Search for the Shogun's Ring: De-railed! -- [Maru Maru]

[Suzuki Setsu]

The steady rain persisted all along the uneventful journey to Maru Maru. The wooden walls of the town slowly came into focus after about a day’s journey. As the group got closer they could see that the scars of the recent civil war were still fresh. Parts of the walls were being repaired from skirmishes with bandits, rogue elements that had flourished in the days of chaos that the civil war had brought about. As the cart drew nearer to the village gates, they joined a small group of travelers that also were seeking entrance into the village. Other merchants, mercenaries, adventurers, even some scholarly looking types waited in the queue.

Two guards stood on either side of the gate, one handling papers and documentation while the other kept a watchful eye on all those in line. The first guard had a hardened look about him; he was older with a resigned grimace on his face as he methodically stamped papers and returned them to travelers heading into the town. The second looked surly and shifty as he scanned the crowd. If any of the three were paying close attention, they would notice that the eyes of the second guard lingered on certain people in the line, usually merchants and those who appeared to be more affluent. His gaze widened slightly when it reached the cart the group was riding, and he quickly moved his gaze onwards but every so often would flit back towards the group.

As they reached the two guards, the first glanced up at Masao and Shindou, taking stock of the two men clad in civilian garments. Reaching upwards he extended a hand and said, “Documentation and purpose of visit please.” Masao handed him the papers which were dutifully checked and stamped.

“Kuroda, check the cart. Apologies, but we’ve been having a problem with smugglers as of late. We try to limit the amount of imported weaponry that enters the town. The underworld of this town has too much firepower as it is, hope you understand.” The shiftier of the two guards went around the back of the cart and began inspecting their cargo.

“Taichou, just raw materials. It checks with their manifest.”

The captain nodded and stamped the manifest, he handed it back to Masao. “There you go, welcome to Maru Maru,” he said as he waved the group through the gate.

Once inside the gates a young guardsman approached the group, they would recognize him as Kaguya from the dossier.

Kaguya -- Guardsman​

“Crappy weather, ain’t it? I’m Kaguya, and I received word of your arrival. I’m to be your liaison to the town. I’ll guide you to the public warehouse where you can store your goods until you find a buyer. I can also answer any question you have about the town. We’re in a rebuilding stage in the aftermath of the civil war, so you’ll have to excuse the mess; Maru Maru is actually a beautiful town, usually.” The young man’s tone at the end of his sentence suggested that was generally not the case.

“But anyway, if you’re looking to sell, there are three major shops that buy raw materials here. Right now we’re in the slums of Maru Maru, Karachi-san,” Kaguya spat the name out with obvious distaste, “runs the shop in this district. You’ll find his shop down that way,” Kaguya indicated, gesturing towards a street leading south. “The other two shops are in the middle and upper districts. The middle district shop is run by Jounouchi-san. And the upper district shop is run by Shimechi-san.”

Kaguya led them towards a large building that dominated the nearby streets while he was speaking. The group stopped in front of it, “Here’s the public warehouse. The second floor is the hostel; I’ll register your cargo while you guys check in. I’ll meet you in your room,” Kaguya’s voice dropped down quieter, barely heard over the continuing monotonous pitter-patter of rain all around them, “And I’ll answer any questions you have there.”

After the trio disembarked from the cart, Kaguya swiftly climbed into the seat, and with an experienced hand drove it through the doubled warehouse doors, which were being opened by two youngsters in dark ponchos. This left the trio standing in front of the personnel entrance of the warehouse. Upon entering, there was a staircase immediately to their right, which spiraled up to the second floor, where a harried looking secretary glanced at their papers, tossed a key to Shindou, and gave hardly a glance to Kaoru. She then resumed her previous work, which was collating stacks of inventory sheets, item tickets, and payment receipts into various folders scattered amongst the desk.

Shindou, with his Hyuuga eyes, would be able to notice a rather thick file underneath a few others that which bore the incomplete name, ‘Kar-.’ The name was mostly obscured by papers from other folders as well as the other folders themselves.

There were other merchants entering the warehouse behind the trio, so they wouldn’t be able to stay at the front desk long before someone else cam to claim the attention of the busy secretary. The three undercover Kumo-nin were ushered to their room by hostel staff. It was simple but well-furnished. Two large beds stood on either side of the room, and both had nightstands with kerosene lamps lit brightly on each. A large writing desk also stood within the room, to the right of the doorway, upon which a third, larger lamp also shone. They had a few minutes to themselves before a polite knock on their door sounded and after a short delay, Kaguya entered the room.

“Sorry about the accommodations, but they’re complimentary for travelling merchants,” he shut the door behind him before continuing, “We shouldn’t have to worry about being eavesdropped on in here, at least not yet. Kuroda-san is probably still blabbing to Karachi about the sheer quantity and quality of your goods, he may not look it, but he’s a talker. So,” he paused to look at the group, “I’m ready to help in any way I can. I owe Kazuhiko a lot, so ask me anything you have questions about.”

[OOC: Sorry for the delay, I ended up typing more than I expected. I took the liberty of having your characters perform certain actions that seem obvious (i.e. paper-trailing, disembarking, etc.) if any of you have a problem with that, I'll back off a bit from that. If you have any passive abilities / active jutsu you want me to take into account when modding, place them in a spoiler after your post. Any question about setting or scenario feel free to PM me. I'm going to set a 72-hour time frame between mods now (more for me than for you guys) but if everyone posts faster, I'll get mods out faster, this way things get done in a timely manner and nobody feels rushed. That said, enjoy! :3]

 

[Shiruba]

It took a while for Shindou to get control of the cart, the passengers in the back was probably happy that he got control of it because the first half of the ride was pretty rocky. The trip was long and grueling because the rain didn't let up and the wheels on the wagon got stuck in mud a few times. Masao and Kaoru was lucky that they didn't have to drive because they would have become soaked by the rain. The wool jacket Shindou wore did not help an ounce against the punishing weather. The wall was visible to Shindou miles before they were visible for the rest luckily they were hear but did they truly want to be in this place. Parts of the walls were destroyed and the workers were attempting to fix them, if barbarians attempted to attack the city they would be screwed.

One of the men apologized for having to check but the reason for it was understandable. Shindou gave the man a nod that signified the understanding of the two men. At this age, words were not needed but the way you act around each other. Sometimes, it was better to say little then to say to much. The Kaguya boy appeared as the passed through the gates. As the boy gave them advice to sell their good the name "Karachi" seemed to be on the boys bad side. This maybe some sort of hint; hopefully Kaoru can pick up on these things. After a few short words the group traveled to the warehouse where their cargo will be stored. Hopefully, they won't find the extra cargo in the secret compartment.

