Taking the Chip Off Their Shoulder

Mission Name: It's not an addiction, I swear!
Rank: E
Mission Location: Neutral village

Challenges: -
Task:You find yourself weary from travel and arriving in a village in need of rest. After so much time on the road, any rest spot will do at this point. However, you notice that the local tavern has a poker night, the prize of which is 1,000 ryo. Do you steal the prize before it starts? Do you play fair and square? Do you simply cheat in order to win? The choice, and the consequences, are yours.

Word Count Requirement: 500
Reward:1,000 Ryo / 5 AP

Character Requirements: Missing Ninja
Character Exclusive:N/A

Link to Legacy Mission: Legacy Mission

Return to the Mission Directory

The time was around 9 pm, and there were only a few clouds within sight on this cool spring evening. A full moon, shining radiantly beamed overhead, all the clouds which were hanging up there simply passing it by without covering it. Crickets were heard, playing their instruments and singing their songs. Loud and rowdy bunches at a distance, but once someone would get close they'd be as quiet as a doormouse. An owl or two could also be heard off within the distance, their hoots of delight echoing through the breeze. A cool, gentle, soft breeze too. One that made you feel refreshed and nice on the inside. All was calm.

For once, Hiko was, relatively and albeit kinda shamefully, relishing in this moment. He knew it wouldn't last for long though. Typically whenever he'd enter a tavern, a fight would break out. Most of the time, by his own doing, but still. The kid couldn't help it. He loved seeing people in pain. Twisted? Yes. But so was life. After a certain point, he just stopped caring with how others had viewed him. It became tiring trying to be nice all the time when everyone would just outcast him due to his lineage anyways. So, the boy essentially grew up half his life thinking fuck it, people wanna call me the villain, I can be the villain. And sit back. And revel in the chaos.

Speaking of chaos, after many hours of being out and walking around, it was finally time to actually relax. Mainly get off his feet. While there was no physical pain to be felt, after a certain point, walking just would become boring if done for too long. Either way, before actually heading inside the building, young Hiko made sure the double clasp on his cloak was done. This hid the neck scar. The face scar would be inevitably be seen unless a mask was worn at all times, and that required too much effort. But, green leather gloves which covered his hands were also being used for the same reasons. These stitched scars would be, unnatural in the eyes of most, so hiding them was best to keep things a secret.

Upon entering, the missing ninja from Kumo was greeted with the familiar room of the public area for the tavern he was staying in, but there was something different. Most nights were decently busy, but tonight there was a surprising amount of villagers here. Looking up, he was then immediately greeted by a makeshift sign which hung in the entranceway, which read Poker Night, eh? Looks like we can make some more profit while having fun after all. This was the perfect opportunity for him to win big.

For the most part, it had looked like things still hadn't fully commenced yet. The bar was mostly getting slammed with the obviously sudden and impromptu influx of people due to this event. They apparently weren't expecting this turn out either. There was maybe one or two other patrons, patiently waiting at tables on the right side of the room in front of the bar. The rest of the room was laid out as follows, the entrance stood in the center and about a meter in front of that was a wall which split the right and left half of the tavern. The right half, was were the bar was located at and everyone was currently gathering at. No one was in the left side, but this was clearly the room being used for this event as everything seemed reorganized for a big game tournament. Case and point being the grand prize bag, just calling out Hiko's name, sitting on a table in that side of the room.

Making sure that no one had seen his entrance, the 16 year old miscreant slithered into the room like a sneaky little snake, and made his way towards the big bag. Without really a surefire plan on how to do this, and not wanting to waste a second which could potentially risk being caught, all Hiko did was quietly pick it up, and placed it beneath the brown patchwork cloak. Head cocking back around, eyes scanning to see that no one has entered this side, he then left the scene. While he wouldn't get to rest as he had hoped, he panicked and realized the first place the people would look when they realized the money was gone would be the rooms. So, another hour or two outside wouldn't kill him.

WC: 750

Claims:
1000 Ryo
5 AP
Thread Exit

Techs- 147 words to Leaf Whirlwind, completing it from here
500 words to Earth Style Wall
103 words to Hundred Fists of Fury (103/1000)

Stats- 7 total
5 to Strength
2 to Vigor

approved