A Rivalry Gone Too Far (Vaenar)

Mission Details:

The young wolf would find himself walking down the streets of the village, a packet of paperwork in his hands. He would rifle through the papers, getting the basic idea of what it was he was tasked with. His escort wasn't far behind, but Loghain had seemingly built up a bit of a good rapport with the village. The wolf was getting more mission assignments, and most were where he was around several civilians at once. There have been no recent outbursts of rage or unwanted transformations. It wouldn't be long before he would find himself having his exile revoked and being allowed to walk down the village streets once more a free man. 

This particular task was one that required subtlety and finesse. His particular... we will call them strengths... would not likely come into play for this assignment. The bath house had recently been delivered a rather unsettling notice. Someone had supposedly planted paper bombs in the bath house and are trying to extort the owners of the establishment for money. And it was a rival bath house that made these claims. Obviously these two businesses had some sort of bad blood, well beyond simple money. Why else would someone threaten to not only destroy the other business, but likely kill dozens of innocents in the process. The thought of such made the wolfs lip curl into a snarl.

Despite all of his best efforts to hold back his rage and violent impulses, there was part of him wanted to head straight for this rival establishment, kick down the door, lift the owner by the throat and squeeze until the life left him. People like that made Loghain want nothing more than... No, he had to keep himself from following that train of thought. He couldn't walk that dark, lonely path. It wouldn't bring salvation, only pain and suffering. 

The other part of him was calm and thought of it all rationally. If something were to happen to the other owner, there very well could be a contingency to destroy the establishment anyhow. Then everyone would still be dead and all he would have done was bloody his hands for nothing. No, they would have to located these bombs and remove them so that the innocents don't suffer because of the actions of the petty few. 

There was supposed to be at least one other assigned to this task, the knight known as Vaenar. Their last encounter was a fairly pleasant one, something that the wolf would hope to find to be the case this time as well. The wolf would lean against a wall, a mere stones throw from the bath house. It stood roughly 10 meters away, the people going in and out like nothing was wrong. These people didn't know the danger they were in, and how could they? The shinobi leadership wouldn't let this information get out. He might not have been the most well versed in the shinobi arts, but even he knew that paper bombs required a chakra source to detonate. That meant that whoever planted these was very likely shinobi trained. The civilians already held a firm and uneasy stance regarding how they felt about the shinobi, and finding out that a shinobi had destroyed a bath house and killed various people inside? That would only bring more strife. Better to keep this whole thing from the public eye and allow those with authority make the call to determine how best to inform the people, if at all. 


WC: 587

It seemed someone remembered the work the young Nara had done for Hoshi. The camoflouging the ninja had used seemed to be requested urgently by someone higher up within the village. Someone had dropped a parcel in his hands telling him to take the job or find a new place to stay, before running off. Inside was the request to utilize the Nara's stealth to infiltrate a bath house remove some explosives, all without being noticed.

With not much in the way of choice Ryuzaki and his puppet made their way toward the bath house, the ninja's chakra suppressed but the puppet over his back with an elongated sword arm was a dead giveaway. Before turning the corner to the bathhouse the boy looked around and seeing no one made seals for the hiding in camoflouge technique, he would then as silenly as possible creep forward toward his destination.

Once, he was across the street from the bathhouse he spotted Loghain standing off to the side 10 meters from the place. The Nara would walk over and speak. "Its Ryuzaki, I got word there was a problem inside. Something about explosive tags and not being seen." The puppeteer hoped the wolf had enough sense to not be startled, but the Nara knew Loghain could tell he was around long before he had started speaking. He had some type super hearing or smell, something which was enhanced beyond normal limits.

The first encounter the two had the wolf had not only discovered the location of Ryuzaki, but their target. While the Nara dealt with the horde of actual zombies erupting from the ground, Loghain had shredded the target with his claws. While the chuunin kind of ran away underground after sending out some weird pulse thing which hit the zombies, but didn't seem to hurt them.

"What's the plan, do you have one?"

WC: 314

In the Water Gardens, a courier was running their mouth. “Fine, I’ll go,” Vaenar said, irritated sitting on a marble bench. Telling them what they wanted to hear always made them leave sooner, and the courier did precisely that.

