Strange Guests

Mission:

Amikiri woke up and jumped out of bed. He was certainly in an interesting location. It was strikingly different to the home of his upbringing in Haven Country. While his childhood was marked with bland food, hard work, and family, this location was very different. Tea Country was defined by exotic goods and incredible wealth. The residents here seemed to be more interested in the material part of the world than the people they were with. While Amikiri did work to make money, it was all to give his family a better life.

Anyway, back to the job at hand. In his short time here, Amikiri had noticed a booming gambling industry. The black haired Hyuuga tried to avoid partaking in this. Amikiri thought of gambling as a dishonest activity because it relied on profiting from the misfortunes of others. It contrasted sharply to his principles of honest, hard work.

The Hyuuga, quickly threw together a breakfast. It was simply, just some eggs and a glass of water. He scarfed down his breakfast and went to the casino. Not to gamble, but for a job. He was being paid to investigate someone who was lurking around the casino. It was unknown if they were simply a paying customer, or someone with a more sinister ulterior motive.

The black haired man approached the casino. It was large and colorful, with gold lights and large windows. Amikiri wasn't a fan of the architectural style, but to be fair, he also wasn't the target audience of the casino. He walked inside, looking for a door. He was told to head back to a security office of sorts.

WC: 274/1500

The Hyuuga made his way through the casino. Bright lights and noise filled the air. Even for this early of an hour, the casino was packed. He was having a bit of trouble finding this security office, so he stopped to ask an employee. They were dressed quite weirdly. It reminded Amikiri of something, but he just quite couldn't put his finger on it. The Hyuuga asked, "Excuse me miss. Do you know where I could find the security office?"

She looked at Amikiri and responded with, "Yes. If you go past the blackjack table and take a right, then once you see the bathrooms on your left, it should be right in front of you."

The black haired man nodded and said, "Thanks for the help." Walking away from the encounter, Amikiri realized he was probably a little underdressed for this event. While it certainly wasn't as cold as the snow country had been, his attire maintained it's function over form appearance. The warm weather had caused him to shed his usual flannel jacket, leaving him with just a bland dark green shirt and a pair of black jeans. His hair also didn't help his appearance, with a patchy stubble on his chin and the hair atop his head being quite messy.

Eventually, he made his way to the door he had been given directions to. The Hyuuga knocked twice and said, "Hey, I've been told to help out."

The Hyuuga stepped back a bit as he heard the sound of metal sliding on metal.

WC: 256
TWC: 530/1500

A small rectangular hole in the door opened up and he saw a pair of eyes poking out. A voice asked, "Help with what?"

The black haired man simply responded with, "I've heard of some, how do I phrase it, a suspicious and possibly unsavory person lurking about."

The voice responded back with, "Ahhh, you're here to help with that. I appreciate you coming down."

Amikiri saw the hole close and he heard a bolt sliding out of place. The door opened up and there stood a man, who motioned Amikiri in. Amikiri stepped forward and closed the door behind him. The man, who Amikiri assumed was in charge of security, stood about an inch higher than Amikiri. The Hyuuga stuck out his hand and said, "Nice to meet you. So what details is there to know on this man?"

The security guard shook Amikiri's hand and said, "Well, not much unfortunately. That's kind of why we called you down here. All we know is that it's a he and he dresses in darker colors."

Amikiri, being a disappointed with the information given to him, said, "Well thanks. I'll see what I can do." He, with permission from the security guard, grabbed a master key to the building on his way out of the room. He exited the office and made his way back into the main casino area. With how little information the Hyuuga was given, the size of this space, and the amount of people, he knew this would take a while. Looking around, he saw a door that said "Staff Only."

WC: 264
TWC: 794/1500

He unlocked it, walked through, and closed it. The staff areas were a sharp contrast to the rest of the casino. While not dirty, they certainly weren't the incredibly clean and polished the main gambling floor was.

Amikiri made his way through the hallway until he eventually got to a ladder going up. Climbing it, using surface walking to be extra secure, he found himself in the rafters. He climbed into a corner of the rafters, hoping to find a spot where he could gain a good vantage point. After settling in a corner, out of sight of people, he activated his Byakugan. He first started with a general overview. Trying to see who was gambling and who was staying away from the tables. Eventually, he managed to narrow his list of suspects to around ten or so people. He used his Byakugan's other feature, allowing home to focus with incredible detail on all their movements. One man in particular was leaning up against a casino table and looked engaged, but never played. He had no cards in his hands or chips in front of him.

Amikiri decided he'd give it some time. Better to let this man be guilty and kicked out a bit later than could've been possible than send an innocent man out on to the street. He kept his Byakugan focused on the man for about thirty more minutes. Eventually, his suspicions were confirmed. The man had been glancing around the room and still hadn't bet any money or played any cards.

