Settling in

Mission Details:

Within the safety of the quaint little Inn, Maku would once again be seen digging through his knapsack.  No matter how often he seemed to pull things from it, each new venture produced more.  This time he pulled out a small pink folder, seemingly filled with several different documents.  Opening it, he would lay the papers on the table beginning to rifle through them.  Searching for several minutes he would finally seem to find what he was looking for.  Moving the paper from the rest he would file the others away and return the folder to the knapsack's cavernous depths.

"Luckily I had the forethought to think of several things."  He would say looking over at Youka.  Handing over the paper he'd give him a chance to review it.  The document was from Hook, the broker that he utilized for his missions.  Prior to their departure he'd had Hook scour across his contacts to look up any jobs that might be available within the land of fire.  The missing ninja network ran deep it would seem, and this forethought had paid off.  They were still getting themselves ready, and while doing so here presented itself another opportunity for resources gained.  

He would give his friend a couple minutes to read before he went ahead and explained the details regardless.  "I guess there is some rich guy hanging around these parts, someone who frequents the gambling section.  Not a nice guy so anything we take from him won't be missed or reported.  Good way for us to get ahold of a little more cash, and maybe some information."  He'd say while moving about the room.  As he did he would attach and set up his armor.  holstering the knife to his front, he would move over to the mirror placing in his contacts.  Soon he would be in his complete Takigakure armor and regalia.  Everything set to a the nines, and documents within one of his pockets, he would check himself in the mirror for anything that seemed out of place.  Satisfied he would turn back and look at Youka.  "I'll find the guy and bring him here, then we can see what all we are able to get from him, how's that sound?"  He'd give a smile and without giving him much choice in the matter he would move to the door.  Ducking out, he would hit the streets, searching out his target.  

Moving through the streets he would head to a place known as the game room that offered several different types of gambling tables.  It was there that the mark was said to spend the majority of his time.  Easily getting inside, he would park himself at one of the gaming tables.  Placing a paltry bet, he would order a drink while he waited.  Pulling out a photo from a pocket, he would review it for a moment before placing it back.  Violet eyes scanned the room, searching for the one who was on the photograph, though he seemed to not be here yet.  Focusing on the games and drinks, he would let the time go by, looking up every so often to scope out anyone who game through the main door.   It took about an hour before the man finally arrived.  He walked in, started throwing some money around before taking up residence at his own table.  Withdrawing his bets, he'd move over to enter into the roulette game that he was playing on as well.  Placing a small bet he would watch the man every so often, with short glances up.  No need to strike up an actual conversation just yet.  

These short glances finally came to fruition when his own was met with the targets.  once their eyes were locked, the mission was already a success.  A genjutsu later, a bit of manipulation and a cover story of dealings.....and the target now sat dumb in the Inn room in-between Youka and Maku.  In total he was out of the room for around two hours leaving Youka to do, whatever it was he did when Maku wasn't around.  "Viola here we are."  He'd say arms spread wide showing the captured fellow.  "Now all we have to do is figure out where he keeps his goods, and do a little collecting......well and find it if its not nearby.....that would be unfortunate."  He'd say trailing off.  "I'll give you first crack, lets some information first though, it wouldn't due to go in blind.  Why don't you talk to this bloke, and I'll go do my own bit of investigation...what do you say?"  he would still be smiling, in that way that Maku had.  His tone upbeat, moving in false falsettos.  "O but remember, there are people about soooooo..."  He would put his finger to his lips before making a shushing sound closing the door as he left the room again.  

Bouncing down the stairs he'd make his way to the little pub below where they were staying.  Sidling up to the bar, he'd order a drink and wait.  Places like this were always the best places to get information.  You could learn so much from the regular conversation of folks, besides the drinks didn't hurt either.  He'd gotten tips on a couple different jobs that they could perform while traveling.  Youka presumably was taking care of the man upstairs to find some ill gotten gains, on top of getting any information on the land of fire he could.  Information often was a valuable resource, and as a valuable resource it sold well.  A standing mission that Hook had stated he would pay well for was any information on the major villages of the world.  No doubt getting anything detailed would be nearly impossible without visiting them themselves, but some things where possible.  Friendships between nations showed allies, who the kage was and their name could reveal secrets, all of these things were useful.  Rumors and the like where common, but getting the information from inside the actual country, well that was even better.

