Leaving traces [Sanae, Kotetsu]

Sanae sat down on one of the pillows in the chamber looking around it and thinking about what the boy said. This kind of made her feel old when she was in the position to decide what they should do. It was her aim not only to get him, but to also get the stuff back he stole, but for this he needed to show them were. He was less likely to cooperate when they caught him already, because he would know, that they might never find what he hid, when they did not get it out of him. Or what could be even worse, what if he had an accomplice who would be moving or selling the stuff, if he did not return in time. With the fingers to her clan symbol she rubbed her forehead and though about it. What was she to decide concerning this matter? Protecting the bride from potential attackers had been so much easier and that mission had been on stage above this one. Well because they had to fear Shinobi involvement at some point of it. But still it had been not much of a challenge after all, just some crazy heads but this was kind of different.

Sure she could just take the thief and crush him to bits, but this would not really be the smartest thing to do? No it was better to scare him off and then follow at least in her mind. Even if he did not lead them to all the other stuff, the hideout that he surly had would without a doubt give more information about him than he was willing to share so this was vital. Then she could still catch him. She slowly looked up to the Genin beside her and smiled a little. She was even sure she could do it without him, but in this case he represented the lifeline any mission should have. He was the kind of security to make sure nothing would go wrong. But also again a risk, because he was young and as he said this was his first mission. A joke for sure, he should be on guard duty inside Hoshi and not out here catching dangerous thieves that could probably harm him badly. But then again, she would not let it come to that. If that was even a possibility she'd rather kill that sneaky creep and turn this whole area upside down to find the stuff the old school way by searching.

After her time thinking she looked at what the boy had with him, it was the starter bundle she had acquired the day she met Sakana. After a moment of looking at it she nodded and said: [color:0194=2e2efe]"Quite useful stuff, but I'd rather not have you use explosions in the temple, that could do damage to the buildings or something like that. You should keep the smoke bombs close in case you need to disappear fast and kunai and shuriken are always good means of defence. About sealing the door", she looked at it. [color:0194=2e2efe]"Maybe we should not let him go down there in the first place, just catch him, when he tries to go in. I believe he will have some kind of device or even Jutsu to at least try to render on opponent unconscious so that he can escape. I want him to try, because then he will eventually go to his momentary hideout and maybe more clues where the rest of it is", she explained her intentions and then rose from her pillow looking around: [color:0194=2e2efe]"I would easily be able to just catch him, or even kill him on the spot, but well if we catch him he might not tell us where the other things are, at least I would not if I was him", she cleared her throat and rubbed the back of her head. [color:0194=2e2efe]"So we have to fool him into the security of thinking he got away."

WC: 663
TWC: 3071

Sanae nodded at her companion since it seemed as if he understood what she was aiming at with this whole plan. Slowly she looked outside through the door and wondered. Was this really the right choice? Well in the end she was responsible and whatever choice she made it could always go wrong. At least this is what she clearly got from training with her father he always found a way to make her regret actions or choices she made, because he was always able to use them against her. But one day the time would come where they were at least equal in a way, this she was sure of. A short smile broke her serious face and then she returned to the subject at hand. Her eyes wandered through the room in the end taking Kotetsu into focus again: "So you know sealing Jutsu? Would you do me the honours and seal this door? Because I am not versed in this kind of Jutsu style", she smiled at him encouragingly, "While you do so, I will have a look around the place again, this time from a different angle. If you need something tell one of the monks, they will be glad to help you out I am sure." With that she got up from her pillow and walked out.

Her stroll around the wall began on the inside where everything seemed alright, at least to an extent that she would notice. Since she was a Shinobi and not a constructor her knowledge about building walls was kind of limited, but at least it did not seem breached. Afterwards she took a lap around the outside of the wall, but here as well everything seemed nice and cleaned up. The only worry where some trees close to the wall, they could be used to climb over or escape quick, well there was no going around it. She climbed those trees and broke off the overlapping branches so they would not help with breaking in or escaping. After she had done that she would walk back to the front having a look at the gate. It was huge and hat a huge bar securing it, well this was a good thing not like some small lock picking could to the trick here and squeezing in between the gate and its arch would also not work so everything was fine unless he had an accomplice right here in the temple. That would be rather discouraging, but it seems nobody on the staff was new. So when all of this was settled she returned to Kotetsu to see how he was doing. "So how is it going?", she asked wile entering the pagoda again hoping to find the Genin inside.

