Toxic Gingerbread

There was nothing to do but just nod his head at Mizuki's question. I kind of did just point out a way to figure out if we are being lied to. She seemed to weave seals onehanded based on what was going on with her pocketed hand the seals showing due to the tightness of her clothing and the fluxuation of chakra picked up by Ryuzaki's chakra sensory and their proximity. There were no outward effects of what happened, but her face took on a different look.

She said she would use Earth and didn't want a repeat performance. That would be... difficult. All of the ninjutsu the Nara used was based on shadow, but he could likely use that creatively enough to cause some damage. "I have an idea in mind." He would say after Mizuki had finished. Ryuzaki found it weird she wanted to take a bet against one of them in particular not wanting them to lie. Why was it assumed that they would?

Suika decided she would go East. As she left the Nara felt just a bit saddened that she was no longer around. "Girl's are ichy, but for some reason I dislike watching that one leave. Theres just something about her, I don't quite understand." He whispered it to himself but others still likely heard it, flustered he would just go west away from them. "West, I've got west!" Good going moron why not just say you love her? But its not her its just how being in her presence makes me feel! Same thing, dumbass. He would run off at full speed, until getting to the building not many people were around.

Ryuzaki would sneak about until he found the roof and water towers on top of it. There he would use the shadow sewing technique to puncture holes all over it and allow the water to flow into the factory below destroying large sections of it. These presents would be waterlogged and unable to ignite now. As he went back through the building he opened one of the presents using Trapman in case it was still armed, but nothing explosive was actually inside. He checked a few more, before going back.

He was half a minute late when returning. "Sorry, I was checking some of the presents in my section. I didn't find anything inside the gifts. That isn't to say there are none as maybe I got the side of the factory that didn't add bombs yet." He would say walking over to the group hoping no one had told Suika what he had said earlier.
WC: 441
TWC: 1468/2250

Upon returning Niko would wait for a little while continuing to look around before he would give up if the woman was here she decided not to reveal herself and if she wasn't he had won> Waiting just a couple more seconds he would notice the other woman Suika approach. He would nod towards her acknowledging her presence before continuing to wait for the appearance of the rest of the group. Shortly after he would hear a quiet thud noticing that Mizuki dropped from the tree. She must have been standing there this entire time. Niko had, he had lost. The thought was not totally unacceptable he had seen some crazy people from his village, that could move nearly double his unboosted speed. Though it seemed as if she had not boosted herself whatsoever unlike himself. She was still able to top him. Amazingly unprecedented. It seems that even though he had lost this one he still may be able to learn from his team leader.

"Well done, Well done, Your speed is quite impressive I must say. though I can't say I did not expect this when you bested me." Niko would look out and notice the clearly visible damage that the factory had sustained its quite obvious that Mizu or one of the others had done some considerable damage to it. Though listening to Mizuki explain it would seem that they had one more task left to finish. Though it seemed that Mizuki wanted to ask her question later.

Heading off towards the village in question Niko would watch her run off, putting full display into her agile superiority. Niko would pause briefly. So she truly was faster than him. Crazy just crazy. Whatever village can host that talent was at least as strong as kirigakure no Sato. Niko would have to look further into this on his own time. Following towards the town keeping pace with the others Niko would arrive just on time with Mizuki's estimate.

"Well nobody said we had to hurt them I have a plan, feel free to join in." Niko would then enter the village walking up and into the square where the tree was hosted Niko would begin to speak booming his voice sinisterly and demonically, across the entire town square using ventriloquism. 

"IT IS I. The dark God Jashin your celebrations bore me. WHERE IS THE DEATH. WHERE IS THE SACRIFICE. WHERE IS THE BLOOD! I tire of this pathetic display soon I shall cast you into darkness. Then you shall feel the wrath of a god." Niko would attempt to scare the inhabitants with a foul lie. He would then notice ice constructs near-miss the tree and an ice fortress form out of nowhere. This should be plenty the distraction Niko would think. After waiting Niko would notice the place become shrouded in darkness, from the lack of a star on their tree. Niko would then head back to the rendevous point, having completer his mission he would await his groups return.

