Kidunnapping [C-rank]

[Kogami Ayumu]

A day prior, mission orders had arrived in sealed messages for two ANBU trainees, Hoshi and Otome. The instructions said to head out to Port Cirrus where they would meet the team and be briefed on the mission. As was tradition, once the letters had been read they immediately burst into flame to destroy the intel within and left the recipients to figure out what to do with a suddenly burning sheet of paper. ANBU were expected to be ready at all times to depart for priority missions, and that was the situation they were in now. With hardly any time given to pack for themselves they were provided with necessary provisions on the way out of the gate and given express transportation to the port.

The information given prior to their arrival in Port Cirrus was limited. They would only know that the child of somebody important had been kidnapped and was being ransomed beyond what was possible for them to pay. They had instead opted to hire Cloud, the much more economical choice, and have their child rescued instead. Of course, not knowing where the child was being held would normally be a problem, but an ANBU operative within Port Cirrus had already tracked the child using specialized ANBU jutsu and pinned down his location to a warehouse- heavily guarded, of course. The team's mission was to infiltrate the warehouse and extract the child without any harm coming to the boy. Given that threats had been made on the boy's life should anybody try to intervene, stealth was a priority.

Arriving at Port Cirrus, the trainees would need to head to the designated meeting location after dark. The location was a rooftop of a two-story building three blocks separated from a medium sized warehouse. Waiting for them was the ANBU operative who had tracked the child down, Kogami Tsumugu. The three would likely have one another's names, but for the duration of the operation, as always, only code names were permitted. Given that he was alone and waiting for two members of the ANBU branch anyway, Tsumugu was not currently wearing his mask. The mask would only arouse further suspicion if he was seen somehow. Of course, masks would be on before they went in. Once the trainees had both arrived, he would begin their briefing so they could get the mission under way quickly.

[OoC: Hoshi & Otome, come on doooooooown. ]

 

[Shouyu Hoshi]

Hoshi had received a letter, containing brief details of a rather, serious anbu mission taking place in port cirrus. Shouyu read, 'Kidnapping for ransom? Port Cirrus? But, I recently just came from there.' The message burst in flames and Shouyu immediately waved the paper away letting it wither into ash in wind.

The next day Shouyu, arrived at the gates, receiving a travel pack with necessities needed for the express trip. Otome would be accompanying him on the mission along with a third. He was still trying to figure out a suitable code name for himself as he completed his Anbu attire with a blank white mask, carved with fox ears.

Shouyu knew the way this time so he made short of the travels along with Otome. Once they arrived at Port Cirrus, they were to find the third operative who pinned down the kidnappers and child. Shouyu was glad he was able to learn some helpful ANBU jutsu to get him through with the mission. Once they arrived, Shouyu immediately took the shadows, scaling buildings and roof tops moving in darkness. His active camo was completely overcharged as he blended in with every shade.

"Otome, let's be quick with this, alright? Someone's got them cornered in a warehouse, take to the roof tops find the operative!"

Hoshi was skipping rooftops and soon he caught eyes on the warehouse. His flexed his eyes and saw the chakra network of the operative on a two story building a few blocks away. Shouyu beckoned Otome to follow. They would arrive at the rooftop with operative unmasked, Shouyu paused and reached for his own, instead he just leaned into the roof.

"Hey, what's up! White Fox reporting! So, what's going down here?"

 

[Ginyama Senshiro]

In much the same way, Otome had received word of the mission by means of a self-destructive note. However, unlike Hoshi who had tossed it aside and let it dissolve on its own, the kunoichi was preoccupied with her own trepidation as the note burst into flames and burned her hand.

"Jesus Saito!" she swore under her breath as she started doctoring the minor wound. As she wrapped some bandages around her hand, she looked at the bloodthirsty acquisition that had grown so fond of her.

"You owe us blood!" she could hear the spirits within the sword chanting, tempting her to take them with her on this delicate assignment. But despite her own reckless pride, even she knew a katana over five feet in length draining her of her blood would not be beneficial to the mission itself.

"Sorry boys," she whispered to the blade as she placed it upon a rack in her apartment. "Maybe another time."

She garbed herself in her typical attire along a black cloak that still allowed for some mobility and her trainee mask which was in the shape of a skull. Soon after she was on her way to the gates to rendezvous with Hoshi, expecting to see the youngster after her arrival. Yet she was taken aback when Hoshi was the first to be ready.

"What is with these kids?" she thought to herself as she followed closely behind the boy. "First that Leaf-nin, then Hoshi . . . am I really that weak?"

Otome bottled up her self-doubt as she continued after Hoshi, first entering the port, then taking to the rooftops, and finally meeting with their contact while remaining hidden on their perch.

