Starring:
Date: September 7, 2016
Summary:
Reina and Aburei find themselves on opposite sides of a local dispute.
"Tough Choices - Robbed Debtors"
The town of Himawari [Land of Fire]
The small town of Himawari is separated into the residential district to the north and the pleasure district to the south. In the latter there is the market, brothels, teahouses, and other things for travelers to enjoy. Reina and Aburei travel in through the northern side of town, and Reina states her intentions to go and have a fun time. She promises to get a room for them at an inn right away, so Aburei can rest any time that night. Then she's off in the blink of an eye, leaving Aburei to walk by himself. Whether it's taking a rest or going to see the sights. However, along the way there'd be a cottage and beside it a young woman trying to help what might be her brother or boyfriend to the front door. He's limping heavily, clearly injured, but the passerby don't notice him. Or rather, they ignore him, despite the difficulty the woman is having supporting him. They both wear cotton yukata, and have the same shaggy, dark hair. "We'll get by," the woman says. "You'll see, nii-san!"
Elsewhere Reina has already booked a room at an inn, and gone to the nearest teahouse. She's having a hard time relaxing though. Two men are arguing loudly with one another, practically screaming near the entrance. Eventually, a vein pulsing in her temple, Reina goes over and demands what's wrong.
"This lout owes me money!" the balding, older man says.
"What you're doing is highway robbery. There's no way I can pay that off."
"Well that's not my problem!"
They get into a wrestling match.
Aburei nods absently in response to Reina. "Okay, I'll look for you where the kids are playi — " Oops, she's already gone. c.c Oh well. n.n Aburei wanders about the town aimlessly, humming, praying, occasionally tootling on his recorder…and then an obvious situation for a medic arises. :o Aburei approaches the struggling pair. "Pardon me, I'm a medic. Could I help you?"
The woman looks up in surprise. "Are you a healer?" she says. She bites her lip. "I'm Tomoe. This is Anji. We…we don't have any money to pay you. If you help us it'd have to be for free."
They sit down on their porch. Despite his wounds, the young man is fuming. "We'd have the money if we weren't just…"
"Robbed," the younger man in the teahouse said. "You have to believe me, Natsume-san. I was robbed! I can't make this payment. Please give me another week."
It turns out the same story is going around town. Natsume the collector gives out loans with interest. But recently there were rumors of a robber going around, yet the local law enforcement have been unable to find any concrete evidence this robber exists. Because of this, more than one of Natsume's clients have been unable to pay him. However, Natsume is insistent that they merely made a story about a robber up, and are just trying to avoid paying him.
Reina chuckles. "It's clear this is just an excuse not to pay," she says. "There's no robber, just a bunch of lazy people unwilling to settle their debt."
"Exactly!" Natsume says. "Finally a woman who sees sense." He turns to Reina. "I have some money I need to collect tonight…personally. Help me out and I'll make it worth your while. Cash up front. That's how Saiki Natsume operates!"
"Please you have to help us," the sister says to Aburei. "If you help us find our money we'll give you a reward." That's if the brother and sister aren't making the whole robber thing up.
Aburei is already peering at the injuries and planning out the best way to treat them. "Hm? Oh, that's okay," he says distractedly, running a glowing hand over one of the more serious wounds. It takes a couple minutes for the story to filter through Aburei's concentration. "…Huh? Find your money? Didn't you say a robber took it? I'm not a detective or anything. I mean, I'll help if I can, but…I don't see how." c.c
Reina decides to help Natsume out, and for a very reasonable sum. They go from house to house, and Reina helps to strong arm customers who are more reluctant to pay. However, she hears a strange story more than once. "You know," she says, after the fifth visit. "Two people have said they were robbed. Maybe there's some truth to that. I can look into it, if you want."
"I didn't pay you to investigate fictional stories. I paid you to help me."
Reina shrugs. It makes no difference to what she earns, after all.
"I got this," Taro said, and he holds up a silk handkerchief. "I managed to snatch it from the robber when we were struggling." He'd hand it to Aburei. It's well worn and smells slightly of lavender. "Don't you have some super sense to track it?"
