Clearing the air (Tutor Thread for Ren)

[Sunaku Harupia]

Harupia whistled to himself, glancing at the Palais from one of the higher rooftops, holding onto a notepad on which e was scribbling. A somewhat detailed map he was doing over the days, trying to keep his ear to the ground, seeing what kind of issues were there.,..though today he would be trying to do more than that. he was gathering information for quite a bit, but now it seemed there was an issue which warranted more direct assistance. And he wouldn't be alone int he ventures either. He was approached by a certain pink haired boy recently, who rather matter of factly requested... tutoring.

As funny as the term sounded it was part of the system. Even after the academy, some Shinobi needed slightly more guidance, whether they admitted or not. The issue was handled in various ways, this being one of them, an experienced Shinobi taking another more dun his wing for some period of time. Though it seemed for Renm it was less a need to improve his skill but rather simply something to help him get nudged higher int he Shinobi ranks, showing that he was capable in assisting someone of a higher rank... perhaps even earning a recommendation.

He felt it would be good to get to know the unfortunate boy better for trying to give him any recommendation. As pragmatic as the nature of his request was, he seemed like someone who would do all in his power to meet the requirements of a task given to him. And he could use a bit of a helping hand. And perhaps instill some good habits in the younger generation of Shinobi...so these parts of the village wouldn't be as neglected as they have been until now.

 

[Kazumi]

Ren was not surprised, per say, to hear that Haru had conditionally accepted his request. Ren had researched more into the sandman's history with the village, even if those resources were severely limited due to his rank. Outside of a select few, this man's word would likely hold a great deal of sway here in the village, and while he would consider the man a close acquaintance and possible a friend, such matters did not factor into this decision. It was likely that Harupia wished to gauge Ren's capabilities before he risked his reputation vouching for his credentials, a precaution that Ren would never hold against the man, but it certainly did complicate the matter.

Unfortunately, Ren was not very well informed as to the nature of the conditional status. His newer models were not field-tested or particularly combat ready, but the modifications to his own chassis should suffice for any situation or challenge that would be appropriate for a child of his rank.

Mere moments after the designated time, Haru would hear the sound of something gripping onto the edge of the roof, a small grappling hook had been fired and secured itself onto the ledge just a few feet away. A few seconds later and Ren's small frame vaulted over the edge, the thin cable reeling back into his wrist as the grapple-claw dislodged itself from the edge of the building. With a smooth motion, the claw disappeared into his wrist as the hand joint snapped shut over it and the puppet landed with a quiet thud atop the roof next to Harupia. "Apologies for my delay. I do hope this will not negatively impact your performance review." While the delay was extremely minimal, it was a modest failure in Ren's eyes, and he fully expected it to be in his sponsor's eyes as well.

He stepped past Haru, peering over the edge of the rooftop to stare down at the Grand Palais, the seedy underbelly of the great village. It would surprise most to find that even a shinobi village harbored such a den of villainy, but times were not prosperous for all and everyone needed a way to care for their family and themselves, and anywhere there was desperation, there would be those keen to exploit it. Ren had even heard tales of human trafficking, and Ren had considered perusing the , but decided that with his current frame, it would be next to impossible to be taken seriously enough to actually purchase any without arousing too much suspicion from both the criminal element and the shinobi forces. "What is the nature of this examination? Will this be a village sponsored endeavor or more of a personal task?"

 

[Sunaku Harupia]

It almost felt a bit off, asking the boy to come here, even if he requested some kind of recommendation from him, to begin with. Their talks in the past were mostly casual really, they never actually were part of any task beforehand. A part of him feared this would be something out of his capabilities.. then again, we were talking about someone who survived being turned into a living puppet and still remained a sane individual... he was sure he had a lot of inner fortitude. Still, if he were to vouch for him he would probably be asked about what he knew about him in the filed...this seemed like a good way to see for himself.

After a few moments, he heard something the side of the building, a grappling hook attached to the side, Ren following soon after. The gadget quickly retrieved into his fake arm as he spoke. Shaking his head a bit he said "Don't worry about it, I just came here quite a bit earlier just to hash out some final details...that Is the handy thing you got t here" he mused noting the grappling hook.

As Ren joined him he would sigh slightly before saying "If anything, it would probably fall under the latter... though I will be more then happy to compensate your time in a more monetary fashion if necessary.So far there is no official mission set up for what I want to do... Apparently not enough data to warrant an actual mission...if only someone more bother to come by here to verify..." he half muttered, annoyed by the state of the Palais as a whole... in spite of the fiscal realities it could seem sometimes the village did little to help these parts...a notion which was partially;y to blame for the ease with which the Cabal invaded...much to his dismay.