His time at the bar came and went, conversing with a variety of blue collar workers.  He heard many rumors and even more stories.  If half of what he learned was true, then well....he dooubted very much that youka would like to hear any of it.  From what he learned through careful questions as an outsider, that the Land of Fire had been involved with a conflict with Kirigakure.  It seemed that the nation was still recovering from such an event though the people didn't like to talk about it much from what he gathered.  There was an acting hokage, though Maku never did get his name.  Hoping that Youka would be able to get that information, there seemed to be no immediate allies that the land of fire was involved with.  At least from what he could tell anyway.  No news or rumor mills of joint exams, the people didn't seem to know of any foreign shinobi taking up residence within the town recently.  Though nothing was outright said, It was possible to fill in the holes.  

Again, the majority of this was conjecture and rumors, but what else could one really get in a place like this.  Paying for his drinks, he would move to go back upstairs, which was suspiciously quite.  Making his way back to the room, he'd unlock the door and go inside.  It was time to see if Youka had gained any information either on the country, or the money....either was fine.

TWC - 1253

So much was going on during their travel to the land of fire, and instead of going directly to the village and starting exactly what needed to be done Maku was invested in these side stories. He said the it would be for the better as the information they would gain would be invaluable, and also the ryo they earned along the way would help out in the long run just in case it was needed for anything else they would need to purchase. Youka sighed as he sat up from the bed looking in the direction of his friend. He hadn't slept the night before and had only let his body rest as he stared at the ceiling while listening to Maku snore throughout the night. The little amount of sleep he needed and the lack of food he needed to intake were all a side effect of his time in stasis. He could also more than likely attribute it to the extraction of the cloned bijuu that had disappeared from his body by some magical method. His body more than likely was attempting to collect itself and figure out what was missing in an attempt to feel that void and with nothing there anymore it would never feel the hole that was now there. His body was attempting to heal or feel something that couldn't be done. During the night he spent his time thinking on their strategy moving forward and what they would do once it had actually begun, would they be able to execute it to the effect that he wanted this entire thing to go. Each step of this plan had a specific moment that needed to be met in order for them to reach the next step that needed to be reached both of them had a position they needed to play and fo far they were on the right track but the village was within reach and that would be the time to see if anything would fall out of place. Youka also spent his night focusing his chakra control once more throughout the night to get better at it, he was switching from close range to long range manipulation of ninjutsu. All these new things would make his tactics that he had developed a while ago useless and if he didn't have the proper chakra control now he'd be a burden to his friend who had been doing this for some time.

When Maku had woken Youka had stared as well sitting up in a cold sweat allowing his friend to do his routine of the morning which didn't include anything out of the ordinary. He watched the man move over to the table where he had placed his bag the night before. Maku again reached into it for the seventh time he had seen this time pulling out something different again. Youka wondered just how deep the bag exactly was to hold so many random items that he hadn't seen the same thing twice come from the bag. This time it was a folder filled with documents and he filed through them pulling out a specific folder and placing the others back into his bag on the table."Are these more missions for us to do....you're making us take longer in these areas doing these small tasks beneath us Maku." Taking the folder from Maku's hands he'd open it up to view what was contained on the inside. There appeared to be two missions inside of the folder for them to complete, it seemed Hook wanted to get his worth out of the two while they traveled on their own accord the sly man would definitely hear from Youka if he made it back to the hideout. They should be in Konoha at this point doing exactly what they had come to do but instead they were now, what did the files say... They were to find some random rich person who apparently had hidden some money somewhere that needed to be found using whatever means that were required for the mission to be complete. There was no ending to the mission, no one to give them money or information to just find the money and it's yours, who had even made this type of mission, did they not care what happened as long as the person who hid it came to some harm or not. To Youka it was a waste of time for them and the monetary reward was more than likely not going to be worth the time that he'd put into doing this. The second mission was more in line with what they were on their way to do and it was meant to gather information on the main village they were attempting to gain access to. Another simple mission in that regard they only had to speak to the common villagers to see if anything had changed or if they knew any information on the going ons inside the village as far as who the current hokage was and what the sate of the village was.

