Following The Cold Trail (Mission/Req Kaen)

[Toshiwakai Kagari]

Time: 12:03 PM
Location: Ann's Juices, Susukino District.

"Man this place is packed, it's probably busier than even Palais' marketplace." Kagari, code name joker was sitting alone at a table drinking a smoothie from the nearby juice stand. He wasn't in his "ANBU" garb, but in casual clothes. A light green parka and some jeans to fight off the slight chill from Cloud. He was planning to meet Ruin in a more discreet location, but he ended up not resisting the allures of a healthy fruit smoothie. No one can resist the taste of orange and pineapple, at least in Kagari's head. But hey, the two of them wouldn't look like spies if they met in public. To Kagari's knowledge, anyone could be a spy in the crowd. Which would make discussing their mission difficult...Kagari cursed the sweet taste of this heavenly drink. He reached into his pocket and turned on his radio, changing it to the right frequency. "Ruin, this is Joker. Meet me at the fruit stand with the cute girl. I have a nice smoothie waiting for you...and a short debriefing...Oh and come in your civies, don't want to draw too much suspicion." Once he was done, he took off his earpiece and kept enjoying the finer things in life.

WC: 209
MFT

 

[Kaen]

"Ruin, this is Joker. Meet me at the fruit stand with the cute girl. I have a nice smoothie waiting for you...and a short debriefing...Oh and come in your civies, don't want to draw too much suspicion." Well it was about damn time... His standing orders were to travel to the country of Lightning and successfully enter Kumogakure without issues. This and he was to come prepared for anything, which mean he had his anbu gear sealed away in some nicely hidden away scrolls. Another important factor of his orders were to turn his radio on every day at noon and await instructions. Kaen had been in Kumogakure for nearly a week now trying to bide his time as best he could while he awaited the call of duty. Just as he was beginning to think the mission was a bust, his dear old partner in arms crackled over the radio. Kaen had been lounging lazily on a park bench watching the clouds go by and observing the general public. The sudden radio traffic jolted Kaen from his peaceful daze, as he wasn't expecting anything. "Guess it's finally that time..." He then pulled himself up out of the bench and dusted himself off before responding his acknowledgement. Glad to hear your voice, I'm on my way.

Now fortunately for him, Kaen had spent a short while here already and was making himself familiar with the area. In his short time here he had seen many cute girls wandering about, but not very many fruit stands. At least ones with cute girls AND sold smoothies. He had a general idea of where to head too, it was one of three places that he was sure that he would find Joker at. The first avenue turned up empty, cute girl check, but nobody else in sight aside from a aging granny shopping for prunes. If that was Joker in disguise, they would have to have a very serious talk about blending in... But stop number two seemed to pan out perfectly. Even without the mask, Kaen could pretty much assume out of the few people here which one was Joker. He was just about an inch shorter than himself and his slender figure and jet black hair is what set him apart from the crowd. Kaen on the other hand, he was too easy... How many people had hair like this?!

Kaen casually sat next to the young man in the light green parka and took up the untouched smoothie and took a drink. "Orange and Pineapple? Good choice." Kaen smacked his lips together in satisfaction. The flavors in icy coolness of the drink hit the spot. The cute girl running the stand just happened to be walking by as Kaen was enjoying the blissful flavors of the drink she had made. "Excuse me, miss?" She stopped at their table after he grabbed her attention. "Y-yes? Is there something wrong?" Kaen smiled; "No, not at all. But... Are you a fruit, because Honeydew you know how fine you look right now?" Wow... I mean sure that was clever, fruit stand, fruit pickup line. But that was super cheesy, she wouldnt honestly fall for something like that, would she? Kaen chuckled soflty; "Seriously though, this is fantastic, thank you very much. I'm sure i'll be coming by more often for some more of this..." What an idiot...


[OOC topic entered]

 

[Toshiwakai Kagari]

After a few minutes of waiting, a figure plopped down in the chair next to Kagari. In his peripheral vision, he saw familiar bright red hair on an unfamiliar face. It was to be expected, the last time the two were together they had masks on. Kagari smirked at his ANBU partner and handed him a smoothie. "To think underneath the mask you were a pretty boy...Your red hair makes you stand out." Ruin accepted the drink, he seemed to have similar taste to Kagari; as he almost gulped down the entire smoothie. The girl running the stand was walking from table to table, cleaning and picking up trash. Ruin stopped the girl in her tracks to hit on her which amused Kagari. He had to turn his head away from the duo to hold in his laughter from Ruin making his very lame joke. "W-Well thank you very much sir...I-I hope you come again sometime soon!" With that she scurried off pretty quickly. Either to finish cleaning another table or help a customer. Either way, her face was slightly tinted with red. "First now the Duchess and a fruit stand girl? You're definitely a lady killer." Kagari sat back in his chair, grinning. If this were any other day he could see himself like this hanging out with Ruin; the two of them got along famously. "Anyways onto what you actually came here besides the sweet drink and the cute girls in Cloud." Kagari would reach to his side and pull out a folder and place it on the table. "Take a look."

