoping into the drivers seat and taking the reins "Get in, we leave immediately" he says, and when they do, he would whip the reins and start their journey.
Yuko nods, but keeps quiet, listening to Hiro as he glances around but when the question is asked he raises his hand, "I know how to drive a cart. Needed to learn for my family business. So I can help with that." He offers, with a smile, glad to possibly already be contributing it appears. He even bounces slightly on the balls of his feet before hopping into the back of the cart and unslinging his pack to leave there before moving towards the front to be near Hiro.
Misaki hops on… "Shotgun!" She mentions, jumping up and sitting by Hiro.
Welcome to Fuuma. The first thing the group might notice is the sheer amount of people on the street, the second would be the neon lights and industrial setting. There is a thin layer of smog that seems to be just about everywhere. According to the scroll given to Hiro the group's liaison is an information broker named Bastion. No surname, just Bastion. He is rumored to hang out in a back alley dive called the Rusty Kunai. As the group make their way through the streets, there are multiple attempts on their person in the name of thieves attempting to either pick their pockets or cut their purse strings without their knowledge.
Hiroyasu knows better than to take the cart into the area proper, and parked it safely moored some distance from the area. "Alright keep your wits about you" he says as they enter the streets and can see the vast amount of everything; people, things. and buildings. Looking over to his side he catches a hand in going into his cloak, he doesn't say anything but a gentle grip of foreign invader and a gentle rebuff.. hopefully they get the message that he isn't an easy mark.
Attempting to pick Yuko's pocket is probably a bad idea as most of what are in there are things like shuriken, and those can be pointy. He really didn't bring a purse to cut on the mission, and his pack is about the only thing of value he's carrying so if someone wants to try to steal a tent or some camping gear or spare clothes from his backpack without being noticed? Well… that would be impressive. A few coins are in an inner pocket of his jacket, and they might be fair game for a good pick pocket. But that's about it. Yuko keeps one hand on his Kunai as he walks through this place, having heard things about Fuuma and none of them good.
Misaki looks left and squints her eyes. "I don't think so.." She grabs her own kunai and holds it against someone trying to steal her purse. Throwing him a gaze with her Matatabi eyes to scare him off. "Pfft, sinkhole of the damned around here." She looks at Hiro and keeps her stuff close to herself.
As the group continues to navigate the streets, they walk by some of the more seedier establishments. Work travels fast around here, and the riff-raff immediately get the idea that the newcomers aren't easy marks. There's also a rumor floating around that the girl is some kind of monster. A little boy yanks on the hem of Hiroyasu's garment. His face is dirty and he's dressed like a pauper. "Sir. My little sister and I are starving. Can you spare us some ryo?" He gives Hiro the most pitiful look a human being can muster.
In the meantime, Yuuko would find out later that a couple of his good, sharp kunai are missing, but right now he's got to deal with a rather pretty young woman, dressed in a skimpy outfit as she places herself in his path. "Hi. My name is Destiny. Fate brought you here for a reason, and I think that reason is so you can take me on a date. What do you say, cutie?" She places a hand lightly on his arm while looking up at him with warm sincere eyes.
Misaki suddenly hears off to her left. "Smuckers that woman is gorgeous. Hey, hey baby. You looking for a real man? I got what you need right here." If she looks over, she'll see a burly looking man with no shirt, about six teeth, and from the smell, hasn't taken a bath for the last couple months. He waggles his eyes at her longingly. "I can be your boyfriend, sweet cheeks."
Hiroyasu sneers at the young child, such a classic ploy.. it wouldn't be so obvious if it wasn't so practiced. "Get lost, go bother some other fool" he snarls before looking at the child "Now~" he says before moving on his attention is squarely on the task at hand, but also to his teammates who seem in similar situations.. well when group decides to pass you up, another more experienced one tries their hand right? This place has not changed.
Yuko snorts at the woman's come on as he gestures to himself, "Who are you kidding. With my size and looks? You either want to rob me blind, kill me, or enslave me and sell me to the highest bidder. In any of the cases, get out of my way." He frowns and tries to look stern but really he's not that good at it as he raises the one kunai he had his hand on. "Get out of my way, /now/." He adds for emphasis. As he says this he glances around to make sure the woman isn't just a distraction to leave him open for an unexpected attack.
Misaki looks at the dirty guy and sighs. "I have a boyfriend.." She looks the other way as though she's ignoring him… Grabbing onto Hiro's arm to try and affirm that point. Even though he isn't her boyfriend, she just tried to keep that dirty schmutz off of her!