All of this was going to be simple he guessed but all the same still something that he didn't want to entertain however Maku felt that these would lead to them furthering their own mission so he'd follow along. They were both equal parts lead in this movement that had started both bringing their own knowledge and opinions to the table to make one fluid thought to the table forming their battle plan. As he finished going over the documents he gave it back to Maku allowing him to do as he deemed needed to be done. While his friend got ready putting on the same garb he had traveled in once more to hide his identity as a missing ninja and become a Takigakure Jonin. "I still don't think this is necessary but ok. I'll wait here for you to bring the fool here. Don't you think it weird though that there is no end goal to this mission, just take the money and mission is complete...it almost sounds like a trap as if he placed it himself to take care of any would be thieves or ninja out of their depth." He'd wait for Maku to answer if he actually did before simply just nodding at the answer and continuing on. The man however was already outside of the door and he could hear his footsteps continuing down the stairs before silencing all together. During this time Youka simply just waited in silence his mind going over different attack patterns they'd be able to use together in conjunction with each other. It had been some time since the both of them had fought anyone of a high rank so seeing how this generation learned how to battle would be an interesting test of their abilities and if the world had passed them by.

He had been waiting for almost two hours before he heard steps coming up the stairs once more though they sounded a bit more labored as if the person was leading or carrying someone with them. The door opened and Maku and some random male entered the room being sat down in a chair with a dumb expression on his face. It seemed that Maku was able to do his thing by placing a genjutsu on the male and influencing his mind to do just as Maku wanted him to by either creating false memories or completely taking over his mind and rewriting it as he saw fit. His jutsu were indeed very useful when it came to subtlety and moving without being noticed. Genjutsu was such a interesting specialty to mater and Maku had done it to the utmost it could be mastered making it his own even if sometime he lived in his own illusions forcing a fake life onto the world to escape what he felt would be a dull existence. When the man was sat down Maku spoke up saying that he'd give Youka the first attempt to gain the information that was needed to continue on with the mission and find the ryo location. He also said something along the lines of don't do anything that would cause too much commotion as they were still inhabiting a place where normal humans lived. It was almost as if Maku was saying that he didn't believe that Youka as able to handle tasks the required a soft hand and only used brute force to get the things he needed...well in some regards he was right but during his great rest he had slowed down, learned to think more and act on those thoughts before rushing into things rashly."Very well, leave this to me."

Watching his friend close the door and once more disappear into the abyss to do whatever it was he was going to attempt to do Youka eyes the man sitting down as he thought of a way to grasp the information that was needed. Sitting for a moment he would think on it, normally he'd just break the man and continue to break something till the male spoke giving him the information he needed, however not wanting to cause attention tho the room or leave blood inside the room. It hit him after a few moments of thinking and standing up from his position he'd walk over to the male slowly with labored breath. Reaching out he'd place his hand atop the males head running his chakra through the victims body he'd feel forward into the persons body. In another moment the rinnegan would swirl into view his eyes now a deep purple color with ripples circling his pupils. Lifting his hand up from the head of the male the chakra would pull upwards as the mans soul was lifted up from the body slightly allowing Youka to read the entirety of his mind without anything left to the imagination. He was able to probe every corner of the mind finding the location of the ryo as well as information on the village they were going to be infiltrating, this man knew very little on the current affairs of anything going on that didn't involve himself or how to make more money. He didn't find any information on the Kage or how many ninja were in the village on that front it was a bust and he hoped Maku would fair better if that was what he had went to go do.

That was when the door opened and Maku came back sooner than he had expected, looking into the room Maku would see the soul of the man attached to Youka's hand as it was being ripped from the males body. It was still attached for now and the body it was attached to was slowly dying the more he pulled the soul from the body."Ah, Maku, I've found the location of the ryo." He'd reply matter of factly still palming the mans soul in his hand."What do you want to do with this man? He didn't have any information on Konoha that I could find however." With that he'd wait to hear from his friend still gripping the soul hopefully Maku closed the door and didn't let it stay open for others to see what was transpiring.

