Stalking the Stalker

Mission:

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“This mission could span days, or even weeks, so keep that in mind before we proceed,” the village official said. Ryota nodded, and so the spiel continued. “Natsuki Yagashima, a village elder, has recently professed worries of a potential stalker, claiming that she feels a presence watching her from time-to-time. You’ll be following her through her daily routine, and keeping an eye out for anything you deem suspicious. But remember this… you are strictly an observer and nothing else, and you are not to engage with any potential threats. Report back with me here daily. Dismissed.”

Ryota walked out of the office feeling somewhat relieved. He had decided to take on a C-Rank mission for the first time, and it already appeared to be much more intriguing than his previous jobs. Adjusting his hat to block the sunlight, the young ninja disembarked to his first scouting location. The sun had just risen not an hour ago, and Natsuki Yagashima was still in bed at the present moment. After a short journey to the area where nobles and high-ranking village officials lived, he located her house and perched himself on a tree branch that descended over her roof. Ryota decided to take this time to practice mindfulness, and he began to clear his mind and fully absorb himself within his surroundings. The chirping conversation between two birds; a squirrel with a white star on its back; the warmth of the sun hitting his exposed arms; the smell of the early-morning wind, carrying with it the scent of all life coexisting in this environment.

He sat like this for a while, merely taking in the world around him, until he heard the front door of the noblewoman's home close. Dressed in casual attire, she strolled off of her property and down the road, so Ryota got up out of his seated position and jumped to a nearby tree in pursuit. He was being mindful to not get too close to the noblewoman, as to avoid scaring her or rousing any suspicion with her would-be stalker. Leaping from through the sky amid trees and buildings, they ended up stopping at a residential building. The woman made her way inside, and Ryota made himself comfortable in his new lookout spot. He began to wonder whether this woman was merely being overly paranoid; although it had only been a few hours, he had yet to observe even a whiff of suspicious activity.

Seconds turned into minutes as Ryota sat atop this building, he actively scanned his surroundings while theory-crafting ideas for possible new ninjutsu. While only a fledgling shinobi, the young man had large ideas and sought to make them a reality once his physicality and chakra control had reached a sufficient level. He wondered about the origins of elemental ninjutsu and what links them all together; if it is possible to control matter on such a complex level as to recreate the natural elements, what is the limit of what could be created through ninjutsu? Is there some unknown element not yet discovered that is the culmination of this "creation"? Ryota enjoyed partaking in such grandiose thoughts, and he spent most of his free time lost in fantastical ideation.

A door to the home that Ryota was sitting on slammed shut, and he saw the noble walk out of it huffing and puffing.
"Those arrogant little... well, see if I care then," she muttered to herself, stomping off in a different direction. Clearly whatever meeting she was a part of did not go as she had hoped, but this was of no concern to Ryota. He leapt forward onto another building, making sure not to lose sight of his target while still keeping an eye out for any odd characters. After a few minutes of traveling, she arrived at a local pub. Ryota sighed, he assumed that this would be an extended stay if she was here to drink, so he again sat down on the roof and continued playing the "waiting game".

Hoshigakure was a pretty village, and although he was quite new to the village, Ryota had already started to feel comfortable there. It was larger and more active than his small town, with more politics and drama, but he appreciated the change of pace from the quaint life he was used to. He wasn't sure if this was somewhere he would stay permanently or not, as he had always envisioned himself living the lifestyle of a wanderer; while the security of a long-term home has its benefits, the young man hated to feel stuck or trapped in one place. For the time being though, he was sure that this was where he wanted to be if he wanted to learn the way of the shinobi.

After growing bored with this line of thinking, Ryota decided to watch the animals around him. He noticed a cardinal washing itself off in a shallow puddle, as a cat lurked overhead on a balcony. The cat crept ever closer to the bird, fully unnoticed, until it shot forward like a spring and lunged at its prey. As if it was scripted, the bird literally slipped out of the cats paws and narrowly escaped. Seemingly angry, the cat sulked off into another alley. Ryota chuckled to himself over this, and shortly afterwards he spotted a peculiar looking squirrel with a white star on its back. It felt oddly familiar to him, and that's when he realized that this is the same squirrel he saw at the woman's house early in the morning.

"That's strange," Ryota thought, "why would that squirrel have ended up traveling all the way over here through the village?" It was staring at the same tavern that Ryota was perched on top of when it jerked its head upwards in his direction, making eye contact with him. Immediately afterwards, the rodent sprung into action and began running away on the rooftops. Although his reasons of suspecting this animal were speculative at best, that was enough for him after his otherwise uneventful day, and he high tailed it after the squirrel. Ducking under clotheslines and jumping over gaps between buildings, Ryota struggled to keep up with the small creature and keep it in his sight. His foot was caught on a drainage pipe as he was leaping through the air, and he tumbled to the ground. This was not enough to deter Ryota, and he set off even faster than before to try and make up the ground between his target and himself.

