The Bizarre Bazaar: A-Rank Solo Self-Modded Mission, PART I. Follow up to Prey in the Palais AND The Bizarre Bazaar: A-Rank SSM Mission, PART I .
Enter Toumei
The knot in Kauru's stomach gave way to the steely resolve of Toumei. When the mask was on Kauru felt like a different entity entirely, truly a difference manifest in more than name only. While that was all good and well, Toumei knew that the task at hand was far too important to allow himself to be distracted by optimism or sense of self-worth. He was now within shouting distance of the men, all groaning while loading the plastic-wrapped packages on to the flat bed of a cart on the back alleyway.
Toumei sat in wait in the heavy shadows. He was well-trained in combat, but even more familiar with the shadows, and the darkness felt like home. Eventually, the men loaded the last of the packages onto the cart, and an old mule, after receiving a half-hearted lashing, began trotting down the alleyway with the cart. Only two men were accompanying the vehicle. Whoever these men were, or whatever their business was, they were out to draw as little attention as possible. It only made sense then that the large group of nearly useless fighters stay back at the compound in the Red Lights while the actual cargo was loaded and transported to its final destination.
Toumei followed closely, clinging steadfast to the pervasive darkness that engulfed this part of town at night. They were quickly exiting the harrowing glow of the Red Lights, and entering into the area of Sunagakure known as the Black Bazaar. As a child, Kauru had always imagined that the area was called the "Bizarre", because of odd goings-on, but had learned much to his abash that the Bazaar was a different concept entirely. Although, he wasn't sure that in this specific instance that there was much discernible difference between the two homophones. Snapping back to the task at hand, Toumei slowed his steps and became lighter on his feet as the cart slowed to a stop. The driver, a man of average build with a scruffy beard and hazy eyes, hopped off the cart and sauntered casually inside of a large, seemingly abandoned building not uncommon for the area. Kauru heard the chime of a bell, as though the man had grown impatient and demanded service, and then the shuffling of footsteps.
First, there was the driver and another man. They conversed quietly about nothing for a moment, when a smaller, cloaked figure emerged from the back room. With him was a small entourage, perhaps six men of various sizes. While none of them seemed particularly awe-inspiring, the cloaked one had an ominous and dark presence about him, and the other men stopped conversing when he entered. It was clear that if he was not the leader of this group, he was certainly serving in a managerial capacity of some sort, whether through power or rank.
The cloaked figure stood in silence for a moment, cocking his head to the side and exhaling. His eyes were fixed beyond the door, at the cart of fresh deliveries. "Shutaru. Help me, please," the cloaked man spoke. It was clear from the timbre of his voice that he was much younger than Toumei had originally assessed. He couldn't have been more than 12 years old from the sound of his voice. A grunt stepped forward and replied. "Sir?" The cloaked boy spoke again, with absolutely no emotion to his voice at all.
"How many bodies do you count on that cart? Toumei's eyes narrowed, So, they really are harvesting organs....
"Uh... s.. seven? Seven, sir.. as far as I can see, anyway."
"Thank you Shutaru. I didn't think I needed an abacus for that one. But something must be wrong with me..." The boy turned toward the delivery driver, and asked the same question. "How many bodies do you count on that cart?
"Seven, s-sir. Seven is correct. It's all-" His words stopped short, and through the back of his throat was the young boy's hand, glowing with chakra. In an instant, he, alongside the body, disappeared, and were back just as soon as they had left.
"How many bodies do you count on that cart now, Shutaru?
"Eight, sir."
"Good. I asked for eight bodies. Eight was what we agreed upon with those lowlifes in the Red Lights, and eight is what the master will get, just as promised." He turned and went around a corner, slipping out a back door and beyond Toumei's view. He continued giving orders from the street. "Get the cart. Clean up. Tip the new driver and send him on his way to the compound. Tell him his partner will be with us this evening, and that I expect to see him back at this time next week." He paused briefly and spoke again, "I doubt he has any idea that the cart is running heavy tonight."
The men stood silent, clinging to the last echoes of the boy's words. As they began to move, as if gargoyles freed by dusk, they were once again bound by the abrasive tone of the young man's voice.
"Oh, and Shutaru?
"Yes, sir?"
"See if Arachi has any of those candies left at the shop before you come back to the base. I'm hungry."
"Yes, sir," the man spoke, exhaling a sigh of relief as the boy departed in the same familiar lightning-quick flash,
Toumei was a well-trained fighter. He was an ANBU of Sunagakure. He was also not an idiot, and despite the relative ease which he was sure that he could dispatch these grunts with, he knew that this would not be conducive to the underlying mission. Stopping a few grunts and snatching a few corpses back does nothing. We have to see how far this goes. Time to report back.
Toumei unfurled his brow and slipped back into the sable shadows of the street, heading as fast as he could toward ANBU Headquarters to report his findings.
(OOC: WC: 993
Black Bazaar Plot discovered, Mission “The Bizarre Bazaar – A-rank” Tier 2 complete. Mission successful and complete.)