Inside the folder would list details on a Criminal Organization that was working within Cloud, an extremist group who worked to undermine other villages. The group, known as, "Raiden's Chosen" had a pretty decent rap sheet. Acts fo terrorism, stealing, extortion, and other various crimes. This was pretty typical for a criminal organisation. While this could have been easily handled by the Kumo shinobi force, Kagari and Ruin were able to find follow the trail all the way from the Gaudy party to the marketplaces of Susukino. It seemed they were at that party, doing God knows what. "This arrived on my hotel door yesterday, I was supposed to be on leave but unfortunately...Work calls." Kagari took a quick look around, scanning the area just in case if anyone was too interested in the duo. "Remember that party? Of course, you do. Well, thanks to our efforts we're after that nasty little group." Kagari tried to drink some more of his favourite smoothie but realised the cup was empty. "Damn. Maybe I should get another one?" He would wait for Ruin to finish reading any of the remaining details from the file. "Now I know what you're probably thinking. How the hell are we going to find them? After all, we have no resources in a foreign village and we could cause possible diplomatic issues if we do anything too extreme...But if we turn our heads just slightly..." Kagari would pause and turn his head towards a shop to Kagari's right, two burly men; tan with dark hair leant against a wall waiting for something. A man would come out from the shop, packing some yen into his pockets. "We may find what we're looking for." Kagari smirked as he watched the trio leave. "Shall we?"

WC: 560
MFT

 

[Kaen]

"To think underneath the mask you were a pretty boy...Your red hair makes you stand out." He was not wrong, his red hair would inevitably cause him more trouble than it's worth. That mask from back then was just a temporary one to fit the situation. He had been waiting on a custom made mask to alleviate the exposure of his lovely red locks. "Yeah, I'm working on that. I've got something that should aid in the preservation of my identity." Kaen noticed Joker attempting to hide his laughter, he couldn't really tell if his pickup line bombed or not, as she quickly departed from their table. "First now the Duchess and a fruit stand girl? You're definitely a lady killer." Well with a face like this and... passions that were simply part of his nature, what could he expect? Kaen could only chuckle and smile, Joker was actually fun to be around. But like all good things, duty eventually calls. "Anyways onto what you actually came here besides the sweet drink and the cute girls in Cloud." Kaen watched as Joker reached to his side and pull out a folder and place it on the table. "Take a look."

Kaen casually slid the folder over to himself and began to riffle through it. Inside contained numerous bits of information regarding a Criminal Organization, called "Raiden's Chosen", that was working within Cloud, an extremist group who worked to undermine other villages. Their list of crimes was extensive, but didn't really stray from the norm as what would be expected of a typical criminal organization. Seems the remnants of that night had managed to flee Wind Country and sought refuge here in Lightning Country. To bad for them, did they really think we wouldn't follow? Joker continued to talk while Kaen listened and read. Once he completed his look-over he placed the folder back onto the table. "Now I know what you're probably thinking. How the hell are we going to find them? After all, we have no resources in a foreign village and we could cause possible diplomatic issues if we do anything too extreme...But if we turn our heads just slightly..." Joker would pause for dramatic effect, turning his head towards a shop to his right. Two rather large men were leaning against a wall. Another man exited the shop, packing some yen into his pockets. How curious... "We may find what we're looking for." Joker smirked as he followed the trio with his eyes as the left the scene. "Shall we?"

Kaen smiled, this guy sure knew how to show a guy a good time. "Oh yes, lets!" Kaen got up from his chair and reached into his pocket where he placed some yen under his cup as a tip. Scooting his chair back in he dusted off his clothes and waited for Joker to lead. As they followed Kaen struct up a conversation. "Funny how they paired us together again, when they said go to cloud and wait, I wasn't expecting you..." Hmm, that sounded kinda rude, like maybe he preferred another partner. "Not that I didn't want to be assigned to you, I'm just... uh..." He lost his train of thought. An awkward silence was sure to follow unless Joker perked up. "Say... What exactly is the mission objective here? Are we simply gathering intel or is this like before, infiltrate and eliminate?" Given their location, Kaen's preferred method of elimination was sure to cause an uproar in the political scene between Kumo and Suna.

 

[Toshiwakai Kagari]

Ruin emphatically accepted Kagari's invitation to tail the trio of men heading off. Kagari kept a few paces behind, but these guys were pretty easy to spot. They stood taller than most of the people around them and most of the crowds gave way to them; as if they were afraid of them. "Funny how they paired us together again when they said to go to cloud and wait, I wasn't expecting you..." Kagari's eyebrow perked up, this was an interesting tidbit. Wouldn't command state that who was in charge of the mission? "Not that I didn't want to be assigned to you, I'm just... uh..." Ruin went silent after that, it seemed like he felt that he offended the young man. "It's alright. Like I said earlier, I was supposed to be on-excuse me-vacation but I ended with a mission being placed in my lap. Something spooked command back home if it needed us to be here." 'But why? Why us?' Kagari wondered why specifically them? This was suspicious, but for now, he was just grasping at straws. "Say... What exactly is the mission objective here? Are we simply gathering intel or is this like before, infiltrate and eliminate?" Kagari stopped at a corner; the trio were at another shop with one of them again stepping inside probably to collect some "fees". "Something like that. Honestly, we weren't given a lot of details, just find this "organisation" and take them out. Collect any actionable intel if possible." Kagari sighed as he leaned against the wall, looking inconspicuous. "I don't like this mission Ruin, I just have a bad feeling about this. Foreign territory, Sand ANBU agents, and with the Leaf delegation in town...So many things can go wrong. Either we could be killed, put in jail or worse." A few minutes passed, and the trio finally was off to the next destination. Kagari noticed that the crowds became more dense and packed, soon they would lose their targets. "Shit! Rush hour's here. I'll take the rooftops, stay on comms and keep at the street level. Tell me if there are any changes!" Kagari ran off into the nearest alleyway; once he was out of sight, using his momentum, he planted his foot on a right wall and jumped onto a lower platform. Hopefully, Ruin wouldn't get lost amidst the crowded district.