WC 1889/2500

He wasn’t sure what to expect when he entered the room.  Tentacle torture, sure……old school bad cop beat down, why not……ninjutsu of varying degrees performed by monsters of threads, a true classic.  What he had not expected was departed souls and Youka looking like he was having a gentle chat over tea.  Though the tea cup was…a soul.  Clearing his throat he’d carefully close the door behind him.  Making sure that no one would be able to come in and see what was going on.  Making his way over to is bed, he’d have a seat watching.  It was with craftsman appraisal he watched, wondering how his friend had performed such a technique.  He’d never seen one, and he certainly had not heard of anyway to perform it either.  Rubbing his chin, his eyes shifted though they were hidden, and he did his best to peice it all together.  Giving up, probably taking longer than the man wanted, he’d simply say “I mean, I don’t really care.  No one saw me take him, so either do what your gonna do or we gotta make him forget it all.” He’d say lazily, laying back.  He’d wait a few moments for whatever Youka wanted them to do.  He was feeling tired; and slightly tipsy so making the tough decisions just didn’t feel as worth presently.  

 “Well let’s start with the ryo, and then we can try to find more info.  I found out a little bit, but more would be better.”  He’d say standing up and moving around whatever had occurred.  As they left the room to find the ryo; he’d explain what little he had learned from the people of the town, or at least the ones in the bar.  He mentioned there had been conflict with Kiri that konoha was now free from.  To the best of his understanding he’d found out that Jason Senju was no longer the acting Kage though he had been unable to find out what had actually happened to him.  Maku had known Jason, he was a decent fellow from what he recalled.  He was always at least willing to play ball, or that was the impression he’d gotten.  Though was that from a place of strength or weakness, well that was another thing entirely.  Making their way through town he would let Youka lead them to the place where the man had stored all of his money.  

Arriving at a warehouse; Maku entered, to find it abandoned.  Turning he’d give Youka a questioning look, but the man seemed confident.  Pointing to a back room he’d carefully break in, finding the cash stowed away behind a locked drawer.  Counting it out, he’d sigh.  “You know, the way he was throwing cash around at the gambling hall id have thought he had a lot more.  I wonder why there was a hit on the guy.”  He’d say thinking back on Youka’s earlier questions.  He’d asked why the mission was out in the first place, after all there was no place to send the money.  “Maybe he just made the wrong kind of enemies, the kind that don’t need money…:.:bad kind to have aye?”  He’d say with a shrug.  It was possible; or it was possible there was more to the story.  It was tough to say, and he wasn’t in the mood to dig any deeper into the matter.  They had the money, the guy was dealt with; so that was that with this part of the story.  “Thanks for humoring me….”  He’d say casually to Youka as they looked around the office to see if there was any useful information.

“I know we could already be there but, I also don’t mind the wait.  Gives me a minute to acclimate, these headaches….”  He trailed off for a minute.  “Just still annoying.  Trying to be in the top of my game don’t ya know?”  He’d say returning to his normal self with a smile.  Nothing else was to be gained hidden away in the office it seemed.  Erasing any evidence they’d been there they would exit from the place and hit the streets once again.  “I think we should still ask around, see if anything else turns up.  I’m not sure this is enough to get paid for….”  He’d say pulling out a pen and pad from nowhere.  He’d scribble down the notes of what he had found out so far, before putting the pencil behind his ear, as though he was an academic simply out looking for the next finding.  “Let’s just go around and see what we can find, maybe soemthing will come to us….it usually does after all right?”  He’d say laughing.  It was true, more than once they’d simply lucked into information or jobs that had helped their cause, maybe Lady Luck was still on their side.  