WC: 459
TWC: 3530

After listening to what he had to say, Sanae asked him to apply the lock to the trapdoor, as she does not have any Fuinjutsu skill. Kotetsu nods in acquiescence. "I can. I'll do that now, it won't take long." After saying this, Sanae says she plans on doing a tour of the temple on her own from a different angle. No doubt to see what the temple would look like from above, since most shinobi would have no problem leaping over the walls of the temple, small as they are. Anyways, Kotetsu got to work applying a Fuinjutsu lock to the trapdoor. It wasn't a hard technique; it just made it harder for people to open whatever it was that the seal was keeping closed. Kotetsu could break the lock afterwards if it helped against the thief trying to get into it. The process took a couple minutes at most. Kotetsu clapped his hands together in satisfaction afterwards and looked around. It didn't seem like there was really anything else to do at this time but sit and wait. Kotetsu would spend some time meditating and working on his chakra. Training would be the best thing to do here, since there was very little he could do at this time.

He heard from his parents that a skilled shinobi can prevent others from noticing his chakra. A very useful tool to have in any arsenal. He wasn't quite sure where to begin, but Kotetsu figured the best place to start would be by trying to limit the flow of his chakra. Regulating it similar to a floodgate, where his chakra was dammed up behind walls to hide it from prying eyes. It would seem he had some time to kill as this went on for some time before Sanae-Sensei's voice broke the silence. With that he would open his eyes, and stop trying to hold back his chakra. It took some effort, but he was sure he was working in the right direction. He looks over at Sanae. "It's going well, Sanae-Sensei. I had some time to kill so I decided to work on a skill that my parents told me was an very useful one to learn. The ability to suppress one's chakra so that you cannot be detected by shinobi that can sense chakra. I figured at least working on the basics may work in our favour when I go to track the thief after you scare him off. How was your tour of the temple?"

WC: 419
TWC: 3225

Sanae walked up to look at the door to look what the Genin had done, but since she was not really trained in this it was all bits and pieces to her. Then she turned to the Genin at hand and smiled: "I would be quite happy if you could teach me the basics of this one day", she said stretching slightly. Then she tipped her lips thinking about it. "I guess we have until evening, if you want to look around it is fine by me", she said smiling at him and would sit herself down on a pillow. Since they would have to wait she wanted to build up her strength so that she would be rested whenever the thief was striking. If Kotetsu waited alongside her they would whiteness the monks coming in for their afternoon prayers. They would not let themselves be disturbed by the two shinobi inside the temple, in fact when the head priest was passing out blessings they would also receive one for themselves. If Kotetsu was looking at Sanae he could see her kind of worried, sceptic or almost eve afraid as the old man held his had above her head to bless her. Just as if she thought some kind of lightning was about to strike her. But no such thing happened.

Instead the monks would leave to prepare dinner and as soon as this was ready they would bring the food in terms of a bowl of hot noodle soup with man health vegetables and a little bit of duck meat to go along. It was not the best meal ever seen but it tasted decent and made the belly full. Thankfully Sanae accepted it and after a sceptic sniff and a finger full taste test she would start eating the noodles as the sun was going down and their plan was about to be set in place. Having finished the bowl of noodles Sanae hid the bowl underneath a pillow so the thief would not be thrown up by that thinking someone would come here shortly to collect it. It would be laughable if the thief would wait outside for someone to fetch the bowls and they would wait inside for him to enter. Classic check mate on both sides and no one was profiting from that. So as the sun had gone down she went over to Kotetsu: "I want you to hide outside somewhere where you can see the entrance to the building", she looked up. The windows were too small to even fit a young child through them.

If the thief was not some sort of hyper intelligent baby he or she should be getting out the front door again. "He might get in ad if you see him running out, that is who you follow", she smiled at him, "I am positive you can do it." She gently patted his shoulder and then went to walk up the wall hanging somewhere from the ceiling.