After a brief moment to calm himself he would speak again "So, regarding more details about the task at hand...I apologize if I was vague when you first came here, as I was not quite sure what to, expect here. Apparently there have been rumors about some people around this district starting to grow much more agitated and prone to attacking others. Most of the office workers simply marked it as the... less lucky of us getting frustrated in their lot in life. But I have observed the situation here, and it seems like there is a more direct cause. Those caught for their rowdy behavior seemed to row more irrational and aggressive as the days passed. And seemingly all hot-blooded from anger. But I think the red hue, and the bloodshot eyes of theirs...it seemed like the Red Fever" he paused, assuming Ren would know of the disease and assorted information about it.

Setting down the scribbled map, which was fairly detailed for someone's handwriting, with 4 district block circled in particular he continued " From what I gathered so far it seems the people who were caught all gravitated somewhere from around these areas. And im worried we might be dealing with a Legnioare tick nest somwhere there. So the task would be simple. Find the nest, and either mark it for disinfection or if necessary do it on our own."

Looking up at Ren he spoke up "Now, I understand this might seem a bit mundane... but We can't really tell how long the infestation lasted. It may be a situation where there is a lot of infected people there, just ready to lose control. Hence why I needed the backup, but again, I couldn't rise it as a more official mission since lack of evidence. And from what I heard, you have some experience in the medic field as well, so I assumed you might be capable of both helping me subdue the infected and assisting in providing some initial first aid, until we can summon in more people once we confirm what is going on there...if you would choose to continue on. I understand that you might not to join what could be a bit of a wild goose chase...but I would appreciate the support."

Mft, Wc= 690

 

[Kazumi]

Ren reached to his wrist, rubbing the joint that now appeared seamless as the fake skin covered the junction, "yes, it is quite handy. That is a pun, correct?" He sounded slightly amused, though more curious as to if he was reading the situation correctly. He looked up to and listened to Harupia as he offered the monetary compensation, "that will not be necessary. Favor within the ranks of the established shinobi is payment enough. The Steward has generously provided enough material supply to compensate for any non-sponsored missions for the near future."

Ren stood at the edge of the building, looking down as he listened to Harupia explain the situation. "Red Fever? I am not well acquainted with the ailments that commonly befall the local populace. From your tone, I am to understand that such an outbreak is not unprecedented, but it is also equally uncommon?" He looked down upon the people that he saw below, moving about in their daily lives like some form of bugs, each with their own task that guided them endlessly forward towards their ultimate demise.

Ren glanced over to Harupia and nodded, "if this is a biological illness then you were wise to consult with me. My medical expertise is limited to... tending to young children with sinus ailments, but there is no concern of infection for myself." He looked Harupia up and down, "I trust that your unique condition also renders you impervious to organic contamination?" It was a logical presumption, it was after all hard to catch a cold when your body was made of inorganic material, but Harupia's condition was still something he did not fully understand. "Is that situation common knowledge within the village, and I do not speak of the outbreak."

 

[Sunaku Harupia]

Haru blinked slightly, before realizing just what he said "Erm...yes, that would count as a pun. It was not really intended, apologies" giving a slight chuckle. Never know who was a punny person and who wasn't. As he spoke about the compensation, he nodded while saying "Well, you can never have enough funding...especially with someone so dependant on...spare parts, Iw ould imagine. But if that is you wish. Though if you feel like needing a pay hike after were done, I won't fault you whatsoever"

He gave a somewhat solemn nod to his question saying *Its...something we try our best to avoid...but with the conditions here...we cant contain it all, as best as we try..." sighing slightly. He couldn't help but feel more could be done to tryna do prevent such things...but that wasn't something to discuss right now.All these people, who needed their help...but yet couldn't get it most of the time.

Shaking his head as Ren spoke again, he would say "I was somewhat hoping as such, given you unusual characteristics...I couldn't help but wonder whether your brain was perhaps one of the things remaining from you former self...and if even if it were the case, would it be infected in the first place " he spoke, thinking semi out loud...as Ren asked the question he needed to consider its meaning at first...before answering "Ehh...my own state is not common knowledge quite yet...though I have informed the Kage of my condition. It is something I am learning about myself. But yes, I would assume I won't be infected in the same way as other people...though to be fair, my body feels just like it did before...si It may work in the same manner" he pondered, looking at his hand before saying "regardless, we cant spend much time idly. Given the less visible symptoms, we would need to search around this block from the street level. Try to find civilians with unusual blood shoot eyes or acting agitated...usually both. Subdue them, try to ask the local people about where the lived. If we can get some kind of lead we should be able to call backup for a proper cleansing. Are you ready to proceed?"