"Skull Kid, reporting in as well."

[WC: 289]

 

[Kogami Ayumu]

Tsumugu's eyes were pressed to binoculars when Hoshi arrived, but he picked up on the sound of the boy landing on the rooftop and lowered the device, turning to meet him. The boy greeted Tsumugu enthusiastically, providing his call sign. Tsumugu winced at the volume of his voice, casting a quick glance to the warehouse and turning back to Hoshi once he was sure it hadn't been heard. They weren't that close to the place, but that didn't meant caution was unnecessary.

"Shh! Keep your voice down, kid," Tsumugu replied in a hushed tone just as the second trainee arrived, giving her introduction with significantly less enthusiasm. This one was a little more Tsumugu's speed. It was convenient that they had both arrived in such quick succession. That meant they could get the mission under way and over with. Tsumugu had been stuck there all day observing while he waited for backup. It had been really boring and he was more than ready to get the job out of the way and go home. To begin with, he had been on vacation in Port Cirrus when he'd been called on to look for a kid because he was the closest operative. This whole thing was just a pain in his ass. He sighed.

"Tanto," he said, providing his call sign as he pointed at himself. "Good, we're all here. Let's get this done. Long story short, this kid was taken from his home in the night. Not that it matters much to the mission, but he's the son of a Chiji. The ransom they're asking for is supposedly an impossibly large sum, according to the Chiji... We suspect that they aren't actually asking for money, but that there is some political motive behind this-- someone trying to get some leverage on a powerful man-- and the Chiji is not willing to comply with their demands... or let us in on that fact," Tsumugu explained. He paused for a moment and retrieved a phtoo from his belt pouch before showing it to the two trainees. It was a picture of a young boy, obviously the child in question.

"Regardless, it doesn't matter. I tracked the child to the warehouse over there... it's part storage space, part office space. Lots of rooms to hide kidnap victims in. Our mission will be to infiltrate and extract the child," Tsumugu concluded, pointing back over his shoulder to the warehouse not terribly far away. After the trainees had a moment to commit the child's appearance to memory, Tsumugu would put the photo away. It didn't much matter if they remembered how the kid looked, in truth, since he was probably the only child in the warehouse anyway.

"Oh right, one last wrinkle. Given the circumstances under which the child was taken without any of their guards noticing, there's some suspicion that shinobi may have been hired for the job and may be in the warehouse as well. That's why you're here to back me up," Tsumugu added. Having covered pretty much all the bases, he summoned his mask into existence and placed it over his face. He motioned for them to follow and then leapt across the rooftops to the one nearest the warehouse. Peering down over the edge, it was clear that the front entrance was heavily guarded by hired goons. They didn't seem like anything special, but commotion from a fight might lead to the kid coming to harm.

"Well, no training like on the job training. Pretend I'm not here. What's your plan? I'll follow your lead," Tsumugu asked of the two trainees in a voice barely above a whisper. He had been instructed by his captain to let them have as much free reign as possible without letting them turn the mission into a disaster. 'In other words, I'm a babysitter...' he thought. Perhaps they would prove to him otherwise. Looking at the warehouse, it appeared to be about two stories tall. All of the visible ground floor entry points were guarded by several patrolling men. Whoever was behind this had hired a lot of muscle to guard the front. A couple of windows on the side were present, but it was too dark inside to see within. The flat roof had a few visible skylights on the left half of the building with two guards patrolling on top. On the far side of the building, mostly obscured from this angle, was the sea where ships had been able to come up directly to the warehouse's small port for loading and unloading.

 

[Shouyu Hoshi]

Hoshi's arrival was quickly hushed and with that Hoshi looked down. Otome was right behind him, that was when the operative revealed himself as Tanto. Shouyu shook his head, he should've just chose some other name rather than white fox, what was he thinking. He was staring down the warehouse through a pair of binoculars before they arrived, Hoshi peered into that direction, he could see many chakra networks all throughout the two story warehouse, and they were only a team of three. Hoshi presumed there was a lot of trust in the skill of ninjas to be able to handle situations like these quietly and quick.

Tanto fully debriefed the current problem and what needed to be done to resolve it. A picture of the child was etched into his mental memory and he nodded at the photo. Shouyu remained quiet, listening intently and exchanging views between the warehouse and Tanto. The mission was an extraction, sounding as if contact would be avoided at all cost. That seemed to be a good plan anyway, Hoshi didn't know Otome's fighting capability yet.

Tanto added some final words, suggesting Shinobi were also hired for this particular situation of an extraction beneath their nose. That made Shouyu pause in thought as Tanto summoned his mask and beckoned to follow. Hoshi did quickly right behind him, brows furrowed together tightly. He's a mumble a whisper underneath his breath.

