Settling In, Setting Out

Mon Aug 14, 2023 5:24 pm

Missions to be Completed:

Kurai found herself in the Land of Fire in the small town of Tanzaku Town. Near the major village of Konoha, Kurai knew that the woes and issues that could plague them were simple and plain if caught. Banditry was not an easy profession to be taking apart of and especially surviving as long as she has, the woes are plain and present. Though some days a reward can be as easy as sniping contest, but that was not today. There was something else to be taken care of today that was asked of the Phantom, collecting an extra dollar. Someone was not paying up to a local gang and she was aware that getting into the folds of other entities would be one way to find our more information about where her sister might be located. The biggest hurdle would be to make it back to the Land of Marsh where she grew up, from there she would be able to gather more information.

Until then, jobs were jobs and she would not let the problem be a problem much longer than it needed to. Finding the notes that were necessary in a undisclosed letter, Kurai sent out within the town to go shake down an old couple with the guy being the one who was at cause for the first slippering from the gang to start this whole escapade It would be simple and plain to approach as just walking up and thus she did so. Being a newer face, the shopkeep seemed to be accepting of the whole situation of her introduction. From there, she was easily able to convince the keep to pay up the difference from what was owed and then a little bit more. A promise, a note, a small woe in the future as Kurai made it clear that it was not supposed to happen again. Blood would trip from her wrist as she wrung her hands back into their normal positions.

When pressed by the gang asked how Kurai was able to manage it, she didn't not press any answers but she knew the threads she had inside her tasted and yearned for more blood. Heaving a heavy sigh as she left the drop off and headed back to where she was staying, the threads she used to help convince the man to pay up were covered in a little bit of blood that came from her wrist and left with a simple and plain word about the man, "Disgusting." as she wiped off the blood on her pants before continuing back to where she rested her head in this small quaint town. There was much to prepare for and work towards but it was for the next few days to handle and take care of those tasks. The next thing up after reviewing her payment for collecting the payment of the shopkeep was simple, a new bow and some arrows for herself to replenish what was lost in the woods sometime ago.

WC: 502, TWC: 502, Mission WC 502/500

The following day there was a small competition that Kurai had signed up for. 'The Greatest Marksman' had issued a challenge for all to attempt to accomplish should they deign to do so. With the concept in mind and the task at hand, this was a simple and easy task for the Phantom to accomplish should they choose to do so and as such, easy money for the trials ahead of her. Collecting the plain bow that she had figured out herself, there was much to be desired in the sense but hopefully it would shake off any chance that she could lose out on for this challenge. The first issues she encountered was names and as such register to take on this task as a young woman named 'Yuki Yuki'. Many didn't bother to ask further as who would name someone such a ridiculous name but when Kurai said it straight, quiet, and otherwise not as a joke, no one pressed further on the mysterious woman's name.

Stepping up to the plate at the height of the sun, Kurai rose to the challenge once the name 'Yuki Yuki' was called upon. Many were curious as this individual in contrast to 'The Greatest Marksman' was surprising. The marksman in question was shorter and stouter, almost a dwarf in the sense of a fantasy novel as Kurai was almost an elf in stature. The long bow in question that Kurai had listed as the weapon of choice seemed to have been a good choice as the marksman seemed to have a bit of difficulty wielding such a bow but did not back down even after seeing Kurai began to prep her shot. "Bullseye only. First to make it wins." She stated plainly as she awaiting a response.

The only thing to note was that Kurai shot before one was given knowing full well that her ability was that of not an average person due to her body allowing her to adjust her stance to accommodate such a large and unwieldy bow. Without making too much of a fuss when her body adjusting her stance, hidden under the clothes she wore, Kurai's arrow strayed true and locked in a bullseye almost immediately after calling the challenge. The dwarf in stature man took his shot flustered and it went wide. He tried a second one and even a third, each time going wide and snagging the side of the target. Before any more words came from Kurai, her hand extended out with an open palm to claim the reward money. As quiet as she came up and upstaged the man, she slinked back into the shadows as quietly. The reward money rivaled the payment she received for extorting a shopkeep and she was fine with such a simple task as more and more finances would allow her to closer to her true goal, finding her long lost sister by making it back to the sub-continent she hailed and called her own home. For now rest would be required and a run down building had been made her home.

WC: 515, TWC: 1017, Mission WC: 515/500

Finding an old abandoned bathhouse available to rest her head in for free, there was plenty of space and facilities to use. The business had seen better days and a sense of melancholy came over the young woman as she assessed the damages and disarray that the establishment was under. There was little the Tau could do about it but there were plenty of towels and other clothing attires left behind for use. Enough allowed Kurai to settle in quite nicely and was a good place for her point of contact to reach her in the area should there be work available. On occasion, the Phantom would visit next door even, a cute tea shop. Though she was not always one for tea, the baked goods were nice and sweet, though she avoided the pastries with blackberries. One day she overheard the one issue she knew would likely arise but apparently, the rundown building next door that she was staying at started to attract attention.

Simple enough in concept, Kurai recognized it was time to relocate from this tiny town to somewhere else for the time being. There was not much to her attire to reclaim from the place before prying eyes were upon the building thankfully. Cleaning up, it was easy to leave the place better than she had found it and so she felt she probably should make it worse. Make sure those who ventured would need to clean up before finding any evidence of herself staying here. Once she started to scatter and remake the mess she stumbled onto, Kurai made notes of storing specific items that were there originally to places to return to grab later or to store and hopefully come back to once the building was under less scrutiny. Once these couple of tasks were complete, she needed to touch base with her new contact to inform the situation, thus leaving the once rundown bathhouse behind.