That's when Reina and Natsume show up. Reina blinks when she sees Aburei. Natsume points at Taro. "No more excuses!" he says. "Pay what you owe me right now, and stop making up stories about robbers!" He gestures to Reina. "Grab him."
Reina had done just that all night. Keeping people from running away, intimidating them, but with Aburei there she seems a bit reluctant. Still, she's getting paid. So with an apologetic look at her traveling companion, she makes to hold Taro by the arm. A moment later Anji lunges forward, slapping at every inch of Natsume's face.
Aburei scratches his head. "No, why would I?" =.=a What, is he supposed to be some sort of ninja or something? :P Aburei snaps his fingers. "Oh! But I do know someone who might be able to help!" Aburei makes a tiny slit on his thumb, squeezes out a little blood, and makes the handseals for a summoning. *POOF!* Out comes the badger with the punk outfit. "Huh? Aw crud, whaddaya want this time?"
That's enough stretching of the moment between Taro's question and Reina's arrival. Aburei furrows his brow at Natsume's proclamation. "Stories? I dunno what's going on here, but this guy had some fairly real injuries." Hachimitsu cracks his knuckles. "Oh, I get it. Finally some action." >) While Aburei is still just trying to figure out what's going on, Hachimitsu, who hasn't met Reina before, moves to interfere with her shakedown. "Y'think you're tough, toots? Y'wanna rumble?" Bad matchup, but Hachimitsu doesn't know that.
Reina chews on her fingernail, a unique sign of nervousness. It seems her traveling companion and herself have managed to get on two opposing sides of a serious feud. If they didn't know one another they'd probably be at each other's…is that a giant badger in a punk outfit!? Reina stares in complete bewilderment at at the garbed creature, and it takes her several beats to realize it's a summoned creature. Her hand flies to her mouth to stifle a gasp. "So…so cool!" she says, overcome with awe. "A badger! So cute! So amazing!" She claps her hands together like a little girl. Apparently Reina is very fond of animals, or at least badgers. Her eyes are positively shining.
She releases her grip on Taro. She turns to Natsume. "That makes three people who've mentioned a robber," she says. "Before we proceed to collect your fees, why don't we do a bit of investigation and see if we can't unearth something?" Natsume's eyes narrow and he grumbles, but finally relents. The badger would have free rein to go after that fading scent of lavender. Which would actually go back towards town.
Hachimitsu balks. "C…CUTE!?!? I don't care what you say, lady! You're asking for a knuckle sandwich!" >.< Amazing how he can work the aloofness act into even blowing up at someone. Aburei tries to restrain Hachimitsu by the shoulder. "Hachimitsu-san, wait! I know her, she's a friend!" Hachimitsu glares over his shoulder. "What!? Then whaddidya call me out here for?!" Aburei holds up the handkerchief. "This. Can you track the scent from this?" Hachimitsu rolls his head and arms back aggravatedly. "What, now I'm your dog!?" Aburei scratches his head meekly. "Well, um…it might lead us to a bandit?" n.n; Hachimitsu stares for a long moment, then finally snatches the handkerchief. "Fine, whatever. Not like I care."
After a while of snuffling around, Hachimitsu leads the group to a public bath house. Now here's something Hachimitsu genuinely does not care about: human nudity taboos. He barges into the men's washroom with the handkerchief held aloft. "All right, who's the pretty petunia that dropped his precious lacy!?" >P
It's safe to say that none of the men in the bathhouse were expecting to have a giant badger wearing clothes barge in on them. Predictably, they snatch up their towels and make a break for it. However, Reina blocks the way and would have the summoned animal narrow it down to a well muscled man with gray eyes and shaggy hair. Natsume and Taro's sister have come along as witnesses, and Natsume says, "I know you! You work for the other loan collector in town! Reina-chan get him!"
Reina has serious reservations about being addressed with that honorific, but she shrugs it aside and makes for the supposed bandit. However, he makes a seal and a huge blast of air hits them all before wrapping the towel around his waist and dashing out.