"Shinobi?"

Shouyu turned his head to Tanto as it seemed he was handing the reigns down to the younger ones. Hoshi was shocked, his heart began to beat and thump within his chest, blood rushing. This was a rather serious anbu mission and it would be up to him to make a plan? He peered over the edge.

"Two on top, patrollers and guards at each door... We will need to find two ways of entry. I can create three clones. I'll have one go low, maybe he can separate the group by causing a small diversion. I could have another take the top. Maybe even one could come from the water, as a vantage point. My Byakugan can see, so I guess I'll be the eyes."

Shouyu thought once more, if he could get everyone inside worried or on edge, the team could still use the element of surprise and catch the enemy unprepared.

"Above all, we are completely outnumbered, contact would be very unnecessary. When we move is has to be in the shadows. We only need to put them on their heels for just a second. If the event we alert the Shinobi, whoever engages them must retreat immediately. First things first, get a hold of that kid and find the first exit. I have an idea."

Hoshi reached into his pouch and pulled out a rather long roll of ninja wire. So thin that in this light it would only appear as a spider web in the distance, but this would help of course when it's fused with a lightning jutsu to stun anyone coming into contact with it.

"Also, I will have my clones set up a perimeter with this ninja wire. Anybody tripping on this wire will have a shocking fall, heh."

 

[Ginyama Senshiro]

Otome's eyes widened in horror as Tanto hinted at the potential of shinobi involvement. Her only experience fighting others in her profession didn't exactly end in well for her, and while she was grateful that the boy from Leaf was merciful, she doubted the ones responsible for the child's abduction would be anything less than cutthroat.

Luckily she had always carried a back-up kunai on the outside of her thigh should the need arise for bloodshed; it was a habit that she was glad to still have when she grew accustomed to the possessed katana. Her hand instinctively hovered over the simple weapon as Tanto explained the situation and Hoshi began discussing potential extraction strategies. After listening to what each had to offer on their respective subjects, it was Otome's turn to make suggestions.

"The least secure entry point seems to be the skylights on the roof," she stated the obvious as she nodded towards the building. "I can't exactly tell how heavily guarded it is on the inside, but I assume it won't allow for nearly as much mobility or visibility as the outside. We should probably disguise ourselves once we've successfully infiltrated the warehouse also."

She closed her eyes for a moment before an idea popped in her head.

"How heavily guarded is the dock? That may be the easiest method of accessing the roof."

 

[Kogami Ayumu]

Tsumugu listened as the youngest trainee spoke up first, offering a variety of ideas in which he would use his clones to approach the warehouse from multiple directions. He also seemed interested in making a diversion to draw their attention and setting up electrical wire to take some of them out. There was only one problem with that. He'd have to give a little guidance here.

"There's too many of them down there. Unless we took them all out simultaneously, taking out some of them is going to raise alert which is the opposite of what we need. If they see us, or see anything out of the ordinary they're going to think something's up and probably close ranks around the kid, wherever he is. The goal here is to be in and out without that happening," Tsumugu commented. He didn't want to stifle the kid's creativity or anything, but most of what he had suggested was likely to reveal that somebody was lurking around, even if they weren't necessarily seen.

"Your Byakugan will be key here, though, especially given how dark it is. You'll see anybody coming long before we do," Tsumugu added before turning to Otome to see what she had to say. Her suggestions included using the skylights or checking the port on the rear side to see the level of security present there. Tsumugu nodded at her assessment of the situation.

"True. Taking out two guards would be much easier than the mass down on the ground level. The disguises may also be smart, if we pick the right ones... assuming that you've both learned the basic transformation jutsu. As for the rear... we should be able to see it better from that building over there," he proposed, gesturing to the building next to the warehouse. He motioned for them to follow and then made a few quick leaps across some rooftops while avoiding moving through any light or anywhere the guards might notice them. Now atop the next building down the coastline from the warehouse, they had a different perspective on the building from the side.

The sides of the warehouse were pretty much bare with no windows or entry points, and therefore unguarded. The building was surprisingly close to the edge of the water. Saying that the port was small was an understatement. A fence topped with barbed wire ran from the end of the building to the edge of the coast to deter thieves from entering the area behind the building where shipping containers had once been stored. Of course, a shinobi could easily clear the fence in a single bound. The rear of the building was rather dark, but with his special eyes Hoshi could see that two guards were posted back there. At present, they didn't appear to be doing any patrolling but were both stationary in front of the only normal sized door. Aside from this door, there were larger roll up doors, similar to the front side, that had been used for moving large containers in and out of the warehouse.

"Interesting. A new perspective on things is always useful. Ideas now?"