The secretary at their destination seemed to hate her job because she was always busy. The women tossed Shindou the keys with little to no respect at all. The old vet saw a large file of papers registered to one name. It started out as Kar but he couldn't see the rest because of other files on top of it. Inside there new room was two beds, but there was 3 shinobi. Two beds and three of us. Dibs. He said with a joking smile on his face. The room was empty and before the Kaguya boy came back in Shindou had to tell Kaoru something.

I saw a rather large file that the secretary possessed. The name on it started with K-a-r. It might be that Karachi merchant that the Kaguya boy seems to distaste.

MFT 413 words

 

[Takaki Saeko]

What forty-seven-year-old didn't know how to drive? Apparently, Shindou! Worst. Idea. Ever. thought Masao as he fought back another wave of nausea mixed with sheer terror as the cart almost rolled over the edge of one ravine after the next. He had no idea how Kaoru must have been feeling, but he was simply too mortified to care. Miraculously, however, they somehow made it to the walls of Maru Maru without losing all of their limbs and lunches, and finally the cart stopped at the gate.

As hoped-for, the customs procedures went smoothly, and their contraband cargo went undetected due to the chakra-sealed hidden compartment provided by Kazuhiko. Masao scanned the plaza they now found themselves in, and caught sight of a young guard who walked up to them. The face matched the dossier, and he began to speak. From the sound of it, this one was definitely their man. Masao nodded subtly to their contact at the offer to meet later, and the three ANBU operatives disbarked from the cart and headed to their room, with the Vice Commander more than happy to get off of that deathtrap.

"Two beds and three of us. Dibs," joked Shindou.

"That's fine, Agent, I'll sleep at the brothel instead," he quipped back. Kaoru might be mortified, but then again, she probably didn't know what a brothel was, anyway.

He raised an eyebrow at the mention of the file that Shindou had seen. Any information that could give them an edge was welcome information, and the desk clerk had looked so harried and busy that to steal it would be an easy task. It was Kaoru's decision, however.

A knock at the door silenced them mid-discussion. Soundlessly, he glided over next to the door - a perfect position to drive a hidden blade into the neck of whoever might be approaching. Their tips started to protrude under his wrists as the door opened, but fortunately, only Kaguya appeared. Alone. The blades withdrew, and he leaned against the wall, studying the young man as he made his offer for help.

Kazuhiko had recruited this one, it seemed. Good on you, chuunin, thought Masao. Recruiting and utilizing non-shinobi contacts was an important, but often overlooked part of a shinobi's skill-set. Having good sources of information and help outside of Kumo was vital to the completion of a mission sometimes, which was why it helped to have competent Main Branch intelligence officers working thoughout the country. This one seemed to possess a burning drive for something like justice, it seemed. Almost like a male version of Captain Yukibitas at the Sileo.

"I'm sure Kichida-san appreciates your efforts as well, Kaguya-san. Let me ask you, do you know what we're trying to achieve out here?" he asked. "Also, Ina," he said to Kaoru, using her code name, "do you have any questions for this gentleman or orders for us?"

 

[Kaoru]

Did Shindou san ever learn to drive? Kaoru thought as they went over yet another bump. Takaki sama was beginning to look ill. Kaoru was actually holding up well to the bumpy ride. She leaned over to Takaki sama "Are you alright?" she asked as they reached the gates. The Vice Commander nodded to the man checking the wagon. Kaoru did the same.

They were soon in the city, Kaoru felt a pang in her heart as she saw the devastation caused by the civil war. They were soon met by the boy Kaoru had seen in the briefing, Kaguya kun. He seem disgusted by the name Karachi san. Does he have history with the crime lord? she thought, the boy led them to the warehouse, he took the wagon while the three shinobi walked into the lobby. There was a spiraling staircase, next to it was a grouchy looking secretary with a mountain of papers next to her. Shindou san seemed interested in the mess as the clerk practically threw the key at him.

Shindou san put on a joking smile as he called dibs on one of the two beds. Then told her about the partial name he saw in the folders. This interested her immensely. Takaki san suggesed he slept in a bothel, a term Kaoru was not familiar with, but she still had a feeling it wasn't a very good idea. "Oh Takaki sama you don't have to -" she was cut off as Kaguya san walked into the room.

Takaki sama asked the boy if he knew their objective then turned control over to Kaoru. She took a deep breath, she was slightly nervous to be giving orders. "Shindou san mentioned earlier that he saw the letters KAR in a pile of papers downstairs. I was thinking it may be information on our target, Karachi san. So I thought it may be wise for us to get a hold of those documents." She closed her eyes for a moment to think "If it is possible we should also talk to other merchants around town, especially those distinguished ones that Kaguya san mentioned earlier." The small girl glanced over to the boy "They have more information, which can help us plan out our tactics for the mission." Kaoru felt her nervousness and shyness disappear as she continued to speak. "But it has been a long journey so maybe a bit of rest may be in order before we get down to business." Kaoru looked to her superiors for their opinions. Afterall this was all coming from the youngest member of the group.

 

[Suzuki Setsu]

Kaguya -- Guardsman​

Kaguya listened to the young girl speak, she seemed nervous, he wondered if this was some sort of test for her. When he heard about the file, his face grew somber.

“I’m sorry to say, that without the proper authorization you guys won’t be able to access any files on record here. But hypothetically speaking, it would be relatively easy to break into the office at night. I keep telling Taichou to beef up the security but he doesn’t listen.”

Kaguya kept the neutral look on his face as he continued, “You guys do look beat, that long journey musta been tiring. Shops open at nine in the morning, and if you guys like I can guide you around. Anyway, I’ll leave you guys to it; I have to report back to Taichou.”
Kaguya left the room, leaving the group to mull things over.

--Meanwhile--​

Karachi -- Crimelord​

“And did you follow them?” the cantankerous ginger sitting behind the desk of the run-down shop in the slums asked Kuroda.

“No, sir. I came straight to you.”

“Did you have someone else follow them?” he asked exasperatedly.

“I couldn’t, another guard had already approached them.”

“Who?”

“Newer guard, Gakuya, or something like that.”

The ginger, Karachi, slammed his palms on the desk as he yelled, “It’s KA-GU-YA, dammit! He’s been messing with my trade ever since those damned Kumo-nin wrecked havoc here seven years ago. I thought Haikuno was bad, but Kaguya’s even worse. Thefts are annoying, but I can handle them. However,” Karachi continued, enunciating every syllable, “when were you gonna let me know he was in the damn town guard! I don’t need another fool who’s crazy about truth, justice, love, peace, flowers and shit in my town!”
Kuroda visibly flinched at Karachi’s outburst.

“This is the biggest shipment to come into Maru Maru in weeks, and I’m not letting it get away. Kuroda, you replace Kaguya, take this message to the Captain of the Guard. That should take Kaguya off your hands, and get rid of that other problem that has been plaguing me recently concerning that salvage I obtained from that wreck.”

“Still it must have been worth it to ste--, um, obtain that salvage, if it’s so popular, Karachi-sama,” the foppish guard said, clearly in an effort to get back in the crimelord’s good graces.