WC: 499
TWC: 4029

Kotetsu was elated that he could help a fellow shinobi with a technique that he had learned. "I would be honoured to help you learn how to create a Fuinjutsu lock, Sanae-sensei. I would imagine after the mission is over would be the best time. But I am willing to share what I know anytime." He says with a smile. When Sanae says he can go explore the temple he politely declines. "Thank you, Sanae-Sensei, but I'm content here for now. I'm getting some useful training done, and we've already seen most of the temple. I'm not yearning to explore it in that much more detail at this time." With that, Kotetsu would go back to his chakra suppression training. Not really paying attention to anything in particular other than working to reduce his chakra signature.

The monks eventually filed in for their prayers. Kotetsu was not a particularly religious individual, but he respected their beliefs and rituals. And accepted the blessing from Chitoru when he offered it, not wanting to seem rude. Their prayers did not take long and they soon went off do continue their duties. They returned shortly with some food for the two shinobi. The meal consisted of a bowl of hot noodle soup with man health vegetables and a little bit of duck meat to go along with it. Kotetsu thanked them for the meal and ate everything that was put in front of him. Kotetsu put his dishes out of sight for now,  making a note to take them to the kitchens later after they had completed their mission. Once the pair were finished eating. Sanae suggested it was time, and that Kotetsu make his way to a spot where he could see the front gate of the temple, and stay there hidden until their thief arrived and subsequently fled. Kotetsu nods in agreement. "Yes Sanae-Sensei. I will do that now. I wish you luck in preventing the thief from stealing the blanket." He bowed to Sanae and made his way out into the trees in front of the temple to wait. 'I wonder which way the thief will be arriving from...' Kotetsu thinks to himself as he sets himself up in a tree with a good vantage point. As soon as he was properly settled, he would work on his chakra suppression further, in case the thief was a sensory nin as well.

WC: 400
TWC: 3625

Sanaes eyes followed him from her little hiding spot behind the altar. Soon she was alone inside this building and alone with her thoughts. Not such a good idea but what was she to do about it there was nothing else to do. So she sat there and rested, waited a sheer endless time for something to happen. Meanwhile outside:

There was someone at the wall. With a pretty high jump reaching his hands to the top of it pulling himself up. Dressed all in black he was barely visible as he let himself gently fall to the ground without making too much noise swiftly making his way towards the entrance of the pagoda and then entering. Inside he was looking around curiously and slowly walking towards the trapdoor in the floor. Gently he started nudging at it but as promised it would not open so quickly. This was when he took out his equipment to break it open but also the time that Sanae stepped out of her hiding spot. Just to be sure to scare him plenty she had already performed the seals for a simple Jutsu she knew would scare the hell out of him if he was a human being as now light was flickering above them and the gigantic fireball from the Genjutsu 'Descend into Hell' made its way towards him.

Slowly she would walk towards him: "I would stop if I were you Powder Snow." He looked at her and grabbed a throwing knife, kind of similar to Kunai she knew but smaller and of a leaner shape and threw it at her. The momentum as such was too weak and repelled from her body as she looked at him quite pitiful. "Not working", she said pointing upwards and smiled as he recognized the gigantic fireball about to crush him. Throwing a smoke bomb on the ground he bolted out of the pagoda and straight to the wall. She followed him but let it seem as if she could not pass it. On top of the wall he made a taunting bow towards her and rushed off into the woods.

Sanae rolled her eyes and started counting to 60 to give him about a minute in advance knowing he would be followed by someone else he would not be looking for. So everything should be fine. When she was done counting she would start tracking him and Kotetsu first following the white line of powder he always left behind and then hopefully fining marks made by then Genin.

WC: 424
TWC: 4453

‘So he’s not a sensor nin…’Kotetsu thinks to himself as he watches a lone figure jump over the temple’s wall with relative ease. ‘Either that, or this chakra suppression I’m doing is really working well.’ Kotetsu chuckles to himself. More likely it was that the thief is just good at getting into places, not much else. ‘Hopefully that means he won’t pose a problem to Sanae-Sensei.’ Kotetsu thinks as he waits for any sign of the thief leaving the temple. ‘I hope those Fuinjutsu locks I placed on the trapdoor will be enough to keep him out long enough for Sanae-Sensei to force him to flee…’ He wouldn’t have to wait long to find out the answer.