WC: 256
TWC: 1050/1500

The Hyuuga let out a quiet sigh. It was a shame to see criminals in this world. Though, a thought crossed Amikiri’s mind. If this man was trying to disrupt the profits of the casino, an organization Amikiri disagreed with, could it really be that bad?

The Hyuuga pondered this for a second, debating the implications of this dilemma. However, what ultimately made him stop this debate was the realization that, ultimately, he had promised to do a job for someone and that promise was to be held.

The black haired man carefully walked out of the rafters, towards the ladder he had found prior. He used surface walking once again, trying to minimize his hand contact with the ladder. The ladder was clearly a bit rusted and not taken care of. It made Amikiri wonder. Could criminals possibly be lurking up in the shadows of the rafters, a place that no one paid attention to?

Well, the good news was, they certainly weren’t when Amikiri was there, as the spectacular ocular abilities of his Byakugan made sure of. He continued down the hallway where he came from earlier, retracing his path exactly. Before he exited the staff only area, he took a deep breath. While he had a couple run-ins with various hooligans and thieves while living in the countryside, he never had something that had potential to go as poorly as this could go. Fortunately, he was in a relatively public location, so if things went south, there would likely be someone to cover for him, especially from the security guards office.

WC: 264
TWC: 1314/1500

The black haired Hyuuga approached the man. He was dressed in a simple black suit with a white button down shirt underneath. He wore a pair of black dress pants and black dress shoes. The only thing that was the slightest bit irregular about the man was his tie. It was a very loud purple, which set him apart from the others near him.

The Hyuuga walked up to him and stuck out his hand, saying, “Hello sir. May I know your name?”

The man looked at him, did not shake Amikiri’s hand, and said, “Hi. My name is Charles. What is your business here and with me?” Amikiri noticed the man eye him up and down. Unfortunately, Amikiri did not have his Great Spear. He had left it at home this morning, figuring a weapon almost six feet long would certainly draw attention.

Amikiri retracted his hand, as this man clearly was not interested in a handshake. The Hyuuga said, “Oh, I’m just gambling. You look like an interesting fellow, so I figured I’d come talk with you.”

The man responded with, “Well, I’m not the biggest into gambling, I’m mainly just here to watch.”

The Hyuuga let out an internal sigh, but with no external change to his expression. Amikiri said, “I’m sorry sir, I’m with security. I’m going to have to ask you to leave. The casino doesn’t want people who aren’t paying customers to be lurking around here and such.”

The man looked at him sideways, sighed, and said, “Well, I guess that’s all my time here then.” Amikiri had suspected a confrontation, but surprisingly had none.

WC: 271
TWC: 1585/1500

Charles walked out of the building, marking Amikiri’s job as complete. The black haired Hyuuga headed down to the security office and, using the master key given to him earlier, opened up the door to the room. The security guard from earlier was there and said, “Are you done with the job?”

The Hyuuga nodded and said, “Yep. He wasn’t interested in gambling so I requested he leave the building. Fortunately, he did so without any problems.”

The security guard responded with, “Well, that’s good. You’ll receive your payment for helping out soon. However, I have one last request for you.”

Amikiri said, “And that request is?”

“We’ve heard reports of some strange conversations near the food stands. People scheming, claiming crazy things, and we’re not a very big fan of it. Since you’re here already, we’d like you to check it out. We’d be willing to pay you. In fact, due to the increased likelihood of risk and danger with this task, we’ll make it double your last job.”

The Hyuuga simply responded, “Sounds good to me. I’ll do some investigating and if they seem bad, I’ll get them out of here. However, I’ll need to head home to grab my Great Spear. Even if I don’t have to use it, it’s certainly intimidating.”

The security guard nodded and said, “Whatever you need to do to get the job done. Just let me know when it’s done and we will get you your paycheck.”

The Hyuuga headed out of the security office.

WC: 253
TWC: 1838/1500

While he was armed with some basic ninja tools, he knew he would feel a lot safer if he had access to his Great Spear.

The black haired man started walking out of the building. It was certainly very difficult to navigate, likely by design. It’s easier to keep customers in if they can’t find their way out. Though, it did seem counterproductive to fire safety. However, once again, that was not of Amikiri’s concern. He managed to make his way out of the front doors of the building. He started to walk down the street, back to his location of temporary residence. He needed to get his Great Spear.

The entire town was beautiful, with clean, cobblestone streets and pristine, clean sidewalks. Coming from a rural area where, no matter how much his family tried to keep a clean household, there was a thin layer of dirt or dust underneath everything.

