Ryu and the Thug

C-rank mission:

Ryuzaki fell to the floor exhausted, his night had been spent training. The moon still shone near the horizon, but the sun had also appeared over the mountaintops, eclipsing the light that the moon borrowed from it and reflected towards the Earth. The winter still held the land, but, it had started to show signs of passing, any snow that had come to the land had mostly left, it still clung to the very tops of some of the taller mountains in the border ranges of the Lightning country. Ryu allowed himself to rest for a few minutes before pushing himself up to his feet and returning to his homestead, he stripped his clothes off and fell onto his bedroll, the covers still undisturbed beneath him.

Some hours pass, not nearly enough for a full life-restoring sleep to occur, Ryu awoke, his hand being licked by his canine companion. Ryu pushed himself wearily off the bed as stumbled into the bathroom, performing the morning deeds. When Ryu exited he was wrapped in a towel and still damp from the shower. Ryu moved over to his cupboards and a simple Chester draws and picked out a set of clothing to put on, he then moved back towards a simple set up of a table and two chairs that took up one corner of his bedroom. Ryu sat on one of the chairs and closed his eyes, he started to meditate and visual check his training from the night before, this allowed some time to pass for him to air dry. Ryu stood up and removed the towel from around his waist and threw it into a nearby hamper for clothing that was ready to be washed. He then pulled on a pair of plain blue boxers and opened a nearby draw and brought out 4 rolls of compression bandage. Ryu gripped the velcro fastening and detached it from its polar opposite, and allowed the bandage to unfurl, when it was at its maximum length he began to wind the bandage around his toes and his foot. He continued to wrap it around his ankle, calf, knee and fastened it tightly when the wrapping reached its full length, this was halfway up his thigh. Ryu repeated the process on his other foot and leg. Ryu then put his thumb through the loophole on the next set of bandages and wrapped it diagonally up his hand and then once over his knuckles, he then wrapped the knuckles twice more before wrapping it back down towards his wrist, wrapping the wrist three times also. After he had wrapped his wrist Ryu then wrapped between each finger and then back to the wrist, once this was completed he then wrapped any part of his hands that was uncovered before winding the bandage up his arm and secured the fastening when it reached its maximum length, halfway up his bicep. Ryu took a few steps forward and transitioned onto the balls of his feet, his hands extending out high in a tai boxing style. He began to bounce from side to side and performed a few different techniques, the shadowboxing allowing him to test the effectiveness of his movement and affirming the wraps had the correct tightness. Ryu then selected a pair of black trousers that were made of a flexible but thought material, he pulled them up over his appendages and wrappings, securing the button at his waist and zipping the crotch. He then selected a belt and wrapped it around his waist and through the periodically spaced belt holes on the trim of the trousers. The belt was there to secure his trousers regardless of what movements would occur, but it also had a looping bit of thread for his katana scabbard to be securely tied to. Ryu then pulled on a blue and black checkered shirt that had accents of white, he pulled it over each arm and then pulled it together across his chest and secured the buttons from bottom to top, he then folded the collar down and smoothed out the edges. Ryu then picked out a coat that sat over his shirt but did not fasten at the chest, a Kumgakure village symbol was emblazoned across the back of the black coat. Ryu then secured his headband around his forehead and put his necklace on that held his clan ring. Ryu then put his weapon pouch on his back right hip, it held half of his kunai and shuriken, as well as his paper bombs, smoke bombs, rations pills, and ninja wire. Ryu also secured a weapon holster around his left thigh which held the other half of his shuriken and kunai. Ryu then moved to the front of his house and entered the dojo, he removed the sword from its stand and secured it to its fastening on the belt he wore. Ryu then moved to the front porch of his house and wrapped his sandals around his feet and ankles, he was then ready to move towards the village and start his daily mission.

Ryu began his journey into the village. the sun was now reaching its zenith for the day. The air was still cold due to the January climate, but the land was covered in glorious sunshine. Ryu was accompanied by Taco for the first few miles of the journey until he wandered off, probably to search for food or to follow some other scent that had caught his nose.