Not long after Powder Snow made his way over the wall, he was back on top of it. He made what looked like a mocking little bow to someone then took off into the woods. ‘Good…Now the real fun begins.’ Kotetsu thinks to himself as he takes off, making sure to stay as quiet as possible as he follows the thief. It didn’t look like he had managed to acquire the blanket he had come to steal, which means it’s simply to recover the artifacts he had already stolen. That meant making sure he could track Power Snow back to his hideout. Kotetsu would need to use everything he’s learned so far in order to avoid detection and keep up with the thief. He also needed to remember to leave a trail for Sanae-Sensei to follow. The most common system would be to carve an arrow in the direction that they were headed. Since time was of the essence, that would be the best way to proceed. Powder Snow was moving quickly, but not quickly enough to evade Kotetsu, thanks to the earring he was given by Sanae-Sensei.

The path that Powder Snow was meandering, because he was clearly making sure that he was not being pursued by Sanae-Sensei. It did not look like he had been anticipating some form of attempt at resistance as there was no traps as far as Kotetsu could tell in regards to the path back to the thief’s hideout. At least that’s where Kotetsu hoped that Powder Snow was headed right now. He was taking his time getting to his destination, but Kotetsu was patient. He could afford to take his time and wait for the thief to feel safe enough to return to his hideout. Every couple jumps, Kotetsu would make a mark, and immediately if Powder Snow would change direction, Kotetsu would make a mark as well. It was some time later that Powder Snow made his way to a fairly large clearing at the base of a mountain. IN the mountain face there was a series of caves with differing sizes. Kotetsu would remain along the edge of the trees and watch as the thief would make his way into one of the caves. ‘I wonder if he’s simply resting here, or if this is his hideout. I should wait for Sanae-Sensei to catch up. I hope she isn’t too far behind…’ He thinks to himself as he maintains his vigil. The longer he waits though, the more it would appear that this is most likely Powder Snow’s hideout. He was moving back and forth between various caves and the first one he had entered. Since they were relatively close together, Kotetsu did not want to try entering one to see what was inside. Better to wait for Sanae-Sensei and plan out their moves together.

Kotetsu mentally went through his list of skills. When it came to the combat, his skills were severely lacking. ‘Almost everything in my repertoire would be used for distraction. Either I’ll try to keep his attention fixed on me, or Sanae-Sensei will fight him head on and I’ll try to flank him. Only thing I can really do now is to wait for Sanae-Sensei and see how she wants to proceed.’

WC: 662
TWC: 4287

She was looking around carefully and it was just moments after she had started to look that she found the first mark made by Kotetsu and she felt a sense of pride that it seemed as if her plan had worked and even with her being worried about it so much. Kotetsu proofed as very reliable fellow. Skipping through the forest in a rush she started to notice the signs he had placed faster and faster. So it was not long for him to wait on her. Shortly after he had come to the caves where the hideout seemed to be she found him sitting watch and the blink of an eye later she sat next to him. Gently patting his back as praise for a job well done while she as well looked down at their favourite thief who was currently working on getting his stolen goods together to get out of the place, but he would not get far. Sanae looked at Kotetsu and thought a moment. "I will take him on and render him motionless of not unconscious can I leave my back to you?", she looked at the Genin and smiled at him then adding: "We are almost done and you did very well for your first mission I am impressed with you."

Her first Mission had been delivering donated stuff to temples and it had not been a pleasure since those holy people were so angry all the time, even if someone did nothing to deserve this. But in any case if this had been her first mission she could not have helped as much as he did. So now he would be able to see, that she was uncovering her left shoulder and shortly after a bone grew out of it. She grabbed a hold of it and pulled it out of her shoulder. With a dash she bolted towards the thief and in a sudden rush that she gained while dropping down from the tree she could grab him by a shoulder pinning him down on the ground with her knees meeting his stomach. She then took the bone sword piercing it through the cloth on his shoulders so he could not get up that easily anymore. After that she was sitting down on his chest looking down at him from above. "Are you going to cooperate or do I need to get mad at you?", she asked in a cold and unforgiving manner. His answer was a spit to her face.