Eventually, he made his way back to his temporary home. It was small. Not in the cozy way though, the room was definitely quite cramped. Amikiri didn’t mind though, after all, he was only here for a few days worth of time. His Great Spear leaned up against a wall, taller than he was.

The Hyuuga reached his hand forward, grabbing it. Despite its immense size, it felt light in the hands of Amikiri. He was well practiced with it and due to his strength, the blade did not feel awkward or heavy in his grip. He would’ve liked to take a few practice swings and stabs to warm up before he left, but his apartment was too small for that.

WC: 273
TWC: 2111/1500

He exited his apartment and walked back down the road to the casino. As opposed to earlier, where he might’ve gotten some side glances for his style of dress that clearly showed he wasn’t from around here, now many chose to steer clear as Amikiri walked down the street with a weapon almost six feet long across his back. Eventually, he made his way back to the casino. This time however, he would not be entering the front door. He would go around to the side, where some of the food stands were and where he heard the trouble was.

Security stood there and they put out their hand and loudly said, “Sir, we’re going to need you to stop here. We cannot let you have a weapon like that while entering the premises.”

The Hyuuga sighed internally and said, “I’m here on a job, just contact the main security office. Tell him I’m Amikiri and I’m here to check out suspicious activity at the food stands.”

The two security guards looked at each other, then one nodded. The other security guard walked off, heading into the building. Amikiri waited there for a couple of minutes, before he noticed the other security guard came walking out.

The security guard approached them and said, “Yep, everything checks out. Just make sure to carry this pass with you in the future.” The security guard handed him a plastic card, with some info on it. It identified Amikiri as temporary security so he hopefully wouldn’t get these questions anymore.

WC: 256
TWC: 2367/1500

He strolled into the outside area, alert. It was very beautiful. Smooth, well cut stone lined the ground. The masonry was very impressive. There were trees scattered around. Despite his time living near forests, Amikiri never really had a knack for learning trees, as opposed to his father. However, he was able to figure out these trees certainly were trees. The area was scattered with picnic tables and people walked to and from the food stands. The outside area of the casino was clearly a nice break from the fast paced environment inside.

Amikiri, noticing that it was almost noon and he had a relatively small breakfast, headed to one of the stands. He looked over the options and ultimately settled on a plate of pasta with ground beef. While it was rather plain, it reminded him of the food of his home and childhood. While he was eating, he was not just eating though. He chose a spot in the corner for two reasons. It would make it exceptionally difficult to sneak up on him and he could easily monitor this entire area.

He started looking around, trying to gather who might just be here to have a fun time and who might be getting up to bad activities. He noticed a group of people congregating. Apparently this group wasn’t as stealthy as he had been told. Using his Byakugan, he was able to observe them scribbling notes on pieces of paper and distributing the paper in between each other.

He continued to use his Byakugan, trying to read the paper better. Looking at the paper, he saw words such as, “kill, steal, take, rob, casino, money, big money, cash, bag, door, guards.” After seeing that collection of words, Amikiri decided it was enough. However, he realized something. It would only take him just a couple minutes more to finish his lunch. The Hyuuga started shoveling down his pasta and meat sauce. Once he finished, Amikiri moved towards the group, disrupting their conversation.

“Hey you guys. I think it’d be a good idea for you all to get out of here.” As he said this, Amikiri took his Great Spear off his back. He was told not to kill anyone, so he’d have to use the large blunt shape that was at the end of the handle.

Some of the group looked a bit disturbed by his weapon, before one man spoke up. It seemed to be a leader of sorts. “Well, why don’t you get out of here. That sword isn’t scaring anyone.”

The Hyuuga said, “I hate to break it to you guys, but you’re planning some illegal stuff here. I’m gonna ha-” Before he could finish his sentence, to surprise the burglars, he started to attack the leader. He grabbed his spear and rotated it around in his grasp, so the blunt end would be attacking the leader. The Hyuuga thrusted quickly forward, crashing the blunt end straight into the head of the leader.

The leader, not being nearly as fast as Amikiri, barely could react and crashed to the ground, now unconscious. The rest of the group scattered.

The remainder of that day went by quickly, as Amikiri told the security office what had happened and, after a busy day, decided to go to bed early.

WC: 551
TWC: 2918/1500

Claims:
+29 Vigor (26 > 55)

245 WC to Beloved Presence (2000/2000)
1000 WC to Hiding Like a Mole (1000/1000)
1000 WC to Armory Seal (1000/1000)
500 WC to Basic Sealing (500/500)
173 WC to Hidden Arms (173/1000)

6000 Ryo
20 Bonus AP
7 Chocolates