(Used Ability Acrobatics)

 

[Kaen]

Everything about this seemed to rub him both the wrong way. So far from home and any backup, should anything go awry, deep into foreign territory. It all seemed rather sketchy to say the least. "I don't like this mission Ruin, I just have a bad feeling about this. Foreign territory, Sand ANBU agents, and with the Leaf delegation in town...So many things can go wrong. Either we could be killed, put in jail or worse." Seems they shared similar feelings. "I concur, I can see this going south very quickly if we are not careful." Like clockwork the trio of men resumed their mysterious path of shop stops. Perhaps they were no better than a group of thugs pushing their strength against unsuspecting shop keepers. Using the stereotypical line of; "You pay us, we protect you. Don't pay us? Well accidents happen." if you know what I mean. As they progressed deeper into town, so to did the crowd expand. Whether it was lunch time or shift change, something caused the streets to suddenly fill with human road blocks. "Shit! Rush hour's here. I'll take the rooftops, stay on comms and keep at the street level. Tell me if there are any changes!" Kaen gave a nod as he watched Joker rush down a nearby alleyway. Now to keep track of those three...

Using a single handed seal, Kaen summoned a small Crystal Eye from the loose dust particles and dirt on the street. After forming itself together he would command it to cling to the building walls to avoid detection. Nothing less inconspicuous than a eye floating in the air... Once he gained a clearer sight of the trio, he would pick the biggest, dumbest looking one and attempted to lock onto him using a specialized anbu technique that allowed him to essentially Chakra sense the target. So even if he should lose sight of him in the midst of the crowd, he would still be able to sniff their direction out and relocate them. Joker did say to stay in radio contact, best give him an update. The crowd is thickening even more now. But I think I've locked my senses onto the big one, I'm still tracking them now By now he had lost all sight of them, he could only hope he locked onto the right person, as he was hot on their chakra trail.


[OOC I'm trying not to just assume I'm locked on, feel free to roll or something to see if I locked onto the right guy]

 

[Toshiwakai Kagari]

Light footsteps could be heard on the rooftops above the crowded streets of Cloud. Kagari made sure to avoid any of the thinly built structures amidst the buildings, just in case he was too heavy and fell through. Kagari had unfortunately been overzealous in his rooftop platforming. Because of the unfamiliar territory and some of the various buildings cover views of the street; Kagari was lost on the roof of an apartment building. He inwardly cursed himself; it was a rookie mistake. Putting on his headset, Ruin had an update. "The crowd is thickening even more now. But I think I've locked my senses onto the big one; I'm still tracking them now" Kagari breathed a small sigh of relief, "Good...Despite from the rooftops, I lost the group. I'm still unfamiliar with the territory if you can give me a landmark that they're next to, I can probably pick up their trail again." Kagari communicated back.



(Ruin Rolled an 18, Skill Check Passed!)

The leader of the trio once again emerged from a small stall, this time with a little blood on his knuckles. It seems like he had to get a little bit physical with an unfortunate store owner. "Well, I thank you for the extra donation, Mr Han, we'll be back next week." The leader spoke towards the bruised and bloodied store owner, as he was having trouble picking himself up from the ground. "So what now Z? We made our rounds." One of the members said, he was promptly beckoned to follow. "Now we make our way back to the compound; leader would want this hard earned yen in his hands..." One of the guards looked confused, "Why do we need to do this anyways? Didn't we just get some cash from the ba-" He was slapped in the back of the head by the 2nd guard. "Idiot, not so loud. Look where we are..." The loudmouth guard rolled his eyes, "Like anyone cares. Everyone knows who we are..." The leader, Z replied. "Not everyone Mozu, not everyone...Anyways this is to make sure we stay afloat for the month. If we don't do our tax collecting, we'll be in hot shit." Again, Mozu the loudmouth decided to speak up. "I thought this money is for the group?"

"No it ain't...And the less you know about it better" He lead the duo down an alleyway, cut off from the crowds. "We all owe somebody after all..."

 

[Kaen]

Kaen posted up near a shoddy looking second hand store across the street from the trio of burly men. What might have appeared as simple window shopping, was actually a clever usage of the glass pane. This way he could keep an eye on them while looking inconspicuous. Through the mirrored glass Kaen could see the group emerging from a small establishment. It appeared they had to get a little rough inside. For all intents and purpose, these guys seemed like ordinary thugs that offered "Their protective services" for a price. And when you couldn't pay up, well... accidents happen. What this group had to do with Suna or himself or Joker, he couldn't know for certain. Kaen cocked his head a bit and tuned into their conversation. From what he could gather, the one called "Z" was the leader of the trio, but not the top dog in the pound. Mozu, the blabber mouth seemed the fool, perhaps he could be of use of information later. Kaen watched as they turned down an alley, he waited a moment and relayed the information.

Seems their rounds are done and they are headed back to thug headquarters. The leader of the small group goes be "Z" and another named Mozu. They aren't the head of the dragon by any means though. They've gone down a vacant alley, I'm pursuing in hopes that they lead me straight back to home plate. I'm located on 33rd street, right next to Kenyaku's 2nd had store, the alley is directly across the street. A fairly large red dumpster is positioned just outside the alley. If you can't find me still, I can throw up a flare if you would like. Kaen had only worked with Joker a few times, so he had yet to fully assess his full arsenal of capabilities. So far his tracking skills had failed to impress, but perhaps that was just a part of the test. After all, Kaen may have been quite skilled in combat, he was still only considered a trainee in the chain of command. Kaen could only hope that the group would not turn around, there really wasn't many places to hide, and Kaen himself wasn't a pro at hiding, at least in a non-jutsu style. And he didn't want to starting throwing up a bunch of signs and expelling chakra all at once. For all he knew, one of them might be a tracker nin and would sense his power. He just needed them to lead Kaen back to their homestead so he could do what he did best and finish this impromptu mission.