 

[Shouyu Hoshi]

Hoshi began to roll up his ninja wire, although he kept a few feet of it at his disposal. Tanto was right, taking them down little by little would alert the guards and put everyone in high suspicion. He clicked his teeth.

Tanto then explained they would need his Byakugan to see, Shouyu nodded. Maybe it would be a good idea for one him to stay and keep an eye out to make reports. He looked over to Otome who suggested the port entry or from the rooftops where the defenses seemed to be most weak. Tanto seemed to agree, and spoke of the transformation jutsu that Hoshi never seemed to be able to study. He shook his head.

"That's a no go for me, I won't be able to disguise myself. But my active camo will keep me in the shadows quite well."

Shouyu performed some hand seals, and three inter planer clouds of smoke poofed into three more Hoshi's. They would remain on this rooftop while the real Hosho followed Tanto to a better vantage point of the port.

"They are two guards, on a stand still facing the port, just like the roof tops.

He immediately spoke on what he saw once he seen it. He exchanged looks from the roof to the port and back and forth. It would be easy to blend in with waters at this time of night. Shouyu nodded to himself.

"I'll make the first move to the roof tops."

Shouyu would signal with his hand, as he did, his three clones disappeared into the dark. They would move rather quickly, focusing chakra into their feet as to mask their footsteps. Each clone would come at the building from a different direction. Only one stayed back, and found his way onto the water where he would create a veil of dark chakra to make it look like as if he was flowing water. The other two would be scaling the warehouse from the sides, luckily this part was unguarded, and hopefully would make for an easy attempt at the top. At the roof, the clones would peak over and see the two guards, eye each other from across and nod. They would leap together into the two guards, sending a kick at the head that would bang both of the guards heads together if connected, and KO them. If this was successfully, the clones would take their clothes and tie them up with ninja wire, and gag their mouths so no noise could alert the rest. Now, two Hoshi clones patrolled the top, while the third swam around through the port looking to find a cart to stash himself in.

"Alright guys, we should have eyes on top.

 

[Ginyama Senshiro]

"It does," Otome concurred with Tanto after Hoshi had continued reporting his assessment of the warehouse's security detail. But before she could chime in with further analysis, White Fox and his clones took the initiative of scaling the rooftops and attempting to incapacitate the two guards stationed there. With a sigh, she waited until he confirmed success before offering a few words on the matter.

"Don't get too hasty," she whispered, calm yet firm with her tone. "We have to take the opportunities given us and not force them."

She then made her way from their current vantage point before scaling the barren side of their destination herself. Once there, she examined one of the guards the other trainee had knocked out before performing a series of chakra infused gestures with her hands and transforming herself and borrowing their identity. As she searched for a civilian access point to the interior (whether that was a ladder or some stairs), she brought her hand up to headset and tuned the frequency to a channel typically reserved for Kumogakure ANBU operatives.

"O-Skull Kid, here," she whispered as she stopped herself from slipping into her usual habit of not using her own alias. "White Fox; do you see anything unusual on the interior? Any inconsistent patrols and posts or even more heavily guarded areas?"

 

[Kogami Ayumu]

"I'll make the first move to the roof tops."

"Wait--" Tsumugu tried to stop Hoshi, but the boy was determined to get the party started. The clones were summoned and on their way in an instant forcing Tsumugu and Otome to react to Hoshi's actions on the fly rather than follow any preformed plan. 'Damn kids have too much energy,' Tsumugu thought exasperatedly as pulled a scroll from his belt pouch and unfurled it to reveal a summoning circle printed on the inside. From the scroll he called forth a long barreled rifle. Casting a quick jutsu to enhance his aim, essentially magnifying his vision, he dropped to the ground with his sights down the barrel of the gun. It was dark, but the moon provided just enough dim lighting to aid him. He could see Hoshi and his clone scaling the wall. Unfortunately, what Hoshi couldn't see as he poked his head up to check on the location of the guards was that one of them had turned on their patrol and was walking towards him as his head peeked over the edge.

"What the hell?" the guard questioned, startled. He had barely finished the question before a bullet shot through his torso accompanied by a mist of blood, but not followed by the usual telling report one would expect from a shot from a rifle. It had been silenced with another jutsu. At the same time, Hoshi made his move with two clones on the remaining guard, who was thankfully still unaware of his partner's plight, and brought him down with a swift kick. Listening carefully, there were no shouts of alarm nor guards mobilizing. Fortunately, the take down had been quiet enough to avoid drawing any attention. Sighing with relief, Tsumugu slung the rifle over his shoulder and dropped down from the building after Otome, activating his headset in time to hear Otome chastise Hoshi. Tsumugu said nothing for the moment and waited until they were all on the rooftop of the warehouse.

"Kid... there are moments in a shinobi's life when there is no time to think and he has to act. This was not one of those moments. Remember this isn't a solo mission," Tsumugu warned him with a pat on the shoulder before glancing over to the guards, one dead and one unconscious. He felt no remorse for taking a man's life in this situation. In his view, someone willing to participate in holding a child for ransom wasn't deserving of life anyway. It was certainly better than giving him a chance to alert the rest of them. Otome made quick work to copy the appearance of one of the guards and Tsumugu did the same with the one who didn't make it. After taking the guard's appearance, Otome began searching for an entry point and located a hatch that seemed to lead down into the warehouse. Meanwhile, Hoshi tied up the one who lived and took his clothes given that they weren't stained with blood.

[Crappy Visual Aid 1]
[Crappy Visual Aid 2]

Peering down into the warehouse through the skylights, careful not to be seen by any looking up, the team could see that the inside was only dimly lit from the skylights and single lantern the guards had set up in a corner. The warehouse space itself wasn't too massive, about half the size of a soccer field. A few guards were together and stationary, visible thanks to the lantern they were sitting around. Hoshi could make out two additional chakra signatures walking together around the perimeter of the warehouse without their own light source. Unfortunately, the boy wasn't among any of the chakra signatures Hoshi could see in the area below. A catwalk could be seen just underneath the skylights, affixed to the ceiling, which ran the length of the warehouse right down the middle as well as around the perimeter. A ladder could be seen attached to the catwalk which obviously led to the hatch Otome had located around the center of the warehouse ceiling.

At one corner of the warehouse, stairs led down from the catwalk to the ground floor. On the first landing was one door and underneath that landing on the ground floor was a second. By their positioning, they could assume the doors led to the half of the building that consisted of office space, one to the first floor and the other to the second. The three stationary guards were congregating in front of the lower door. Shelves, almost as high as the catwalk, filled the center of the warehouse and the crates (the vast majority of which had been broken into by looters at some point) which lined them were numerous enough coupled with the darkness that they more or less broke any line of sight between the aisles. Certainly it was impossible to see from one side of the warehouse to the other, at least on the ground.

"We need to figure out where they've got the boy. What's our next move?" Tsumugu asked the squad. He seemed almost bored.

[Tried to set the scene as best as possible... complete with epic ms paint drawings-- if you have any questions, feel free to ask me.]

 

[Shouyu Hoshi]

Hoshi's haste would be to his downfall, peeking over he was spotted until a scarlet cloud filled the air. He didn't hear a thing, he just saw it all. He witnessed his first murder up close, his eyes wiggled. But he didn't stall and kept going with what he was doing. The man fall and the other guard was didn't know and took the brunt of Hoshi's assault. He was knocked out and after he wrapped him up he could hear Otome scolding him.

Shortly after everyone was on the roof and taking on the transformation jutsu while Hoshi just donned the guards closed. Tanto tapped him on the shoulder and gave him a little advice. Hoshi nodded, and held his head down. Otome found a hatch from the roof, Shouyu converged to the spot.

"Well I don't see the boy. There are two guard walking around the perimeter, in a corner, guards around a lantern. From I can't see too much. Tch."

Even with his eyes his vision was still blockaded by a bunch of shelves in the center of the warehouse. The guards didn't seem too tense so the roof top incident did not alert anyone right away.

"From here it only looks like it's one way down, maybe from there we can scatter. I have a clone by the water dock watching the shipments. What if, the kid isn't even in the warehouse?"

Shouyu pondered to himself. Inside seemed like a maze although they would to search each floor thoroughly starting from the second. Shouyu began to rub his chin.

"Let's move downward, Skull Kid you take the second floor with one of my clones to be your eyes. We can make reports through our headset. Tanto and myself will proceed to the bottom. Most certainly we should avoid the well lit area in the corner where the guards are stationery. Three more at the door, they seem a bit more alert. Tanto, you and I will have to search those crates, especially the ones we can not see from here. Or better yet, if you could do that same thing you did before... Maybe I could go alone, and you can tag any stragglers. I'll try not to be too hasty this time..."

Shouyu looked over to Otome and awaited her answer, maybe she would agree or better yet, have a more efficient way to proceed with the extraction.

 

[Ginyama Senshiro]

Otome watched in horror as one of the guards spotted her teammate as he peeked above the edge of the building.

"Dammit!" she silently cursed, bating her breath up until Tanto took the shot with his recently conjured rifle, so used to her shedding blood herself that the mist was not only expected, but refreshing.

"Thanks," she whispered to the senior operative before she accessed the rooftops, chastised Hoshi, and infiltrated the warehouse portion of the building. As all three assessed the situation and layout of this particular area, Otome's eyes lingered over the door with the lantern and three guards. After White Fox had given his thoughts on the matter, the kunoichi gave her own.