While scattering through stuff an old ledger of sorts fell from a false-back slot on the wall. Curiosity raised in the Tau as she grabbed it quickly and left it as is to sell that the location was abandoned and ransacked. There was much to find and figure out by the woman who was eager to sell this ledger off with whatever contents remained behind. Due to the need and desire to leave with urgency though, Kurai opted to not remain any longer with the recent discovery of the book. Once out and about she made the drop along with a note to her new contact within the village so she could remain under the radar. The contact had left a note within the drop for herself to pick up and should she accept, a new job for her to complete. Now it was time for the archer to find a new place to rest for the time being while here within the Land of Fire. Afterward, Kurai would then aim and plan to be ready for her next task, arson.

WC: 503, TWC: 1,520, Mission WC: 503/500

Arson was not in Kurai's wheelhouse of skills and abilities but it should be fairly easy to take advantage of what was present in a farmhouse to set it on fire. A simple one is good enough to spook the residents into confirming to the wishes of the local gang. Many found themselves on the rough side of the law and even at that point, needs were still being met by those falling in line. Disturbing the balance was something that the Phantom understood from the times she had to survive through the travel that was not planned. As long as there was equilibrium from one side to the other there was no reason to disturb the order. When one sought leverage between two parties, it was always the one who was in the seat of power who cracked against the ones who sought to disturb the order. Kurai as an agent for such maintenance to the balance upon this day and she felt it was a simple order of operations for the day.

Upon finding the farmhouse at the outskirts of the town, the Phantom observed for a few days to get the routine of the family in order before making her move. It was simple as the ask was to avoid casualties and such there was not much else to worry about from there. Once the family had left for the day or set off to work on the land that the family occupied, Kurai slipped in before anyone could be none the wiser, her Black Threads allowing eases of access into such a home. Nothing beyond what she could imagine of what a home looked like. Mental anguish and disgust riddled her relatively frozen face of reactions. A black cauldron rested in the kitchen space with a fire underneath leaving it to bubble and churn cooking what was inside, boiling and mixing its contents unattended. A simple motion released her black threads to the cauldron's stand, gripping at it's joints and pulling back, knocking the boiling substance over and scattering the fire pit below.

Quickly escaping from the sudden inferno, Kurai gasped for air before darting away as the farmhouse quickly caught flame. It was not what was anticipated by the Phantom as the goal of simply knocking over the cauldron set aflame to the whole of the structure. Thinking to herself, Kurai looked over her shoulder as shouting and screaming erupted from nearby the home. 'Guess the contents were flammable. Not bad for not knowing.' As fast as the flame rose, the inhabitants that were nearby came flocking to see what happened. Gone with the wind, Kurai made her way back to Tanzaku Town's proper residence as there was naught much else to accomplish there but accept the payment from the drop once the news came forth. Although there were questions that Kurai wished to have discovered from that home before setting it ablaze, she figured that it would be best left under ashes as the lone woman maintained her steady investigation to find her sister.

WC: 512, TWC: 2,032, Mission WC: 512/500

The latest escapades of the Phantom involved a heist of a peculiar instance, a pet-napping. Though Kurai was unsure of the whole affair, the money being offered to take claim of a pet. With the only specifics was that it was a young offspring that needed to be taken though only one was being requested. Seeing the details included an ex-adventurer type made Kurai nervous on how to handle such an affair. A light sigh escaped the archer's breathe assessing the situation provided and grabbed the equipment she needed to be able to keep up should something arise and the need would be available to flee. First task would be to stake out the home before making any moves. Watch their movements, check to see what happens throughout the day, etcetera. Such a task seemed miniscule but considering the other options, the Phantom took care and mind of what was possible to come up during any altercation that occurred.

Upon arrival, Kurai noticed that there was an 'adoption' sign setup outside of the house with a large sum of ryo per adopted animal. Seeing the outrageous amount of the sign, she shook her head understanding a bit more of why there was a job to claim an offspring from this animal. Unsure on the type of animal though, the Phantom took pains to see if anything gave insight to what was the creature of this tasks. Seeing that adoptions were an option, she decided to knock and investigate what they were before settling in for the full heist. Transforming to a slightly younger girl with dark brown hair, Kurai figured this was for the best to help avoid the issues that could come back to her. Upon knocking, an elderly gentleman saw Kurai and smiled weakly as he gestured her in. Instantly seeing small baby lizards brought Kurai's attention to the forefront of the problem. Capturing or running out with a lizard is not exactly what she had anticipated and the fact they required a lot of extra equipment lead her to believe there's likely a reason the drop off for this task was a bakery.

After asking the elderly gentleman about picking one up of the lizards, he happily obliged to the little girl he saw. Once the back was turned and he left, eyes were quick and darted to see if anyone or thing would notice as it appeared the parent of such hatchlings was not around to witness the events about to unfold. Quick to grab and quickly out, Kurai made a mad dash and focused her own abilities into long strides to quickly make the drop off and head back to her latest base of operation. With the drop off of the lizard sucessful and the payment dropping out from a window above the door, the Phantom would slink away into the darkness of the alley before making off for the day. Happy with the past few days of work, Kurai was more than willing to reward herself with some rest and relaxation.

WC: 507, TWC: 2,539, Mission WC: 507/500

[Exit]

Claims: