I care not for your gods

Mission Details:

"These gods are so weak. None with even a sword or axe in hand." Taichi thought to himself as he passed along the many temples that were practically littered throughout this part of the village. He knew that there were multiple gods, but he didn't know that there were so many gods in different parts of the world. He was still learning all that there was to know about the gods that he had seen so many times in his visions, but he knew that these were not them. They all seemed to be pretty and graceful. Hardly the stuff of what he had seen in his visions, the visions of Odin and Thor. 

As he continued to examine the statues that depicted the gods of the area, he was noticing that there was a group of priests gathered, all seeming to be concerned about something. He leaned over a statue so he could listen in on what it was that the priests were saying, wanting to see if he was going to be able to gather any intel on the situation before he was to decide whether or not to intervene. "Where are they? What is happening? Why aren't the guards doing the one thing they are supposed to do and guarding our relics?!" The first priest cried out quietly, as if he was trying to keep his panic a low profile and not give rise to any panic within the common folk within the village.

The two priests continued for a few moments, both talking of their concerns to one another, trying to understand why it was that their relics continued to go missing without a trace and why it was that the guards continued to seem to have no idea as to where they were continuing to run off to. The north man continued to listen to the two complain and try to understand where their precious trinkets were, so Taichi decided that it was his place to walk up to them and ask them just what it was that was troubling them so. "Hello. I couldn't help but notice that you are all bothered by something. What exactly is upsetting you all so much?" 

The two priests gave him the same look that he had recevied so many times since entering the village, he got the dirty look that one would give a common criminal. "We are concerned with nothing that concerns you, what is it you are here for anyway?" Taichi was not surprised by the cold greeting, he was used to those in his position, being a criminal and an outsider. "I am only here to make money, there is nothing I look to gain from your misfortune, only the ability to work and see if I can't find myself enough money to get me a room at the inn tonight." 

The priests looked at him with a slightly less harsh glare, which was enough for Taichi to listen as carefully as he could. The priests explained the situation, how they were having issues with theft within their temples and how the guards always seem to have no idea that it is happening. This was enough for Taichi to immediately expect that the guards were in on it to some degree. This may be a large village, but being how important their gods were to the people of this village, it was certainly not something that any common thief would be able to pull off without some influence in the police force. As they continued to explain the situation to Taichi, he continued to take mental notes of the situation and understand that they were either dealing with someone that was a master thief, or this was an inside job within the guards, the only question was how was he going to prove it. 

"Thank you for explaining what it is that is going on. I will look into it and I will see what I can find, should I be able to find out who the thief is, I will try and return to you all of the trinkets that have been stolen from you guys." The priests immediately were taken aback and glared at the North man once again, "They are not trinkets I will have you know. But relics of our gods, our powerful and mighty gods." With a snicker and a smirk Taichi nodded and changed his wording. "Alright, alright. I will get back those relics of yours. Of your oh so mighty gods." The priests walked away shaking their heads.

Taichi was unsure how he was going to get into the police force so he could try and figure out just where the break in their system was, should there have been one. But he knew that he was going to have to start his investigation that night, for that seemed to be the common thread within the priests stories were the their relics were being taken in the night and somehow eluding the guards. He decided that he was going to scope out the remaining area for any easy ways a thief may be able to sneak into the temples without being noticed until nightfall.

The more he snooped around, the less he was keen on the idea that it was some lowly criminal getting lucky. The amount of openings within the corridor were slim and the likelihood of someone being able to slip through the guards without being noticed were even less so. Taichi used his Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan to scour the place of anything that the thief may have been using to sneak through, any types of seals that may have been used, but he noticed nothing. "This has to be an inside job. Someone pocketing the trinkets on their own shift, then selling them when they get off of their shift. Would make sense as to why the relics haven't been noticed. Now the only problem is going to be trying to prove this is what's going on." Taichi thought to himself as he waited for nightfall, soon he would have his answer.

WC: 1018

This was now personal.

The ornate vase for the shrine of the goddess of growth and plants was something that Tsuki had worked with for years. She personally arranged the flowers for the shrine. And as of two days ago, it was swiped as well, and the flowers it contains were strewn on the ground. To say Arashi was pissed was the understatement of the century. Less than a week back in the village, and he was already dealing with an issue. He stayed in the Hogokage's office just long enough to hear that there was in fact a mission called, before he took off; not bothering to even formally accept it.

The jounin was currently racing from rooftop to rooftop, with 4 of his cloud clones out searching different areas. Technically water clones, but his Cloud fusion meant they were formed from suspended water, in other words a cloud. Clad in his flak jacket, family scarf, and a belt with water canteens, Arashi was on one side of the village; the latest area with thefts. As he neared the latest religious spots, he dispersed himself into the air, a cloud moving across the top of the buildings.

