Put your hand in the Cookie Jar![Grey, Cid, OPEN]

Hearing a holler from the littlest among them, her tiny voice impossible not to recognize over the murmurs of all of the others discussion whatever it is that they had planned to address these strange tasks. When he got to her, she would look up at him with the biggest eyes and simply demand to be picked up. He would look down at her, giving her a look that could only be described as bewildered and confused. Eh, what the hell. If I have a hold of her at least she can't run off, right? "Sure kiddo." Cid would say as he lifted her up. From her elevated position she would look over the tasks, letting out the tiniest gasp he had ever heard. She would question the bandit, asking the hard hitting question of whether or not cookies were bad. "Well yes, but actually no." The pirate would say this, but figured more clarification was needed. He would try to speak only to be interrupted by the squirming and pushing of the little lass as she pushed off Cid and sprinted off. Cid would just put his left hand on his face rubbing his temples in frustration and disappointment as he recognizes very clearly that he was just caught off guard and overpowered by a child. Almost just as soon as she had sprinted out of Cid's line of site Grey would approach, his timing almost comically bad. Had he been there just a moment sooner he might have been able to keep the Little Miss from running off in the direction of the bakery. 

"Indeed. I'm here, too. This whole list of tasks is... we are gonna use the term strange." When Grey asked about Aihara Cid would nod, "Yeah that about sums it up. She was here one second and then poof. She was gone like some kind of small pink ninja." Grey would follow towards her to track her down, the red haired bandit following behind as best he could despite his lack of speed compared to the others. If there was a great stretch to go, the difference in their rate of travel would add up, but the bakery they were  heading towards was damn near a stones throw from the mission headquarters they were just located at. Scratching his head, Cid could not help but think that this whole thing was almost too strange to be real. 

Finally catching up to Grey, he would see the veins in his comrades eyes bulging, the Byakugan being utilized. The pirate figured it was to quickly scan the area to find Aihara. His next words confirmed this suspicion, as Grey called her a little brat. "She's eating those damned cookies, isn't she?" Well, that was one way to get rid of them... but their mission instructions made it very clear that the cookies were poisoned... that was the reason they were here to destroy them. They were to get rid of the cookies so that nobody would die from the poison. Cid would just shake his head, "We should probably get in there and assist her." Cid would mention as he barged into the bakery without a second of hesitation or forethought. If Aihara was in there eating her fill of the so called "poisoned" cookies he had to stop it. Grey was no doubt doing the same. 

Once inside Cid would quickly shout out to Aihara requesting that she stop, but the presence of another would cut him short before he could explain why. A masculine voice would come from behind a mask seeming to hide all features save for his vibrant red eyes. The man was armed to the teeth, likely one of the people Cid saw by the gates before he made it through. Full body armor, an armored mask, blades on his sides along with those on his gauntlets and up his forearms. Clearly this man was a weapons specialist, much like Grey had been. He claimed they were all on the same side, which made Cid just nod. He knew that there were a great deal of people here in service of Itazura, so such didn't feel like a stretch. Plus, if he was here as an adversary he wouldn't have given away the advantage of the element of surprise. The impromptu team up with this Oni fellow wouldn't be an unwelcome one. 

"Welcome to the festivities, I guess, Oni." It was very clearly an alias, and the mask hiding his face suggested to the bandit that this fellow had no intention or desire to be recognized or for his features to be easily recalled later. Of course... assuming that the fellow regularly wore this particular battle armor it wouldn't be very hard to spot him from a crowd. Cid on the other hand wore no mask, nor had any weapons on his person at all. It was almost as if he was under equipped for any mission assignment, but that was simply because he didn't really bother with them. Weapons were cool and all, but he was far stronger in the more mystical arts than the physical ones. If he needed proper muscle, well, that was what Grey was for. 

Realizing that he hadn't introduced himself, Cid would offer his own name. "Folks call me Cid, Oni." The pirate had no intentions of introducing Grey, as the Hyuuga Swordlord was more than capable of introducing himself. Plus, perhaps the dark haired lad wanted to make up his own neat nickname, too. 

The one thing that this interruption allowed for was time to pass, and Aihara wasn't dead. "Well, that is a relief at least." Cid would offer, happy that the Little Miss didn't run stomach first into a death trap. "But this suggests that our benefactor might have not been completely honest with us." Cid would shake his head, "As long as that promised payment at the end wasn't a lie as well all should be fine." The tone of Cid was one of nonchalance, not seeming to be particularly worked up about this startling revelation that the cookies were not poisoned. 

Oni would stack several of the boxes together and seal them with some sort of fuinjutsu. A handy trick, no doubt. The Oni took the lead in figuring out the best ways to quickly get rid of the cookies, and likely most of the bakery with it based on the familiar figure the seal took. There was going to be an explosion, and not a small little one. No this was gonna be a spectacle no doubt.  A Big Bada Boom. Cid would crack a grin, hoping very much to see the fireworks. He would toss the boxes of cookies into the designated circle. It wasn't stacked pretty, and they could probably stack better (or at least neater) if he took his time and set them up nicely, but he didn't really want to waste a lot of time on this part of the tasks. He wanted to see the explosion.