There was a dreadful situation, it seemed. Two hot springs owners had a conflict that led to threats of physical violence and inner terrorism. Or so the report Said. True or false, it wasn’t Vaenar's concern. A dragon of Hoshimura would have never bothered with two peasants and their drama, but desperate times call for desperate means.

“Or so I keep telling myself.” Vaenar caught the reflection of a one-eyed man on the flat of his blade. He had been going hard at practice this morning. Mayhaps a bit too hard. His sparring partner was left bleeding in a pool of blood. Alive, however. 

“You’re a traitor and a rebel. I won’t suffer the likes of you in my village.” That was a fatal mistake that forced the dragon’s hand. Nobody should question the kind of person Vaenar was and try to take him down for some bizarre reason. 

“I was hoping you wouldn’t talk to me like that; I don’t go personal. I have nothing to do with you. Keep my name out of your mouth, primarily when you lie about me. Else be prepared to back those words with your fists.” And to his credit, the Hoshimura hater was.

Vaenar brushed the blood clean from the sword with a damp cloth and then reached for his backpack for a wet stone. If it were Hoshimura steel, he would probably need a new whetstone and probably a new hand to hold it. But all his treasures had been taken away after the failed Hoshimura rebellion so that he could keep his head. 

Vaenar was pardoned by the Kage so long as he bent the knee and gave a hostage over to ensure his loyalty. But he lost his Jounin position, fortune, arms, and armor for his defiance. “I should have chosen exile or die alongside Haegon and my cousins. That would have been a death worthy of a warrior descended from the warrior king Alexandros Hoshimura. The Kage’s mercy made me small.”

If they had won that rebellion, they would have been called the loyalists, remembered as good men and true that kicked the vile foreign shinobi out of the country. But those the defeated would be forever known as rebels and traitors.

“I suppose it’s time to go.” Sheathing his sword, he walked at the exits of the water gardens, where his favorite horse was saddled and ready to go. His fine armor and mail set was uncomfortable, particularly in this weather, but he said no word of complaint.

As he exited into the noise of the city, Vaenar's green cloak streaming in the wind from his shoulders, he witnessed eyes everywhere and pushed his warhorse into a trot. Vaenar was uncertain he wasn't going to his execution. Perhaps beating up his sparring partner was the whiff of betrayal Hoshi’s top brass waited so that they could cut him down. 

The Silk District began at the market square beside the Walls. Vaenar took a turn there and followed its twisted path until he reached the bathhouse. There he saw his partner of the day. One of them anyway. "Sebastian Loghain," Vaenar called out from atop his horse before dismounting.

Another individual was there, whose invisibility disguise was as good as a child wearing a white sheet with eye holes. Seriously they'd need to try harder to full a Hoshimura of the Kenseigan. The invisible man had to be the mercenary shinobi known as Ryuzaki. Tournaments always caused Ronin and free-riders looking for a place to crash and perhaps a town to serve to appear like wildfire. And apparently, that one had stayed behind long after the Chuunin Exams had finished. The missing-nin had overstayed his welcome the first minutes after he crossed the gates as far as the Dragon was concerned. 

"The plan, you ugly peasant, is that we go in there and make sure the building doesn't blow up. Can you do that? Or perhaps you will be too busy emptying some man's pockets of their coin?"

WC: 709

The wolf would wait, knowing that his allies would be there soon enough. The first to approach was hidden, yet as the youth came closer Loghain would catch wind of his scent and acknowledge him. This particular mercenary did seem to prefer to stay hidden from sight, much like he had been during their last encounter. It was curious, but this mission did require a more stealthy approach to complete. Not wanting to allow civilians to overhead their conversation, the wolf would simply nod when the Nara spoke of bombs. Inciting panic wasn't something he had any desire to do. 

The sound of a horse trotting towards their location suggested that Vaenar was close. so the wolf would look up in time to see the man on his approach, calling out to the young wolf. Loghain would offer a lite bow, lowering his head and slightly bending his torso. A sign of respect for his experienced handler. When Ryuzaki asked what the plan was, before Loghain could say a word Vaenar chimed in, making his distaste for the mercenary very apparent. The most interesting part of this interaction was that the knight was able to detect the Nara with relative ease, much akin to how the wolf had been able to. Having two people with such capabilities and a third with the ability to avoid being seen should go a long way in making sure that this mission is a success. 