[NPC System]: Bandit roll(s) Whirlwind v. Reina from 10 to 100 and get(s) a 71. - Rolled by: Reina
[NPC System]: Bandit roll(s) Whirlwind v. Aburei from 10 to 100 and get(s) a 79. - Rolled by: Reina
[NPC System]: Bandit roll(s) Whirlwind v. Punk Badger from 10 to 100 and get(s) a 32. - Rolled by: Reina
RP: Reina joins the roleplay.
COMBAT: It is now Reina's turn.
RPCOMBAT: Reina defends against with a HEAT-RUSH…56
RPCOMBAT: Reina took 600 damage.
RP: Aburei joins the roleplay.
COMBAT: Reina finishes her turn.
COMBAT: It is now Aburei's turn.
RPCOMBAT: Aburei defends against with a DODGE…27
RPCOMBAT: Aburei took 600 damage.
RP: Hachimitsu joins the roleplay.
COMBAT: Aburei finishes his turn.
COMBAT: It is now Hachimitsu's turn.
RPCOMBAT: Hachimitsu defends against with a DODGE-II…21
Hoo boy. n.n; Even if they find this bandit, invading the bath house might get them in trouble. "Um, Hachimitsu-san, I appreciate your effort, but we're not really allowed to — " And then Aburei gets swept up in another way. x.x Hachimitsu also fails to dodge the air blast, and gets knocked back over a bucket of soapy water. "OOF! Oh, you gonna get it now! I just took a bath, I wasn't supposed to have to touch soap for another week!" D< Hachimitsu stumbles up onto all fours and takes after the suspect.
The "bandit" runs from what's very justifiably things he should fear: a loan collector, two shinobi, and a giant, angry badger. They keep up a swift pace, but don't go too far. The bandit had a destination: his home. And when he dashes out of it he's holding a sword, one of massive size, taller than him and almost as broad. He holds it one handed, and in his other hand is a bag. Instead of looking panicked he looks dangerous, and he faces all of them calmly. He looks at Reina and Aburei.
"I apologize for hitting you," he says smoothly, even politely. "It's not my intention to fight either of you. Or you, Anji-san."
"Why are you doing this, Etsu-san?" Anji asks. Apparently she knows it. "You're a good man."
"A man in debt," Etsu says. "People who say money isn't everything are those who have enough of it. You know this, having inherited your father's debt. This man…" He points his sword at Natsume. "…will never let you out of debt. Here." He throws the bag forward, and it gives the telltale clink of gold. "Anji-san and you two, take this. Leave. You're not protecting a good man." He glares at Natsume, who looks horrified.
"You can't leave me with this madman!" Natsume says. "You'd be betraying your client!"
However, Reina's scruples aren't ironclad. She already has the bag, and is examining one of the coins. "Actually, I'm the only one who made that promise. And lemme tell you…this is /lots/ more than you're paying me. What do you say, Aburei-kun, should we head out?" So casual!
Aburei scrambles to keep up with the goings-on. He's decently swift, but he doesn't have as much endurance as some other folk. He's also not accustomed to being knocked around. #.# When he catches up, the suspect is making his discourse. Aburei catches his breath while people talk. "Wait…what's going on? You trust this guy, but he's been stealing because he's in debt?" -.-a Hachimitsu snorts. "I don't care whose fault any of this really is, this guy's getting a bloody nose for soaking my tail!" >P Aburei sighs. "Reina-san, I get the feeling things won't go so well if we leave now." u.u
Reina is turning a gold coin around in her fingers as words are thrown back and forth. She doesn't enjoy betraying her clients. But she doesn't enjoy throwing away a fat bag of gold either. She glances up at Anji who is still pleading with the bandit. "Just turn yourself in, Etsu-san. You've gone too far. Even if…even if we are miserably in debt you can't steal other people's happiness!"
Reina gives a sigh. She sets the bag of gold aside. "I won't betray my client," she says. "A mercenary is only worth as much as her word." She sounds mournful as a puppy though. "I'm afraid you're coming in with us, bandit-san. Peacefully…I hope. But if…" That's when Etsu strikes. He swings his sword down.
His slash is amplified by wind chakra, carving up anything nearby in a huge blast. One has to wonder why someone with tremendous abilities doesn't use it for more than being a petty bandit in a low rank mission, but oh well. The slashes are aimed at Reina and Hatchimitsu, the closest ones.
[NPC System]: Bandit roll(s) Wind Slash vs. Reina from 15 to 45 and get(s) a 29. - Rolled by: Reina
[NPC System]: Bandit roll(s) Wind Slash vs. da Badger from 15 to 45 and get(s) a 16. - Rolled by: Reina
COMBAT: It is now Reina's turn.
RPCOMBAT: Reina defends against with a WIND-BARRIER…49
COMBAT: Reina finishes her turn.
COMBAT: It is now Hachimitsu's turn.
RPCOMBAT: Hachimitsu defends against with a DODGE…17
COMBAT: Hachimitsu attacks target 1 with POWER-PHYSICAL-II with a roll of: 26
COMBAT: Hachimitsu finishes his turn.
COMBAT: It is now Aburei's turn.
COMBAT: Aburei heals Reina for 312 with LIGHT HEALING JUTSU.
Hachimitsu rears back, barely avoiding the invisible edge of the slash. "Gettin' serious now, huh?" Hachimitsu throws his bulk back forward, aiming a haymaker punch at Etsu's face. "Bring it, punk!" Aburei steps in behind Reina and gives her a quick shot of rejuvenating chakra. "Careful, Reina-san!" c.c;
COMBAT: Aburei finishes his turn.
COMBAT: It is now Reina's turn.
[NPC System]: Bandit roll(s) Dodge v. Hachimitsu from 15 to 40 and get(s) a 20. - Rolled by: Reina
COMBAT: Reina attacks target 1 with MACROBURST with a roll of: 41
[NPC System]: Bandit roll(s) Dodge v. Reina from 15 to 45 and get(s) a 31. - Rolled by: Reina
This is not fun. Reina is bruised and bleeding as she prepares to attack, and then she feels the warmth of chakra mending her wounds. Reina stares at Aburei. Oh yeah, he's a medic! That's the reason she chose to travel with him. Of course it has nothing to do with the fact that he's a cheerful, good natured, upright guy. Nope. Medical aid is the only reason. She gives him a smirk and then turns back to make a few seals.
THUMP. Wind chakra would slam down to try and press the bandit against the ground, trapping him there. It holds him down, and in a few moments some things become apparent. Anji is crying. Natsume is hightailing it away. When he sees this, Etsu lets out a rare of fury. Reina says quietly, "Hachimitsu help me with the bandit. Aburei-kun…could you go and get the good loan collector?"
COMBAT: Reina finishes her turn.
COMBAT: It is now Hachimitsu's turn.
Hachimitsu scowls at Reina. "What, now you're gonna order me around? What does everybody think I am, some kinda beast of labor? Lucky for you, I don't care what you tell me to do, 'cuz it's what I wanna do anyway." :P Hachimitsu sits on Etsu, pinning him with his bulk. "Yeah, see how you like getting suds smeared on ya, chump." Aburei shrugs and takes off after Natsume. "Uh, hey, lender-san! I think it's pretty safe now, and Reina-san wants to talk to you!"
The lender is far more willing to come back when he's certain that Etsu is subdued. They triumphed, the bandit is beaten, but Reina doesn't look too happy. In fact, by the time they get back, Reina is already having a reasonable conversation with Etsu. More of a one sided conversation, though, since Etsu is having difficulty drawing enough air to reply. "You shoulder never have taken a loan in the first place," she's saying.
Reina addresses the loan collector when he returns. "It looks like you owe many people an apology," she says. "The bandit existed after all. Natsume-san, I like money just as much as you. Getting it from clients. But you can't stomp on people, not litening to their grievances, thinking of them as nothing besides sources of money." That's when she notices Natsume's eyes glazing over. This moral talk has absolutely no effect on him.
