Dumb & Dumber

There it was, those unmistakable cues that Uōkingushi loved to see in the face of anyone that would dare face him. The hunching of the shoulders, shrinking away, open mouth with widen eyes, trembling and ready to guard oneself — all undeniable traits of fear. The Hiyu smiled eerily as he passed by the faker with his blood drenched headband in hand, specking the very floors. Fear was a vital response for humans beings. If they couldn’t feel fear, then they couldn’t protect themselves from pending threats, or situations that they are not quite ready for. The body and mind are hard wired to treat threats as life-threatening. This triggering an extreme fight-flight-or-freeze response. 

The human fear is not solely dependent on instinctive response. They are also shaped by their society and cultures, which teaches them when to fear and how to fear. In some cases their fear is unnecessary and they avoid doing things that could be beneficial to them. Sometimes, facing danger can result in lingering responses that trigger them to act in a certain way, even when the risk is gone. The same can is true for the character that some create, or pretend to be. When they are presented with a fear triggering experience, they should be conscious of the unveiling that the fear brings out of them. In that moment, Uōkingushi did not see Toneri as a high and might knight of the village, no no no, he saw him as a frighten child still trying to grasp at the cloth tails of his creator for acknowledgement. 

Passing by the Hyuuga, the Hiyu would stop, turning to face his ear. His grim smile hovering near the nape of his neck as he was behind him. “Never start with the head. The victim gets all fuzzy. They can’t really feel the next...” His words were cut short as his former classmate began to speak. Turning to look in his direction to see that he was meeting him eye-to-eye. This was quite the surprise to the Hiyu. The kid was not known to be so talkative, yet here he was trying his hand at...a compliment? Uōkingushi moved to his direction as smoothly as he could make it appear, his expression quite stern as he gathered a closer look at the boy. Leaning over as he was merely 4 feet from him, now towering over him. Silence once again washed over the very room. A dense feeling of tension could be felt. “Kyeh heh heh heh! That’s a good one, kid! I had no clue that you had such a sense of humor.” Sharp laughter, as menacing as the time before escaped from him as he stood up right and wailed his senses away with laughs. Holding his sides as he formed minor tears at the edge of his eyes. But that laughter was soon shunned away and his express was more cringing and eerily than before. 

“Don’t talk like them. You’re not! Even if you want to be. To them, you’re just a freak, like me! They need you right now, need us! But when they don’t, they’ll cast you out, like a leper! You see, their morals, their code, it’s all a bad joke. Abandoned at the first sign of trouble.” He looked around at both the prestigious copies of Ayato Hyuuga himself. They true eyes and ears of the village. The true bar set for ideals and status quo.  “They’re only as good as the world allows them to be. Stick with me, and I’ll show you. When the chips are down, these...” Rolling his eyes while using his left hand to waft at that air as if he was trying to reel in a positive word for the circumstance. “these civilized people? They’ll eat each other. You see, I’m not a monster...” He moved towards one of the empty desks and sat on the edge of it with a nasty smile, using his hands to support his weight on it. He licked his lips and gave Ashborn a look. “I’m just ahead of the curve.” He ended with. 

Fun times this will be noted as for the Hiyu. Learning more and more, while leaving nuggets of information to seed and bloom better futures. He found the idea of a field trip exciting. Why not stretch the legs and get some fresh air. 

[WC: 728]
[Total WC: 2,750]

“That was a wonderful speech,” Natsuki said, placing a hand on her thin waist. “Toneri hits harder than we all believed.” Natsuki could feel Toneri’’s eyes on her, but she didn’t look over to her brother. “Being a shinobi has nothing to do with being strong or civilized. It has to do with the willingness to help others when they are in need. ”

Uokigunshi had stood up, sat upon the desk, and laughed again, half in pain and half in pleasure. From what came up next, something hinted to how Uoki might have—experience in interrogation tactics. Never start with the head since that makes the target feel fuzzy and numb the pain of the following strikes. This was an excellent point upon processing it. An Academy Student that knew more than he should. Another brick to the wall this man was playing Hoshi false. 

“We have received concerning reports about a house in the upper district. The owner allegedly is receiving quite a lot of outside money. That is curious, as the flow of funds from rogue elements within Hoshigakure is usually outwards. Look for the book with the seven-pointed star on its cover. From there, we might find who the mysterious benefactor is.”