"Indeed, the objective is clear. We go in and keep things quiet. Finding our targets may be tricky, but I am hoping that whoever planted these didn't factor in my sense of smell. If I'm lucky, I may be able to find them from the lingering scent." He would look over to the others, "Everyone on board with that plan?" He spoke to the group as a whole, but his eyes locked on to Vaenar. The knight had been the most experienced among them, and as his handler the man had final say in what the wolf did. If he had a different plan, he would hear no objections from the wolf. 

Once they had all finalized what was going to be done, Loghain would enter into the bath house. If they were to keep this from being obvious to everyone in this establishment, they were going to have to blend in. The wolf had no issue removing his clothing, for he was accustomed to being in the nude. Waking up naked every once in a while with no recollection of what happened because of an uncontrolled transformation had dulled any sense of indecency he might have felt. Of course, it could also be the fact that he was in tune with nature, and animals wore no clothing. The Knight, should he have to strip down would likely find himself both with much more work and at a disadvantage without his armaments. Perhaps he had another idea as to not arouse suspicion while keeping himself at the ready in case they were attacked. Of course, the Nara had no need to concern himself with such things. Whatever technique he was using to hide himself would likely work to keep him out of sight. 

The wolf would walk back to the locker rooms, occasionally taking a quick whiff of the surroundings. There were scents on everything here, but he was looking for scents in places that they didn't belong, perhaps on the ceiling or along some piping. Places that people didn't really touch, but would be catastrophic if there was a sudden explosion. The first round by the lockers was without fruit, but he did catch wind of something behind the steam pipes. Investigating found something attached that felt like it could be one of the paper bombs. Panic suddenly ran through the wolfs mind. He had no idea how to actually defuse this. Would tearing it off cause it to explode? Perhaps one of the others would know, so he would make his way towards wherever they were and quietly report his findings and ask. 

wc: 676

Being called an ugly peasant by some jackass on a horse, looking past Loghain and right at the invisible person. Nice. By the guy's words and tone the Nara got a sense that he wasn't fond of the life style Ryuzaki had chosen to lead however he would still add in his smart remarks and hope this one wasn't so vain to cause a greater incident. Them fighting outside the bathhouse would prove disastrous. "No, it will be fine I picked people's pockets yesterday. Here's a tip, get off your literal high horse. You aren't inconspicuous at all." The Nara would say taking a ryo out of his filled wallet and offering it to the Hoshimura.

The plan Loghain had put out sounded fine to Ryuzaki. It really was up to the rude, dude on the horse whether things would go well. Loghain entered removing his clothes once they were in the bathing area he checked the lockers as the Nara looked under the benches people sat upon. There was nothing there. When the wolf reached behind some pipes he grew a face of panic. He found one of the paper bombs. Without word the Nara would approach reach behind the pipe and grab the paperbomb. He would then rip it and stuff it into his pocket.

If no one was around the Nara would whisper to the wolf. [b]Its like puppets or weapons if you destroy the tag it can't function. They have a seal placed on them which explodes the paper in itself does not. You could light it on fire if you wanted to. The Nara would then head over to the baths and see a bomb within the water at the very bottom. Which he would tell to Vaener or Loghain depending on whom was closer.

WC: 302
TWC: 616

The idiot decided he had a comeback to a comment. Of course, if he had gone with a joke, he would have stood s better chance, so that reacting was a far better comeback than what the dragon of gold had expected.

If he had his way, he would rip out the tongue of Ryuzaki before killing him and burying him in a box in the desert. But alas, this was not his village, and Ayato Hyuuga wanted to live up to Akihana’s legacy and provide a safe sanctuary for every lowlife on the horizon. 

The werewolf suggested a course of action that surprisingly Vaenar found himself agreeing. “This one has his father's blood but none of his wilderness.” The Hoshimura warrior thought to himself amusingly. “That’s fine.” He nodded in agreement. However, he was a Hoshimura of the requip, and stripping out of his armor was no taxing procedure; the relocation and summoning of garments and steel traced back in the KKG as the Kenseigan itself.

The black armor dissipated in thousands of silver light practices as Vaenar stood there, naked as his name day. He caught the reflection in the mirror. The skin on his chest was smooth and hairless, covered in multiple healed scars. Yet none of them came close to the scar on his face.

“This place is filled with so many fat nobles.” The dragon observed, “I almost don’t blame someone for wanting to blow it up.” He grabbed a dry towel from the dressing room and shouldered his way in the pool, looking.