So all they can do is wait for local law enforcement to come and take the bandit away. When they come, Reina portrays her and Aburei as champions of justice, catching bandits, and very handily taking the reward for said capture. :)
Aburei tilts his head lightly. "…Y'know, there's a story in the Scroll of the Way about a lender. Someone owed him a huge amount of money, more than ten year's good wages. That guy didn't have any hope of being able to pay, so he begged for mercy. Surprisingly, the lender decided to cancel the entire debt." Aburei folds his hands behind his head. "After the guy went free, he ran into someone else who owed him money. Nothing so huge, just a couple days' worth of earnings. The third man asked for a little more time to repay the debt, but the second man refused and dragged him to court to have his property seized. Well, word of this got back to the first lender, and let's just say he wasn't happy, and it didn't work out well for the second guy." Aburei shrugs. "You're within your rights to demand whatever payment your clients agreed to, but remember, there's someone whom you owe more than you can ever repay." ;)
The lender brightens up when he hears Aburei's story. "That's it!" he says triumphantly. "It's time to drive that other lender out of business. He was probably the one who hired this bandit! He's evil!" And then he sets about his campaign to villainize the other lender, and set himself up as the hero. Starting with some debt forgiveness." Not much, but still a bit of relief for all his clientele, including Anji. Sure it's scheming, but charity is still charity.
It's not enough to pay off her debts, but with Reina's earnings from Natsume and the reward for catching the bandit, it turns out enough. Reina finds herself having one of those untimely bursts of morality, and walks out of the town even more penniless before, leaving behind a very happy family. To show their gratitude, the family and several others tried to pay them in a different way. Food vouchers. Hundreds and hundreds of food vouchers.
The small town of Himawari is separated into the residential district to the north and the pleasure district to the south. In the latter there is the market, brothels, teahouses, and other things for travelers to enjoy. Reina and Aburei travel in through the northern side of town, and Reina states her intentions to go and have a fun time. She promises to get a room for them at an inn right away, so Aburei can rest any time that night. Then she's off in the blink of an eye, leaving Aburei to walk by himself. Whether it's taking a rest or going to see the sights. However, along the way there'd be a cottage and beside it a young woman trying to help what might be her brother or boyfriend to the front door. He's limping heavily, clearly injured, but the passerby don't notice him. Or rather, they ignore him, despite the difficulty the woman is having supporting him. They both wear cotton yukata, and have the same shaggy, dark hair. "We'll get by," the woman says. "You'll see, nii-san!"
Elsewhere Reina has already booked a room at an inn, and gone to the nearest teahouse. She's having a hard time relaxing though. Two men are arguing loudly with one another, practically screaming near the entrance. Eventually, a vein pulsing in her temple, Reina goes over and demands what's wrong.
"This lout owes me money!" the balding, older man says.
"What you're doing is highway robbery. There's no way I can pay that off."
"Well that's not my problem!"
They get into a wrestling match.
Aburei nods absently in response to Reina. "Okay, I'll look for you where the kids are playi — " Oops, she's already gone. c.c Oh well. n.n Aburei wanders about the town aimlessly, humming, praying, occasionally tootling on his recorder…and then an obvious situation for a medic arises. :o Aburei approaches the struggling pair. "Pardon me, I'm a medic. Could I help you?"
The woman looks up in surprise. "Are you a healer?" she says. She bites her lip. "I'm Tomoe. This is Anji. We…we don't have any money to pay you. If you help us it'd have to be for free."
They sit down on their porch. Despite his wounds, the young man is fuming. "We'd have the money if we weren't just…"
"Robbed," the younger man in the teahouse said. "You have to believe me, Natsume-san. I was robbed! I can't make this payment. Please give me another week."
It turns out the same story is going around town. Natsume the collector gives out loans with interest. But recently there were rumors of a robber going around, yet the local law enforcement have been unable to find any concrete evidence this robber exists. Because of this, more than one of Natsume's clients have been unable to pay him. However, Natsume is insistent that they merely made a story about a robber up, and are just trying to avoid paying him.
Reina chuckles. "It's clear this is just an excuse not to pay," she says. "There's no robber, just a bunch of lazy people unwilling to settle their debt."
"Exactly!" Natsume says. "Finally a woman who sees sense." He turns to Reina. "I have some money I need to collect tonight…personally. Help me out and I'll make it worth your while. Cash up front. That's how Saiki Natsume operates!"
