Find the jewels! (C-rank/Modded)

[Ii Hissori]

It was twenty-four hours to the exact minute since the break-in. Twenty-four hours ago since the jewels from one of the statutes was taken from the head of the lightning statue. It was a surprising heist that took everyone off guard, and more surprising that no one was hurt. This great theft lead lead to a main branch investigation that quickly tracked the thieves into Inner Marushi. It was there that the trail was lost, and it was their where the ANBU were called in.

Tonight was another standard night for what Inner Marushi was. Overcast sky, the smell of burning firewood, and the smell of Ramen cooking and food stands doing their best to attract customers. Now though, everyone was starting to pack up, which meant the ANBU were about to come out to play.

On the roof the two ANBU stood, silently watching them. All they had was known gang apartments, and their tools. Whatever would happen? The pair would have to work fast, because if they didn’t the jewls would leave the city, and sold somewhere.

The two jewls would fetch a wealthy sum if someone could buy them off of whoever had it. So the ANBU would have to find the jewels quickly.​

 

[Xiangtian Xiao]

Mine name is Darkness and I am of the night.</I>​

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Ichizou Ittosai Fuji no Nanjirou Itsuke was a man who possessed the blood of samurai and as such he was proficient in the way of sharpening his own blade. Often before battle or a mission, Itsuke would take the time to sharpen his blade so bloodshed can be ensured. Woe to he who faced Byakuya's kiss, for death would be the only grace. He was in his home at the Spartan Quarters, a simple stone building lacking decorations but for the traditional set-up influenced by his family. He had an altar for his ancestors, not far from where he was on his knees in front of blocks of whetstone where his naked blade lie without its hilt, which he disassembled. That was the first step, as always. An oval bucket of water was next to the stone blocks, to the left. His blade was a blackish-purple color, its hilt and sheath was white. The sword was amply named Byakuya by his ancestors almost a thousand of years ago or even longer, its true meaning the White Night.

The young Nanjirou took a cloth made from an unique fabric that was meant for cleaning blades, something akin to linen but different. Sturdier, cleaner. He wet the cloth using water from the oval bucket. He then cleaned the sword horizontally, softly and slowly. He could hear his blade's relief, its moan, happy it is washed of all the life it had taken, even if blood was no longer visible. He could feel its exhaustion, pain, happiness, anger, and strength. To be cleaned with cool, pure water was like taking a dip in a hot spring. Itsuke took his time and pleasure in cleaning every inch of the blade, every nook and cranny. Then he wet his hands and grated the edges against the whetstones. Not too rough but not too soft, the right amount of motion involved made a whole lot of difference in battle or a life-or-death situation. This was an art to be respected and honed. Itsuke had plenty of time to hone his sharpening skills and his opponent paid the price, their heads often cleanly hacked off. The whole point of this sharpening ritual was to draw blood, which the blade and the samurai spirit lusted after. Once the blood of another made contact with the sword of a Nanjirou, the blade would always find its mark, no matter how wild the swing, how fast the thrust, how stiff the samurai's body. The blood seeking sword seeks always and never stopped until their opponent in question was dead as doornail. The blade seeks. Words of the Fuji clan.

Once Itsuke was finished sharpening his blade, he re-assembled the sword by sliding the blade into the hilt and then took the tsuba, the circular guard of the katana in shape of the wisteria flower of the Fuji. With that he completed the blade and performed a short iaido exercise, ending it slowly sheathing the blade into its white sheath. Withdrawing it once more, the blade disappeared. The blade would reappear if Itsuke uttered the katana's command, taught to him by his samurai spirit. Well-prepared, Itsuke donned his usual black gear attire and his high-collared longcoat. He completed it by wearing his skull mask, white skull on black and strapped his katana to his waist, on the left side. He was indeed ready. <I>The ones. The ones. The ones. The ones. The ones. The ones must die.

Itsuke stood, side by side, with his partner Shadows watching the residents of Inner Maruishi close up their shops. Life began to shell up in their homes, to carry on with their sleep. But not for these two guardians. The thieves took off with sacred jewels of the Five and to do such was a sin. A sin that must be corrected. It was night. The pair's domain. These thieves had the misfortune of angering the wrong people. And now the wrath of the gods shall rain upon them. But first... darkness.

Itsuke and his partner would hurry to the last known location of these thieves, petty and dirty, living in apartments owned by a couple of local gangs. Why have they not been cleared out? He had heard many happenings here, of extortion, murder, thievery (well shit), and rape. They dared to take away the local people's light. Well, now what remained, the darkness, comes for them.

On one of the roofs of these apartments, Itsuke looked at his partner and signaled they should split up and check a couple nearby apartments, to find these thieves by all means necessary. If trouble would approach, Itsuke merely tapped his headset, nodded, touched his katana which turned from white to black and went ahead to investigate his chosen apartment... stealthily, of course.

By all means necessary.

You're going to torture them into madness, are you?

Yes.

The ones must die. The rest... who cares?

[OOC: Apologies! Just returned to university not long ago and was taking time getting settled in. Let's do this! ]
[Also to be clear, lighter purple is Itsuke's samurai spirit Yoru. Italics is thoughts/their mental communication.]

 

[Keigo Oen]

Worth my time?​

To catch a thieving ass... you had to become one.... but So-G wasnt about to get caught doing that Arcadian type of crap. Those dark skinned fellows always seemed to be the ones doing stuff like that. Now they come bring that crap to Iwa? Really? So-G was about to pop a cap in some fewls... after tucking his inner Arcadian back in. He would get himself dressed in his normal attire. The shadows were his cloak and dagger. He would rendezvous to the point where he thought his partner would be. Though once they were there... Itsuke seemed to be signalling that they should split up without gaining any information on the current scene? Forming a few handseals, Souji would create Shadow Servants. Four to be exact. They would mix int he middle of the apartments flushing through the nooks and crannies that Souji didnt want to miss. He was very meticulous when it came to detailed information.

There was nothing to really... do aside for look for obvious and not so obvious clues.

His Servants looking through the area he would stand in the place where it happened, wondering if they left anything that would lead them to exactly where this person might have been going. It had been twenty four hours... so it was unlikely that they would find the culprits immediately. Tact was the name of the game. One could not go swinging for the fences. You had to be strategic about it. Souji... was obviously going to be the strategic one out of this. It was going to be fun enough.

...Souji didnt know what would happen next but... It was safe enough to say the night was on their side.

 

[Ii Hissori]

As the darkness ascended over them, the two ANBU would begin to work. They did not seem to talk much, but then again it did not seem to need it. Maybe they had worked together, or maybe the ANBU had been taught to do missions without speaking. Or maybe they did not like each other and did not want to talk to each other.

Anyway, the mission would begin with them starting to search the buildings. On their list were many buildings and depending how quickly they would search and eliminate these buildings. However, by the fifth building they might have actually found something.

Outside the old rundown apartment, many civilians sporting the gangs color were seemingly to quickly moving things out, and multiple look outs were watching around making no one would be able to enter the apartment building without being allowed. The only room that had a light on was a third story room that faced the road.​

 

[Keigo Oen]

[Not continuing this. e.e]