The child scampers away from Hiroyasu as if he's in fear for his life. And the girl that got in Yuko's way, eyes him coldly for a moment. Her voice dropping a full octave before she says, "You ain't no picnic either, honey." Before snorting and storming off in the same direction as the kid. The man catcalling Misaki bellows. "The little bald guy won't treat you like I will." But by that time they've moved on from the area, and there is a neon arrow pointing to what actually looks like a hole in a wall. The name above the place is called The Rusty Kunai.
Hiroyasu gives the man accosting Misaki, a simple hand gesture as they turn the corner.. he was keeping up foreign relations yeah.. "This place will chew you up and spit you out if you show any kind of weakness, ignorance, or stupidity. So moderate yourself should one of those apply, silence is your asset. I'll handle the talking, just play along" he says before assigning "Oshiro left flank, Miso right flank" he adjusts his hood before going into the bar, "how classy~" he utters to the other two before moving to the bar. He slaps down a ryo or two for a drink but doesn't order one "We're here to see Bastion.." then puts down a few more ryo after saying what he wanted.
Misaki walks up to the right of Hiro, glancing around the bar. She calmly took everyone in, mainly watching her back and that right flank for any sudden attacks or anything. ~Looks like quite the place..~ … Misaki rolls her eyes and nods casually. Looking at Hiro and not saying a word… She pulls her travel cloak in tighter to hide who she is, her cap is up, hiding her face in the shadows of her cloak.
Yuko simply nods to Hiro as he moves to the left of the leader and keeps an eye open as he glances around the bar, his right hand still firmly grasping the kunai but down at his side so that it is less obvious, the tip pointing downwards at the floor so as not to be hopefully seen as an obvious threat or anything, yet to show he's not quite such an easy target as he might appear.
Late.
Well, it figured that not everything is perfect in the world. Kin had to go out hunting to get resources for the trip. He just didn't realize how delayed that'd get him to the start of the mission and so he was behind them. Dred had winged above, keeping tabs on the other kumo nin as Kin made a steady pace along behind them. He got there late, so didn't happen to have to deal with the others messing with the kumo nin outside. Instead he'd silently race across roof tops within Fuuma, Dred pointing him to where they went at. So as the last of them went in the 'Rusty Kunai' Kin was there shortly behind them. He didn't have his bow out, not within that space unless it was needed. Instead, Dred would wing in ahead of him inside the door, sweeping past to find a spot on the wall to perch at, wings half-flared as Kin stepped in to look about, going to fall in step with the others, at the rear of the group.
The surly bartender looks up when the door opens. He's large..really large. His belly overlaps his pants, and even though he doesn't look as dirty as some of the people outside, his left eye is solid white, a jagged scar going down the side of his face, going through that eye. "Pets ain't allowed in here!" He states plainly to Kin while staring at him with his good eye. When Hiro tosses the ryo down, he looks up at the bald shinobi. "That would all depend on who's looking for him. I'm Bastion. What ken I do ya fer?" He hocks a good one and spits it into the glass he's cleaning with a dirty rag. The establishment is shoddy, that much is certain. But even still, everyone might notice that when Bastion is asked for, several people rise up from their tables and simply walk out. Some of them were in the middle of meals or having a drink.
Hiroyasu nods "We're looking for someone.." he says putting down a few more ryo, "Have you seen him?" he says putting down a few more ryo.. hopefully he has not been lead astray by the crime novels he read when he pretended to be studying at home.. "Bastion" he says again. "So if you could stop trying to jerk us around by the short hairs. I'd appreciate it, or it can get problematic" he says looking over his shoulder at Misaki before looking back at the bartender.. his chakra was serious chaos, so he was either under genjutsu or he was plainly lying. "We don't issue either way.. now we going to deal?" he asks.
Misaki nods and crosses her arms. "You know I could just blow up this nice little establishment. I'm sure Bastion wouldn be forced to check it out." She grins. "Or you could just tell us what we need to know…" She looks at Hiro and shuts up again. She was completely serious, though just realized she might not be helping!
On guard, Yuko doesn't do much but listen to Hiro's words as he keeps an eye out for any possible motion from behind. His attention really isn't focused as much on 'Bastion' as it is on the rest of the establishment. A frown marks his face as he concentrates, trying not to miss anything that might show a sign of danger. Well, a sign of additional danger actually as there are probably pleanty of signs of danger in a place like this. He does spare a glance towards Misaki at her comment but only shakes his head and goes back to being on alert for other threats.
Kin leveled a stare at 'Bastion' with the comment about Dred. "As soon as I see a pet, I'll make sure it's known it's not allowed in here." The falcon for his part just stared at the man intently with unblinking eyes of a predator. Kin folded his arms across his chest, watching those who departed with a moment's interest, he hung back, giving space. An enclosed area certainly wasn't his forte, but that didn't stop him from being ready, just in case something went south with this potential interaction. Indeed, he'd fairly hum with power, gathering himself to spring as needed.