"Please you have to help us," the sister says to Aburei. "If you help us find our money we'll give you a reward." That's if the brother and sister aren't making the whole robber thing up.
Aburei is already peering at the injuries and planning out the best way to treat them. "Hm? Oh, that's okay," he says distractedly, running a glowing hand over one of the more serious wounds. It takes a couple minutes for the story to filter through Aburei's concentration. "…Huh? Find your money? Didn't you say a robber took it? I'm not a detective or anything. I mean, I'll help if I can, but…I don't see how." c.c
Reina decides to help Natsume out, and for a very reasonable sum. They go from house to house, and Reina helps to strong arm customers who are more reluctant to pay. However, she hears a strange story more than once. "You know," she says, after the fifth visit. "Two people have said they were robbed. Maybe there's some truth to that. I can look into it, if you want."
"I didn't pay you to investigate fictional stories. I paid you to help me."
Reina shrugs. It makes no difference to what she earns, after all.
"I got this," Taro said, and he holds up a silk handkerchief. "I managed to snatch it from the robber when we were struggling." He'd hand it to Aburei. It's well worn and smells slightly of lavender. "Don't you have some super sense to track it?"
That's when Reina and Natsume show up. Reina blinks when she sees Aburei. Natsume points at Taro. "No more excuses!" he says. "Pay what you owe me right now, and stop making up stories about robbers!" He gestures to Reina. "Grab him."
Reina had done just that all night. Keeping people from running away, intimidating them, but with Aburei there she seems a bit reluctant. Still, she's getting paid. So with an apologetic look at her traveling companion, she makes to hold Taro by the arm. A moment later Anji lunges forward, slapping at every inch of Natsume's face.
Aburei scratches his head. "No, why would I?" =.=a What, is he supposed to be some sort of ninja or something? :P Aburei snaps his fingers. "Oh! But I do know someone who might be able to help!" Aburei makes a tiny slit on his thumb, squeezes out a little blood, and makes the handseals for a summoning. *POOF!* Out comes the badger with the punk outfit. "Huh? Aw crud, whaddaya want this time?"
That's enough stretching of the moment between Taro's question and Reina's arrival. Aburei furrows his brow at Natsume's proclamation. "Stories? I dunno what's going on here, but this guy had some fairly real injuries." Hachimitsu cracks his knuckles. "Oh, I get it. Finally some action." >) While Aburei is still just trying to figure out what's going on, Hachimitsu, who hasn't met Reina before, moves to interfere with her shakedown. "Y'think you're tough, toots? Y'wanna rumble?" Bad matchup, but Hachimitsu doesn't know that.
Reina chews on her fingernail, a unique sign of nervousness. It seems her traveling companion and herself have managed to get on two opposing sides of a serious feud. If they didn't know one another they'd probably be at each other's…is that a giant badger in a punk outfit!? Reina stares in complete bewilderment at at the garbed creature, and it takes her several beats to realize it's a summoned creature. Her hand flies to her mouth to stifle a gasp. "So…so cool!" she says, overcome with awe. "A badger! So cute! So amazing!" She claps her hands together like a little girl. Apparently Reina is very fond of animals, or at least badgers. Her eyes are positively shining.
She releases her grip on Taro. She turns to Natsume. "That makes three people who've mentioned a robber," she says. "Before we proceed to collect your fees, why don't we do a bit of investigation and see if we can't unearth something?" Natsume's eyes narrow and he grumbles, but finally relents. The badger would have free rein to go after that fading scent of lavender. Which would actually go back towards town.
Hachimitsu balks. "C…CUTE!?!? I don't care what you say, lady! You're asking for a knuckle sandwich!" >.< Amazing how he can work the aloofness act into even blowing up at someone. Aburei tries to restrain Hachimitsu by the shoulder. "Hachimitsu-san, wait! I know her, she's a friend!" Hachimitsu glares over his shoulder. "What!? Then whaddidya call me out here for?!" Aburei holds up the handkerchief. "This. Can you track the scent from this?" Hachimitsu rolls his head and arms back aggravatedly. "What, now I'm your dog!?" Aburei scratches his head meekly. "Well, um…it might lead us to a bandit?" n.n; Hachimitsu stares for a long moment, then finally snatches the handkerchief. "Fine, whatever. Not like I care."