“Yes, Kuroda. Your perception never ceases to amaze,” Karachi responded drolly, rolling his eyes. He signaled for the man to leave, and Kuroda hurried out of the shop. This will be the last time Kaguya messes with me in my town.

 

[Takaki Saeko]

He’s destined to get a knife in the back and a bolt in the head for good measure if he hangs around this town for a lot longer, thought Masao about Kaguya as the boyish guard departed. The young man wore his justice on his sleeve and it was obvious that his distaste for the unlawful had probably gotten him in some sticky situations in the past. Either he didn’t actually grow up in this town or he has someone who’s mentoring him…having him stick to the straight and narrow despite all the ostracism it brings…I should like to know who, but that’s a question for another time.

Now, they were alone and free to plan. Kaoru had vastly improved in terms of decisiveness since he had last rebuked her – perhaps that was the reason Rin had seen fit to induct her. Most trainees responded to criticism with anger and hardened their bad habits even more if an elder dared to interject. But Kaoru on the other hand had the malleability of gold. She did not seem to show descent from an obvious bloodline, so perhaps her mind was her greatest weapon in actuality.

“Very well, we’ll rest for now. Probably a good idea since we’re all a bit tired. But I think we’ll have our work cut out for us come nightfall,” he said, laying his hat on a nearby table and running a hand through his hair.

“As per our trainee’s suggestions, Agent Kizoku, why don’t you steal the file you saw earlier downstairs?” said Masao to Shindou, nodding at the man. For an experienced operative, such a task would be merely a trifle, but the payoff could potentially be immense. “Meanwhile, I will go around the taverns tonight as suggested and try to glean as much information as I can from the other merchants and locals. The ring was on board that train, so perhaps I will be able to hear a bit about where the train salvage is being stored.

“Do you have any idea what you want to do with yourself, Kaoru?”

According to the briefing Kazuhiko had given them earlier, the ring they were all after was probably in one of Karachi’s warehouses, but the problem was that there were probably quite a few warehouses owned by the crime lord, who apparently had a deathgrip on the flow of local trade. Searching all of them would expose the group to danger they could not afford, and most pressingly, waste time they did not have.

To the east, the Raiden’s Breath still smoldered, parts of the wreck literally burning a year after its derailment. The plume of black, toxic smoke combined with the clouds overhead and resulted in a chronic, radioactive rainfall on the city that was sure to kill off many of its inhabitants in the years to come with unknown and hideously lethal cancers and illnesses. The more time the three shinobi spent there, the less time they all had in the long run.

[Unless otherwise ordered, Masao will leave later that night to go and eavesdrop/hang out with the other merchants/play poker with them/etc to gain information that might be helpful.]

 

[Kaoru]

Takaki sama agreed to rest and informed Shindou san to steal the files. He asked what Kaoru planned to do with herself. She closed her eyes as she thought on this " I guess I can take advantage of me looking younger than I really am, by hanging out with the children in the streets. If I dirtied my clothes I would blend in quite well." She looked to her superiors. "Right now information would be good to gather, afterall if we just go into the warehouses blindly we might as well tell them out right that we're shinobi, right?" Kaoru walked over to one of the beds and sat on the edge "We should head out either later tonight or in the morning, Shindou san should still get those documents though, they may prove crucial to our mission." kaoru had gained more confidence in her speech as she continued to discuss the plan. "What do you think?" she said looking towards the men.

 

[Shiruba]

They all agreed, Shindou must go steal the files downstairs where the secretary has been doing paper work. It should be relatively easy to steal the files but he shouldn't be to big headed anything can happen. The first thing to do was to locate the file even before leaving the room. Agreed, I will do that tonight when the secretary leaves. Masao was going to play poker with some of the merchants seemed like a good plan unless he became belligerent drunk like at the bar fight with the Main Branch Sennin. The Vice-Commander was a skilled shinobi and knew what he was doing but you can never be to sure. Masao, watch yourself. It maybe possible to be poisoned by other merchants to be robbed. We are outsiders remember that. Kaoru planned to play with the kids to fit in. This was not the best plan because kids her age most likely doesn't know much about crime lords and their hideouts. Children are loud mouths and to outspoken, you can not trust a child with such details. Kaoru made an okay point on looking the part but she already did, she was an outsider who doesn't know any of the kids in town so she preferred to stay inside. If that is what you want, daughter. It is getting dark fast, it seems the secretary has her lamps already on so we may have a few hours or so. Around these parts, it be wise for children to head back home before night fall. I will leave as soon as the secretary is out of here, getting the documents should be a breeze.

Stay in the room for the night Kaoru, allow Masao and I go out. I shouldn't be longer then a few minutes anyway.

By night fall:

Shindou sat on the bed and used Scan an a ability he possessed thanks to his new Hakumei abilities. The old veteran used this so see down into the secretaries for the documents. His ability allows him to see clearer in the dark and even shinobi with camouflage so a document should be hard to find. When he found the documents, Shindou would perform active camo to go invisible and stealthily enter the secretaries office. The old veteran knows where the document is already so it shouldn't take longer then a second to locate and extract the documents then head back to the room.

If Shindou obtained the document he will reveal the findings to Kaoru.


OOC: In Tama's post the secretaries lamps were on so I suspected nighttime coming relative soon.

 

[Suzuki Setsu]

Kaoru’s plan was a sound one, and the group settled in for the night. Kaoru busied herself sufficiently roughing up her outfit and self for her mingling with the local children the next morning. The children had all disappeared for the night, some going to homes with loving families, others to the solitary orphanage in the town, but the vast majority of the children simply disappeared into the alleyways and hiding places all throughout the town. This would make trying to mingle with the kids virtually pointless at the moment, and so Kaoru focused on simply making her ‘costume’ more believable based on what she had seen the other inhabitants of Maru Maru wearing when she had entered, knowing that it would help her when she went to talk to the kids the next day.

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Masao had stepped out of the room in the midst of Kaoru’s preparations. Heading towards the secretary, who looked glad that her day was through, he gave her a small smile and a slight tip of the hat before politely asking where a good place to grab a drink would be.

The secretary, pleasantly surprised at Masao’s genuinely polite manner, responded, “Most of the other merchants will gather at the Frothy Brew, sir. It’s outside the warehouse and down the street to your left; the building with the broken windows.”

Masao thanked her and followed her directions, eventually coming to a rather large, one-story building. Various windows looked like they had been broken and shattered glass littered the street in front of it. Had Masao been wondering why this was the case, his curiosity would soon be sated. With a roar of protest, a man flew out of one of the windows, quickly followed by a second man.

“We’ll getchu for that one of theesh daysh, Raiku!” the first man shouted angrily at the building.