TWC - 2058

With everything that had happened during this mission the both of them deserved some rest from these mundane tasks they were being forced to undertake by Hook their weird and eclectic purveyor of missions both far and wide. This one had also been one of the easiest that they had to do, there was no ninja they had to fight, no monster that needed to be put down. There wasn't anything that needed to be taken over or protected it was just a simple come in and find some money that didn't even need to go anywhere it was just theirs to keep without anything else that needed to be done. All of this just made no sense to the doctor while he went with the motions of this latest mission. He had done his job in finding out where the money was located and how to get there, now it was just him following Maku after he had given him the information needed for them to get there. The information took them to an old warehouse on the outskirts of the small town that seemed to have been used as something attached to Konoha before it went defunct because they found something easier to use or closer to the actual village. All win all it was simply just wasted time they spent here and even finding the small amount of money wasn't anything to actually be excited for although it seemed that Maku had found a way to earn more money magically through these missions than Youka did. Even now as they found the ryo it magically doubled in Maku's hands while Youka's amount stayed the same as he looked at it with a weird expression on his face while looking back at Maku as well.

Going with the motions once more Youka just listened to his friend speak and carry on with the end of all this. He had clear agitation on his face and Maku would more than likely be able to see it as well as they finished what needed to be done and they moved onwards. It was sort of like a dull feeling in his stomach with all the going back and forth that he was doing for this small mission. They had spent the day pulling the soul out of some no name just to find a small amount of money in some abandoned warehouse that didn't even have a guard to make it somewhat fun for just a moment. In fact thinking back on it before they left the room he had even put the soul of the man they found back into his body out of sheer boredom he didn't even kill the person but he was sure that the mans mind would be scrambled from the entire ordeal and there would be no way of him being able to tell anyone what had happened to him. Looking back at Maku he'd finally speak to his friend and say just a few words."Are we done yet?" Youka looked at his good friend Maku as they walked back to the town they were staying in. It was a slow walk with both of them talking back and forth explaining varying things to each other. He even explained more of the Rinnegan to Maku in more detail telling him how it worked and even the ability he had used to rip the soul from their previous mark that had given them the location of the money. There was still a lot he'd have to tell his friend but if he had any questions along the way he'd tell him all that he needed to know as he asked the questions.

TWC=2506
(Exit)
Claiming 13k ryo and 65 AP

“Yea, I guess this is it”. He’d say to Youka at his questioning.  With the majority of the deeds done, he’d listen to his explanations of the rinnegan, some of its powers.  Maku would ask a few questions here and there, but it was little more than idle chatter.  Without having the ability to expierences   it himself, some of the nuances were wasted on him he felt.  Instead, he left things simple and got what little bits of information he needed to move forward.  The rest of the day was spent gathering intel around the little village.  He continued to tell his story of being an Ex-Takigakure shinobi who had been forced out when the village had been ransacked.  Now working as a humble vagabond mercenary.  It was a believable lie, back in the days when he was active there was no doubt many who were upended from their homes.  Forced to go out into the world that they likely never would have.  Not everyone would settle in or be trusted to be allowed into other villages and learn their secrets.  No, many would be forced to make their lives in the fringes of society, rather than in the bosom of protection by a major village.

Still the mission wasn’t complete, and with that came the need to discover more.  In talking more and just general looking about he was finally able to get the names of the current Hokage and Deputy Kage.  He would scribble it down in his note pad once he’d returned to the room.  Reviewing his notes, he’d finally roll them all up into a tight scroll.  He’d let Youka know of his findings before setting out and handing off the information to an associate that Hook had turned him on to.  The information would make it back to the boarders of Iwagakure and Yukigakure, the payment already in his hands.  

Storing the money away, he’d kick back and relax.  Opening one of his books that he’d read a hundred times before.  Youka was getting ansy he could practically feel his anxiety or maybe anticipation was a better term, but still….now was not the time for action despite how much Youka wanted it.  No, it was time to relax and learn.  So far he hadn’t seen anything outright wrong within Tanzuka, and it raised his hopes that everything was going to work out and be fine.  Sure there wasn’t looking like a lot of cooperation maybe, but that’s not the worst thing in the world right?

Youka would let his own ideas and plans be known; and Maku would nod along.  They would leave in the morning and continue away on their journey:  closing the book he’d turn in early.  For now, that was all that could be done.  

Exit

TWC - 2521

Claims

Memorizing Youka’s voice with the hunting knife
+26k ryo (both doubled from precense)
+65 ap missions
+50ap max stats training
+2521 towards activating rinnegan

Approved