D rank Catching the thief

The morning air was nice as Akarui made his way to the mission board. This had become a daily routine for him. He found enjoyment in doing his duty as a Shinobi of the Konohagakure. His will of the fire was starting to burn within him again. 

As usual, there were many E rank missions available. He wasn’t interested in them anymore though. After the last D-rank mission he got a taste for action again. Be it a small taste, he enjoyed it none the less. So he had decided to continue with them. And hell, the pay doesn’t hurt. 

Browsing the board he settled on a mission. It was about a petty thief plaguing Konohagakure. The statement said to capture the thief with or without force. Akarui found that curious. The mission notice didn’t have many leads so he should talk to the Jounin inside. If they had any Intel he could use, maybe he could use it to track the thief.

“I’ll catch that thief, and I don’t need a Doujutsu to do it.” Akarui said with determination. He was rather sore about that. One of his former squad mates was an Uchiha thus incredibly proud about his eyes. That Uchiha always upstaged at every turn. He also ruined his shot at chuunin all those years ago.

Shaking his head to dispel that line of thought, he needed to focus on the mission. Going inside the missions office Akarui found the one eyed Jounin. He asked him about the thief, their description, what they took and, when the thefts occurred. Even about the times they went down and the district’s the thefts happened. They were all scattered around the village. The most peculiar point was a tag left at each site.

‘Hmm, let’s find a map of the village. The should have one available in the missions office I’m certain. Now, if I’m right, I can use that triangulation method my old Jounin leader kept harping on about.’

Following his thought, Akarui asked the one eyed Jounin if they had any maps of the village. To he relief, the missions office did have a large map on a table for coordination and defence purposes. He convinced the Jounin that he needed the room for just that. 

Looking at the locations of theft sights, they all seemed to be in a ring around the village perimeter. Next to none of the were in the center, but there were some. Akarui could use this. Another thing he noticed was that none of the sites had any visible connection to Shinobi nor near a Shinobi outpost. Leading he to have a theory that he was looking for either a civilian or a low ranking genin. 

Akarui was inclined to think the latter would be the case. And by the data shown from the pattern of thefts, he may have discovered the next area that they might strike. Next step was to go to that location and sit tight. He would look for anyone looking suspicious and tail them until they revealed themselves to be the thief. 

All the incidents happened after nightfall. So Akarui believed that suspect would need to case a potential target before the theft. That means going to the place during the day. 

‘I’ve pinned 2 possible locations they may try. Let’s stay at one and see who turns up. I’ll check the second spot next.’ After deciding he made his way to the chosen location and lay in wait. It was the afternoon before Akarui saw anyone acting suspicious. He didn’t engage but watched what they were doing. As the were wearing a hooded cloak he couldn’t see there face. On the same token, it was a rather warm day with no wind to be wearing a cloak. 

The figure made a loop around the street before taking a seat around the road. They sat there for about an hour before making sure there wasn’t anyone around. They got up and walked to a shop window. They touched the wall then left. When the figure left, Akarui waited a while before jumping the roof he had been using as a hidden observation point and checked the shop wall where the figure had been. 

‘As I thought. While they were here, they left a mark. This is the exact mark left on all the other shops who were hit. I got you thief.’ He thought while He checked the wall. Akarui jumped back to the roof and found a new vantage point. ‘Now I play the waiting game’  

Night fell and had progressed far as he waited. It got to the point where he thought no one would show up. Then suddenly, Akarui spotted movement from an alleyway near by. 

The figure in the cloak appeared striding towards the shop with determination. Once there, they began to pick the lock. Akarui waited until they had picked the lock. In a mist he disappeared from his hiding place landing on the road silently. 

“Bit late to be going for a shop isn’t it? Forget the key?” Akarui announced to the Figure. The thief froze In place after hearing somebody speak before slowly turning around. Replaced in their hand was a Kunai where the lockpick had been. Taking up a prepared stance they responded, 

“Get lost if you know what’s good for you" Brandishing the Kunai they spoke in a low menacing tone in an attempt to drive Akarui away. It failed. 

“Tough shit, I’m here for you anyway. You think I’m joking? Before intercepting you when you started to pick the lock, I used that time to call in other Shinobi.” Akarui lied and returned a menacing grin. 

The figure froze for a moment. Something changed in their demeanour like they were preparing to flee. This is what Akarui wanted. He didn’t want to directly confront them, but make them panic and hit the flight or fight response. Judging by their reaction to his lie, they chose flight like Akarui wanted.

“Shit" The figure suddenly dashed to the side trying to make an escape. Though they were fast, Akarui was faster. Noticing them dash, He immediately sprung after them in a mist cloud. Appearing behind the figure Akarui struck out with a chop to the throat in hopes to end this quickly.

Akarui hit cleanly and the cloaked figure collapsed mid dash causing them to round to a shop in a heap. During the fall the hood had been thrown back revealing a feminine face. She was rather pretty too. 

Akarui sighed in relief as he bound her in a rope and hauled her over his shoulder. He was glad he didn’t see her face during the confrontation. He definitely would have messed up that lie and had to fight this pretty lady instead. 

With haste Akarui made his way back to the missions office. Turns out it was open all hours of the day conveniently so he had no problem dropping off the thief and filling the correct paperwork. It was nearly dawn by the time Akarui finally headed home satisfied after another mission well done. 

WC 1200
Claiming 3 stamina
D-Rank Mission 3AP
1000 Mission Ryo + 100 Genin Salary = 1100 ryo
1000/1500 Lariat
27+200/250 Fuinjutsu Breaking