I suppose that's as good a reason as any.

Daiko looks down at the scroll that he was holding and lets out a deep sigh. It's these goddamn monkeys again. Of course, Daiko would be sitting in the same spot that he usually was, waiting for Saya to appear and help him take out part two of this mission. Though he wasn't in complete reliance on Saya's help at this very moment, it certainly gave things a brighter outcome than when he had done things alone. Some of the tasks, though he had been told they wouldn't be, seemed somewhat tedious. He was definitely excited to see some sort of challenge. Whenever Saya would arrive, he would show her the scroll and have her read over it, and gauge her reaction. Afterward, they would set off in order to complete it. It wouldn't be the most terrible mission to complete, as they had gathered the general location of where they were to be headed on the last mission grouping that they had done together. This time around, whatever they would have to deal with would be easy. The mission seemed simple enough, and Daiko didn't think that whatever followed would be mentally traumatizing in the slightest.

In this situation, because of the nature of the mission and how exactly would be the correct way to move about the island, Daiko would be following behind Saya and listening to any instructions that she had had for him that weren't outright ridiculous. He trusted that she could potentially find a way for them to supervise and locate exactly what they were meant to find without them being detected too easily. That would be the name of the game this time around. If there were near as many monkeys as the intel had suggested, they would be in for one hell of a [redacted] slinging fest if they weren't careful. Animals were cool and all, but sentient monkeys? Daiko wasn't a fan. He would make sure that he stuck close to Saya, as well as listening to and applying any and all advice she might have on the matter. 

It wouldn't be too long before they approached the destination that they were headed in. Daiko was both excited, and nervous. Though he wouldn't have a hard time escaping or defending himself if it came down to it, he knew that he had to put on his best behavior and show off what he was capable of. He didn't ever want Saya to look at him as some sort of clinger-on that simply followed her and her posse of puppets for personal gain. Though she had given him much good advice and forced him to take a deeper look at himself, that didn't mean that he had done the same for her. Silently contemplating to himself how exactly he was to prove himself in the long run to his new friend, he continues to stay close. Assuming they would be arriving at their destination soon, Daiko stays mostly silent unless he is asked a question or told to do something.

[507]

Like clockwork the tiny terror, our favorite protagonist, Saya woke to the incessant prodding of pinochio. One would think that after months of this back and forth one of them would have gotten tired of it and given up. One would be wrong as usual. No, As always Pinocchio gently poked at the small konoichi, letting her know that it was well past time to actually wake up, and Saya responded by throwing progressively larger things until the size was dangerous enough to actually cause harm to something. At that point Ai stepped in, standing from her chair in the corner.

"Aya. Stop throwing things at Pinochio. We have to meet up with Daiko to do some more missions. Come come. Shower and do your hair. I've already readied your regular outfit, there are three cosplays in your bag just in case theres an opportunity to perform, and I made you a bowl of yogurt with mango. Time to get to work" At this, Saya shot up like a rocket. She rushed off to the bathroom, slid two feet, and then remembered that it wasn't morning. She'd taken a nap after doing a handful of missions earlier in the day. Quickly she got dressed again, kicking off the oversized t shirt with her face directly in the center, surrounded by the words "a star is born". In a moment they were off and heading towards Daiko. Without speaking he'd offered her the new mission. She unrolled it and read through. they had to find monkeys. It took her a moment of quiet contemplation before what she'd just read hit her. then the siren song started.

"MONKEYS?! WE GET TO LOOK FOR CUTE MONKEYS!!!!! BUT WE CANT APPROACH THEM?! HOW WILL I EVER GET TO HUG THEM ALL IF I CAN'T APPROACH" She huffed and puffed for several moments before finally calming down. Alright. We could do this. They headed out and Saya well... she did what saya does. Going person to person she started asking people if they'd seen a group of sentient monkeys. It will come as no surprise my dear listeners that most gave her a very odd look or dismissed her completely. It took nearly twenty minutes of stopping everyone she found before someone commented that they'd seen some banana peels just outside of the photography studio. That wasn't good.