 

[Toshiwakai Kagari]

Ruin was able to spot out a nearby store that the group passed by, as well as the street. Kagari, spotted the store immediately by its distinctive decorations outside; began making his way towards it. It was on the opposite side of the street, so no normal person could make that leap normally. Kagari picked up momentum and focused chakra into his legs, once he was at the edge he leapt across the street and landed on a roof. He rolled, letting the momentum carry so he could keep running once he got back to his feet. Spotting a bright red dumpster in the corner, Kagari knew he was on the right trail. He could see the trio in the alleyway, walking and talking. It was the perfect place for an ambush. "Alright, I caught up. We're gonna move quickly and take down the leader, we'll interrogate him to see what he knows. The other two...I'll let you decide their fate." Kagari wanted to see what Ruin would do, what type of person he was. He wouldn't hold any resentment if he killed the two members, but it might make things a bit complicated if they let them go. It was always Kagari's policy to show mercy when he could but it seemed that got him into more trouble than it did heal his conscience. At a spot where he could jump down, he spoke once again into his headset. "Masks on." Kagari summoned a mask in his hand (Mask Summon: Mastered) and put it on. Pulling up the hood on his parka, he landed in front of the leader Z. Before he could react, Z felt his legs swept under him as he fell on the hard stone ground. The back of his head hit the pavement first. He tried to get up but he felt a swift punch to his orbital, making him feel dazed. The remaining two members, stood their stunned t how quickly things happened. As they were about to fight, Kagari halted them with his hand. The duo for some reason stopped. Kagari's then formed his hand to imitate that of a gun and pointed at the two of them, making a "pew" sound effect to pretend he was firing a real weapon. Hopefully, Ruin was about to take the two of them out because that would make him look foolish.

WC: 393
MFT

 

[Kaen]

. "Alright, I caught up. We're gonna move quickly and take down the leader, we'll interrogate him to see what he knows. The other two...I'll let you decide their fate." His trusty team leader Joker gave the directive to move in and complete the task at hand. Kaen's pace quickened as he followed the trio down the alleyway. Without skipping a beat Kaen summoned his ivory white mask when Joker commanded it over the radio. Even though he bore the color of a rookie, Kaen was anything but, at least in terms of physical capabilities. Kaen was nearly upon the group when Joker pounced from up above. HIs movements were quick and precise, quickly dispatching the "leader" Z. Next is what confused Kaen a bit...

The still standing pair of backup thugs were just about to pounce on the intrusive Joker, but he halted them for a brief moment and formed his hands into a little gun like shape and literally "pewed' them with his finger lazers... It took Kaen a brief moment to realize that was his discraction que to intervene and follow through with his orders. The lul in the action did allow the pair to reel back in laughter, pointing and shaking from what appeared to be sheer ridiculousness. Little did they know that Kaen was right behind them preparing the "pews". It was quick, maybe only a few seconds, clasping his fists in a ball, Kaen dug his fingernails into the soft fleshy bits of his inner hand for the blood sacrifice needed to empower this next attack. Maliciously made ninjutsu such as this allowed him to bypass the normal restraints and requirements of normal jutsu, such as hand seals. Forming his hands into claw like appendages he held them close together and began to form the dark, black, blood powered jutsu. The power hummed and whirred in the air as the plasma grew and compounded in on itself as Kaen compressed it tighter and tighter. But no, it wasn't enough, he was going to make sure that these two didn't get away to tell the tale of the alleyway robbers, Joker and Ruin.

But like all things in life for him, it was never enough. Sure they appeared to be ordinary men, but what if they weren't? A simple plasma jutsu would barely faze them, even Joker would probably scoff at such a scratch. Kaen began to pour more and more energy into the ball of swirling plasma, so much so that visible and tangible bits of his life force could be seen crawling down his arms and seeping into the orb of light. It's colors quickly shifted to a dark ebony shade and pulsed in his hands. In an instant he ripped the orb in half and with two outreached hands shot the dual lasers straight through the chests of the two side kick thugs. The energy was overwhelming and intense, even with the darker shade, the light still somehow flooded the alleyway. Dust was disturbed and thrown everywhere obscuring the vision of those around them. Kaen stood there silently, a single bead of sweat ran down the side of his temple and fell to the ground. It hissed as it made contact with the super heated ground, which is saying something given Kaen's abnormally high body temperature. Now all they could do is wait for the dust to settle and witness the aftermath.

[OOC SO... I did some things, firstly I used my Jashin skill "Blood Magic" with Ionic Laser [Mastered] with affinity moves combo and focus (I RPd the combo as single use of the jutsu that just got split in two) I also used jutsu expansion to increase it further and then used my Pyro skill "Ifrit's caress" and "Burning Recoil"]

 

[Toshiwakai Kagari]

After a short silence, the remaining two gangsters laughed at the sight of Kagari firing his weapon. Thankfully if they were busy laughing at him, they were distracted by Kagari's childish imitation. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Ruin approaching them from behind, channelling dark energy into his hands. A dark red ball was forming, and once it was whole; Ruin aimed one arm each at the guards. It shot out like a laser beam, piercing through both gang members. There was now a new hole in their chests. One of them, barely alive looked at the new whole that formed and tried to grasp at it. He was only alive for about another second. Kagari turned around and looked at where the laser beams ended; a charred hole in one of the apartment buildings behind Kagari. He whistled at the sight; it seemed Ruin took his "pew" sound effects. "That takes care of that. I'll restrain the leader while you...clean up the mess." Kagari dragged the large man over to the side and laid him against the wall. Taking both of his arms, he tied them behind his back. Kagari inspected his body for any weapons he had on him or any intel relating to the mission. The only things he had on him was a club, the yen he acquired from the various shopkeepers and a logbook. He quickly scanned the logbook; it had the various names of the shops, their owners and the addresses. There were corresponding amounts to each name, Kagari assumed this was the money that they owed for the week. "They're nickel and diming them every single week...Why haven't any of them said anything?" Closing the logbook he checked back up on Ruin. "You good? Because I'm going to wake him up now." He asked.



