The Bizarre Bazaar: A-Rank Solo Self-Modded Mission, PART I. Follow up to Prey in the Palais.
Enter Kauru
Toumei had, for the moment, served his purpose. There is only so much surveillance one can do in an ANBU mask Kauru thought to himself, so now he sat perplexed, perched perilously on a bench in one of the seedier sections of the Grand Palais. This area was known commonly as the Red Lights, so named for the distinctive glow of lights which served as a beacon to those possessing a less than rigid moral compass. If one needed company, it wasn’t hard to find in the Red Lights, nor was any variety of common crook, peddler, or thief. As night took hold of Sunagakure, the district shined its distinctive ruby hue, a raucous pockmark on the face of the otherwise resplendent and peaceful village.
Kauru folded and unfolded the paper containing his ambiguous directive in his hands. Undoubtedly, there was the need for some sort of surveillance in the Red Lights, but exactly what was unclear to the shinobi. So, what? Just walk around the district until someone accidentally says something they shouldn’t? Maybe ask a friendly drug dealer or prostitute if they’ve been an accessory to any sinister plots lately? Or maybe I’d be better off just listening to every single conversation all at once?His sardonic thoughts trailed off. Damn. Actually… That’s not bad.
Sighing, Kauru scaled yet another wall and jumped from it to a nearby ladder. He scaled the building in silence, and traipsed quietly to the edge. He was a good four or five stories high, by his count. Not quite the tallest building in the Red Lights by any stretch, but far enough elevated to catch a wide range of sound, and not so far as to miss out on the more subtle sounds of the street.
Kauru sat on the ledge, overlooking the eerie district. Focusing intently, he slammed his eyes shut and held them closed. Born a Hashigaki, Kauru was nearly able to produce vision through a near sonar-like ability to perceive sound, but his senses had dulled slightly since gaining true vision in a musical duel with a demon all those many years ago. Eyes squeezed tight, he focused. He had trouble blurring out some of the white noises, getting past imagining what the street might look like under the dull crimson light. He was too busy trying to see, and he needed to focus on listening.
With a final push of concentration, the cityscape came into focus in that surreal, ephemeral sense he had known the world through for most of his youth. His sight was replaced by a latent understanding of where objects were, their shapes and densities, the subtle vibrations each gave off. Now, working past this initial onset of his vision, he began listening.
The conversations bled together initially, typical back-alley dealings and the usual exchanges of flesh for yen, but then he heard it. There was an unmistakable set of familiar voices, all clamoring and exasperated. They spoke frantically, and each recounted a tale of an ANBU lurking around the Red Lights, savagely having attacked them unprovoked. Typical… Kauru kept listening, and the next voice that rang out hushed the men instantly. It was serene, and yet unmistakingly dripped with vitriol.
“Listen. I don’t care if there were ten ANBU and the Kazekage waiting to execute each and every one of you with a dull butter knife. You idiots could have led them right to us.” Kauru heard a curtain snap shut, and behind that, a door creaked open. “Get down there. Now. Before I change my mind and kill you myself. Maybe you’d be better stock than guards. After all, organs don’t grow on trees, they grow in you worthless meatbags.”
The unfamiliar voice paused, and the group which Kauru had encountered earlier shuffled through the door and down a series of winding steps. Their passage was interrupted by the voice, and it sounded increasingly frustrated. “Hey! How many times have you idiots done this? These bodies ain’t gonna move themselves, and the organs are only good for so long! Do you want to be sitting down there playing cards when they start to go bad? Get your asses up here, load the cart, take it to the shop and stop acting like a bunch of idiots! What the hell do I pay you guys for, anyway?”
Kauru frowned, and again donned his ANBU mask, jumping from rooftop to rooftop as he made his way toward the men, who had already begun loading a large cart with packages wrapped tightly in plastic.
Enter Toumei
(OOC: WC: 792
Red Lights Plot discovered, Mission “The Bizarre Bazaar – A-rank” Tier 1 complete.
Link to second thread in Bazaar: )