"heck. I know that studio. Thats where my first model shots were taken. Quickly." Turning she scrambled up onto the shoulder of her puppet. No no. Not the very large coach puppet whose shoulder she could easily ride on. That would make too much sense. Instead she decided it would be the best plan to climb onto Pinocchio's shoulder. It took her several minutes of struggling to try and sit on the tiny shoulder before she realized it wouldn't work, and instead stood with one foot on each, pointing forward as they took off.

The information was good. Outside the building was a stack of discarded banana peels. Quietly Saya snuck... And you could tell because she dropped low in her stance, both hands outstretched with the palms forward at her side in the universal sneaking stance. It looked rediculous but somehow... worked?! Taking a peek inside she saw the photographer tied up just on the other side of the door.

"That... That guy up there Is the photographer. It looks like all the monkeys are on the upper floor. I think i can hear the shutter of the camera clicking. We should grab him and get him to safety while we have the chance. "

(598)

Daiko was filled with joy by the way that Saya had handled these situations. He watched in amusement as she was very upset about not being able to hug the monkeys. Though Daiko felt somewhat similarly, his sense of self-preservation told him that it might not be best to tangle with a species that has been rumored to rip people's faces off. Maybe he was thinking about a different type of primate. As the two approached what seemed to be a photography studio, Daiko blinked. Oh, he recognized this. He had done a small job for them in the past and actually was likely to go back in there to do more. Interesting that there would be bananas outside. Taking Saya's slow advance as a sign that he should also begin to be stealthy, he drops his form closer to the ground to almost a crouch and very slowly measures each pace of his foot. He does his absolute best to make sure that each step was quiet, not even disturbing the grains of sand that littered the ground. If there was anything that motivated him, it would be the fear of monkeys tarnishing his outfit with whatever it was that monkeys threw. Chocolate, maybe. 

Daiko then sees that there was a man lying in the ally, tied up. Yeah, this was definitely the place. Daiko shook his head silently, his hair making a drifting motion as he stopped his head. Getting close to the man, Daiko then put his finger to his lips as if to tell him to hush. Very slowly, he would then grab one part of the man's body, whether it be his feet or his hands, and allow Saya to grab the other. Though it was likely that he could lift this man, He wasn't entirely sure that he would be able to do it alone. Though it was likely an odd sight, the pair of ninja would take the man out into a safe area, and untie him. After this, they would help him to his feet and get everything that they needed to know about this situation. What was up with the monkys? Why were they up there? What was going on? Making sure that both he and his companion were out of earshot, Daiko decides to plot with Saya. 

Looking over at the puppet master, Daiko blinks. "So, Saya. What do you think we should do in this situation? It's obvious that they mean SOME harm, considering that they tied this man up. The main part of our mission is to find out what is up with these monkeys, and what their objective is. I'm sure that we could find this out pretty quick, but if we're spotted, I'm not sure if we're equipped to deal with a bunch of raging animals." Daiko scratched his head. Though he was pretty sure they would be able to hold their own, he didn't really want to test that theory. He hoped with all of his being that Saya didn't take that as a challenge. 

[510]
{1017}

"Hmm." She considered his question for a long time--well. She seemed to be considering his question for a long time. In true Saya fashion she'd determined the best course of action in an instant, but then her mind wandered. She imagined a room full of monkeys having an awesome photoshoot. That thought shifted to what they would be wearing. Would they have designer outfits? probably not, they were monkeys. Finally she spent a minute or so in the realization that she could totally make them designer outfits and thinking about what exactly they look like. It was not a very effective use of time.

"sorry. Uh. If i'm being honest I zoned out. SO heres the plan. We get a bunch of cloth right? and then I sew all the monkies cute little outfits to help with their photoshoot and they're that much more amazing and the pictures come out great." She was nodding the entire time she gave her idea to the group. Saya shook her head, placing a hand on her sister for support. Coach gave her a questioning look, clearly lost in what this had to do with anything they were supposed to be doing. Pinochio's face fell into his palm.

"Tria... We aren't trying to find ways to help the monkeys. The question was what are we going to do about this mission considering we're here and we have a job to do. Now. Do you want to explain the plan you had before you daydreamed and kept Daiko waiting for five minutes or should I?" The threat of losing out on her big plan reveal kicked the small girl into high gear. Her mind flashed through the last five minutes of her train of thought, pinpointing where it was derailed and bringing herself back on track. A calm focus flowed through her body as she began her explanation.