 

[Kazumi]

Ren would give Harupia a firm nod of acknowledgement before he suddenly leapt down from the building top to the street level below, landing mwith a graceful thud. Instead of bolting off in one direction or another, he would begin to casually stroll down the street, keeping his eyes open for anything suspicious or any signs of the infection. Many people looked ill, though Ren attributed it more to malnutrition and a host of other factors, rather than to this viral outbreak. He was not the socializing sort, and so unlike his partner, he would not partake in any simply questions for something like directions, instead opting for a more methodical approach.

Ren proceeded up and down each street, taking mental calculations and notes on the composition of whom he saw on the streats, the number of individuals and their apparent condition. To go through most of the district's exterior should be enough to narrow down a search area, as if this illness is transmitted through a biological non-human host, it would not spread very far from a central location, if this had not been a festering outbreak waiting to happen. If that was the case, they would not be so lucky as to find a single concentration of the insects, and would instead would need to do a block by block purge of the creatures.

Half of an hour of walking would pass, and while he did not cover the entire district, he had enough data to ascertain a few likely locations. They had not decided upon a rendezvous point for after their surveillance, a slip that Ren took personal responsibility for. With that in mind, he made his way back to the building that they originally met on, as it was a centralized location and was as logical a location as any to reconvene. If Harupia was already there, or when he would arrive, if at all, Ren would fill his partner in on what he learned. Namely that the infections seemed to be rather widespread, inflicting a sizable portion of the population. It was likely that this infestation has been growing over the period of months, and it would not be as simple as finding a central nest that they could exterminate and move on from.

"The most practical way to approach this would be to round up the civilians in the area, quarantine the infected and the non-infected separately and perform an analysis of their homes and businesses. A suitable poison would likely eliminate a sizable population of the insects, but would also cause collateral damage to other non-sapient organisms living in the area. I also believe the locals will not be compliant in following our advice." Ren paused, surveying the streets below once more, "what would your recommendation be based upon your findings?"

 

[Sunaku Harupia]

Harupia also tried to not attract too much attention to himself, taking the time to use a transformation jutsu to alter his appearance and clothing, clearly still a Shinobi but not the somewhat known member of a big Shinobi family. Still, he did try to take a more proactive approach, approaching some of the people to try and ask about the situation and the potential source of the more aggressive people. The reception was mixed as one would expect, some people trying their best to help but not being quite sure about details, some minding their own business, some not to pleased by being bothered by a Shinobi. Something that repeated itself was people mentioning how at some point the drunkards coming out of the local tavern had been becoming rowdier... He did manage to void outright hostilities, though he couldn't help but feel it was more because of the general fear a Shinobi caused than his smooth tongue. As much as one could resent the upper crusts of the village, they seemed to be wise enough not to pick a fight with them. There were a few more aggressive ones, which did show a sign of contagion, with one trying to outright assault him, though he did retreat quickly as he countered him. Though at that point people didn't seem to keen to talk with him in general.

Though the silent observation and probing of the populace did not lead him to what he suspected initially...and that worried him. After some time, he spotted Ren reconvening at the building they met on initially... seemed like a prudent idea, seeing they didn't settle on a concrete rendezvous point.

He would soon reconvene at the point, dropping the transformation. He would silently listen to Ren, both him explaining how the infection was not concentrated at any point as he suspected (or rather, hoped) but rather something spreading over a long course of time. He put his face in both of his palms with a heavy sigh before saying "That would be the best course of action, with a full team of Shinobi. With this much personality and only the two of us, it might take a long time till we gathered everyone...if we were able to. And I'm not sure how cooperative they will be towards a sudden quarantine. Something like that will definitely be more than we can chew... God damn it" he blurted in a fit of anger before scratching under his chin" I guess to be expected. cant just purge one house clean and then be one with it.

"Although...that one house may still be what we need, we just need to adjust the parameters here" he said nodding to himself and licking his lip as if to rejuvenate himself slightly "Maybe it wont be the original source, but if we can find at least one spot where its clear the infection settled in... we could raise it as a concrete threat needing bigger action...Probably we should have tried doing that form the start. As far as I asked, it would seem that in this area, it started around here" he pointed on the map he had prepared before to a building in the center of it "This building here seemed preaty much abandoned from what I've seen. Mostly used by squatters or some of the people coming out of here" he said pointing to the Tavern on the map, the back fo which had the same wall as the building "And I heard people talk about how the commotion started from there... seems doesn't good place to take a closer look into, dosent it?"