After a while of snuffling around, Hachimitsu leads the group to a public bath house. Now here's something Hachimitsu genuinely does not care about: human nudity taboos. He barges into the men's washroom with the handkerchief held aloft. "All right, who's the pretty petunia that dropped his precious lacy!?" >P
It's safe to say that none of the men in the bathhouse were expecting to have a giant badger wearing clothes barge in on them. Predictably, they snatch up their towels and make a break for it. However, Reina blocks the way and would have the summoned animal narrow it down to a well muscled man with gray eyes and shaggy hair. Natsume and Taro's sister have come along as witnesses, and Natsume says, "I know you! You work for the other loan collector in town! Reina-chan get him!"
Reina has serious reservations about being addressed with that honorific, but she shrugs it aside and makes for the supposed bandit. However, he makes a seal and a huge blast of air hits them all before wrapping the towel around his waist and dashing out.
Hoo boy. n.n; Even if they find this bandit, invading the bath house might get them in trouble. "Um, Hachimitsu-san, I appreciate your effort, but we're not really allowed to — " And then Aburei gets swept up in another way. x.x Hachimitsu also fails to dodge the air blast, and gets knocked back over a bucket of soapy water. "OOF! Oh, you gonna get it now! I just took a bath, I wasn't supposed to have to touch soap for another week!" D< Hachimitsu stumbles up onto all fours and takes after the suspect.
The "bandit" runs from what's very justifiably things he should fear: a loan collector, two shinobi, and a giant, angry badger. They keep up a swift pace, but don't go too far. The bandit had a destination: his home. And when he dashes out of it he's holding a sword, one of massive size, taller than him and almost as broad. He holds it one handed, and in his other hand is a bag. Instead of looking panicked he looks dangerous, and he faces all of them calmly. He looks at Reina and Aburei.
"I apologize for hitting you," he says smoothly, even politely. "It's not my intention to fight either of you. Or you, Anji-san."
"Why are you doing this, Etsu-san?" Anji asks. Apparently she knows it. "You're a good man."
"A man in debt," Etsu says. "People who say money isn't everything are those who have enough of it. You know this, having inherited your father's debt. This man…" He points his sword at Natsume. "…will never let you out of debt. Here." He throws the bag forward, and it gives the telltale clink of gold. "Anji-san and you two, take this. Leave. You're not protecting a good man." He glares at Natsume, who looks horrified.
"You can't leave me with this madman!" Natsume says. "You'd be betraying your client!"
However, Reina's scruples aren't ironclad. She already has the bag, and is examining one of the coins. "Actually, I'm the only one who made that promise. And lemme tell you…this is /lots/ more than you're paying me. What do you say, Aburei-kun, should we head out?" So casual!
Aburei scrambles to keep up with the goings-on. He's decently swift, but he doesn't have as much endurance as some other folk. He's also not accustomed to being knocked around. #.# When he catches up, the suspect is making his discourse. Aburei catches his breath while people talk. "Wait…what's going on? You trust this guy, but he's been stealing because he's in debt?" -.-a Hachimitsu snorts. "I don't care whose fault any of this really is, this guy's getting a bloody nose for soaking my tail!" >P Aburei sighs. "Reina-san, I get the feeling things won't go so well if we leave now." u.u
Reina is turning a gold coin around in her fingers as words are thrown back and forth. She doesn't enjoy betraying her clients. But she doesn't enjoy throwing away a fat bag of gold either. She glances up at Anji who is still pleading with the bandit. "Just turn yourself in, Etsu-san. You've gone too far. Even if…even if we are miserably in debt you can't steal other people's happiness!"
Reina gives a sigh. She sets the bag of gold aside. "I won't betray my client," she says. "A mercenary is only worth as much as her word." She sounds mournful as a puppy though. "I'm afraid you're coming in with us, bandit-san. Peacefully…I hope. But if…" That's when Etsu strikes. He swings his sword down.