WC: 914

Ryu approached the gates of Kumo and shared a few words of greeting with the gate guards, even though he entered almost daily he was always subjected to the entry procedure, he appreciated the dedication to the job. Ryu made his way through the village, fond memories flooded him due to his leap in social interaction over the recent festive period. he was actively trying to improve his social standing and ability to make connections with his fellow peers, it had been going well recently. Ryu had met and spent time with three fellow genin and also spent some time with the Kage of the village, all he hoped he had left a good impression on. Ryu stopped at one of the stalls he had visited recently and paid for some items that his new acquaintances and he had slipped the bill on, it had bothered him ever since the event, although the night devolved further after that point, he still had enough wherewithal to remember he owed them money. He also bought a snack from them after he had settled up the bill and proceeded towards the admin building to receive the day's mission scroll.

As Ryu made his way inside the admin building he finished his snack and disposed of the rubbish in the proper place. Ryu interacted with the women who sat behind the desk as he picked up his scroll and then promptly exited the admin building. When he was outside he made his way up on top of the building so he could have some peace as he read the mission scroll. Ryu was tasked with finding an armed thug and bringing him in to be questioned. Ryu headed towards a location that the intel from the scroll pointed to. Once he was there he spent some time talking to local residents and vendors, he had to pay a little money but eventually found the location of the thug's daily hangout. Ryu made his way to the location and posted up on a building that gave a good overview of the area. It was a small courtyard within a square of three-story buildings, Ryu was posted up on top of the rooftops looking down. The courtyard was in disrepair and had many different piles of trash and discarded furniture. After a short while Ryu saw the man he was after, he exited one of the buildings and walked across the courtyard, he was alone. Ryu stalked across the rooftops and followed the man for a few minutes before he got to a location where the buildings ended and he would have to get to ground level. 

Ryu activated the surface walking jutsu and started to stalk down the side of the building, as he approached the bottom third of the building the man turned to look at him, for a moment the two locked eyes. Then Ryu acted first, he made a small motion with his hand and a hidden mechanism in his arm brought a kunai from a hidden place and into his hand, once the kunai was in his hand he threw it at the man in front of him. Aiming for the knee joint where the man's lower leg and upper leg joined together, after all, he was trying to incapacitate him, but not kill. The man drew a weapon of his own, it was a small dagger, but he was skilled enough with it to deflected the incoming projectile, as he did he turned to run. Ryu now acted at full speed and released the surface walking technique and dropped to the floor, without a break in the option he started to sprint forward after the man. Ryu was faster, he began to close the distance quickly, the man glanced over his shoulder and realized he was not going to outrun Ryu, he turned and resolved to fight.

Ryu moved his hand to the hilt of his katana but then decided against it as he needed the man alive. Ryu started to weave handselas as the man closed in on him, no words were exchanged between the two. Ryu knew that he had to catch the target, and the man clearly knew that he was being hunted. When Ryu had completed the fourth handseal his shadow started to wobble and took on a darker, blacker, and more oil-like feature. Once this was complete it shot forward at his intended target, who was rushing towards him. This movement by his opponent aided Ryu in his technique and the gap quickly closed, due to a lack of knowledge and/or perception, the man did not see the incoming attack and ran straight into the shadow. As Ryu's outstretched shadow met that of the mans both joined together and took on the darker, blacker oil-like form. Ryu smiled at the man as he was connected to the jutsu, he then extended his left arm out, the man opposite him followed his movements. Then as Ryu took a step forward the man copied once again. Ryu started to jog lightly until the two were within distance of each other, Ryu performed the lariat on the man, and he too on Ryu, but Ryu was able to resist the damage due to his training, the man was not so lucky and was toppled over, he was instantly unconscious. Ryu used some of the man's clothing to fashion a pair of restraints and then hoisted him up onto his shoulder and made his way back to the admin office where he was to hand in the man for questioning. What happened to the man after was of no concern to Ryu, but he doubted the man would have a happy and free life from this moment on. Ryu collected his payment from the office and then exited the building. He then stopped at a local stand and took in some food and a bottle of sake, a drink he had found a liking to in his most recent social encounter, but he had also learned that it needed to be consumed in moderation. Afterward, Ryu began the journey back to his home, all in all, the mission had taken three hours to complete and the night had started to close in. Ryu was used to traveling across the country in this situation, as he got within a few miles of his home Taco rejoined Ryu, apparently, he had been gallivanting around all day while he was at work. When Ryu reached his home he prepared to start a night of training.

WC: 1094
TWC: 2008

Claiming 2000 ryo +45 Ap (+5 from C-rank mission + 40 trained), 1000 words moving Gigavolt from B > A, 1000 words moving Block from B > A.

Approved