Their meandering path went through the village and out into the forest. Ryota had began to break a sweat and his breathing was staggered; while the young man was very proud of his speed, his strength had always been sprinting rather than long-distance running. They jumped in union from tree to tree as if performing some sort of weird dance, as Ryota fought to avoid branches and obstacles while maintaining his breath control. All of the sudden, the squirrel bolted down the tree it had landed on and moved onto the ground. Ryota jumped down in pursuit, but before he could reach the rodent, it scurried into a hole in the ground and disappeared. He kicked a tree out of frustration; not only was he dragged away from the noblewoman for an extended period of time, he ended up with no real information to give. After looking around the area for anything that might give him a hint as to what the hell just happened, he discovered nothing and set off to return to the tavern he previously sat atop.

Right as the tavern entered Ryota's vision, he saw the noblewoman stumble out of it with rose-tinted cheeks.
"Perfect timing," he thought to himself. She stumbled off in the direction of her home, clearly she had more than a few drinks at the bar. The altercation he had with the squirrel had put Ryota on high-alert, and he was extra aware of any living creatures in the area. Bugs buzzing about his head, small animals readying themselves for the night, cats lurking in the shadows of buildings, people getting done with work and walking home; he saw various peoples and things on their way home, but nothing that roused his suspicion like the squirrel had done previously.

The woman had finally made her way to her home, surprisingly without falling, and after struggling for a little while she managed to get her keys in the front door and get inside. Returning to his perch on the roof, Ryota began to recap the days events in his head. Not only did the squirrel appear at two completely separate locations that the noblewoman was at, it noticed Ryota's gaze and immediately fled in response. Combining these two instances, he decided there was no way that the rodent didn't have some sort of hand in this woman's complaints in being watched. The question is how or what does it have to do with this situation? Is it the summoning creature of a ninja with nefarious goals in mind, but even then what would he gain from stalking such a woman? While she surely held status in comparison to the average civilian, she was far from the most important person in the village. The unknown assailant's goal could be money, but why have a summoning animal follow her for this long if that was his goal?

Ryota was confused by the possible implications that this development could have, but decided it was a waste to wrack his brain over this. His responsibility was purely to gather intel and report back, and he was afraid that he had already involved himself too much in the situation by engaging in a foot race with that squirrel. Sighing to himself, Ryota lit up a cigarette and began to try and meditate once again. The sizzle of the burning tobacco pierced his ears, a familiar sound, and the first lungful of smoke sent waves of dopamine through his body. He casually puffed on the cigarette, watching the smoke lazily twirl and dance up into the night sky before disappearing altogether.
"I wonder if anyone is able to perform ninjutsu manipulating smoke or gaseous forms of matter?" Ryota thought to himself. This train of thought was interrupted, as a shinobi suddenly descended from a tree and landed on the rooftop next to him.
"Your shift's up," the man stated, "I was told to take over from here and keep watch over night. Report back to the office with whatever information you gathered today."
"Thanks man, don't work too hard now," Ryota replied with a smirk. The man chuckled, and Ryota jumped off into the night.

Ryota arrived back at the office half an hour later, not concerned with rushing over there now that he had been relieved from his post. The village had begun to go to sleep along with the rest of the world, and the street lights were all that was left to illuminate the roads. Opening up the front door to the office building, Ryota greeted the front-desk worker and told her that he was here to give a mission report. He was sent back through the halls and to a room with tables, chairs and lots of paperwork. A bespectacled, bookish looking man sat behind the desk, a different man than the one he met with this morning. Looking up from his work, the man flashed a smile at the young ninja.
"Ah, Ryota I take it?" he started, "Let's hear your report then." After detailing the events of his day, the older man looked perplexed. "A squirrel huh... and you said it had a white star on its back? Curious, curious indeed... I have an idea of who could be the source of this, but I'll have to look into it further. I don't think you'll be needed to tail this woman anymore, so you can take your payment now; if the enemy is who I think it is, then this is out of the hands of a Genin such as yourself. Good work today Ryota, I appreciate the late night report."

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TWC: 2027

Claims:
+4500 Ryo
+20 Mission AP
+10 Speed
+10 Vigor
1500/1500 WC for Water Release: Exploding Water Colliding Wave
1500/1500 WC for Water Trumpet
139/1750 WC for Damage Reduction Shield

Approved