Natsuki finished the debriefing, but Toneri was not ready to begin before giving his own battle of words. The feeling of inferiority from living in the shadow of their more robust older brother made him unwilling to take lip from anyone. “You are expected to come along, but no more nonsense from you. The same goes for panicking, insulting someone; you know how to do that. Fake it if you must. If you ever need to perform of a lifetime, here is your chance.” 

If everyone agreed, Natsuki would lead the way to the Hoshi streets. The city blessed by the stars was a labyrinth of wynds, crisscrossing alleys, narrow crookback streets, and markets. The city, built in stone, had all its streets cobbled, making them wet and slippery on a damp day. Most bridges are made of stone, although they found wooden bridges on their path. 

The village smelled flowery, with a setting out of a fairytale where fields of blue, red, and golden roses stretched as far as the human eye could see. Everyone wanted to have a taste of summer before it entirely fled. Evident from how the City Square was bursting with people.

When they were near the edge of the Square, the old, well-maintained mansion came into view, her movements came to a sudden halt, and her Byakugan activated. The Silver-haired Hyuuga's Byakugan scouted the area and caught movement both inside and outside of the warehouse. One man was guarding the front door and two more the back exit, which opened in the alleyway that Natsuki was watching down at right now. Three more inside. Half a dozen of them in total. She would give the play-by-play to the rest of the group.

"Let us see you work your magic here, trickster." Her brother's snort indicated that he didn’t think much of Uoki being much of help. ​“What are you going to do? Put on your black leotard and go climbing in the catwalk. This thing might as well be on the moon with how well it’s guarded day and night. Because guess what lunatics like you always try to break in.”

WC: 573
TWC: 2426

For better or worse it appeared Uōkingushi decided the moment had come for him to deliver a monologue worthy of an Oscar. Quite the performance indeed. Like a Joker throwing his cards on the table, a great actor had been lost in him. It seemed the man had missed his calling, belonging on a stage rather than the halls of the Academy. Or perhaps a cage would have been better for an animal like him. "Don't talk like them? This is my speaking voice". Stoic as ever Ashborn remained without emotion, not a single movement on his face save for when he needed to say something.

Instead of giving a round of applause after witnessing such an act Ash went back to the order of the day. Monsters could be dealt with at a later time, one way or the other. For now the figurative stage would be for Natsuki to take, debriefing the pair on the mission mentioned earlier. However, their little group was not ready to depart until the brother finished getting something off his chest. It didn't exactly take a rocket scientist to figure out who Toneri's words were aimed at but if someone had to give a hint, it started with an U and ended with however the hell it was supposed to be spelled. 

Assuming their little group of four were set this time the young Yamaguchi would follow the others, hands in his pockets as he nonchalantly made sure not to fall behind. Gray eyes scanned the area while they made their way to the Hoshi streets, wondering if this time around his namesake would be around as well. Kharjo and Ashborn, two of Haven's inhabitants possessing The Pact Eternal although the latter still had to find out the possibilities of his bloodline. Perhaps once the mission was over he could find some time and look for his clansman.

Suddenly Ash noticed the kunoichi coming to a halt, indicating they had arrived at the mansion described during the briefing earlier. Using her lilac eyes Natsuki scouted the area for movement before she informed the rest of the group about the positioning of the guards and their exact numbers. "Six. Not that many but more than enough" the Yamaguchi spoke under his breath only for the other three to hear. Whoever made the first move would lose was how the saying went, however this wasn't chess and in order to complete their task they kind of had to act first. 

Not waiting for any of the others Ashborn decided to act, making his way towards the front door. "This will only take a second". Having remembered the location of the other five guards the gray eyed Genin approached the one standing there on his own, like a predator stalking its prey. Keeping himself hidden and out of sight, apparently dealing with the less talented guards in the Land of Haven, waiting for the right moment to strike. Once he saw an opening Ashborn jumped the man, striking his pressure points resulting in a swift knock-out. He then dragged the unconscious body into the bushes before using one of the basic techniques in order to transform into the guard. 

(WC: 533, TWC: 2533)

“One after another, dismissive...dismissive...DISMISSIVE!” He thought to himself, hearing what the silver-haired Hyuuga had to say and what young Ashborn added. Underneath that psychotic and eerie smile of his he was brooding with disappointment, well masked.  He tend to derail from time-to-time and he noticed that Natsuki was picking up on that much. Not to there must always be a certain degree of observation for the stoic types. Because they lack emotions and social cues, did not mean they were not keen on what’s taken place around them—no matter how deep the fabrics flowed. 