(TWC 2067 posted 12/21/2021 for advent purposes
Claiming mission arc completion will claim WC use and mission rewards with topic end)

Mizuki had that angry then oddly plotting look to her again. It was an odd combination of faces this one had. First rage then controlled chaos it was thus far her most common faces. Is she stable? Hmm... Does it actually matter? If she isn't sane this was their last mission and thus far she hadn't done anything too out there. It was best for him to keep the peace and just follow along for the moment. She'd get no arguments from him about distracting the crowd, he was big on distractions as a puppeteer almost like a stage for him to perform upon.

Current plan run for two hours, cause distraction, Mizuki takes star, head back to mansion. Simple enough. The question she had planned for Niko was oddly intriguing, but none of his business. He'd keep out of whatever it is. Mizuki took off at a pace even faster than Ryuzaki surprising him. "Do you think she meant two hours away for us or her?" The boy would shout moving at his full speed of 90.

They got there in the time Mizuki stated. She'd apparently factored the slowest member as the time constraint. There was a specific distraction in such a crowded place the Nara was looking for. Today's puppet act would be quite the live performance which while usually embarrassing he wouldn't be the one saying embarrassing things. Well he would, but who would know. Finally as Suika arrived and she started her distraction Ryuzaki found his. A man moving through the crowd towards his girlfriend flowers in hand. As he neared her the man thrust them out "These are for..." Suddenly he stopped his shadow connected to Ryuzaki's now.

Our puppet show begins! The man would imitate Ryuzaki's every move the man walking toward Suiki. His real lover chasing him asking if everything was okay. Suddenly, he would stop before her and drop to a knee before her. Having heard the man's voice and using Ventriloquism the puppeteer would speak echoing what the other man was saying. Ryuzaki was kneeling outside of the crowd and speaking but the man holding flowers mimic'd him down to the words. "I like you and these are for you!" There was applause from the crowd and the declaration caused people to clap and cheer distracting them from the dazzling lights of the tree. There was one person not quite so happy who began snatched the flowers and began hitting him with them sending petals everywhere before she dropped the flowers and stormed off.

Ryuzaki chose that moment to end the shadow possession. The man apologized to Suiki feeling incredibly awkward and ran for his actual girlfriend. He had a lot of explaining to do. Or Ryuzaki did, he'd tell them it was him later pulling the man's "strings" to smooth things over. Breaking a couple up on Chrismas was just wrong afterall.

Once, Mizuki had the star things were done. It was time to meet this mysterious Itazura who was supposedly here. Ryuzaki would make his move back to the mansion after finding the couple and explaining his pathetic display of affection. They unsurprisingly weren't incredibly upset due to his young age making things easier. The Nara would hand the man some money for a new bouquet of flowers for his true paramour. Ryuzaki would head straight to the mansion after that. Having enough time to think about this Itazura before his return.

Ultimately, he had concluded the man was effectively a combination of Scrooge and the Grinch. Wealthy enough to pay people to steal Christmas for him. So, they were looking for a an old green fur covered man, haunted by the ghosts of Christmas Past, Present, and Future, also suffering from an enlarged heart, with a dog name Max. It shouldn't prove difficult as the was quite the stand out costume.

Arriving at the mansion Ryuzaki would approach the group some embarrassment showing on his face from what had happened earlier. He would stay quiet for a moment until speaking. "So does anyone know what Itazura looks like? He has to be incredibly wealthy to afford those teleportation scrolls and the bill for all these missions." So, many people had answered the call and there were so many factories and tree stars this guy wanted destroyed. The Nara's true thoughts were that Yoi was some kind of competitor and by destroying everything they owned the next year's profits for Itazura would double. "Do any of you believe the star was a mind contol device? Its possible as I didn't know teleporting via scroll was real, but its kind of mystical in that same sense. Even if we can shoot beams of light or bend shadows. You know?"
WC: 797
TWC: 2265
Claims: Mission arc completion. Ignore original claim from first post. I was assuming seperate mission threads. I'll do all WC, Ryo, and other mission claims at the end of the thread.

approved

Mid thread Claim: +1 Christmas Lottery Ticket on Mizuki Ohta
Mission Arc Rewards -
- 4000 Ryo / 20 AP / 1 Onmistone
- 7500 Ryo / 40 AP / 1 Tinkerer's Toolkit
- 10000 Ryo / 50 AP / 1 Material Demagnetizer

Remaining word claims will happen at end of thread.

Mid thread Claim: +1 Christmas Lottery Ticket on Akabayashi Terumi
Mission Arc Rewards -
- 4000 Ryo / 20 AP / 1 Onmistone
- 7500 Ryo / 40 AP / 1 Tinkerer's Toolkit
- 10000 Ryo / 50 AP / 1 Material Demagnetizer

The remaining word claims will happen at end of the thread.