Once they got all of the cookies into the circle Cid would make sure that the group made their way to a safe position before turning to Oni, smiling, and then looking at the bakery for the fun to begin.

The next task on their list was to infiltrate a workshop to get rid of all of the presents located there. Well, it was far less a workshop and far more like a factory. The place was immense. According to the mission intel, these gifts were supposedly bombs... just like the cookies were poisoned, no doubt. Now this was a stealth mission, but there wasn't a soul in sight. Cid would walk up to the factory doors, "It looks like," He would try the door, the entryway swinging open effortlessly, "Its our lucky day. Now, where are those gifts?" The golden eyes of the red headed bandit would scan the factory floor. There were no lights on in the factory, but the various equipment had small flashing bits. It wasn't a great deal of light, but was more than enough for the pirates eyes to see clearly. "Back left corner. There are a great deal of boxes stacked up, all wrapped in red and green paper and tied with a bow."


wc: 1383 
twc: 2580

Once inside the shop both Grey and Cid would quickly continue their search for Aihara, calling out for her in order for the child to stop eating the supposedly poisoned cookies, however, as they were about to do so another presence made his appearance, his voices speaking up while the rest remained hidden behind a mask. The Hyuuga inspected the man, doing so he noticed the individual to be completely armed, similar to most people he saw by the gates when they walked through them. A full body armor, twin blades, clawed gloves and an armored mask, if anything it was clear the man came prepared, almost as if he expected to get his hands dirty. 

As the three of them stood there, gathered all together, the figure claimed they were all on the same side, informing the two pirates he too had been sent by Itazura. Taking all things in consideration Grey had no reason to believe otherwise and it appeared Cid was of the same thought. By then the redhead decided to introduce himself to the man going by the name of Oni, an example soon followed by the young Hyuuga swordsman. "Grey". With a small yet friendly nod, even more so considering they shared the same fate, they got the formalities officially out of the way. 

Much to his relief he noticed how Aihara was unaffected after eating the cookies even though they were supposed to be poisoned, someting that made both pirates wonder if there was something they were missing. Perhaps Itazura left out quite a bit of information, not sharing every detail about what had been going on all this time. His friend didn't seem to mind as long as they would receive a reward so Grey decided not to pay too much attention and focus on the tasks at hand, figuring out how to deal with the cookies, presents and star.

The swordsman watched as Oni took the lead, stacking several boxes before sealing them with some sort of fuinjutsu. Moving them around their new companion cleared a five meter circle, asking the others to bring the rest of the cookies before kneeling at the center followed by forming three different seals and eventually placing one of his hands on the circle as a glowing seal appeared underneath. Once each and every single box had been gathered and put together Oni mentioned he would get rid of all the cookies after they left the building, a distance of hundred meters more than enough to take care of it.

With the first part of the tasks out of the way it was time for their group to infiltrate a workshop and get rid of all of the presents there, however, when they arrived Grey noticed it looked more like a factory instead. Taking into account it was where bombs were being created it made sense the place looked like that. "Hm, I wonder if this time the info will be correct" the Hyuuga referred to how the cookies were supposed to be poisoned but actually weren't. In case a similar situation occurred this time as well would give the swordsman even more reason to question Itazura's motives.

From what they knew about the mission it would be one that required stealth, something Grey excelled in. Activating the Byakugan he used his lilac eyes to scan the surrounding area, making sure no one else was around that could possibly mess with their plans. It appeared Cid would be of the same mind, the red haired pirate walking up to the factory doors where he then tried to see if they were able to enter without any trouble. And just as the bandit said, they were in luck. The entrance opened effortlessly, a sign for the group to make their way into the building.

Still with the famous dojutsu of the Hyuuga clan active Grey confirmed Cid's words, noticing an impressive amount of boxes sitting in the left corner. "I guess they weren't expecting any visitors" the swordsman spoke, curious as to why no one else was around. Perhaps their little group simply made it to the factory faster than the others, or maybe the rest of participants was struggling with finding out what they were supposed to do. For all he knew most of the people had already given up, leaving Grey and his companion to deal with the tasks.

Some minutes would pass when Grey suddenly saw Aihara joining them as the young girl carried a box in her tiny hands. "Yes, I can see that sweetie". Gently rubbing the child's head the Hyuuga knew how bad she wanted to open it and reveal what was inside, his little sister's curiosity getting the better of her once more. Doing so an ornate box with golden letters appeared, almost causing the troublemaker to burst out in tears. "It's ok, big brother is here" he tried his best to comfort her as she struggled with getting rid of the boxes.

Knowing how the situation remembered Aihara of her past Grey quickly started destroying all the items, assuming Cid and Oni would follow upon seeing the Hyuuga taking care of them. Once the second part of the missions was out of the way the only thing left would be getting the star, whatever that was supposed to mean. Holding his little sister's hand he would then lead the group to their last and final destination, hoping to end their ordeal rather sooner than later. The swordsman expected both men to be right behind him but it was up to them whether or not they did.