----------------------------------------

Z could hear muffled voices in the background, but everything in front of him was black. Still unconscious, he could make bits of speech in the distance, Suddenly, he felt cold water hit his face. (Water gun: Mastered) "W-what?" Z tried to move his hands but he couldn't. In front of him were two shinobi, depending on where Ruin placed himself. Both of them were masked. "W-Who the hell are you guys? Where's Mozu and Ren?!" Referring to the now recently deceased. Obviously still dazed and confused, Kagari sprayed water in his face again. "What the! Stop doing that ass-" That prompted another spray of water from the young man, as he chuckled. "Sorry, that was too hard to resist. Anyways we'd like to ask you some questions. If you don't answer them, or I don't like the answer...My compatriot here blows a hole into your chest. Deal? Now, why are you collecting money?"

WC: 459
MFT

 

[Kaen]

Joker whistled, gawking at the hole at the far end of the alleyway. Seems team leader Joker was impressed perhaps? That was the goal after all, given that as team leader and technically Kaen's mentor he would need to impress him at every turn to get good marks on his evaluation report. "That takes care of that. I'll restrain the leader while you...clean up the mess." Joker issued his next orders but Kaen was already on top of it. Kaen rushed over to the bodies as fast as he could, time was of the essence. Kneeling down next the mangled and "holy" bodies, Kaen glanced back to see if Joker was paying attention. Fortunately for him, Joker was busy tending to the Leader, Z. Without a second thought Kaen thrust a hand into each of the vacant chest cavities and felt around for the heart. This wasn't the first time he had done this, he knew where each of the little bits were located. The hearts were beating their last beats as a last ditch effort to maybe just maybe pump enough to revive the bodies. But the damage was done, there was no recovering from this...

Had he been slower, he might not have reached them in time for the "process". But with practice came speed and precision, Kaen had no issues performing the deed. Their hearts seemed to stop beating entirely almost in unison, it was almost poetic really. As if destiny and the stars aligned, their souls would be his... The brief but fluttering moment was upon him, the miniscule orbs attempting to break free from their mortal imprisonment. But they had no chance, no place to go, no afterlife for them. Kaen retrieved his bloodied hands from the pair of dead thugs. In each of his hands he held a tiny orb, no larger than a coin. They pulsed with spiritual energy, full of their life force and memories. Slightly hesitant Kaen glanced back again to Joker. He was rifling through a notepad of some sort. "They're nickel and diming them every single week...Why haven't any of them said anything?" Good, still busy...

Kaen popped both of them into his mouth and crunched down. The outer shell was hard and crunchy like an eggshell, but the innards were soft and juicy. Kaen had no time to contemplate or enjoy the unique flavors of each of these men, he just needed to hurry up and let the bodies fade away. Such a shame really, that was always the best part of eating a soul, getting a glimpse into the life, feeling and tasting each of their bittersweet moments in life. Their triumphs and disparities and everything else in-between. Kaen rose up from his kneeling position and headed towards the big hole at the end of the alley. Looking left and right he spotted a large garbage dumpster. He rolled it over to the hole covering it as best he could, even grabbing some empty boxed and miscellaneous papers and debris to mask the damage. Using a weak water jutsu, Kaen washed his hand clean and clear of any and all traces of the blood. In the process of covering up the hole, the bodies naturally caught fire and burned away into ash where the wind swept it all away. Just a natural process of the "process", Kaen takes what he needs and leaves the rest. All that remained with them was their fire...

"You good? Because I'm going to wake him up now." Just in the nick of time, Kaen was just walking up behind Joker at that moment. "Yeah, let's do this." Kaen hadn't noticed, who knows if Joker would, but Kaen had a small spot of blood in the corner of his mouth. Nobody said the "process" was clean. Joker proceeded to spray water in Z's face where he promptly awoke. He struggled a bit which resulted in more water. Joker seemed to be enjoying himself, chuckling on the last spray. Kaen smiled behind his mask, he wasn't wrong, this was fun. . "Sorry, that was too hard to resist. Anyways we'd like to ask you some questions. If you don't answer them, or I don't like the answer...My compatriot here blows a hole into your chest. Deal? Now, why are you collecting money?" Kaen took this opportunity to peak around Joker's shoulders and "mounted" his hands on his left shoulder. Forming them into a familiar shape, Kaen followed suit with this new trend. "Pew Pew!" He wasn't sure if Joker would get a kick out of it or not, but if was fun all the same.

[MFT]

 

[Toshiwakai Kagari]

With Ruin's closing remarks, Z was outraged at his current treatment. "You think you're so tough?! You fucking kids better be careful or-" He was cut off by the sudden feeling of cold attach to his body, most notably his feet. Ice blocks had formed at his shoes, and it looked likely there were beginning to form around his legs. "I forgot to mention that not only will you have a fresh new chest cavity, but your body will be preserved in an ice coffin. So I'm going to let you contemplate your next few words before you make a mistake." (Ice Prison: Rank 1) Kagari then turned around, motioning for Ruin so that they could share a quick word. "Normally I would do the interrogating, but I'd like to see your communications skills at work. Information is essential in our line of work as you know, so I'd like to see what you get out of him. We need the location of the hideout, any information on his gang, and any bonus intel on what this collection is for." Kagari then gave a pat on Ruin's shoulder. "Think of this as a test if you want and motivation. I'll be here just in case you need help."