The glittering of the star in the fire light was nothing compared to the thoughts that sparked in her mind - mostly hinging on the screamed words of her most recent object of interest; Niko. When had she switched to thinking of people as objects… the thought was an intriguing one but one that was forcefully outweighed once more by the words she heard as she left the area, speaking as the creator Jashin and demanding answers to questions he had no business asking. Where was the death, the sacrifice, the blood? In a roundabout way it was everywhere, in every face you passed and every encounter you had - but in a more specific way, it sat in an armchair holding a harmless glittering star ornament. 

Her face was one of disgust, mouth set in a firm disapproving mold as her eyes stared at the false ‘mind control’ device. The only extraordinary thing about the clutched ornament was possibly the origin of the crystal it was created from; truthfully the youngest member of their troop had the gut feeling from the beginning and he was correct. She was never one to question a job, you get your orders and you do them, but she couldn’t help but cater to her curiosity over the course of their tasks - and she had been in agreement with the boy from the moment she entered that room that housed far more guards than a factory should. 

The others would filter in, their now familiar heartbeats and chakra signatures melding together as they approached the lavishly set seating area. Pressing her tongue to the inside of her teeth she let each speak as they wished, choosing to address the young Nara first with a tone that rode a fine line between fanatic and chaotic. “Very perceptive, impressively so, you almost had me the first time you voiced concern but… as much as I tried I just couldn’t shake the feeling you had something.”, her head would lay back on the chair she sat in, neck tilted in a way to expose her expression to the group - though her eyes stare restlessly on the boy. Standing up quickly she moved over to him, bent just enough to be at eye level and far too close for comfort - between them though she interjected the glittering star from the tree. “This is nothing more than a well crafted crafts project. So what say we question our summoner for our trouble?” The last words came out with far more authority than a question should hold.

As if on cue the doors to the study they all resided in would swing open and shut once more, a figure entering the room - not a man as was thought - but a woman. At first glance she resembled her but she was far more fox-like in her features, sharper eyes and a more pointed nose - and of course a billowing white tail skirted the ground as she approached them. Her expression was one of glee and abject approval as her eyes settled on the star in Mizu’s hand. “Well done, you have done me a great service today,”, as if catching her slip she would hurry to her next part of her sentence. “,- by that of course I mean this town by saving them all from the misdeed of Yoi and his followers.” If the suspicion was not already raised by Ryuzaki, the heartbeat fluctuation was enough to cause the doubt to settle deep in Mizuki. 

From crazed to controlled in a breath, she stood with smooth motion, one hand grabbing and pulling Ryu, forcing him behind her as she stood - not to protect him though, as the hand was immediately flitting through a set of seals to silence her, all while the other held out the star to the woman beckoning her to step closer. As Itazura’s hand reached out for the star Mizu’s hand could slice out and clasp tightly on her wrist - under that grasp spread an intricate and swirling black seal; of which took effect immediately. Devils Hold, once placed had shut down everything that made the woman extraordinary; all her powers granted to her by what she was had been snuffed out for the time being. Itazura stepped back bewildered, definitely angry but also… scared - her heartbeat quickening as a sheen of sweat began to show on her forehead. “Get the door.”, Mizu’s words were hard and she didn’t care who did it as long as it was done. Dropping the star to the ground, the shattering of the crystalline sculpture sharp and sudden just like the events unfolding before them all, “Itazura was it? Right, you have so many things to explain, so please, take a seat.” Side stepping and gesturing to the seating arrangement she would wait til the woman finally obliged her and sulked over to the nearest chair and forcibly sat, still clutching her wrist. 

“There was no evidence of poison, the presents weren’t bombs at all, and the mind controlling star was a skilled hands life work. Don’t lie to a liar, or do I mean please do, this place could use a touch of color.” Her hands were now clasped behind her back as she stood staring, not at the woman but into the fire - watching the flames dance like the whims of her temperament. “You suddenly steal people from their homes with an unsuspecting letter, feed us lies, and expect us all to silently fall in line? Disgusting.” She would glance at Suika and gave a slight nod to the woman, she trusted her the most in the room, though she was curious of them all - almost like a test, curious to see how they interrogate and what they would or would not go to for answers.

wc 965