As the bartender moves his hand forwards to rake the money into his palm, a tendril of inky darkness wraps itself around his wrist, halting his process. A gorgeous kunoichi wearing a form fitting green silk dress steps forwards from the shadows. The shadows themselves seem to peel away from her. "They have an appointment." She motions for Hiroyasu to take his money back before turning to walk towards a door that wasn't previously there that's labeled 'Office'. She opens the door, but doesn't go in. "Bastion is expecting you, Katayama-san."
Hiroyasu picks up his ryo, before flicking one at the bartender "For the pet~." he says before looking to the Kunoichi, surprise would betray him so he says calmly "Thank you." instead before idly eyeing her and peeking back behind wall with his sensory, there was a person behind the door at least, before making his way into the maw of the unknown. He looks around at what lies past it with a cautious eye.. as they knew him.
Misaki calmly follows Hiro as if she belongs. Even though they're just expecting him, she wasn't going to make him barge in there alone!
As the lady shows up and motions to the perviously unseen door, Yuko frowns more but… almost backs towards the door, following the group but not wanting to turn his back to the elements still present in the hole-in-the-wall seedy bar. He looks a tad nervous to say the least as he keeps glancing around and sort of clumsily makes his way with the group through the door, mostly backwards.
Kin clicked his tongue. Dred winged from the wall to perch onto his shoulder, wings still splayed, ready.. just in case. With the rest of them heading for the door, he would as well. Although the lady that had been previously not noted was studied intently in passing. He didn't want to forget a face. And one who could hide like that would be doubly important.
As the group move into the office, they are greeted by the sight of a young man. Easily no older than fourteen, sitting behind a desk in a well tailored suit. He has blonde hair and blue eyes and unlike most of the people they've met so far, there isn't a speck of dirt on his person anywhere. "I'm Bastion. I'll get directly to the point. Sayamoto Kazuma is impossible to get to…under normal circumstances. But..I know where he's going to be tomorrow morning. Because it's my business to know." He stands up, folding his hands behind his back. "Sayamoto will be returning from a job, and he will be drinking in a bar called Xtreme Fantasy at approximately 11am. Because he is a creature of habit." He exhales slowly. "Now, I have given you the information that was agreed upon and I believe you know the way out." He retakes his seat and spins around to face the window. "Oh, and Hayate-san. Sorry about the comment about the bird. My employee will be dealt with." He flicks his fingers, obviously waiting for them to leave.
Hiroyasu nods "11am, Extreme Fantasy. Alright" he says before looking to the others, "Lets go. We will need to find somewhere to stay until the alotted time" before looking at Misaki wondering how she is taking the reveal that it is a family member versus a stranger. "Glad you could make it Hayato-san" he says before making his way out of the Rusty Kunai. "Alright anyone got anything clever?" he asks for opinions.
Misaki was completely calm throughout this whole thing. It wasn't until the man said Sayamoto for the second time that she flinches visibly. Her right hand shaking. "S-s… Sayamoto?" She looks at Hiro from under her cloak. Her eyes visibly lighting up and then dying down. The tremble follows by the shake of her head. "Kuzama? U.. .." She bites her lip.. Then her hand balls into a fist. She's about to do something stupid, but Hiro manages to sooth her. Her shoulders drop visibly, her eyes return to normal, and the shaking slowly subsides. She sighs. Looking at Hiro with a look that demanded more information, but understood now wasn't the time.
Yuko follows along and comments, "We should get some where more private before having a serious discussion?" He suggests, looking still pretty nervous just being out in public around this Fuuma place. "I have a few ideas but anyone know anything about the… uh, Xtreme Fantasy place? Depending on what it is, theme wise, might help us out…." He says softly leaving it there apparently until the group can get some place more private. He does give Misaki an curious look at her reaction but the name obviously means nothing to Yuko from his reaction or lack of one.
Hiroyasu sighs "No where in this place is private, so in this alley is just as good as anywhere. Unless you plan on shouting our plan at the top of your lungs" before looking to Misaki again, "On second thought, lets go back to the cart, and setup camp for the night. The woods full of deadly wild animals is safer than here, at least there I could sleep soundly." He pats Yuko on the shoulder "You did well, just remember the situation is always fluid, and there is nothing which is absolute" before putting it arm around Misaki "I guess we need to talk, little sister?" he asks moving to lead them all back to the cart to setup camp and discuss.
To Be Continued…