There...

One of the covered ornate shrines... practically its own building. Those were rare, but they did exist. That was the latest area. With his clones not finding anything, Arashi sailed into the building, reforming as he looked around. Fallen flowers existed here too, and the jounin clenched his fist at the sight. Thats when he saw him; someone he did not recognize. That wasn't surprising since he returned, but what was surprising... and concerning, was the lack of a headband. Lack of any village seal at all. Did the criminal return to the scene of the crime? Or was this so new that he just caught the guy. Twitching his wrist, a kunai spun out of his sleeve before he caught it, holding it in a defensive position.

"You... turn around slowly. Who are you?"

(WC: 331)

Taichi was scanning each corridor, making sure to note whatever guards were in the area that night as the shift change was beginning to take place. Soon the temples would be cleared out by the worshippers now that nightfall was coming and the people would soon head to their houses, the perfect time for the theft to take place. He could see with his enhanced eyesight the figures jumping from wall to wall, a typical means of surveillance for ninjas, always with the theatrics to be sure. Taichi made a mental note of their presence, wondering if they were the ones that may be up to the thievery that had been taking place. 


After scoping the area for what seemed like hours, he finally heard footsteps that seemed to be a little lighter than the rest, a couple sets to be exact. He remembered the figures on the rooftops and he figured that this may belong to the very same figures. His time in the wild certainly did do him well when it came to hunting. Just so happens that hunting people isn't so different than other animals. He continued to go from corridor to corridor, listening as the footsteps continued to stay the same volume, "Keep his distance, eh? He either thinks he's on to me, or I think I'm on to him." Taichi thought to himself when finally the footsteps got closer and closer. 

Arashi almost reacted when he saw the kunai, but held his ground. He was not going to be the one to strike. He was a defender. Instead the man took the time to look over who this person was. Definitely a rogue ninja, that much was clear. He glanced and saw the eyes. Those red eyes. One of the most famous eyes in the world.

Uchiha

Arashi averted his eyes from direct contact, but at the same time he activated his own blood ability. His eyes became bluer, and tiny bolts of lightning danced within the iris. This ninja before him wasn't moving or attacking, and in fact accused him of being the one. Arashi held his grip tighter. "Don't make me laugh. Unlike you I am a shinobi of this village; and this village is my pride. I helped build the place. You are accusing the absolute wrong person. Nice try." he said, as the guy gave the second option.

He relaxed a little, but only a little, at the offer. Why exactly was this visitor taking it upon himself to do a Hoshi mission? "Combine... forces?" he repeated, a bit taken aback. He frowned a bit. "This is an official mission from the village... how did you hear about it? Or better yet... who are you?" he said, crooking his head.

(WC:222)

"Doesn't seem the type to be robbing, that is true. I don't really have a reason not to believe him, but he has every reason not to believe me." Taichi understood that even though he was the one that was trying to help the priests, there was nothing that made it obvious to others of that. Taichi loosened up his attack stance and he put away the kunai. "You're right, I am nothing more than an outsider, but I promise you what I am doing, is not thieving. I am trying to find the prick who is taking the trinkets, not the one taking them." He put the kunai away completely and put down his hands as a sign of good faith. He saw that the individuals were clones of each other, so he was sure there was only one individual he was dealing with, otherwise why have the clones?


Taichi then thought on something the individual had said about it being an official mission, and it brought a smile to his face. "I didn't receive this mission from the boards, just through some good old fashion beat work. I came through here and just heard the priests talking, they seemed to be pretty distraught over their trinkets getting lifted, so I decided to see what I could do to help. I may be an outsider, but I am no enemy of yours." Taichi said as earnestly as he could, desperately trying to leave the life of a total criminal behind him.

"I have reason to believe that the individual taking these trinkets is a member of the guard. I have scoped this area out for hours, and I don't see a single break in the corridor that would be used to get in and get out without even being noticed at least once by the cavalcade of guards in this area. I think someone is pocketing these trinkets on their shift for guard duty and taking them home. That is why it seems that only the small things have been going missing, nothing large, at least not yet." Taichi would point towards the last site to be lifted from, "from what the priests told me, that is where they stole a very ornamental vase. Ask me I have no idea why someone is lifting from the temples, seems like a waste of time. But then again I haven't a clue what these things are worth." 

WC: 406

Arashi relaxed completely as the kunai was put away, and did so as well. He hadn't even noticed that his clones had joined him as well, and as he saw them, he released the jutsu. The clones turned pale and then white, until they looked like clouds in the shape of a body. Then they lost their form and appeared to be sucked into Arashi, or at least behind his back. Since this shinobi opted to disarm himself to give the jounin a complete opening, Arashi felt that he should be able to trust him... at least for the moment.