The men’s and women's sections were separated by a thin wooden wall, 4 meters tall. Even without his armor, his silver hair and lilac eyes caught the attention of the patrons. They all stared at him in silence as if they saw a wizard with a magic wand and a hat dotted with stars. 

“I am probably the most hated man in the village, after Stein of Konoha.” For a moment, he wished he could use whatever that slimy little rat of a missing Nin to turn invisible. It was then that Sebastian alerted them discreetly of finding a bomb, and it was the mercenary shinobi that acted first. Reaching behind the pipeline, he dismantled, and it told the pup something that rang true. The paper itself poses no threat; the detonation could be triggered by someone from the seal on top of it.

It was then that Ryuzaki caught the presence of another bomb. At the bottom of the pool, close to the wall that separated the men from the women’s. The depth was at least 30 meters, but that did not bother Vaenar. He was an excellent swimmer, having practiced hard in the moat of the hoshimura castle.

“I’ll handle this one. Let me show you how a professional works.” He dove at the pool and made his way underwater, executing the seals for space-time art devour sphere to destroy the paper. The orb made a slight water suction, and the space-time ate the paper bomb entirely.

Vaenar caught another paper bomb then; it was more profound in the pool. And ten meters forward, past a gap at the bottom of the wall. With devouring sphere in cooldown and none of his weapons present, he had to do that one manually; it would seem. His lung capacity was in check, so he swam forward and directly above the paper tag.

The dragon tried to remove it with a rough, callused hand, but the perpetrator had glued it hard to the bottom. He crushed it underneath the weight of his fingers. He found his lungs desperate for air now, which took more effort than expected. His legs kicked under him this time, and he swam up. Up, up towards the light. 

A deep breath was the only sound in the world. Vaenar looked around him. “Kyaaah!” A female’s scream filled the air of the bathhouse. The realization came a second too late.  “Pervert!” Another woman screamed, her arm covering her breasts, and more began to pick up the cry. He tried to explain, flustered red with anger and shame, but the women were already on his kicking and hitting him. 

Swift as a dolphin, Vaenar submerged and made his way to the other side, the water muffling the sound of screams and insults. He jumped out of the pool where Ryuzaki and Loghain were. “The deed is done, now unless we want to be run over by a stampede of angry women, I say, we get out of here!”

WC: 759
TWC: 1468

Despite the other two having stinging remarks back and forth, they all seemed to be on the same page and so would proceed without further discussion on how best to approach the task at hand. The wolf would note that the knight was able to removed his armor in an instant, simply willing it to disperse into a shower of silver light. Such an ability, should the reverse also be true, would remove nearly all of the young wolf's concerns. 

The citizens here at the bath house all looked at them as if they didn't belong there. Such was a common theme, something that the wolf simply understood as part of his existence in the village. Of course, it could also be that they were staring at Vaenar who wasn't exactly a beloved figure. 

The Nara would quickly and quietly destroy the first located paper bomb, explaining in the process how they functioned. Loghain would take a mental note of this for future reference. The use of ninja tools wasn't something he was particularly well versed in, so this was a learning experience as well. It was a relief to know they could be destroyed so easily. The next located bomb was at the bottom of the pool. Loghain was ready to go for it when Vaenar stepped up to take the task on. It was down quite a ways, the wolf watching as the knight made his way deep into the pool and formed a quick flurry of seals to utilize some sort of jutsu which would seemingly destroy the seal in its entirety. He expected the man to swim back up to the surface and look for any remaining paper bombs, but instead he started swimming towards the barrier. From this position the wolf would not be able to see the tag that Vaenar had located, but would trust the man to know what he was doing. It wouldn't be long before a very loud shriek could be heard throughout the bath house, the voices of many angry women very easily overpowering any other sounds to be heard here. Vaenar then instructed them very clearly that it was best to make their leave. Nodding, Loghain would dash to the locker rooms, grab his clothing and head straight out of this place, struggling to wrap something around himself so as to not expose anything while in public. 

