Church and Shinobi (Geni)

As they were leaving the office it was none other than the High Priest standing in the middle of the hallway. Could it be that he was eavesdropping, or did he simply grow impatient? "Patience is a virtue, or is that something your Goddess never taught her followers? Now if you'll excuse us, we actually have things to do." And off he went, following Genevieve outside where the young lady would suddenly turn towards him. Akaboshi listened attentively and paid close attention as the woman would share another one of her theories. "Don't worry, we'll stay together. I wouldn't want anything to happen to you, even though you're more than capable of taking care of yourself." The Uzumaki also figured it would look more credible if they didn't split up.

Genevieve then explained she had the feeling the culprit might return and grab something else from the office. They did say that criminals always liked to go back to the place where they committed their crime, so it would make sense in this case as well. "Hm, I suggest we go take a look at those pawn shops. Give them the impression we're not suspecting them in case they think they are being followed. Once night falls we'll come back around the time the sermon starts. With a bit of luck we'll catch him red handed. Why don't you take us to one of those shops? Perhaps we could find ourselves a souvenir" he'd say with a gentle smile. For now all they could do was wait. And once the moment was there, they would be making their move. 

(WC: 269, TWC: 1820)

Akaboshi would follow behind as he was being led by Genevieve to the nearest pawn shop. Even though the two of them didn't really know each other that well, it was still a comfortable feeling walking around the village with someone else, although technically they were on a mission. He couldn't quite put his finger on it, nor was he a hundred percent sure, but the red haired Uzumaki couldn't help but get the feeling the young lady seemed to be lost in thought. Perhaps walking around these parts of Hoshigakure made her remember something of her past, or maybe it was just the High Priest who was giving her troubled thoughts. Yet again was he reminded of how hard this all had to be on her and he wouldn't blame her if it made her feel conflicted, even the tiniest bit.

As they entered one of the shops the only customer walked out, leaving both Akaboshi and Genevieve alone with the shopkeeper. "Well aren't you mister sunshine" he'd say upon noticing the frown on the man's face, almost as if he wasn't too happy about them paying a visit. Although it was still too early to draw any conclusions, the least that could be said about the situation was that it looked rather suspicious. The redhead listened as Genevieve inquired about the recent robbery, all the while keeping an eye on the shopkeepers reaction. Complete silence fell over the conversation, not that it could be called one, which made Akaboshi act. "Did you not hear the lady? Talk." There was no time for games and the Uzumaki wasn't playing around. He wanted answers, and he would get them one way or the other.

(WC: 284, TWC: 2104)

To say the shopkeeper suddenly turned more cooperative would be an understatement. After noticing both Akaboshi and Genevieve meant business, the man knew he had no other choice but to spill the beans. If what he was telling them was the truth, one of the customers from earlier carried a golden colored book with him as could be seen on his way out. The Uzumaki would listen and frown upon hearing the man telling them the individual tried to sell the book. "Why would he want to sell it? Either he didn't know its true value, or he did and tried to make some quick money out of it." But still, something didn't seem quite right and it frustrated the redhead that he didn't know what.

There wasn't a lot to go off from the description he gave them, but one thing stuck with Akaboshi, the fingerless gloves. "With a plate on the back of the hand, silver right? Like the ones shinobi wear." Either it was a coincidence or they were indeed looking for one of them. Akaboshi would get up, sigh before thanking the shopkeeper for the information regardless of his earlier crappy attitude. The Uzumaki followed behind Genevieve as the two of them walked out of the pawn shop with not much but a description. "I don't know about you, but it's starting to make even less sense with every new piece of information." He started to wonder if they were actually on the right track, if they weren't following the wrong leads or looking at something else.

He'd look at Genevieve, observing her reaction or facial expression to see if she was getting frustrated. "What are you thinking?" he asked before contemplating what they should do next. "Do you want to go back and see if we can find this mystery man, or is there something else you'd like to check first?" Hopefully the two weren't running out of any ideas just yet. 

(WC: 327, TWC: 2431)

For the first time during their mission it seemed like Genevieve started opening up to Akaboshi as she would share her feelings on the entire matter. The red haired Uzumaki could see where she was coming from and how hard it must be on her. He'd listen attentively as she talked about her kids. "I have no children myself, but I'm sure a lot of people could relate" he'd say with a gentle smile. At the same time he started to wonder what the Church had to say about a Lady having children, it would surprise him if the High Priest actually supported her being a mother, but he decided not to pry too much.

It seemed the young woman was indeed getting frustrated over the whole situation as she continued talking about being put between both the Church and the shinobi. Akaboshi could relate to a certain extent, considering he as well had to make a choice back when he was serving the Queensguard. The civil war, as many liked to call what happened that day, tore both the religious and the shinobi apart, perhaps that was the real beginning of the conflict between the two entities. "I understand how you feel, if I could give you one piece of advice it would be to do what feels right, regardless of whose side it would be, the Church or shinobi." Maybe it wasn't what Genevieve wanted to hear, but perhaps it's what she NEEDED to hear, at least in this situation. 

Once again she would shed her light on how they should proceed. Everything she said made sense, which is why the redhead agreed. "Yes, let's head back for now. If we're lucky we might just be in time to catch the thief." Akaboshi would follow Genevieve on their way back to the church where they hopefully could find the culprit. Upon their arrival, the Uzumaki suggested to wait in ambush in case someone showed up. A couple of minutes had passed when he could finally see someone approach. "We've got company" he whispered to Genevieve. 

(WC: 347, TWC: 2778)

As the individual approached and came closer, it started to become clear it was the man they were looking for. The description given to them by the shopkeeper checked out completely. Brown hair, fingerless gloves with a silver plate to the back of his hands and most importantly, a white book with a golden touch. Without a doubt, this was the thief they were looking for. After a whole day of walking around, gathering evidence, looking for clues, their hard work had finally paid off. Akaboshi wasn't the only one who had noticed his presence as Genevieve spoke up. "Indeed, looks like our guess was right after all." The red haized Uzumaki waited until the man came a couple of meters closer before he would act.

Once the culprit was only 2 meters away from him, Akaboshi carefully grabbed a rock which he would then throw over and behind the approaching individual which caused the man to look back, startled by the sound and noise of something hitting the ground. As soon as the individual's head was turned, Akaboshi jumped out and sprinted towards the man, not giving him any time to run or react. A simple kick to the knee, his hand firmly around his throat only to kick his supportive leg to sweep him off his feet and on his back to the ground. "Surprise, I bet you didn't expect us to be waiting for you here, did you? It's alright Genevieve, you can come out now." The Uzumaki would wait for the young lady to join him before identifying the culprit. 

(WC: 264, TWC: 3042)