"Okay. so, the mission details have actually already been completed. Our goal was only to figure out where the monkeys were holed up and bring the information back without engaging. It was expressly noted not to fight the monkeys, and like who would yanno? They're cute genetically enhanced mon--"

"Tria. Focus."

"Right. Okay. So. Here's the plan. We need to sneak in real quiet like and get the Photographer out of here without actually letting the cute monkeys know that we're here. That way we follow the letter of what we're expected to do and we can still safe my friend. It's important that he be alive and his hands be usable. We're supposed to have a shoot next week and i've already picked out all my outfits. it would be tragic if he had to cancel because of being unalive or like. not having hands or something." Saya's explanation was....true... in the sense that it would be problematic, but as usual she just barely missed the mark on empathy.

"What she means is the loss of a villager is something we don't want to do, photo shoot or not."

(TWC 1101)

Daiko nodded his head. Saya was probably right. Though it wasn't in their mission to do anything in particular to the monkeys, it would still be important that they get the photographer out of trouble. Daiko wasn't too upset about this good deed, however, as he figured that they would have it under control. They were sneaking pretty well, and it seemed to be that the monkies were having enough fun entertaining themselves. They were busy taking whatever photos it was that monkeys made, and Daiko found it quite funny that Saya was so interested in making their little outfits. He thought to himself briefly how it might be a curious thing to make calendars that were made from monkies. Thinking back to the Mizukage, he tried to remember if he had seen any pin-up armadillos or not. Either way, Daiko's mind was clear and he was ready to get on with the mission. This time, he would make sure that they rescued the photographer in a reasonable fashion, and got him out before checking off the box for this mission.

Gently creeping around to the entrance that the photographer was most close to, he very quietly tested the knob of the door. It didn't make so much as a squeak. Slowly turning it all the way, he slowly began to slide the door open, before the attention of the photographer turned onto him. Putting his finger over his mouth, he noticed that the photographer was beginning to struggle slightly, and make some noise. His eyes widening, Daiko pulls away from the door and gives Saya the expression of 'oh shit, this dude is an idiot. Noticing that nobody was coming and that no obscene noises were coming from the building other than the monkies in their 'studio', Daiko slowly creeps in, quietly explaining to the man that they were here to help. Looking back at Saya for whatever assistance she could offer, they slowly begin to creep the man out of the building. 

Each step was a mini heart attack for Daiko, as he was worried that even the smallest creak in the boarded floor would alert the monkies upstairs. To most onlookers, this would obviously not be the case, considering how upstairs there was enough raucous to wake up any sleeping neighbors, much less cover the sounds of his quieted footsteps. As he approached the door, a loud creak gave way as he opened it from this angle. Why it had not done it the first time around, Daiko would never know. He quickly tosses the man outside in the dirt and then gets set on untying him. Man, this was a weird mission. 

Scrunching his face up slightly, Daiko reads the final mission scroll that he had picked up for Saya and himself. This one... This one was a bit worse than what he had seen before. Oh, man. Scratching his head, he looks up at Saya to see if she was alright to take this mission. "So... It looks like this one is information extraction... You sure you want to come along on this one?" Daiko blinked a few times, thinking back to what the Mizukage had told him. Daiko assumed that these were one of those missions that weren't 'simple fetch quests or errands'.

[548]
{1565}

[1500/1500] My Kingdom for a Banana

Saya watched in silence as daiko snuck painfully slowly up to the door, tested the lock, and then finally walked in. She'd let him continue on his path, turning to Ai to comment on the state of their mission in a hushed tone.

"So, uh. Our mission is basically done right?"

".....Yes....We just need to get the photographer out of there and then get him to safety and give the information. " She gave her sister an odd look as she tried to cut off Saya's mental train at the station. What was she thinking?