Ah, the knightly faker needed to speak. He made his point clear. A moment of pause would hold the air... laughter escaped the Hiyu as he had a thought. “You know, I had this friend once, very smart girl. Brooding sort, almost like young Ashborn over there. She had this insight on people like you. The sort that needed the last word.” He leaned forward to give direct eye contact to the golden-hair Hyuuga. There was a moment in that stare that did not compliment the trickster, the joker. There was something deeper there, something out of character. “It feels like a win, it’s satisfying and fulfilling, but in truth it rarely is. You’re threaten, you’re mind is frail, it only knows attack-mode. Destructive conflict resolution is what she called it. In which you rather take on those with differing opinions from your own. Instead of barking at me, deal with your inferiority complex.” was....what he wanted to say. Instead he said - “You should smile more.” The sudden tension of seriously vanished as she smiled and laughed. Leaning back, clapping his hands. 

The rundown of the mission before them was given. Sounds simple enough. Fast forwarding to arriving to their destination, Natsuki gave them all the information regarding the area. “Oouu, six play-things. How fun.” He grinned as he noticed Ashborn moving towards the lone stationed guard on his own. Seems like the lad was feeling some buzz from his promotion to Genin, Uōkingushi couldn’t blame him for it. Nothing like a Genin-high. He snickers. Listening to the golden boy faker he would smiled eerily as she tilted his head. “Lunatic? Me?? You flatter me, faker. I’m about three screws loose to that prestigious mantle. That I assure you. I just enjoy having fun, even when the party is comprised of actors and nonbelievers. There’s always a story in the midst. I wonder...” He stares at the faker. “What your chapter reads?” He turn to Natsuki and gave her a wink with a wave. Walking over towards the home. 

He found his way in the alley that lead to the opening of the back which led to the two guards around back. As he drawn closer to the opening he knelt down to collect a single rock. He formed a set of seals at a blurring speed. The rock transformed into a bottle of liquor half drunk, dark. His steady motioned gradually turned into a staggering of missteps, stammering and hiccups. The Drunk stumbled through the opening into the view of the two guards outside. He fell to the ground, in his drunken stupor laughing and signing a random song. The two guards acknowledged him and immediately decided he was a fool too far over his drinking limit. They turned to one another and found a reflecting smile on both their faces. The thought of picking with and toying with the drunk was obvious. They moved towards him. Uōkingushi struggled to get to his feet. Looking over to them with a smile as if he was seeing blurs. 

“You lost, buddy?” One asked, sarcastically as he moved close enough to kick the man over, Uōkingushi played along and took a tumble. The second guard laughs. “Yes, all clear, just a drunk. We’re dealing with him now.” The second guard had a call come through his coms. Apparently there was a frequent communication check. That was good to know. The trickster struggled, yet managed to get to his feet. He swayed as he stood before the two guards. He hiccups as he offers them a drink of his brew. “Th-this will have you s-seeing things.” He smiled. One of the guards slapped the brew from his hand. As it fell to the ground it did not shatter, but it did defuse into a cloud of smoke that revealed a rock. The guards looked puzzled as they then turned to the intoxicated man. “What the hell?” Uōkingushi smiled uncomfortably as he regain his posture, observing their hands and positioning. “What? I told you this will have you seeing things.” Immediately one went to reach for their coms, but they moved too slow. Uōkingushi stepped forward and grabbed the right hand of the man with his left, applying pressure while pulling it away. His right foot thrusted at the left knee cap of the other guard before him to his right. This took the man’s leg from under him causing him to kneel. In which case the Hiyu pulled the guard he was holding closer to deliver a head-butt to the nose, stunning him and leaving him in pain. The guard stammered back a few feet. The joker would then turn his attention to the one kneeling and placed his hand on the head. “If you’re job is to guard this house, and you fail at it, what happens to you?” His knee crashed into the chin of the guard immediately knocking him unconscious. In a fluid motion he closed the distance between him and the other guard where he grabs the right wrist and the collar of his shirt, pull, tuck and lift and slam with all of his might knocking the air from his lungs. “Seriously, I really want to know, what happens?” He spins around the man to find himself mounted on the chest and his fist swiftly crashing into his face. Each pull back grew darker in blood. He smiled and laughed as he realized he wasn’t going to get the answer her wanted. Eventually he stopped. “Ah, damn...he passed out.” Shrugged his shoulders he stood, collected a pen from the shirt pocket of the guard he just took down. 