“Y-yeah, we’re wid’ Kawachi now, you can’t fuck wid’ us,” the second man stumbled through his speech. In addition to being heavily inebriated, his nose was also broken and bleeding quite profusely, as Masao would notice.

The pair drunkenly stumbled past Masao, the first colliding with him.

“Watch yer schttep, moron!” the first man yelled as he attempted to shove Masao out of his way, only to land flat on his face, for Masao had simply sidestepped and watched as the man lost his balance.

“Some friend you have, shoving you down like that,” he said, false (but convincing) pity tingeing his voice as he deftly helped the man up and propelled him into his friend with the broken nose.

The first man, too inebriated to think clearly, turned on his companion and forgetting all about Masao. “Watcha do that for?!” A drunken argument ensued, but Masao was already inside the ‘fine drinking establishment’ before it developed any further.

Sitting down at the bar, he ordered a drink from the barkeep, a tall and burly man who clearly tolerated no funny business in his establishment. Masao inferred that this was probably the ‘Raiku’ those two men that had been defenestrated were referring to.

After receiving his drink, Masao was approached by a few merchants he recognized from the queue earlier that day. All were interested in the high-quality cargo he had been seen with, and many started trying to bargain with him, hoping to get a share of the goods. He also noticed another patron in the bar sitting at a table farther from the windows than most of the other occupants, the man was quietly staring at Masao, as if silently daring him to come over.

??? -- Merchant?​

This individual wore a gray cloak over a worn gray tunic, his unkempt gray hair and scruffy facial hair suggested that he was either well-traveled or destitute. However, as he wasn’t being thrown out of the establishment and was calmly sipping tea, Masao ruled out the latter possibility. From where he was though, he could not approach the man without dealing with the haggling crowd of merchants before him.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------​

Shindou left the room some time after Masao, using his Hyuuga eyes to note when the office of the secretary was completely empty. His jutsu made him invisible to the rest of the occupants of the merchant lodging and most were either eager to leave to get drunk, or returning drunk, eager to sleep it off, so no one noticed the silent ANBU-in-Training stealthily moving towards the office.

Upon reaching the door, Shindou found that the room was protected only by a single lock, an easily picked single lock at that. It seemed what Kaguya had mentioned about the lack of security was true. Quietly slipping inside the office and shutting the door behind him, Shindou proceeded to locate the file with ease. Opening it, he found lists of transactions and item invoices registered to and from a Karachi Mikado. Cross-referencing it with a few other files, he noticed that nearly all of the incoming and outgoing merchandise had at some point been in Karachi’s hands. A good deal of the merchandise was recorded as having been sold at ridiculously low prices to another person named Shimechi Sakaki. If he wanted to, Shindou could pull the file of the other man as well to have a look. The most recent addition to the inventory lists within the file was listed simply as salvage and noted next to it was where it was stored, ‘Warehouse B.’

Shindou’s perusing of Karachi’s file was interrupted by a creaking sound near the door. A quick glance in that direction revealed to Shindou’s Hyuuga eyes that another enterprising individual had a similar idea to his, and was working on picking the lock to the room. Fortunately, the man was bad at it, but the lock wasn’t exactly the most durable of its kind. Shindou was still cloaked in his active camo, and was safe from being seen, but the open files signified someone’s presence within the room. Quickly and silently he cleaned up the other files he had pulled for cross-referencing, but hesitated when putting away the Karachi file. It would be noticed if a file as large as Karachi’s went missing, and that would be sure to put the crimelord on guard, but it would be nice to have hard proof of the location of the salvage. And that Shimechi file might prove an interesting read as well, but Shindou wouldn’t have the time to obtain both. He could either take the page in the Karachi file with the location of the salvage, or grab the Shimechi file and still manage to replace the Karachi file before the intruder entered the room. Which would he choose?

Kaoru: If you could list out in your next post how exactly you are "roughing up" your appearance for your debut as a street urchin of Maru Maru. The more detail, the easier it will be to blend in with the other children. Don't worry, your decision-making time is coming. (heheheheheheh)

Masao & Shindou: Your problems this round are self-evident, I think. And yes it was getting closer to nightfall, Shindou. I'm sorry for not making it clearer.

I usually have a few solutions in mind when I create problematic scenarios for you guys, but if you do something I don't expect that's perfectly fine, and sometimes better than what I had in mind anyway, so don't feel limited by what I write. Any questions or issues with the mod or anything else, PM me and I'll address them ASAP.

 

[Kaoru]

Kaoru's clothes were already dusty from the long journey, but that alone did not satisfy her. She poured water over the garment to cause the dirt on the clothes to appear darker and be caked on. She then grabbed various substances around the lodge to further stain the dress, some juice and food, stuff your mother would tell you not to spill on your clothes. After the stains had dried, Kaoru went on to tear random sections and carelessly sow them back, to make it look like an uneducated or drunkard had done it themselves.

But the small girl did not stop there, she wanted to complete her "disguise" with making herself dirty as her dress was. She stepped out without the men noticing and rolled herself in the mud, it was still wet from the earlier storm. She even threw, her already ruined, dress into the wet earth. The streets were deserted, so civilians did not noticed her strange activity.

She returned to the romm just in time for Takaki sama to leave, Shindou san left a few hours later. Kaoru laid out a mat on the ground and slept for the night, she did not want to dirty the sheets with her camouflage "They should have the beds." the young girl said to herself as she drifted on into sleep. Her dreams were filled with possible scenarios, from things that may be revealed to her the next day, to life altering encounters.

 

[Takaki Saeko]

Charming, thought Masao as he made his way past the two drunks he’d just probably provoked into knifing each other. They seemed to be affiliated with that local kingpin, Karachi, and were probably either low-level enforcers or simply goons making up the vulgar tapestry of small, choking towns like this. He had been similar places before – downtrodden burgs under the thumb of a single man and his gang of bulky simpletons. The good news was that after enjoying so much power, these men started to lose the sharp instincts that had originally won them their position at the top, and were vulnerable to efforts like the one he, Shindou, and Kaoru were attempting to pull off.

He made sure to give Raiku a generous tip as he briefly met the burly man’s gaze.

“That happen often?” he asked, subtly looking over at the newly-broken window. Alas, his conversation with the barkeep would not last long, as he was now the center of attention for several other merchants and traveling peddlers who were now trying to get in on the action. Perhaps the goods Kazuhiko had prepared might have been too high of quality, in the end. To each of them, he merely shook his head, sadly, holding up his palms. “My apologies, but Karachi-dono has the right of ‘prima noctis’, so to speak, so I’m powerless until tomorrow. Don’t worry – I’ll also be looking to stock up as well after he cleans me out, so we’ll talk later,” he said to them, hoping that would quell their interest at least for now. The sense he got was that it was a generally bad idea to deny Karachi something in this town. If that failed, he could always plead the need for a piss.