"Technically I probably shouldn't be taking this mission to begin with, but thats because this has become personal." he said, gesturing at the floor where the vase used to be. There, discarded flowers laid in the ground already wilting. "Someone very close to me grows the flowers here and uses them to arrange bouquets at the different shrines. I can't stand seeing her miserable because her hard work is being ruined." he stated. Arashi walked over to the location where the vase was taken to look around. Listening to the other shinobi, the jounin took the information he was being provided.

"There was a time when these shrines were visited often. Some still are, but the big temples like this one are already out of use. The religion of the kingdom gave way to the religion of the shinobi. Now these places have become tourist traps." he said, standing up and looking around at the halls. There was movement, but that was to be expected. Between the priests and the guards, this place was almost always occupied. Almost.

"With the Chuunin exams coming up, the entire village is getting ready to welcome the rest of the shinobi world. Including these places. Even if the religion itself has fallen by the wayside, these buildings represent part of the uniqueness of the village. That means the wealthy and the curious. Now imagine if they could take a piece home with them?" he said, turning to the other shinobi.

"And inside job makes sense. I'd hate to accuse our own priests and guards, but the directness of the thefts cannot be ignored." Arashi looked up at the other walls and ceiling, looking for anything, any sign that maybe this is an outside job. But he was coming up empty.

"Two are better than one. Let's stop this theft together. I'm Arashi Tekiatsu. What are your thoughts about how to stop this?"

The Village nin seemed to relax when he saw Taichi put his blade away, which was a welcome sight to the platinum haired Viking. When the village nin asked Taichi what he thought, he was quick to explain what he thought of the situation and how to stop the thief. "What I think is that one of us needs to trail the different guard details without them knowing. This will be the only way that we will be able to get the guard without having to open up a long and drawn out investigation that won't go anywhere." 

Taichi didn't know much about this village, but he did know that most villages ran very similar when it came to their police. Should a complaint be filed, then there would be an internal investigation where the police would investigate itself and would ultimately come up with no solution and they would find nothing due to a bunch of crap that would happen behind the scenes. So Taichi knew that catching them in the act was going to be the best course of action of actually having someone face justice for their crimes. 

"While the first person trails the guard details, the second needs to scan the area from up high, trying to keep their eyes on each of the temples that are the easiest to steal from, this will cover the possibility that the thief isn't a guard, but is truly just that good. If you agree, then I think you should be the one to use your clones to keep an eye on all of the temples, try to be unseen. I have a special way of following folks without them being able to notice me, but unfortunately I cannot be in multiple places at once. So I will follow each of the guard details as they do their sweeps through the temples, ensuring that if one of them snatches anything in the temples, I will be able to find out who it is." 

Taichi would think over his plan once more in his mind, just to ensure he hadn't missed any details. He then agreed with his own plan after putting it through some extra scrutiny, but he was unsure if the village nin would agree. So he looked to the village nin and he asked him plainly, "Do you agree or disagree with the plan? If you agree then we can commence the plan now and find exactly what is going on within the temples." If he did not agree, then he would listen to whatever it was that the village nin would have to say.

If the plan was agreed upon, then Taichi would walk away from the village nin, and ensure that he wasn't followed. He would then slip into the ground below them using the Mayfly technique and he would begin hiding within the Earth below, being able to see all those that would attached to Earth above him. He would go from guard detail to guard detail, being sure he would be checking on each member of the detail, seeing if any of them were the ones that was pocketing any of the trinkets that were taken from the temples. 

He would continue this until he either found the thief himself, or if he was able to see the village nin in pursuit of the thief instead.

The shinobi listed to the other, thinking things in his head. To be honest, the plan sounded good. If he had a way to hide and follow, Arashi certainly had a way to hide from above. The jounin ended up smirking, nodding his head. "Hiding from above is one of my specialities." he said, looking around one last time and going back to the other ninja.

"There are about 4 temple-like shrines that haven't been hit. Those are most likely to be the targets. They are a bit spread out, but not across the village far. I like that plan. If I see our thief at one of the other places, I'll let you know. Otherwise.... you won't see me either. Good luck." he said, stepping back. After doing the clone seals, the water from his belt erupted out into billowing clouds, taking a humanoid form and then solidifying to look like clones of himself. He turned to each of them and nodded, leaving the three clones he create to leave the temple and head to the other shrines.

He turned back to the room to see that his friend had already left, meaning that it was time for him to get into action. He closed his eyes and brough a half dragon to his face. "Disperse!" he whispered, as he opened his eyes and the same blue eyes with lightning iris showed... only for a moment as he himself turned white and cloudlike, before thinning himself out enough to vanish from view. Using the properties of the cloud, Arashi moved to the ceiling, watching the main area of the temple below.