Slowly she wiped it off and with one or two gentle hits to his head he went out. Disgusted she turned him around and started to tie his hands together and his legs mumbling something about disrespect and what not. That not even the rats in the sewers of Hoshi did display such vulgar manners and she would do right by him to make him learn from a well taught dog to improve his behaviour. That she could see him walking on a leash. "Soo he will not be of any trouble anymore", she smiled to where Kotetsu was and then looked around and the stuff. "Seems as if he got it, we now just have to get him to Hoshi, but for now let's return to the temple with this stuff", she nodded towards the cart he was going to fill with his stolen goods.

WC: 565
TWC: 5018

She had arrived much sooner than Kotetsu had expected. He had barely been waiting for 5 minutes before she had arrived. Sanae- Sensei was quiet, but He could tell he was not alone, then felt the hand  on his back and then heard her voice congratulating him on a job well done. ‘Not bad at all for my first mission, and this isn’t an easy mission either…’ Kotetsu thinks to himself as Sanae-Sensei describes her plan to him. He nods when she asks if he’ll have her back. “Of course, Sanae-Sensei. Once you have him restrained I’ll go search the caves to see what else might be inside.” Kotetsu says to Sanae. “Who knows what he may have left behind in his haste.” He then notices that Sanae has started pulling…something…out of her shoulder. It took him a moment to realise she was doing the same thing that Cole was doing in their spar. “Ahh, that’s right. I almost forgot that you use your bones to attack…” He said quietly. 

As soon as the sword was out of her shoulder, Sanae was no longer beside him. Within the span of a few seconds she was kneeling on top of Powder snow and had incapacitated him. Kotetsu had been watching them closely until Sanae had restrained the thief. One he was tied up, Kotetsu left the cover of the trees and made his way over to Sanae and Powder Snow. “It looks like all the relics are here, he didn’t have the chance to offload any of them. I wonder if there’s anything else in these caves that he stole that he was planning on leaving behind…” He says out loud in the same tone he usually has when he’s musing.

There were a total of four caves that were in the area to be searched. Kotetsu went around and looked in each cave quickly but with attention to detail. The first cave he entered looked like it was where Powder Snow lived. There was a fire pit near the entrance of the cave itself, shielded in such a way where a small fire would not be easily noticed. It also had a small roasting spit set up above it, most likely for cooking food. It had a bed in the rear of the cave, some small cabinets where he could store various things like clothes and other personal belongings, as well as a small table and a chair. Another corner of the cave looked like where he would prep his meals. It didn’t look like there was anything here that was stolen, so Kotetsu moved on to the next cave. 

The next cave looked like it had been barely used, the odd footstep. Perhaps simply to explore the cave to mark out its potential, but nothing worth noting  ‘Perhaps he was considering using this cave for something else further down the road. Doesn’t seem like he’ll have a chance to now.’ Kotetsu thinks with a chuckle. The third cave that Kotetsu entered looked like the loot cave. It was empty now, since everything was in the wagon outside the caves now, but he could see the footprints and the imprints of where crates and chests sat. ‘Looks like he didn’t have much else other than what he stole from the temples…’ Kotetsu thinks as he heads towards the last cave. ‘Perhaps the last one will have something fruitful as well.

The last cave was essentially as empty as the two previous caves. There was little record of any movement made in this cave in any time recently. Near the back of the cave though, Kotetsu found what would appear to be some form of shiny metal ore. Not much of it though, but perhaps he could take it back to the village and see if someone could help him figure out what it was good for, if anything. There was roughly three pounds worth of the ore just laying on the ground near one of the back walls, so Kotetsu picked it up and put it in his backpack. After he finished looking over the cave he would return to Sanae and report all of his observations. At the end he also said. “I found some strange metal ore in that last cave. It didn’t look like iron, so I wanted to bring it back with me to Hoshi to see if one of the blacksmiths knew anything about it.” After a brief pause, he says “I’m ready to head back when you are, Sanae-Sensei.”

WC: 755
TWC: 5042