Hopefully, having sated everyone’s interest for now, he now returned his attention to the scruffy, older man who sipped tea in the corner. It was an incongruous choice of beverage for a place in which everyone else drank beer or sake or moonshine. After making his way over to the man’s location in a winding, natural-seeming pattern, he finally sat down at the table as if it were the only free spot. He was careful to avoid looking like he was actually talking to the man.

“That’s nice tea you have there. Gyokuro-tier. But why drink it in a tavern?” he asked, casually but pointedly.

 

[Shiruba]

Shindou successfully located the Karachi files and at night he left to break in. The old vet successful picked the single lock that attempted to keep him out the room. With swift movement Shindou successfully obtained the Karachi files and had obtained information that Karachi has been selling the inventory items extremely cheap to Shimechi Sakaki. Why would he buy all the inventory and then sell it for extremely cheap prices to this man? Sakaki might be trading a illegal inventory with Karachi. A creak at the door alarmed Shindou and he had to decide what to do with the data. The older vet thought on his feet, he activated Snap Shot to record what he sees quickly glancing at the Shimechi file was more then enough because his advanced Byakugan could see anything at any given time. He would just play back the video over and over again to see what the files said. Shindou flipped through the pages of the Karachi file like a flip book animation just to get glimpses of the information. He left the Karachi file but took the Shimechi file with him. The Karachi file wouldn't be open but on top of the pack of information. It could just mean the secretary was just looking at it last.

The elder AIT planned on sneaking out the door once the man go in, if the man closed the door before Shindou could escape he will just wait out the man and record what he sees. Hopefully, this wouldn't take long.

253 words MFT

 

[Suzuki Setsu]

Kaoru’s preparations finished, she settled down on the floor for a well-deserved rest. Dreams of the past, present, and future drifted through her mind as she slept peacefully on the floor of the room.

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The merchants gathered around Masao sighed and expressed disappointment in various other ways as well. Masao had guessed right, Karachi got the first pick of everything that entered the village, though by saying that directly he earned himself a glare from Raiku, but even Raiku knew that was the case and as much as he didn’t like it he couldn’t change anything about that right now. The other merchants seemed to be satisfied with the idea of having another potential customer who seemed to have affluence, given his city fashion. They dispersed back to their respective tables and drinks, each now planning on trying to sell Masao their particular brand of goods.

??? -- Vagabond?​

This fortunately left Masao free to approach the older man sipping tea in the corner. Hearing Masao’s remark the man chuckled quietly to himself, “You have a good nose, or good eyes for that matter,” he said pointedly, his gaze lingering a bit on Masao’s rippled pupils. “Old habits die hard I guess, this place is about the only one where I can get a decent cup of tea nowadays, and I think Raiku’s satisfied with not needing to keep an eye on another drunk customer. You seem to be a little out of place yourself, ordering a drink in a rowdy place like this.” The man stopped to sip some of the tea, while Masao took a seat near him. “Pardon my saying so, but it seems like merchant wouldn’t be your first job description,” he said with a slight grimace. Whether Masao was surprised or not by the man’s astute guess, his face didn’t show it.

“And you don’t seem to fit the general vagabond stereotype either,” Masao retorted genially, “but here we are.”

The man nodded sagely, appearing to onlookers to be agreeing with himself before responding quietly, “To your credit, you do play the merchant better than those fine gentlemen,” he nodded towards four men sitting around a table in the middle of the tavern. They sat rigidly, and though they engaged in banter with the other patrons, but their eyes were constantly scanning the perimeter of the bar, flicking towards the entrance and quickly sizing up anyone you entered. Masao’s practiced eyes could tell that all four men were armed, although their weapons were hidden. “They’re a little too disciplined to be merchants; I’d place them as military, or ex-military; could be either that bastard Ryuu’s,” there was a hint of aggression in the old man’s voice when Ryuu was mentioned, “or the Chancellor’s,” he added nonchalantly, “or mercenaries hired by someone else.” He stopped to let that thought sink in while taking another sip of tea. “But I suppose, like the majority of the others here in town, you’re here because of the Raiden’s Breath salvage that Karachi’s got his hands on. You’ll have a hard time of it though, thanks to Sergeant Subtlety and his motley crew. Karachi’s never been as excited about something he has acquired as he is now. He knows what he has is valuable. But his greed will be his undoing. But that’s just how an old wanderer like me sees it.”

The man quietly finished his tea before musing again, seemingly to himself, “But if I was trying to get Karachi’s attention, Jounouchi in the middle district is who I’d talk to. He’s been having a hard time of it lately, though, with all those thefts. He’d be glad for some business, and Karachi would be desperate to keep it away from him. But I’m just talking to myself here, I’m getting too old for these sorts of things, the young folk should be taking care of them,” he stopped as some of the city guard entered the bar, scanning the place. Masao noticed the four military “merchants” tense as the town guard approached their table slowly.

“Looks like they were found out, best to make ourselves scarce before the inevitable occurs. Merchants are supposed to hire protection, not protect themselves.” As the man finished speaking, the two guards roughly grabbed one of the men and the other three jumped to their friend’s aid. As the brawl ensued, the man quietly left through a back door. Raiku motioned for Masao to follow the old man as he stepped in front of the bar to end this fight his usual manner, defenestrating guards and warrior mercenaries in equal measure. When Masao exited, the old man had already left the area of the bar. So heading back to the room was the probably the best course of action for the rest of the night.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------​

Shindou had placed the Karachi file on the desk after conveniently memorizing its contents. Shindou briefly reflected on the usefulness of such jutsu as he collected the file on Shimechi Sakaki and waited while invisible for the intruder to enter. The door swung open silently, a young boy, no more than ten it appeared, stepped inside. This boy had a hardened look about him, like he was used to the act of breaking and entry and performed it on a regular basis. He shut the door behind him as he entered, as Shindou had done, and headed straight for the shelf of files the Shindou had been perusing moments before. He reached for a file labeled ‘Jounouchi,’ pulled it off the shelf and opened it up. From the satchel hanging across his shoulder he produced a paper that bore an uncanny resemblance to the transaction papers Shindou had been leafing through earlier. With his Hyuuga eyes, Shindou was able to see that the form indicated a transaction between this Jounouchi and Karachi. Apparently, Karachi had ‘bought’ a large number of items from Jounouchi at an extremely low rate. Shindou watched as the child also found the Karachi file on the desk and placed another form also indicating the transaction in there. Shindou was able to notice a few extremely minute differences between these two sheets and the others he had seen. He made quick work of taking pictures of both sheets and then exited the room, right behind the boy who had a satisfied smirk upon his face.

Heading back to the room Shindou came upon a dozing Kaoru. Trying to let her sleep, he sat at the desk to go over the file he had liberated from the secretary’s office. Apparently, Shimechi Sakaki had a deal with Karachi. Karachi would sell him inventory at a low price, and Shimechi would sell it at a high price. Shindou supposed that in turn, Shimechi must give Karachi a cut of the profits. The only missing link in how Karachi had gained control of the market in this town was the third player in this game, Jounouchi. The pages that the boy had slipped into the files were most likely forgeries, damn good forgeries to be sure, but not good enough to fool the eye of a Hyuuga. But why would copies of a transaction that never took place be important enough to make sure that it was recorded?