Big Z is currently in a situation where he is desperate any sign of escape, whether using his physicality or giving up false information. You can use that desperation against him by coercion or use force if need be. Choose your words wisely, and you may arrive at a conclusion you desire. Just remember, Z while seems to be a senior member of the gang, doesn't hold all the cards....

WC: 204
MFT

 

[Kaen]

Kaen paced somewhat impatiently behind Joker as he continued his threats. This particular duo had no aversion to torture, killing or similar. They were members of the elites of Suna, Anbu shinobi tasked with the dirty, grimy distasteful jobs that others either simply couldn't handle, or weren't fit to perform the duties. Even though Kaen was still technically a rookie in the eyes of Suna, as far as his Anbu career was concerned, he still possessed qualities on par with what was expected of a Sunan Anbu member. He still had much to prove, but fortunately his team leader and mentor would give him just that kind of opportunity. Joker turned to face the expecting pyro, giving him detailed instructions on what was needed. The location of the hideout was top priority, any additional information the rest of his gang, and any bonus intel on what their money collecting was for was just that, a bonus. Kaen nodded in agreement and fully understanding what his goal was. Time to prove his worth...

"Alright then... Mind giving me a hand for a second, Joker?" It would be a lot easier to do this in safety and secrecy. Not to mention block out unwanted visitors or any outgoing calls, so to speak. Assuming Joker assisted Kaen, the pair would simultaneously perform the necessary hand seals to erect a wall of chakra. At first it would be a soft hue of red that built itself brick by figurative chakra brick until it consumed the entirety of the alley. It would block off both ends of the alley before turning a dark brick red, helping it blend in as a natural wall to the naked non-shinobi eye. Kaen turned to his icy target and took a deep breath. "Well then... Nobody should bother us now. So how are we doing today Z? May I call you Z? Never mind, don't answer that." Kaen would place one hand against the alley wall just to the left of Z. He would attempt to appear nonchalant about the situation at hand. "We're both busy guys, we both don't want to be here. You especially considering death is at your door. I don't mean to make this sound cliché at all but... We can do this the easy way or the fun... I mean hard way. Tell us where the rest of your people are, who they are and what they are capable of and maybe what exactly all that money is for. Wadda ya say?" Kaen was pretty calm about all this, but of course he wasn't the one that was going to suffer here if the Anbu duo didn't get what the wanted. More than likely he was going to try and lie to get out this quickly, but perhaps Kaen's mind was keen enough to catch onto his bluff. At the very least it should be simple enough to fact check his answers. But we will cross that bridge when we get to it.

 

[Toshiwakai Kagari]

Once Kagari was done with the instructions, he would give Ruin his space to work; curious at what approach Ruin would do. Based off the last mission and how he handled the two goons, Kagari got the impression that Ruin is efficient and brutal. It was very apt of his name, but his relentlessness could get him trouble in the future. ANBU are usually the first ones in and if they make the wrong call, it's over. But Kagari would let Ruin make the mistakes, it was the only way he would learn if he did make an error. Before he did any actual interrogating, he needed help creating a privacy barrier in order to drown out the sound of what may be a bone crunching conversation. Once the barrier was set up, Kagari would sit back and let Ruin go to work.

--------------
If it wasn't uncomfortable now, it sure was. These masked men were definitely shinobi, but were they from cloud? They couldn't be, he would be in an interrogation cell right about now. These two were not from Kumo. This masked dude who was running his mouth was starting to get annoying, especially since it was coming from an outsider. "Don't know what you're talkin about. My people? All I'm doing is collecting funds for the owners of the various buildings around here. Since you two aren't from here you're probably not familiar with the customs of Kumo. It's a normal thing." Even though it was normal code to not spill the beans by your criminal organisation, Big Z thought this wasn't a very good lie at all.

 

[Kaen]

Z would give his response, however forced and faulty it might have been. Kaen stared down at the ground shaking his head in agreeance every so often during his speech, making it seem like Kaen was buying what he was saying."Don't know what you're talkin about. My people? All I'm doing is collecting funds for the owners of the various buildings around here. Since you two aren't from here you're probably not familiar with the customs of Kumo. It's a normal thing." Kaen would allow a small bit of silence before looking back up from his "I'm processing all this" stare at the ground. With a smile Kaen would take Z by the shoulder, grasping it through his sleeves ever so gently. Kaen would "pat pat" Z in comfort. "I understand Mr. Z, do you mind if I call you that? Never mind don't answer that. You see Mr. Z, my associate here is rather impatient, and I really don't like to upset him if I can help it. So... Kaen would pause his sentence for only a moment, in those briefest of seconds Kaen would reach down and take his right hand in his own and break both his Index and Middle finger, simultaneously. Kaen seamlessly continued the conversation, even over any screams Z might let out. "Do us a favor and tell us what we want to know..." Kaen would grab hold of Z's head by his hair and wrench his head upwards to have him face Kaen, eye to eye. Kaen would then use Mental Infiltration [Gen DC] in an attempt to loosen the lips on his brain's figurative lips. "Wadda ya say?" Kaen echoed his previous question from earlier, this time with a more serious look in his eyes.