Not sure on where Ashborn stood with his part, but he tended to have some fun. Alone on his end was the perfect opportunity to let loose some of his inner characteristics. Though he knew to be mindful of those accursed eyes of the Hyuuga. He could feel them staring at him. He looked in the direction he knew he last saw them brother and sister and gave them a smile and wave, turning his head slightly to where he saw Toneri last and gave him a wave that turned into a middle finger, blood drenched. His mouth moved to say “Having fun yet?” He chuckled. If someone was to be passing by they would think the man was crazy for just waving at the house and giving it the finger. The Hiyu moved the bodies out of clear eye view. He would then motion towards the back door where he would dismantle the pen he took, using it to pick the lock of the back door. Once open he would pause.... Having a “Ah-hah” moment he would prance back over to one of the unconscious guards and take their coms. Placing it on his head. 

Returning to the back door he would enter. His eyes immediately flickered from left, right, up, down, back and front. Covering all angles. Locating cameras from potential blind spots. “Now, let’s see...If I was a breaker box where would I be?” He said under his breath, mute to the coms. He would move with haste and stealth. Avoiding the cameras as he did. Finding his way to the cellar of the home where he came into contact with the fuse box. He would cheese to himself. Unmuting the coms as he did. “I have found so much beauty in dark...” He started. His unfamiliar voice clearly caused a commotion on the coms as they responded. “Who is this? How did you get frequency?” His laughter silenced them as it was horrid, unsettling. “...as I have found a lot of horrors in the light.” He then opened and flipped the switch shutting off the power to the entire house. 

He could hear them panic on the other end and he relished in their chaos of confusion. It wasn’t long before they started moving about. He moved to return from the cellar as one of the guards moved to open the front door. There that guard would find the imitation guard known as Ashborn. 

The other two would storm the floors as they made their way towards the breaker box, the cellar. Flashing lights from a hand held stick they came to a frightening halt. They found themselves faced with a towering man at the threshold of the cellar. Uōkingushi gazed at them while removing the headset from his head. “Spooky, right?” He darts towards them both. They did not falter, they charged back and moved to strike at him. Uōki performed a series of blocks and counters to meet their aggression in kind. There wasn’t much he could do without blowing his act, so he deliberately took a few hits from the two guards as if he was caught off guard as they struck. But when he found himself taking a good number of hits he would turn the table and deliver a few devastating blows of his own to dislocate shoulder and elbows. Swift strikes to the pressure points to leave them feeling numb and pain all at once. One of the guards he took out with just a few hits, while the other lasted much longer. In turn that one he took his time with....screaming could be heard coming from the cellar as that guard was dragged downstairs. If the Hyuuga were still watching they would see exactly what monstrous things Uōkingushi was going to that poor sole. Purposely making it look sloppy and more painful than it had to be for his audience, but the point would be made nonetheless. It was information that he was after, information that he obtained. After which he would leave the guard laying helplessly in the ground in darkness before flipping the breaker once again. Lights have been restored. The guard, still saw nothing but darkness. His eyes gruesomely removed by the Hiyu and rolled at his side. 

He returned upstairs and moved towards the front door. Hopefully Ashborn had dealt with that guard without a problem. The Hiyu would also hope that the other two of their team were with young Ashborn by now. “Top floor, down the hall, third room on the left. Mirror has a fool wall behind it. What we’re looking for is behind it. Mind fetching that boon, Young Ashborn? It would look better with your name on the record as the one that collected it.” He stepped aside for his peer. Turning to face the Hyuuga. “Don’t you love it when a plan comes together...well this one sort of crumbled, but no one died. So that’s good, right? Kyeh heh heh heh” 

[WC: 1,868]
[Total WC: 4,618]

Mission Claims.
20,000 Ryo
100 AP

Character claims. 
92 AP (Max stat Bonus)
Will make Jutsu claims later

Approved

The situation demanded that the newly promoted Genin take action. ‘’ The emo edgelord was the first to move. Almost an exclusive skill of his was to go unnoticed. Ashborn Yamaguchi could stay in a group of people without anyone noticing and disappear from it just as quickly. "Ashborn the Phantom." Natsuki believed Shina would love that one if she didn’t know about him already. “Would a phantom go unnoticed by a woman who notices everything?” Natsuki mulled about it in her private thoughts as she watched closely the operation unfold.

Uokingushi, for once, stopped tripping his Hiyu balls and went in the opposite direction. Why did Natsu feel he was no newbie in this business. The business of sneaking into houses and stealing shit. He played the part of a drunken individual to take care of the first couple of guards in the back alley. Swift enough to finish them before they reached for the intercom with rough taijutsu strikes. His technique was not the most refined and in an entirely different technical stratosphere than the Hyuuga Gentle Fist. However, it got the job done for Uoki, at least against that level of opponent.