Masao entered the room a while later, shutting the door behind him. The noise roused Kaoru from her slumber and allowed the two older shinobi to fill in the entire group about what they had discovered, and form a plan for the next day. Kaoru knew what avenue she wanted to explore, and talk to the children of the town, but the other two shinobi had yet to decide what their plans of action were for the morrow.

This next round will be the last where you can gather helpful information. I foresee between two or three more rounds, depending on what you guys do with what you know.

Also, Masao, if your Rinnegan isn't visible let me know and I'll edit the mod.

 

[Takaki Saeko]

He’s not a local, that’s for sure, thought Masao as he conversed with the other man. His bearing and manner are straight out of Lightning National University or the Imperial War College. And his distaste for Daimyo Amakusa is quite personal, not merely a commoner’s resentment. Ah, I get it. He’s either a nobleman or a high-ranking officer fallen from grace for some reason. And I bet he’s connected to that guardsman, Kaguya, he concluded, smirking inwardly. As the night started to get more and more rowdy, the Vice Commander realized that his task here was done. He had a name and a lead: “Jounichi.” Now all he needed to do was get back to the others and let Kaoru formulate a plan out of all of this. Before he parted with his new “friend” Masao offered a final piece of advice. There was no use hiding things from this one.

“I met a young guardsman today named Kaguya. If he sticks around here, he will only end up with a ‘forty-five in his head. Far better that he goes to the Capitol, where the BSA is looking for good men. Perhaps next time I write the Margrave I’ll mention the impressive young man I saw in Maru Maru…”

Back at the hostel…​

“Well, Kaoru, we’ve told you what we know, and now we need to make sense of the information we’ve got,” said Masao, scratching at his chin. “If you would allow me to give a hint, it seems like getting in contact with or at least spying on this ‘Jounichi’ is the next logical step. The fellow I talked to at the bar hinted that Karachi had gotten his hands on something valuable and knows it, but we can’t be certain it’s the target he’s talking about. For all we know, Karachi could have gotten excited about gaining possession of active nuclear fuel rods, but even as worrisome as that is, our mission objective is still the ring. If we ask Karachi about it directly, he’ll just get suspicious and we’ll never find it. But if we ask Jounichi about it, we may find a lead. Even better, we may get him to help us in exchange for a favor, potentially. Anything to add, Agent Kizoku?”

Getting the ring itself would be an easy task. The three of them were more than enough to overwhelm any guard force or defeat any barrier. But finding the damned thing would be the real challenge, and the reason why they had to do so much groundwork beforehand.

Don't worry, I usually play my Rinnegan as concealed, but hey, this guy may be very perceptive, eh? Also, as a note to Kaoru and Shindou, as Tama has indicated in the last paragraph of the mod, each of us ICly knows the details of what transpired last night, so no need to repeat history. BTW, I do plan to post multiple times in this round, probably after Kaoru and Shindou do.

 

[Shiruba]

The old veteran noticed Karachi must be hiring children to do his biddingm which means Kaoru may be more useful then expected. If she can make this boy fall in love with her, he might spill all the secrets and then she stabs him in the back. This may be a solid plan but it was to cruel and could take months to pull off so that wasn't a very efficient plan. Shindou has been containing his chakra so his eyes doesn't glow. They have there natural light blue tint from what Hyuuga's normally have. He have done this to avoid being noticed for his unusual trade mark. All the information gathered has been reported to Kaoru like it was suppose to be and she had to formulate a proper plan. Think about this Kaoru, Jounouchi has had a considerable amount of theft and fake transaction files are being place within his folder. What could that mean?

The man that Masao spoke about interested him but could he truly be trusted. Spies work in mysterious ways and could easily be attempting to trick us. Although, Shindou has formulated a plan to locate the ring that wasn't his job. Kaoru the leader had to decide what each member was going to do and hopefully use them according for their skills. Shindou nearly gave Kaoru the answer of what exactly is going down between the two merchants, hopefully she understands what he is talking about.

There was one thing, Shindou disagreed with the Vice-Commander. He believed spying on Jounouchi was the key but he was more of a victim then an ally of Karachi. The man that they should be looking into should be this Shimechi fellow or at least both of them. Shimechi seemed like he was working with Karachi and Jounouchi was an enemy of Karachi, maybe they should spy on both.

 

[Kaoru]

Kaoru got up immediately, when the men returned to the hostel. Shindou san and Takaki sama told Kaoru their encounters that night. Kaoru walked over to the desk in the room. She took out a sheet of paper and began to write notes. On the back she drew a diagram, in the center was the name 'Karachi', in the upper right corner was 'Jounouchi'. She drew an arrow from 'Jounouchi to Karachi with a question mark over it. In the other corner, Kaoru wrote army men and child. Kaoru was not sure how all of these people related to the crime lord, but she had a feeling that they were a bigger deal than her companions were letting on.

She got up from the desk, and paced around the room for a moment. She stopped in front of the two men." This 'Jounouchi' seems to be a person of interest. You guys are right, those false transactions had to be put there intentionally. Definitely something to look into" The young girl looked up. "Takaki sama, if you don't mind, I think you should talk to this merchant again, and maybe get some other contacts. They may prove to be valuable. Also something to look into are those military like guys at the bar, and that boy that was in the office. They can be directly connected to Karachi san."

Kaoru sat down on her spot on the floor "Children usually find out things that they shouldn't know, so I'm still going with that plan tomorrow. I'll try to find anyone connected to Karachi or 'Jounouchi' and maybe even tail them, if possible." Kaoru kneew what she said was vague, but there priority was gathering information, thus instructions couldn't be too specific since they could not predict what would happen. The young shinobi looked up to her seniors. "What do you guys think?" she questioned.

 

[Takaki Saeko]

Excellent. This is the most I’ve heard her talking since we’ve met. Now I can see why Rin chose her – she has a crafty mind and pays attention to detail. Now she’s just got to train regularly and we’ll have the complete package, he thought to himself. He looked over at Shindou, gauging for a reaction.

“Agreed, trainee Kaoru. One of these men is going to lead us right to the ring. Although, when you do your recon tomorrow, don’t forget about the other man who Agent Kizoku mentioned – this Shimechi character. It’s possible, given the data that Kizoku-san found, that Karachi could have appropriated the ring through Shimechi’s actions, possibly even having extorted it from Jounichi.