 

[Toshiwakai Kagari]

A moment of silence was given between the two, with the masked Ruin quietly pondering his next actions. He would gently pat Big Z as if Ruin was satisfied, but in just a few seconds his intentions were clear. "I understand Mr. Z, do you mind if I call you that? Never mind don't answer that. You see Mr. Z, my associate here is rather impatient, and I really don't like to upset him if I can help it. So..." Z felt pain shoot from his hand as he felt his two of his best fingers break in quick succession. While he was a large man with a hardened background, finger breaking hurts. He screamed out in pain, panting heavily as his left hand trembled in shock. He looked at it and the feeling of anguish coursed through his entire body. "You fucking animal!" He cursed out, this was the best one could do if they were being violently interrogated by a Red haired maniac. Ruin wasn't done though, he grabbed the scruff of Z's hair to pull him up so that they would be face to face. "Do us a favour and tell us what we want to know..." Z's mind all of a sudden became mush, his eyes fluttering back and forth as the genjutsu was coursing through his systems. Most ninjas would be able to put up a fight against a simple genjutsu, but Z was basically a civilian with no training on how to fight against shinobi tactics. "wadda ya say?" Ruin would coyly ask, although with a serious look on his face. Z was in a different world, but the genjutsu did its trick and the information came sailing right outta his fat mouth. "W-We're collecting the money for someone else. I don't know who exactly but the boss tells us they're some big group running out of several villages. I-In return we usually get things like drugs...weapons...you name it." He paused, cringing in pain. "Recently though the boss was able to get his hands on something big, he talked about he was able to grab it off some auction in Suna. H-He has some kind of plan for those tree huggers coming into town later... That's all I know! I'm just part of the enforcers who go around and knock people around!" He paused again, trying to catch his breath as he slunked down to the hard floor.

"Where can we find the rest of your gang?" Joker popped in, a little bit impatient and mostly satisfied with the inofrmation he was given. "You can find the rest of our gang in the tunnels below. We use the sewers to pop in and out of places easily." He was breathing heavily, the Jutsu was a success and that was most of the information that could be squeezed out of his brain at the moment. Kagari nodded and gestured for Ruin to let go and follow him so they could talk. "I think that's all we're going to get out of him, this guy while a lieutenant is a small fry. Heck that entire gang is small fry, the bigger catch is this organisation he keeps talking about." Kagari pondered for a second, "That auction he was talking about, you think he meant the Ball? I don't want to imagine what they got from that place..." Kagari sighed, he then patted Ruin on the shoulder. "Good work though, but let's start moving quick. They might notice their men are missing..." He then looked at the sorry state of Z, half conscious and slumped up against the wall. "You can take care of this one again. I'll....leave you alone." Kagari then walked off to give Ruin to do whatever Ruin does. While Ruin was interrogating, Kagari peered around the corner to see what Ruin did with the prevoius two bodies he hid, and Kagari could not find a single trace that they were in the alleyway. Ruin did something, but he wouldn't press him on what he did.

WC: 615
MFT

 

[Kaen]

It appeared that the mortal, human body was exceptionally weaker than that of a trained shinobi. Kaen honestly shouldn't have been surprised but was none the less. The light finger breaking and the mental genjutsu that Kaen used against him did quite a number on his psyche and the words just came falling out like there was no filter. As Z spilled his guts about anything and everything, Kaen gave the occasional nod, letting him know he was listening intently. Seems this was your typical money for weapons or drugs deal, at least at first glance. Z paused and cringed from the apparent and obvious pain he was in, one could only imagine the mental toll a genjutsu would have on a normal human being. But it bothered Kaen not, the information is all they wanted from this guy, nothing more. And they would have just that, Z mentioned his "boss" figure got his hands on something interesting. And from the sounds of it, it came from that ball... Perhaps not the exact party he and Joker participated in, but the auction house no doubt. This trail just kept getting deeper and more interesting, who could be behind such a grand orchestration?

Joker, who apparently had grown tired of interrogation and impatiently, interjected more questions directed towards Z. Kaen was getting to that, but just not quick enough. Had they not been wearing masks, Kaen would have had a half frown half annoyed look. But he cant complain too much, while Kaen THOUGHT he had it under control, Joker was the senior Anbu and would know more about this kind of stuff than he would. None the less, they got the locations they were looking for. The sewers, such a slimy cliché bad guy place to hide. "I think that's all we're going to get out of him, this guy while a lieutenant is a small fry. Heck that entire gang is small fry, the bigger catch is this organization he keeps talking about. That auction he was talking about, you think he meant the Ball? I don't want to imagine what they got from that place..." Kagari sighed, he then patted Ruin on the shoulder. "Good work though, but let's start moving quick. They might notice their men are missing..." Joker glanced at the sorry state of a mess Z was in. He was starting to drool now, his mind at the limits of what genjutsu can do without killing someone. "You can take care of this one again. I'll....leave you alone." Kagari then walked off to give Ruin to do whatever Ruin does. "Yeah, I agree. These poor untrained minds are like mush after a bit of push, I didn't even mean to go so overboard." It wasn't that he felt bad for utterly destroying his mind, he just felt like he could have offered more without a scrambled noggin. "Hmm yes, that was my conclusion as well. What other auction could he have been referring to? Unless every major village has their own underground society of black market auctions, can you imagine?" If that truly was the case, this entire operation would be far bigger than either of them could hope to keep under control. For the time being it felt ok with just he and Joker, but like most things, there is always someone very powerful pulling on the strings from high above. Joker would give Kaen some space. Perhaps he had seen what Kaen does or simply suspected but didn't want to know the truth of it. Kaen would nod and watch as Joker turned the corner. Turning back towards the driveling pile of meat that was Z, Kaen would open his maw widely in anticipation. "So sorry it had to come to this, but this is what happens when you are not strong enough..." Kaen pounced towards his next delicious soul meal.