"I agree that we should be thorough with our search," she began before objecting to the proposed strategy. "But I think we should prioritize the potential areas first."

She nodded to the three guards by the lantern guarding the single door.

"These may be civilian criminals, but I doubt any them are stupid enough to not concentrate patrols and posts where the hostage is located at. As such, the boy is more likely than not on the ground floor."

She waited a moment for either to give their opinion on her analysis before offering her own strategy.

"Since Tanto and I are already disguised, one of us will infiltrate the offices on the ground floor through that door. However, if they decide to rotate patrols to compensate, we need the other to stay up here to ambush that guard before he sees what we did to the ones on the roof. Or we could just take out all five of them."

She then turned to Hoshi and tilted her head in the direction of the second floor door.

"Either way, you should probably access the offices that way; you'll have a less obstructed visual that way and hopefully not as much interaction with other guards."

She then waited for Tanto and White Fox to offer their thoughts.

 

[Kogami Ayumu]

Hoshi was the most capable currently of viewing the situation below. He could see the guards, regardless of the level of light below them. He could also see that the boy was not visible. Fortunately, nobody seemed to be coming to investigate a disturbance on the roof, so their cover was not yet blown. There was enough light that Tsumugu could make out the catwalk leading down to the first floor as well as the two doors to the office side of the building. His suggestion was that they split up to cover more ground and he also made mention of the clone he had remaining at the port.

"I'm pretty certain the boy is inside this building, thanks to my tracking jutsu. I just can't pinpoint the room," Tsumugu assured Hoshi. There was no reason to expand their search area more than needed. Hoshi's plan was to move down with Tsumugu to search the warehouse itself or to go himself while Otome kept her eyes peeled from above. Otome had ideas of her own. Her assumption was that they would post guards wherever the child was being held and therefore conjectured that the concentration of guards in front of the door on the first floor was an indication that the boy might be down there. She wanted to go with him into the first floor offices and leave Hoshi here to keep watch over the remaining guards in case any came to check on the rooftop.

Tsumugu took a breath as he weighed the options. He was trying to let the two trainees formulate their own plans, but the two of them had differing ideas. It came down to him to decide as the senior operative. Regardless, he wouldn't be around to keep them in check for much longer. It was time they split up.

"I agree partially with Skull Kid. I doubt the kid would be left alone. If you don't see him with any of the guards below, he's not likely in the warehouse. What's more, keeping him in a room with a single entrance would be much easier to guard. However, we can't rule out that he may be on the second floor. We need to check both. Skull Kid, your transformation should fool any of them but try to avoid talking if you can... you don't exactly know how you're supposed to speak. White Fox... I hate to say this, but even with the clothes, I don't know if we can risk having you come face to face with any of them," Tsumugu started. He paused as he looked at Hoshi, considering the boy's appearance. There was really no delicate way to say this. Not having the transformation jutsu was a major hindrance here.

"The guards all seem to be fully grown men. A kid walking around is going to stand out. So for that reason, I'm going to have to ask you to be the one to stay here. Stick to the shadows, avoid contact. Make sure nobody makes it the roof. If you can, try to eavesdrop on the guards. Maybe you'll get some intel to pass on to us," Tsumugu instructed him. He was leaving the specifics of how he managed to eavesdrop up to him. As he continued, he unrolled a scroll on the ground and placed his rifle on it, sealing it back inside.

"Skull Kid, I'm going to take the lower floor. You take the second floor. Check every room, if you find him you'll have to make a judgement call on whether to try to extract him or wait for us depending on the situation. Either way, let us know. I'll be doing the same. The plan for now will be to escape via the catwalk through the roof which White Fox will ensure remains clear for us. If you're prepared, let's get this done," Tsumugu concluded, standing from his crouched position in front of the sky light. Assuming there were no objections, he'd make his way to the hatch and open it.

"The training wheels are off now," he said before descending the latter. He made his way across the catwalk quietly. Though they were disguised he had no intention of drawing attention to himself or the other two. The descent from the catwalk was uneventful and without a word he walked past the group of guards who didn't pay him much mind. They were talking about inane tripe at the moment, nothing of use, but it seemed to be distracting enough that they weren't terribly interested in one of their own passing by. The door was unlocked thankfully. He opened it and passed through leaving the team's sight. Otome's descent was even easier still. There were no guards to pass nor any obstructions. She reached the door on the second floor and opened it without issue, heading inside as only Hoshi remained in the warehouse.
[spoilername="OtomePOV"]On the other side of the door was a long empty hallway with white vinyl tile, doors lining either side. At the end of the hallway she could see a sign indicating a door to stairs down to the first floor. It also appeared that the hallway hooked to the right at the end. The hallway also went off to her right where it then hooked to the left. It appeared that the hall was simply a large loop. If there were any guards here, they seemed to be in the rooms themselves. All that was left was to begin her search. The doors, unfortunately, were without any windows. How would she go about determining if anybody was inside?
Layout - Basic layout of office section. Red lines are doors / passages.[/spoilername]