Outside, all of his clones reached their targets, and each on stood on the roof for a moment before turning into clouds and drifting inside from the roof to the ceiling... each one watching.

Now it was time to see what would happen first.

(WC: 315)

As Taichi watched from below the surface of the Earth, he would notice several different parties walk through the various shrines that were riddled within the village. He continued to observe them, just waiting for one of them go for the trinkets that surrounded the shrines. He would look at each of them, constantly. But yet he saw nothing, he was sure that he would not miss such a sleight of hand, but that was when he saw something, interesting. Taichi noticed as there was an individual set of guards had the exact same foot size. Not an odd thing in and of itself, but strange that someone would have the same size individuals on one guard detail, so this warranted another, closer look.

Taichi would rise from the Earth below, and he would stay hidden as he activated his Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan, so he would be able to quickly analyze the individuals to see if there was something off about them. As he activated his enhanced vision, he would notice from a far distance that they were not individuals, but clones of only one. He would then shift his gaze to the other details, the ones that were stalking the rooftops on the far end of the temple district. "Strange." It was the same group of people. Taichi was sure that they were not having one individual watching all of the shrines, but yet that is exactly what was happening. "I gotta ask that village nin just who this guy is, and if this village really relies on one sole ninja to protect all of their shrines and the trinkets that lie within." Taichi thought to himself as he began to scan the area for the village nin. Should he be able to see one of the clones or the original, he would sink back into the ground and rise from under the ground beneath him and begin to find more of the information that he was requiring for the capturing of this thief.

On the ceiling of the remaining shrines, an eye coalesced and looked around the floor of the building. So far there was nothing.. except for the village shrine guards. He knew the shrines hadn't asked for shinobi support, and figured it was probably something of pride... the last vestige of the old village without the 'taint' of ninja. Or maybe not....

Arashi's eye found one individual walking around, dressed as a Hoshi shinobi. Complete with a white mask. One ninja was weird enough, but when he saw the same ninja at another shrine at the same time, that caught his attention. Then another. This ninja got some looks of confusion from a couple of guards, but others seemed to accept that the village was going to safeguard their trinkets. Except... that wasn't the mission. They mission he, and that wandering nin, were taking were for a stake out role. A thief would run at seeing a ninja, and make capturing the thief harder. No.. no it was clear that this was not one of the ones assigned.

Finally, he saw it. The ninja and one of the guards talking. They were in a secluded part of one of the temples, and they were talking. No doubt that other shinobi with Arashi would have noticed. The cloud man drifted over to where they were, and listened in as best he could.

"Everything seems quiet. Those two shinobi were here earlier. You sure you can do this?"

"What, the cloud guy? He's only recently returned... he's so out of the loop that he'll just have to accept what we tell him. And the other one I've never heard of before. Best to our advantage, we have a scapegoat if needed."

"Alright... I've already done some leg work at the Jewel of Haven. Shift change there will be in a few minutes. Are you already there?"

"Of course... I'm also at the last four down here too. If anyone is watching, they'll be focused on these."

"And are they watching?"

"By now, probably... but I would be able to sense then if they were trying to hide near me." the shinobi said, looking around to do a check. Arashi let the eye vanish as the shinobi looked up, almost directly at him, and then looked back down. "No one is around who can hear us."

Well now.. either Arashi and the other visitor were very talented in suppressing their own chakra... or this guy was less experienced than he portrayed himself to be. Wait.. something he said suddenly hit him. Jewel of Haven. That wasn't an object, it was a location. This was all a ruse! After the two had continued on, Arashi reformed and dropped to the ground. Figuring the other one was nearby, he whispered.

"Its a decoy. The Jewel of Haven is the large religious building to our north east. These places aren't the target, they are going after the big one!" he said, just as one of his clones witness the ninja at another shrine pick up a vase and toss the flowers out. After he layed a scroll on the ground, and put the vase there, he did a sealing jutsu and locked the object into the scroll. Arashi was ready to pounce... but this was part of the ruse. Distract the ninja here, and make the main theft there.

Arashi made the decision there to push the number of cloud-like water clones a few more, and he and a clone vanished as they ran out of the building. There was a series of trinkets that could go missing without a large notice. A shrine of gems at the back of the temple. A glittering mass of a hundred or so precious stones pieced together in the shape of Haven. As he dropped down at the front of the large place, he let his clones attempt to catch the thief's clones. Especially after the flowers. Arashi pulled out his kunai, adjusted his scarf, and walked in to confront the Hoshi shinobi. Hopefully the other one understood what he was saying....

Also, Arashi really needed to get the guy's name. Thinking of "the other one" just sounded mean.

(WC: 689)