"You know Tria. This would go alot faster if you were...I dunno. In there with him intead of standing here watching? I feel like together you could cross the distance with the hostage much much faster and then you could go on to the final task you have before you get the rest of the day off." Saya considered that for a second. She'd had a though about how to help which she was just going to reveal to Ai when Pinochio chimed in, but that was lost for the moment as she considered Pinoch's sarcastic suggestion. z

"Pinochio. be nice. I think she was just explaining her master plan on how to help this situation go more smoothly but you interupted her train of thought and now she has to find it again." Ai was having none of this sarcastic bs. While she understood the reason why He was the way he was to her, she hoped that he'd have taken the hint when he saw how Saya reacted to herself instead of him. He was very bull headed.

"Yea Pinoch. I had a brilliant master plan that was as quick witted as it was intricate. it had all these small parts that would work together to flawlessly execute a rescue opperation and it woulda been awesome, but you just had to interupt huh?" As she spoke the chakra threads slid from her fingers and then vanished thanks to her supression. Quickly they crossed the distance, slipping under the door and speeding towards Daiko. In mere moments they'd found their intended target. Daiko was doing an excelent job of being extremely quiet. The cost of that silence was speed, and as he focused on not being caught he'd covered very little distance before their convorsation came to an abrupt end and Saya's new plan took hold. Five threads grasped hold of daiko, taking away his autonomy through puppetry prowess and he suddenly FLEW towards the captive. While that was normally an impressive feat that would have completely destroyed the mood of their mission there was one other thing her threads did. Daiko hovered a few inches from the ground as he grasped the photographer, and basically just kind of floated the distance at a speed of over eighty. he would be back with the group in no time to allow the photographer free.

"I guess we could do that tho?" With a shrug she headed away from the danger area and on towards the next mission which she had no clue where was.

(TWC 1619 first mission finished)

Daiko nodded at Saya, giving a slight grimace in her direction. It wasn't that Daiko was afraid of doing missions like this... He actually got a great sense of thrill when it came to doing things that actually involved the dirty work of a ninja. That wasn't the case in the slightest. What he was really worried about, was how Saya would react to how he might deal with the situation at hand. He thought highly of her, at least from what he had known about her, and didn't think that she would be the type to get her hands as dirty as he would be willing to for such table scraps. He didn't want her to have to see the darker side of him, and in turn, leave him as a friend. Daiko was used to people avoiding him or treating him badly when they found out the sickening truth about his body and his inner psyche, though it had been apparent, at least this far, that Saya wasn't willing to turn her back on the people she cared about unless they betrayed her or left her in the dirt to rot. Having no intentions whatsoever of doing either of these things, Daiko decided that he would do the mission with her, as planned.

"Come on, this way." Daiko didn't sound nearly enthused as he did from before, though he did continue at the same pace. Daiko wasn't the type to hang his head low in the face of adversity, though he still felt bad for what Saya might witness. As they traveled, so long as there weren't civilians around, Daiko would explain to her. "So, the mission this time around. We have to get information out of a prisoner of Kirigakure. Now, I know this sounds like it could be easy, but I'm worried that we might have to..." Daiko blinks once, not sure how to word this. Daiko had only seen Saya in combat once before and wasn't entirely sure how she'd take the way that he phrased his next sentences. "Basically, we have to beat up this prisoner until he tells us what we need to know. I'm not entirely sure what exactly we are to find out when we get to him, but, I'm sure it's going to be something important to the village..."

Daiko shakes his head, though he thought that he did a good job describing what it was the mission entailed. Though he was a bit vague on the 'torture' aspect of it, Daiko figured that they'd be able to manage without having to rip off any nails. As he continued to walk down the path to the prison in which they were supposed to do this mission, he stayed mostly silent, listening to see what Saya might be talking to him about or any concerns that she might have. He would do his best to answer these... Not because it was his job, but just because he cared about the well-being of his friend, and didn't know what type of things she was capable of yet.

[515]
{2080}

She stood in contemplation for several moments. Daiko continued his statements one by one, and she just took in what he was trying to say. Thankfully he ended with a very direct interpretation of intention. As he'd expected Saya was less then thrilled about that plan. She'd made it her ninja way to cause as little harm as possible. This was decidedly the opposite of that. Pinochio stepped forward immediately. This was not exactly in his controlers wheel house. As far as he was concerned this was what he and coach were made for. The poor girl was kindhearted and generally good natured, and had struggled with her teacher's willingness to take lives needlessly. So far he hadn't needed to actually take over to protect her but this day was bound to happen eventually. Just before he started to speak, Saya gave a nod and responded instead.