The next part was the trickier. Natsuki watched as he rigged the circuit board to switch off the lights in the building. The guards still found their way there through small light rods and had him surrounded. That did not look good. Natsuki was ready to abandon her position and launch an attack until a hand touched her at the shoulder. Her brother’s hand.

“Wait.” He said with his Byakugan still locked in at the scene. And Natsuki did. Uoki began to shapeshift into a more prominent man with a fiery mane and a pair of headphones. A transformation technique? It appeared to be that. The same he had used earlier to transform into Toneri and the rock into a bottle to fool the guards in the back alley earlier. But there was no puff of smoke, no handseals executed, and for a moment, it seemed that the change in appearance also altered his chakra signature.

The battle itself was an ugly thing. Uoki took several blows but delivered powerfully for every one he took. The curses of the guards could be faintly heard by Natsuki and Toneri on the outside now. But when the fight was over, the entire world went silent as a church.

Except for Uoki’s maniacal laughter as he stepped away from the building, with the prized book in his hand, the book that held the answers. Toneri was right; it would be impossible for the joker to sneak past everyone and retrieve the package after all. So Uoki ran through every guard there instead.

"Job well done, asshole, so much for being discreet," Toneri said to the Hiyu when everyone was there and took the book. "With that extreme performance, they will definitely believe it was another bandit group that robbed them. They would never suspect it was the world's oldest genin and his sidekick. So mission accomplished, I guess. You should expect to hear from us soon. Both of you are now dismissed."


WC: 524
TWC: 3000
Mission Completion WC: 10,111/10,000

Mission claims for Toneri and Natsu
100 AP
20,000 ryo
Bonus ryo from rank 250 x 4 = 1000 ryo

WC claims:
Natsu: 1500/1500 to Beloved Presence
Toneri: 1500/1500 to Beloved Presence

Approved

Ashborn, now transformed into one of the guards he effortlessly took out a mere seconds ago, stood at the front door where he'd wait and make sure nothing would happen in case reinforcements decided to show up. His use of the transformation technique was exactly how he had explained it during his Genin Exam, to fool and distract people, to infiltrate behind enemy lines, concealing your true identity or impersonating someone else. Uōkingushi wasn't the only one capable of playing a different part. Perhaps the two of them had more in common than he originally thought. However, the Joker was a beast while the Yamaguchi himself could be considered an artist. After all, the Dark Arts were still an art. 

While he stood there waiting, his guard up at all times, Ashborn wondered how his companion was handling his part of the job. Breaking in, stealing valuable items and whatnot, if there was ever a job that would fit Uōkingushi like a glove it had to be this. Brother and sister were out of sight, using their lilac eyes to follow each and every single one of the events taking place and hopefully ready to assist when necessary. Regardless of how Toneri felt about the faceless man, surely the Hyuuga wouldn't hesitate to jump in would the need arise for him to do so. Not that Ash could blame the knight in shining armor in case he'd refuse, while bound to Natsuki by blood the only one between him and Uōki was of the bad kind.

After some time had passed and minutes seemed to have turned into hours the young Yamaguchi suddenly heard one of the voices that beloned to his partner in crime. Carefully and attentively listening to the information shared with and given to him, the young shinobi knew there was still another part to play. Entering the door he successfully guarded up til now Ash remembered the instructions he received moments ago. "Top floor, down the hall, third room on the left", repeating the words in his mind the Hoshigakure Genin made his way to the location.

Arriving at his destination and entering the room he immediately recognized the mirror described by his companion. "Gotcha", removing the mirror to reveal what appeared to be a fake wall it didn't take the teenager all that long to retrieve what they came for. "Jackpot". Grabbing the valuable from behind the wall the Yamaguchi then made his return to meet up with the group again. As he did he noticed the others had gathered around, the Joker rubbing some more of Toneri's buttons while the Hyuuga Knight tried his best to make his compliments sound genuine. After the book had been safely delivered it appeared time had arrived for both Genin to take their leave, dismissed and preparing themselves in case they were needed once more. 
  
(Exit)

(TWC: 3010)
Claims:
- 2500/2500 Unburial Rite (C -> B -> A)
- 500/500 learning and mastering Genjutsu Release
- 30 stats
- Mission rewards (20000 + 800 Genin bonus = 20800 ryo, 100 AP)

Approved