[spoilername="HoshiPOV"]Hoshi watched as the two others entered their respective doors, first Tsumugu and then Otome. He remained in the warehouse alone now, tasked with guarding the rooftop and also attempting to gather intel from the guards present in the warehouse while keeping an eye on them. He could hear both groups of guards talking, though not clearly enough to make anything out without getting closer. The patrolling group had actually paused at the corner of the warehouse opposite the larger group."[/spoilername]

 

[Shouyu Hoshi]

Skull kid made perfect sense of what he said. Hoshi agreed with a nod and continued further surveillance of the room. It seemed the guards at the door were huddled up, and even on the move. Tanto began his breakdown of the trainees ideas and brought up a rather, obvious conclusion. Hoshi didn't realize he was just a kid, and among men would be spotted asap. He sighed and nodded at Tanto.

"Yes, of course. I'll remain here, and keep two clones to roam the top, posing as security so I'll have eyes on the outside too. I'll keep you posted on enemy locations and if anyone is closing in on you guys. You can count on me guys."

Yet again, his eyes and naturally blessed sensory abilities would be used instead of his combat. He was beginning to realize his role as a Shinobi, and how he could help the team. Tanto began his descent to the first floor, followed by Otome who was headed to the office section of the warehouse. From he could see, Otome was good to go.

"Skull kid, you're good to go on that floor."

Tanto had already reached the ground floor, his disguise was impeccable. No one even looked his way as he disappeared into a room, Shouyu clicking his teeth losing his chakra sense on him. His eyes couldn't see through obstructions, he was beginning to learn the flaws and limitation of his kekkai genkai.

"I've lost eyes on you Tanto, but you appear to be good to go. The patrol team has stopped in the corner of the room, adjacent from the group by the lanterns. I'm going to get closer to hear better and report."

Hoshi would too make his decent veiled in a shadow of his active camo. If anyone would look his way, without trained eye most likely wouldn't see anything. The trained eye would be able to see a dim outline of the shadowed cloak but would still be difficult as he moved in the shadows with his camo. Hoshi's scaled the walls until his atop a shelf, where everything was audible and he still had a vantage point of the entire first floor. If the guards were to say anything important of the boy's location or anything he would be able to hear it.

Hoshi looked up, he would lose Otome too when she entered the room. Although it seemed like there were no patrols up there, maybe he wasn't up there at all, and in fact he was below Hoshi. He advedted his gaze to the first floor once more and looked around diligently.

He would eye the group of patrol who paused in the corner. Hoshi didn't move from his prone position, his camo was superb in this state blending in well as Hoshi masked every breath. His clones walked around the roof top circling the perimeter and looking over the edge at the guards at the floor. Shouyu could only hope they wouldn't catch on for a few more minutes. He felt success on the verge, they just had to execute. His heart began to race. He would whisper under his breath.

"I'm in position. Stand by..."

 

[Ginyama Senshiro]

Skull Kid nodded as Tanto weighed both hers and White Fox's infiltration strategies before the senior operative ultimately borrowed aspects from each plan. Her heart began to race with anxiety as Tanto assigned her to search the second floor offices.

"Y-yes, sir," she replied before the three commenced the second phase of the mission, sighing to herself before making her way into the hallway on the second floor. She began to patrol around the hallway, walking slow enough so that her footsteps wouldn't mask whatever information she could gleam from the noise (or lack thereof) coming from each room. After a full pass around and some assurance that it was safe to do so, she would stop by the entrance to the first floor stairs and reach for her headset.

"Tanto, do you copy?" she would whisper delicately into the device, hoping it wouldn't give away her position or disguise while she was relaying information. "There's a stairwell here leading to the first floor; I suggest once we extract the target, you and I will rendezvous on the second floor via the stairs, then we'll rendezvous with White Fox inside the warehouse and proceed from there."