"I have a plan. I don't really like causing unneeded pain or death, but I have a very particular skill that should solve this problem quick fast and in a hurry." Resolve flowed through her features as she cluthed her left hand into a tight fist. This wasn't the first mission she'd been sent on where the parameters were against her temperament. She'd found an easy solution the first time, and it took her mere moments to find an equally effective solution here.... Hopefully. If she failed, she would need to lean on Daiko and pinochio to take care of things. Time seemed to slow for the girl as she planned everything she'd learned. Tiny wrists slid up over her shoulders. beneath the hemline at her wrist she pulled a small black barette. Her fingertips slid through her long blonde hair several times, pulling it together and working out any kinks before finally she pulled it backward. It took three wraps before it was tightly secured.

"Uh... wait. You aren't going to use THAT are you?" Pinochio once again moved forward to speak, but it was Ai who actually stepped in. There was a powerful tool Saya had learned well before she got into the village. At current it had a one hundred percent success rate, but the cost was colassal.

"Yep. You know exactly what i'm thinking sister. I've never failed tto get what i wanted using this technique. It's cruel, but far too effective not to employ." Her left hand formed several seals. A dark void appeared before her, the edges spiralling slowly towards the center of her storage displacement technique. From inside she pulled something rectangular and flat that was covered completely in leather wrappings. In moments it was strapped to Pinochio's back firmly. She tested the holdings, and then turned her attention back to daiko.

"Alright. Lead the way Daik. Isn't it interesting that one letter of your name cuts off a whole sylable? that makes it an effective nickname in speech but useless in written form. Anyway. I think I have a plan that will ensure we get whatever we might need. If that doesn't work you and pinoch beat him up?"

(TWC:2133 mission wc:514)

Daiko was hearing out Saya as she detailed him her opinion on the matter. It was an interesting point of view. Daiko thought it quite interesting that she was the type of person who didn't like violence, though it didn't surprise him. To be honest, he was pretty indifferent in the matter. Thinking back on his life, however, he couldn't really think of a time that he had actually killed anyone. It was a strange sensation. He didn't feel any draw toward or against it. All he really thought about was a deep feeling in his gut where he knew that he would do what he had to do in order to succeed. Everything other than that wasn't a huge hassle, because most of the time things just work themselves out. He wasn't afraid of doing anything harmful to this man, and that was the main reason that he had asked Saya if she was okay with the entire situation. Daiko thought this over to himself for a moment but decided that it might be best to let her handle it, no matter what that entailed. Getting lost in this argument in his mind, Daiko looks up to notice that they had finally made it to where they had to go. 

They had finally arrived. It was a somewhat gloomy place, the grey tiles outlining the building making the place look more dreary than the rest of what could be considered an 'island paradise'. Daiko's first thought was the set of metal doors that had been at the entrance, along with the mysterious person that would never be seen again probably in front of the door. This was the person whom Daiko showed the scroll and then allowed them to go inside. Walking slowly through the corridor, Daiko looks over at Saya. He blinks a couple of times, and then nods his head and leads the way to where the masked person had told them to go. It wasn't too long of a hike, though Daiko stopped suddenly when he arrived. The bars were just as hard of metal as had been on the front doors, if not more reinforced. What made this odd in particular is that there seemed to be... Bite marks? It had looked like whoever was in this cell had been trying to chew their way out. Peaking through the bars, he noticed that there was a looming figure, with their arms bound behind a chair with their head sagging to the ground. There was a guard with them that opened this particular cell, and the doors slowly creaked open before both Daiko and Saya were allowed to go inside, with a guard slightly shutting the door behind them. Approaching closer to this man, Daiko was silent at first and looked over to Saya. Blinking once, he wondered what they would end up doing to get this person to spill the beans. Daiko decided that if at first Saya's tactic didn't succeed, then he would try out something on his own. 

[505]
{2585}