His slash is amplified by wind chakra, carving up anything nearby in a huge blast. One has to wonder why someone with tremendous abilities doesn't use it for more than being a petty bandit in a low rank mission, but oh well. The slashes are aimed at Reina and Hatchimitsu, the closest ones.
Hachimitsu rears back, barely avoiding the invisible edge of the slash. "Gettin' serious now, huh?" Hachimitsu throws his bulk back forward, aiming a haymaker punch at Etsu's face. "Bring it, punk!" Aburei steps in behind Reina and gives her a quick shot of rejuvenating chakra. "Careful, Reina-san!" c.c;
This is not fun. Reina is bruised and bleeding as she prepares to attack, and then she feels the warmth of chakra mending her wounds. Reina stares at Aburei. Oh yeah, he's a medic! That's the reason she chose to travel with him. Of course it has nothing to do with the fact that he's a cheerful, good natured, upright guy. Nope. Medical aid is the only reason. She gives him a smirk and then turns back to make a few seals.
THUMP. Wind chakra would slam down to try and press the bandit against the ground, trapping him there. It holds him down, and in a few moments some things become apparent. Anji is crying. Natsume is hightailing it away. When he sees this, Etsu lets out a rare of fury. Reina says quietly, "Hachimitsu help me with the bandit. Aburei-kun…could you go and get the good loan collector?"
Hachimitsu scowls at Reina. "What, now you're gonna order me around? What does everybody think I am, some kinda beast of labor? Lucky for you, I don't care what you tell me to do, 'cuz it's what I wanna do anyway." :P Hachimitsu sits on Etsu, pinning him with his bulk. "Yeah, see how you like getting suds smeared on ya, chump." Aburei shrugs and takes off after Natsume. "Uh, hey, lender-san! I think it's pretty safe now, and Reina-san wants to talk to you!"
The lender is far more willing to come back when he's certain that Etsu is subdued. They triumphed, the bandit is beaten, but Reina doesn't look too happy. In fact, by the time they get back, Reina is already having a reasonable conversation with Etsu. More of a one sided conversation, though, since Etsu is having difficulty drawing enough air to reply. "You shoulder never have taken a loan in the first place," she's saying.
Reina addresses the loan collector when he returns. "It looks like you owe many people an apology," she says. "The bandit existed after all. Natsume-san, I like money just as much as you. Getting it from clients. But you can't stomp on people, not litening to their grievances, thinking of them as nothing besides sources of money." That's when she notices Natsume's eyes glazing over. This moral talk has absolutely no effect on him.
So all they can do is wait for local law enforcement to come and take the bandit away. When they come, Reina portrays her and Aburei as champions of justice, catching bandits, and very handily taking the reward for said capture. :)
Aburei tilts his head lightly. "…Y'know, there's a story in the Scroll of the Way about a lender. Someone owed him a huge amount of money, more than ten year's good wages. That guy didn't have any hope of being able to pay, so he begged for mercy. Surprisingly, the lender decided to cancel the entire debt." Aburei folds his hands behind his head. "After the guy went free, he ran into someone else who owed him money. Nothing so huge, just a couple days' worth of earnings. The third man asked for a little more time to repay the debt, but the second man refused and dragged him to court to have his property seized. Well, word of this got back to the first lender, and let's just say he wasn't happy, and it didn't work out well for the second guy." Aburei shrugs. "You're within your rights to demand whatever payment your clients agreed to, but remember, there's someone whom you owe more than you can ever repay." ;)
The lender brightens up when he hears Aburei's story. "That's it!" he says triumphantly. "It's time to drive that other lender out of business. He was probably the one who hired this bandit! He's evil!" And then he sets about his campaign to villainize the other lender, and set himself up as the hero. Starting with some debt forgiveness." Not much, but still a bit of relief for all his clientele, including Anji. Sure it's scheming, but charity is still charity.
It's not enough to pay off her debts, but with Reina's earnings from Natsume and the reward for catching the bandit, it turns out enough. Reina finds herself having one of those untimely bursts of morality, and walks out of the town even more penniless before, leaving behind a very happy family. To show their gratitude, the family and several others tried to pay them in a different way. Food vouchers. Hundreds and hundreds of food vouchers.