“So it’s settled, then,” he said to Shindou. “You and I will investigate Jounichi tomorrow – I’ll meet with him directly under the pretense of being frustrated with Karachi’s prices and seeing if we can secure some sort of deal under the crime lord’s nose, while you may be able to potentially break into his offices or spy on him in some other fashion. I’m also going to contact that guardsman, Kaguya – probe him for any more information or any developments that could change the plan.

“Kizoku-san, if there’s any evidence that Shimechi is a better lead on the ring, divert your efforts to trailing him instead and I’ll wrap up my business with Jounichi, appeasing Karachi if necessary. I do know how to scrape and beg, as distasteful as it is. Same goes for you, Kaoru-chan. Be flexible and open-minded in your investigation. Change focus if necessary and if you believe you can pinpoint the location of the ring. It goes without saying, but don’t go for it foolishly – we have the luxury of Karachi’s ignorance, at least for now.

“We’ll plan to meet with each other again at twenty-one-hundred hours the same day, and by then hopefully we’ll have enough information to go for the ring directly under cover of night, with the goal of being out of this town by the morning. Everyone understand?”

 

[Shiruba]

Shindou listened to the young girl intently, he was analyzing everything he said and how she said it. You can give a horrible plan but if it was said with authority your men will follow. Kaoru spoke without her usual terrified manner, she was calm and in control like a true leader. She was making out to be a good shinobi but she had to fully incorporate every source of information given and she totally ignored Shimechi. The old veteran looked at Takaki and gave him a nod of approval for Kaoru, she was doing well over all. Luckily, Masao brought him up and told Shindou to tail him if he thought it was of utter importance. He would of course do this but first he wanted to see Jounichi with the Vice-Commander.

Very well, I will go with you to see Jounichi and I may trail off to find Shimechi. It seems he is working with Karachi and I remember that is in the upper-district. Jounichi maybe a better option though because he may have resentment towards Karachi and tell us something about him accidentally.

Shindou paused and thought because there was a special jutsu used for interrogation, Mental Infiltration. This could be used to find out where the ring is but that might be a little risky and should be used if they are desperate.

 

[Suzuki Setsu]

Morning dawned bright and sunny; a big contrast to yesterday’s weather, and the three shinobi quickly rose and dressed for the day. A meal was brought to them in their room, freshly made hotcakes with warmed maple syrup, eggs benedict, and sizzling bacon. Though mouth-wateringly delicious, both Shindou and Masao were quick to check for poisons located in the food before they dug in, especially before the promising young ANBU-in-Training did. Fortunately, no poisons were detected within the food, and the three enjoyed a filling breakfast before going about their tasks.

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Kaoru donned her dirty disguise and raced off into the slums in an attempt to find some of the local children. She was especially keeping an eye out for the child that Shindou had described, the one that had planted the fake transaction forms in the secretary’s files. But try as she might, the children she had been searching for could not be found. And as luck would have it, she found herself lost in the slums of Maru Maru. As she stopped to get her bearings, she felt a presence behind her. She whirled around, only to get punched hard in the gut. Winded, she fell to her knees and looked up to see the very child that Shindou had seen in the secretary’s office last night. Behind him a crowd of suspicious and worried children were gathered, all peering from around various objects strewn about the hovels and alleyways that made up this particular section of the slums.

??? -- Street Rat​

“Saw you the other day, dirtying those fine clothes of yours. You may be able to fool the adults into thinking you’re one of us, but we know different,” his voice was deep for a child’s and his eyes were a colored a brilliant purple. There was also a distinguishable note of anger in the boy’s voice. “You don’t deserve those things, the way you’re treating them. So I’m going to take them from you, and hope you learn something from it.” He menacingly stepped forward to kick at Kaoru’s head, and her training kicked in. Distract your opponent; she quickly tossed a handful of the gravel at the boy’s face. He appeared startled, eyes darting all around Kaoru’s location as if there were many other people around her. Unbalance your opponent; swinging her legs around she swept the boy’s legs out from underneath him. Confused, he landed on the ground hard. Strike your opponent; Kaoru sprang up and pounced on the boy, pinning him to the ground. The other children gasped and hid, some of the braver or more curious peeking out the see what was happening and then ducking down again to whisper updates to their fellows. She could hear some of what they were saying.

“She took him down so quickly!”

“I can’t believe Kuja would lose to anyone, especially a girl.”

“Who is she?”

“I-I’m scared, she’s going to attack us for trying to steal her stuff!”

Realizing that she may have endangered her cover, Kaoru quickly said in a confident voice, “My father trained me to fight off thieves like you, but if you aren’t trying to steal my stuff, then you’re not a thief.” Kaoru then slipped into a slightly hurt tone of voice, “I just wanted to meet some people my own age, and since I travel a lot I usually don’t have the chance. I thought I would fit in better if I dirtied my clothes…,” she trailed off. This seemed to convince some of the kids who were hiding around the pair.

Kuja -- Street Rat​

“I don’t buy it,” the boy, whose name was Kuja apparently, retorted. Although he looked rather pathetic pinned by someone lighter than he was, the boy’s hard gaze never slackened. “If you want friends so badly, prove it. There’s some food vendors setting up shop two streets down, if you can manage to feed everyone here then I might consider you a friend.” The tone of the boy’s voice made it clear that he didn’t think she’d do it.

Kaoru looked around, twenty hungry pairs of eyes stared at her, hopeful, expectant. But the fact that she was still unfamiliar with the territory still remained.

Kuja seemed to realize this too, “Get off me and I’ll lead you there,” he grumbled quietly.

Kaoru stood, still on her guard, but the boy made no moves to attack her again. “This way,” he turned to the others, “and you lot stay here.”

She was led to a somewhat bustling street where multiple food vendors were hawking their wares. Kuja briefly glanced at a pineapple before quickly turning back to Kaoru. “So what are you going to do, wannabe orphan?” The words were spoken with no knowledge of Kaoru’s actual past, but still meant to injure and harm, but the question was a valid one. How far would Kaoru go to earn the boy's trust?

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Masao and Shindou headed out for Jounouchi’s shop. Surprisingly, Kaguya didn’t come to meet them as he had said he would. Instead the pair was approached by the other gate guard that had inspected their cart when they had entered the city. Kuroda, as Kaguya had called him.

“I’m deeply sorry sirs, but Kaguya couldn’t make it this morning. Taichou assigned him with another duty he needs to fulfill, but he asked me to be your guide instead,” he bowed deeply. There was none of the honesty and uprightness the Kaguya exuded about this man. The sleaze smothered on his speech was so thick both Masao and Shindou inwardly reeled in disgust. But both shinobi were well-trained enough not to show their distaste openly.

“Very well then,” Masao paused expectantly.

“It’s Kuroda, sir.”

“Kuroda-san,” Masao nodded, “Very well then, Kuroda-san, we were wondering if we couldn’t get a better price from some of the other shopkeeps in town. Karachi is buying at a lower price than we had expected and we are trying to make a profit here.”