[MFT: 196]

 

[Kogami Ayumu]

[spoilername="OtomePOV"]A quiet loop around the hallway revealed it to be pretty much empty aside from a few lanterns here and there to keep it from being pitch black in the hall. In fact, all but two of the doors were actually open or missing the door entirely. The two closed doors had numbers on them-- 3B and 8B. Unfortunately, if there was behind anybody behind either of the closed doors, they weren't making much noise. As quietly as possible, Otome gave her suggestion of meeting at the top of the stairs to the second floor. She had not drawn any attention yet.[/spoilername]

Otome's words came across the headsets of her teammates with her suggestion to Tsumugu. A few moments passed with silence. "Tanto here. I saw the stairwell leading up to your floor. I agree... Hold on," he answered, pausing for a few moments more before continuing. "I think somebody may be in this room. Going silent. Be prepared in case I've found the boy... or in case I've found somebody else," Tsumugu relayed over the radio before returning to silence.
[spoilername="HoshiPOV"]The job of faking a patrol atop the roof was boring work fit for clones. All was quiet up top. Meanwhile, the real Hoshi had taken a position atop a shelf close enough to the guards in the corner to listen. The chatter between his teammates had ceased momentarily and he was given the chance to listen in and observe. The two guards in the corner had stopped and were leaning against a wall. They were passing something back and forth between the two of them. Upon closer inspection, it was a bottle of whiskey that had them feeling particularly chatty.

"I don't even get why they bothered with so many of us. So where is he then?" one asked as Hoshi came into earshot.

"Heh. They got him on the second floor... room uhh... 3B," the other replied.

"Pfft. Really? Not like anybody is gonna make it past the first floor with all the guards stationed out front," the first laughed. The other simply shrugged and took a swig from the bottle before the topic of conversation changed to something unrelated. While Hoshi had been listening, someone had splintered off from the larger group and was now making his way up the stairs to the catwalk. He had passed by the door to the second floor and seemed to be intending to make his way to the roof.[/spoilername]

 

[Shouyu Hoshi]

Hoshi was ever vigilant. Skull kid seemed to be handling her business while Tanto made a report over com. He was engaging an unknown before going silent causing Hoshi to cringe. In the silence he picked up on a conversation. He immediately cocked his head slowly in the direction, it was a couple guards. The smell of liquor faintly in the air and a bottle confirmed his suspicion. His eyes grew wide, they blatantly gave up the location of the child, in a room on the second floor with Skull Kid. His eyes began to wiggle as he concluded. "But.... Tanto!" He was talking to himself privately within his mind. The guards quickly changed subjects of which Hoshi became uninterested. He would report quietly under his breath.

"I've got the kid's location. Skull Kid, he's all yours. Room 3b. Tanto, evacuate quickly."

Shouyu would almost flicker back up to the catwalk, focusing chakra into his feet, up to his hips to boost himself high enough and make it quiet as possible. It was then his Byakugan picked up on a guard who broke off from the large group. He was climbing the stairs, up to the catwalk where Hoshi was adjacent and crouched in the shadows. He clicked his teeth. It appeared this man was moving past the second floor door, but instead of opening he walked right past. A bead of sweat dripped down the side of his face in nervousness. "Whew, close call." Skull kid would have been in some danger had he chosen that door, instead he was making his way to the rooftops. Hoshi didn't mind, he figured he could easily beat him there and dispatch him, or the clones would.

"I've got a straggler taking to the roof. I will allow him access and take him out. Everyone, please make it to the roof tops and let us escape quietly."

Shouyu fixated his eyes on the guard upon the catwalk, inching his way to the stairway that lead to the rooftop, although he would maintain a good enough distance between him and the guard.

 

[Ginyama Senshiro]

"Shit!" Otome silently cursed as each individual's situation quickly became much more convoluted. She ducked into one of the rooms without a door and snuffed out any lantern that was there before reaching for her headset one more time.

"Copy that, White Fox," she addressed Hoshi first. "Take that guard out, then stand by."

She then began to wonder about Tanto's current situation. After all, he had even stated himself that he was going silent, and the high probability of shinobi involvement in the child's abduction meant Tanto's safety could very well be in jeopardy. And if that was the case, Kumogakure's secrets were at risk as well; surely a senior operative such as Tsumugu would be more valuable to this group than the heir to some politically influential family.

"I'm not leaving without the other three," she thought, determined to save not only their target, but the rest of her team as well. Her hand hovered over her communications device before she sighed before opening the door to the room marked '3B', expecting to see the child there.

 

[Kogami Ayumu]

Opening the door, Otome would find the boy from the picture sitting in a chair. He was alone in the room, thankfully. The thugs had been decent enough to provide him with some light. Upon seeing Otome, the boy looked confused as to why a guard had entered the room.

Meanwhile, Hoshi continued to stalk the guard to the rooftops. Would it be as easy as he expected to take the guard out before he discovered and reported the missing guards and child sized replacements up top? Would Otome be able to get the kid out without being seen? What of Tsumugu? Find out next time on ANBU MissionZ!

[Child has been located - End Part 1 - Part 2 Soon]