Once they had made enough distance between themselves and the angry mob of women, Loghain couldn't help but laugh. "I can't say that went exactly how I thought it would, but it would seem that we at least got the mission completed." He'd sniff the air, making certain that the Nara had also been close by in case he was still cloaked. "For a mercenary, you aren't so bad. This is at least the second time you have proved your worth and aided Hoshigakure. Have you ever considered the possibility of joining Hoshi?" It was a simply question, but it allowed the Nara to answer as much or as little as he wanted. Vaenar had no love for the mercenary, but both of the times the wolf had worked with him he proved a valuable ally. Of course, perhaps the wolf was simply naïve and this was all a part of some masterful scheme to harm the village or its inhabitants.

The wolf would then turn to offer a handshake to the knight. "It was a pleasure working with you again, Vaenar. I still have to take you up on that offer to visit Castle Hoshimura."  Depending on how this conversation went would determine if the wolf found himself leaving towards the gates or towards Vaenar's home. 

WC: 615
TWC: 1878 (Mission complete)

---Possible Exit---

Claims: 
1878 wc towards True Predator's Senses making it [1878/2000]
36 AP (max stat AP training)
Mission claims: 9,150 ryo (6000 +50% from Victory in recent village subjugation topic) +(100 bonus ryo from rank +50%)
30AP

The sour face Vaenar wore after Ryuzaki made his retort was just the reaction the young Nara had hoped for. Truthfully, the boy hadn't robbed anyone the previous day especially by picking their pockets. There was too much risk involved in an endeavor such as that. You could be noticed if your fingers weren't quick enough and someone else could see you. Ryuzaki was much more suited to cat burgling than pocket picking.


The armored jack ass then agreed to the course of action. To go inside and have a quick peek around. As they went inside the armored man's armor teleported off of him and Loghain took off his clothes putting on a towel. Ryuzaki had no need to remove his clothing so he left them on.

After Ryuzaki pointed out the second paper bomb the great professional of Hoshi jumped in and headed for the women's side of the bathouse. Having read the sign on the wall the Nara left the men's side and ran to the women's in time to hear the scream and watch as the ladies began hitting him. The boy with his invisibility would inaudibly laugh and mouth the words "Professional." to the Hoshimura who the Nara realized could see him as he was called ugly.


The Nara stayed many moments after the pervert had left. Not to spy on the women as he really had no such interests yet. Instead he looked for any paper bombs that could remain. Finding none after a few moments the mercenary left the building meeting the others outside.

The Nara would uncloak himself as Loghain spoke. With the situation having changed there was no longer a need to remain invisible. The day indeed had not gone as expected and Vaenar still appeared embarassed of peering at the female form. "Honestly, I haven't thought on it much. My goal was to come here for the exam and find someone from Kiri to take me back to their village. But it seems the people I met were rather busy at the time. So, I'm trying to gather enough money to get a boat and head out." That of course was the plan after the boy was confident he could defend himself from attackers.

There was some valuable information the wolf had brought up. Apparently the knight inhabited a castle of some type. Meaning the man was wealthy of course Ryuzaki assumed he was royalty when he was called a peasant, but why didn't he call Loghain a peasant? Loghain are you royalty as well. Vaenar didn't address you as a peasant?" The Nara asked hoping he wouldn't be beat up or something for talking to two nobles. "Nevermind, forget I asked. I'll see you later." The Nara would then walk off with his puppet hanging over his shoulders. He had to go pick up his reward and let whoever it was that he had aided in the mission, so he wouldn't be kicked out of the village.
WC: 501
TWC: 1117
Claims: 6000 ryo, 30AP, 100 rank ryo.
11 stats, 1117 wc toward One-Handed Seals bringing the total to 1645/2000
Exit

“If that slimy little rat accepted Hoshi, I’m going missing-Nin on principle,” Vaenar said as half a joke. Any worry that he might have to leave up to that promise when Ryuzaki revealed his intentions to travel to Kiri.

“Well, get going then. You know how people say it's been a pleasure?” Vaenar equipped a black velvet tunic with a dragon emblazoned on a golden thread. “Well, it hasn’t.” He would say to Ryuzaki and climb back on his horse. He would set the pace on a slow trot in case Florent's bastard wished to follow him to the Hoshimura castle, where he’d invite him for raw salmon sashimi and a bottle of wine.

WC: 114
TWC: 1,582

Claims:
1312 to Singularity B-rank 
269 to Adjustment [269/350]

Mission claims: 9,000 ryo (6000 +50% from Victory in recent village subjugation topic)
30AP, 250 bonus ryo from rank

Approved.

@Sebastian Loghain
DM me when you make claims.