Shindou chimed in, “I’ve asked around and heard that a Jounouchi-san might be able to give us a better price. If you could lead us to his shop, we would greatly appreciate it.”

Kuroda’s eyes darted shiftily as he answered, “Actually, I would think whoever told you that was a liar. Karachi usually has the best prices in town. And Jounouchi-san is unfortunately having a little financial trouble as it is.” He stopped to think before answering, “However, you can always try Shimechi-san, in the upper district. He occasionally buys things at higher prices, if his interest is piqued. Why don’t I take you there instead?”

It was clear that this man was not going to lead the pair to Jounouchi’s shop, most likely under orders from Karachi. So Masao turned to Shindou and nodded saying, “Well, then I’ll go prepare another copy of our inventory manifest for Shimechi-san to look over. Inu, why don’t you go with our guide here to see how interested this Shimechi-san is in our merchandise?” With that Masao turned and headed back into the warehouse.

The man Kuroda looked visibly happier overhearing this conversation, and Shindou marveled at the stupidity of this underling. I guess there are naïve criminals too, he thought to himself as Kuroda led him into the wealthiest part of the town.

Shimechi Sakaki -- Shopkeeper​

Entering a pair of gaudy-looking doors, Shindou and Kuroda were greeted with a pleasant, “Welcome, I’m Shimechi Sakaki and this is my shop.”

The man behind the counter was an elegant figure who clearly had charisma in spades, and whose eyes gleamed with a fierce cunning. Shindou readied himself; this man would be no pushover unlike the sorry excuse for a henchman next to him.

“I’ve come to inquire about pricing for the goods my companion and I brought in the other day.”

“Ah, yes. High quality raw materials, you’re the talk of the town you know. But I am surprised you came to me first, usually one would sell to my colleague Karachi. Nobody buys at a higher price than he does.”

“Kuroda-san here says differently,” Shindou mentioned as he scanned the room. The shelves were covered with expensive jewelry, rare artifacts, and even some still usable equipment from the Raiden’s Breath wreckage. With all of the valuables here, it seemed odd that there were no thievery attempts here, especially with Jounouchi’s shop having so much trouble.

“Does he, now?” Shimechi-san raised an eyebrow at Kuroda, who nodded vigorously in response, “Well, I must admit. Getting hold of such high quality raw materials is definitely a lucrative proposition for any shopkeep. I suppose I could be interested in taking them off of your hands.” Greed as well as cunning began to light the man’s eyes, perhaps this could be used to get Shimechi alone? How would Shindou proceed?

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------​

Masao watched both Kuroda and Shindou leave. Blast that Karachi! he thought to himself. But upon further review, this was a clear sign that Karachi was interested in the goods they had. And so his focus was on obtaining the goods rather than defending what he already had. But with Kaguya unavailable for now, Masao would have to find his own way to Jounouchi’s shop. As Masao pondered his next course of action, the secretary at the desk approached him, the woman who had the morning shift was older and friendlier to customers than her evening counterpart, and more inclined to share her opinions with passersby.

“Oooh! That’s Kuroda for you, more like Corroded. Faithfully licking his master’s boots, the dog. You want Jounouchi’s, hon?” She quickly scribbled down some directions on a scrap of paper and handed them to Masao. “Here ya go.”

After thanking her, Masao headed out to meet this Jounouchi fellow at last. Upon reaching the shop, Masao noticed several menacing-looking men loitering about the storefront. While not actively doing anything against the shop their presence wasn’t exactly encouraging business either.

Jounouchi -- Shopkeeper​

Masao was greeted with a terse, “What do you want?” It was slightly slurred, as if the man who spoke was not entirely sober. “Why not visit Karachi? Everything in the town’s his anyway, whether or not he found it first. Did you come to steal form me too?”

Masao was quite surprised at the state the man had placed himself in. “I came interested in your pri--,”

Jounouchi interrupted him drunkenly, “Prices! Hah? What do you think? I can’t beat Karachi, not now. He stole it, him and his thugs outside. That salvage I worked to drag back here, it was going to put me back in business, fully restored after that Kumo-nin blasted a hole in my wall years ago. There was some working equipment and even a ring that would have set me up for life. It was beautiful, with official-looking insignias on it and schtuff,” the man was beginning to lose the ability to speak properly, and considering the strewn bottles around him, it wasn’t hard to guess why, “But gone, all gone now. Might as well drink myshelf to oblivion, and join my schtore, my life, and everything elsh…” he trailed off as he helped himself to another bottle of alcohol. At this point he was barely registering Masao’s presence in the building. Masao basically had free rein to look about the store, including the back rooms and the upper chambers. He could also try to engage the man in conversation, he was drunk enough to be extremely talkative to no one in particular, and probably drunk enough to not remember who he was talking to after the alcohol wore off.

I apologize for the delay, I became suddenly busy with a move and a foray to the Japanese Consulate for visa applications.

 

[Takaki Saeko]

Wasted, thought Masao with some exasperation as the unfortunate merchant started to down another helping of liquid forgetfulness. Should’ve expected this. Still, this makes things a bit easier for me in the end, thought the Vice Commander as he took a careful look around the shop and peered outside the windows to make sure that the men outside weren’t becoming too interested in investigating what happened inside. The mention of the ring with all of its “official-looking insignias and schtuff” was direct confirmation of the target – the only problem was that apparently this one no longer had it. It was likely that Karachi or Shimechi had taken it from him, but now the question was where?

Masao sighed as he subtly moved his hands in front of him to form seals. In general, he disliked using blatant jutsu to accomplish his tasks, but in order to interrogate the drunken sot effectively, he would need privacy. Subtly, the windows of the shop grew more opaque, the shapes within blurring to the men outside. An inaudible barrier of white noise now blanketed the front, which would prevent any sounds from within from getting through. Satisfied that he had effectively sound-proofed and sight-proofed the room, Masao slowly and deliberately removed his hat and set it on the counter before striding up to Jounichi.

The shopkeeper’s eyes suddenly widened as the bottle was snatched out of his hand and dashed on the counter with an explosion of glass and booze. He barely had time to react before the Vice Commander’s fist smashed into his face, causing him to reel backward in a hazy sea of stars. Before he could fall over, however, his assailant roughly grabbed him by the lapels of his jacket, lifted him up off the floor, and smashed him onto his own counter. The stars cleared again, and now all Jounichi saw through his own blood and snot and tears was the point of a wickedly glimmering blade protruding from the underside of Masao’s wrist and pointed at his forehead.

“Pool’s closed, Jounichi-san. I’m really not interested in dicking around and hearing your sob story while you get drunker and waste my time,” growled Masao, now showing the Rinnegan in his eyes for real. “We’re going to make a deal, one 'merchant' to another. You tell me exactly who took that ring from you and where it is, and in exchange, you get a metric ton of the finest silks and furs this town has seen in the last decade. Enough to rebuild a fucking empire. Now spill it.”