---

It didn't take him long, they were on somewhat of a time constraint. Kaen would return to Joker cleaned up, leaving no traces, hopefully, of his recent ritualized feeding. Kaen would awkwardly break the silence by dusting himself off, even though there was really nothing of note on hit attire. "So the sewers then? I don't know about you, but this doesn't exactly sound fun. Mucking around in the villages sewage waste, piss and shit galore. Not to mention the rumors! I overheard a pair of villagers say that there are GIANT mutant turtles down there... what if they like... observed the shinobi up here and learned taijutsu or something?!" Kaen had a feeling Joker wasn't going to be swayed from his end goal, infiltrating the sewers. But the least he could do was try, right?

[OOC MFT]

 

[Toshiwakai Kagari]

A few seconds passed and Ruin rounded the corner, finished with...whatever he did. "You got something....Never mind." Kagari pointed towards the corner of Ruin's mouth but then changed his mind. "So the sewers then? I don't know about you, but this doesn't exactly sound fun. Mucking around in the villages sewage waste, piss and shit galore. Not to mention the rumours! I overheard a pair of villagers say that there are GIANT mutant turtles down there... what if they like... observed the shinobi up here and learned taijutsu or something?!" It seemed Ruin was excited at the idea of ninja turtles lurking in the sewers below Kumo, this made Kagari chuckle a bit. "That's the first time I've ever heard of that." He scratched the back of his head, considering their next point of attack. "Regardless, we should get moving. While you were busy, I followed the alleyway down to te end and spotted a sewer entrance. I'd bet if we follow that trail, we should find ourselves a terrorist gang. Or at least like you said highly trained ninja turtles." As the two made their way down the tight alleyway, a manhole laid before them. "Shall we?" Kagari pointed out and jumped down. Below was a tunnel system made out of stone and concrete, with a few lanterns lining the walls. "These tunnels were built recently, plus the size of them would make it easier for Z and his fellows to find their way around town. Plus it's big enough to move cargo if they need to."

"Take point will ya? I kind of want to see what you do with your fancy laser techniques in close combat from behind if you don't mind?"

What lies before you is a tunnel system, there are turns and twists everywhere with lanterns guiding the way. It should be a simple task of getting to what may be the main hideout. Depending on your actions, I will roll to see what befalls the duo; so be as descriptive as you can be...as usual.

 

[Kaen]

The mere mentioning of Kaen's possible belief of "ninja turtles" running around in the sewers made Joker chuckle a little. Kaen had to admit the idea was rather fanciful and hardly possible, right? Joker continued, pressing forward with the mission. He had located an entrance into the sewers just ahead that they could use to track these miscreants down. Then like a chidori to the chest, he played on Kaen's ninja turtle idea from earlier. Kaen's headk sunk a bit in shame and smirked a little in embarrassment. Such a silly notion... Kaen then followed his wiser half down the alleyway all the way to the entrance, the manhole.

"Shall we?" Kagari asked. Kaen was quick to respond; "Oh yes, lets!" he chortled wisely in a accent obviously made to sound sophisticated. He quickly followed his team leader down the murky abyssal hole. With a splash, Kaen made his entrance into the nauseating "water" below. "Oh god.. is this... Ugh, not again..." Kaen quietly mumbled to himself. He had dealt with piss and shit far to often for his taste. "These tunnels were built recently, plus the size of them would make it easier for Z and his fellows to find their way around town. Plus it's big enough to move cargo if they need to." Kaen examined the "mysterious liquid' covered walls and made a grimace. The pungent fumes invaded his senses with such tremendous unrelenting force he could barely stand it. He wondered how Joker was able to stand there so casual.

Kaen was still getting used to the smell and listened instead of breathing in more air for a response. "Take point will ya? I kind of want to see what you do with your fancy laser techniques in close combat from behind if you don't mind?" Kaen was beginning to wonder just what kind of mission this was. Were they here to deal with criminals or were they here to test Kaen's mettle? His suspicions would have to be forced into the back of his mind for now, set them on simmer. Kaen would nod and muk his way forward and take point as instructed.

As the duo trekked forward into the nearly pitch black abyss, Kaen would light a small fire in his palm, feeding it just enough chakra to stay lit, but not be too bright as to give way to their arrival. Kaen's steps stirred up the sewage mess below casting up putrid aromas into the air, fresh and warm... The tunnel seemed abandoned, save for the occasional cat sized rat that scampered by them. Their beady little eyes washing over them like a demon rodent. They just seemed so unnatural in size and awareness, they creeped Kaen out a little.

The duo soon came to their first obstacle, a fork in the road, or is a t? Either way, Kaen was faced with a choice... "Well shit..." Kaen bluntly announced his frustrations in the matter. Splitting up would be the worst idea in the world, only idiots do that in horror shows. He pondered to himself silently, resting his chin on his supported balled fist. Then after a short lul, he had it! Duh, they were ninja. There was a way to look left AND right all at the same time. Kaen raised a single hand and with quick succession, two poofs poofed and two more Kaens stood next to the original Kaen. "So this should be pretty simple, you go left and you go right, any sign of the criminals, dissipate and feed me your knowledge. Run into any giant rats or dare I say it.. ninja turtles, stand your ground and fight. With a nod the pair of shadowy Kaens went down their respective paths. Kaen would wait for incoming news. Turning to Joker, he attempted to strike up a conversation. "Just had to be a smelly ass sewer, didn't it... I think you did this on purpose." Kaen's tone was that of humor, Joker was becoming a good friend of his.


[OOC MFT, Used Specter Shade [Mastered] with affinity move "handseal expert" (creating two) Clone's actions are to dissipate and relay information to Kaen upon discovery of criminals or their hideout. Any turtles or small danger, they will use Midnight Strike and Black Eruption to defend themselves.]