From what he could remember the star was located atop a 200 foot tall tree, the biggest problem being the fact they had to sneak past hundreds of shinobi without anyone taking note of them. "Alright, you guys try and cause a distraction while I take care of the star" Grey voiced. Assuming they figured out a way of dealing with the mass of people the Hyuuga would act completely natural, hoping no one would take note of a stranger walking towards the tree. Channeling chakra to his feet he then started climbing all the way up until he got his hands on the prize, quickly grabbing it before making his way down again.

In case all went well the followers of Yoi had no idea what just happened and Grey safely made it back to the group. All that remained was wait and see if they would be teleported back to where they came from. "Don't worry, we'll get you a present once we get back to the village" he tried to cheer Aihara up. And in case of Cid, well the redhead would most likely be anticipating the reward. "Thank you for helping us", making sure to show gratitude towards Oni for playing an important part in the endeavor it would only be a matter of time before the four of them disappeared from Moon Country and found their way home. 

All in all it had been quite the adventure, not as dangerous as the one from his vague memories but still one to remember. Or not, who knew?

(Exit)

(TWC: 2250)
Claims:
- 2000/2000 Whistle Trigger
- 250/250 Genjutsu Release
- 22 stats (+18 speed, +4 chakra)
- Mission rewards (21500 + 300 D-Rank bonus ryo, 110 AP, 1 Onmistone, 1 Tinkerer's Toolkit, 1 Material Demagnetizer)
- Extra Raffle Ticket from completing the Mission arc

Cid, caught up in the heat of the moment, shouted for Aihara to stop eating the cookies since he thought that they had been poisoned. He didn't want anything bad to happen to the Little Miss, but seeing her eyes well up with tears broke the bandits heart. The rest of the cookie destruction went on successfully, the explosion able to be felt even from their current distance. 

As they worked their way through the second phase of this three part mission. They easily found the packages, and Aihara as was holding on to one that had her name on it. She seemed to be having difficulties with these tasks, and understandably so. It was rather difficult to think that these presents actually had bombs in them, especially since the "poisoned cookies" proved to be so incredibly toxic to the young child that found them delicious just moments earlier. 

"Hey kiddo!" Cid would say, hoping that she would take a moment to look up at him. "Hey, if you'd like I can take care of that for you." He would say, offering a grin and a wink to the little one. They just had to stop the presents from being delivered by whomever had been making them, so his plan here should fall into the technicality grey area. He would form a few seals, holding out his hand for the box. If she places the box in his hand it would dissipate into his storage dimension. He would put a finger up to his lips, hushing any words, then whisper, "I'm sure it'll turn up later, kiddo." In fact, Cid would find himself pilfering a great deal of the presents while he was destroying some of the others. This Oni fellow seemed rather intent on not only destroying the gifts he had encountered, but also destroying the equipment used in the factory. Well, he was thorough at least. It wouldn't take long before the place had not a single present left. A job well done, they would move on to the third and final act. 

The tree in the distance was immense, standing at least 200 or more feet tall and sitting at the top was the target they were looking for. A shining star, brightly dazzling and making all witnessing it stare at it. It didn't look like they were hypnotized, though. It just looked like they were staring up at the tree with peace and joy in their hearts. They had to be proud of all of the decorations that hung from the enormous tree, as it must have taken a ton of work collectively from the whole village. We they... the bad guys? 

Oni pointed out their benefactor and offered up a distraction to pull all of the guards away from the tree. "Just in case we don't group back up before all is said and done, know that your assistance in these matters has been greatly appreciated'" Cid would offer in thanks. 

Once the plan would go into action, Grey would use the distraction to sprint up to the star and take it without being spotted. Cid would stay with Aihara, making certain that she didn't get into too much trouble, but would also stroll his way over to Lady Itazura with a purpose. Once within a couple of meters, he would speak to her. "I went along with this little farce... I know that you were lying about the dangers of these things you had us destroy." The pirate would shake his head, his face showing a look of disappointment before whispering to their benefactor in hopes that the Little Miss wouldn't hear this next part,  "And I just want you to know, that if you ever blatantly lie to me or my friends or ever cause the Little Miss to be upset again, I'll tie you to that tree and set the whole thing ablaze." And with that said, he would simply walk away. The threat wasn't a hollow one, and if his words caused this Itazura to reconsider her agreement to pay them... well, then Cid would consider that yet another lie and make good on his promises. 


--- Exit ---

wc:695
twc: 3275

Claims:
- 2000/2000 wc towards learning 
- 43 wc towards Storage Displacement (finishing the wc from this thread)
- 180 wc towards Vandalism by Fire (finishing the wc from this thread)
- 250/250 wc towards Genjutsu Release
- 250/250 wc towards Mastering Genjutsu Release (no seals)
- 250/250 wc towards Mind Read
- 250/250 wc towards Fear Pull
- 32 stats (11 Vigor, 21 Chakra)
- Mission rewards (43000 + 600 D-Rank bonus ryo, 110 AP, 1 Onmistone, 1 Tinkerer's Toolkit, 1 Material Demagnetizer) [Beloved Presence Double Ryo]
- Extra Raffle Ticket from completing the Mission arc

Approved

Approved