Spilling the Tea

When Were You:

Roy Goka had finally began to get some semblance of respect in the village. Recently the tasks and missions that Roy was assigned t had more weight to it than normal, and this mission would be the most important one yet. A crime has occurred in the village and Roy was assigned to a team to find out exactly who and what happened here. The mission was simple on paper, gather clues, interrogate witnesses and eventually come up with a suspect or at least some idea of who or what the suspect may have taken.

For this mission Roy was assigned to a team, the first time in a long time Roy had had such a team for a mission, and he was eager to get started and figure out exactly what happened. The mission report commanding the group to meet at the location of crime, the home of a villager here, and Roy was the first to make his appearance.

This time, Roy would be wearing his Ronin Robes along with his new swords sheathed at his hip. The Robes showing off the genin's lean figure with less muscle, built more for speed and sweat, as were the ways of the Goka Clan warriors. Still, Roy would begin the mission by inspecting the outside of the building, looking to see if he could find any clues here before his teammates arrived.

[232]

Malik was making his way back from some morning training in the Hoshi training facility when he was intercepted by a village official. At first the large mountain of a man had assumed that he would finally be getting kicked out of the village, but he soon found out that he instead had been requested to help complete an important mission. Surprised that he had been asked to deal with something so sensitive, Malik still agreed to do it, and was given all of the relevant information that he needed. It included the incident in question, the location and how to get there. It did NOT include who he was actually supposed to be working with, which irked him more than it should have. Why were Shinobi always so damn cryptic?

With a shrug, the man began to make his way towards the scene of the crime. The villagers that he passed on the way there did their usual thing, seeing the large man before quickly scurrying out of his way, followed by the same old hushed whispering behind his back. They must have been feeling foolish, to believe that he could not hear them, or feel their eyes leering at the back of his head. Malik paid no mind to it though, he had a mission and it was not going to complete itself.

The large man was dressed in black pants and shoes, accompanied by a loose white button up shirt that showed off his massive and chiselled figure. It was likely part of the reason that everyone stared at him so much. Not many people looked like Malik, so he really stood out amongst a crowd. This was helped by the fact that he was so tall, he LITERALLY stood out in a crowd.

After a 20 minute walk, Malik finally found his way to the building in question, where he saw a rather tall teenage with red hair snooping around. He would have thought this boy was some random villager trying to dig up some gossip, but his attire and weapon gave him away as another Shinobi. Raising an eyebrow, Malik would approach the boy and speak. "So I take it that you and I are on the same mission today? My name is Malik, I will be assisting in investigating the situation."

---

TWC: 387

At this point in time, Jurei finds herself in the middle of the street, walking alongside a young kunoichi. Well, to call her young would be an understatement when one compares them not by their stature but also by the stark contrast of their appearance. The shorter of the two stands around 5'4" tall and dons a petite frame, her body's curvaceous and feminine features are accented by a pale, fair-skinned complexion, and brown-colored locks that are tied up in a ponytail. She's adorned in a traditional outfit, consisting of a light gray, short-sleeved, and high-necked, crop top. On the right side of her chest, her village's emblem is displayed proudly. She's also wearing a navy-blue, pleated, mini-skirt, and a pair of brown, leather sandals.

Her companion, however, is a completely different story. Standing at 5'11", she sports a supple build and a mature look. She's got a dark complexion, and her platinum blonde hair is styled into a pair of space buns, a tousled quiff with gold highlights, and a face full of makeup. Her attire is composed of a burgundy, cross-back, corduroy, overall dress. Underneath, she wears an off-white, turtleneck sweater. She's also wearing a pair of black, spats, a silver, cross-shaped necklace that rests on her bosom, and a small, white, embroidered, symbol of her clan, displayed just below her torso hidden behind the fabric of the dress.

From a distance, the brunette in question appears to spearhead the conversation, quite animately at that, and the swarthy female listens with a winsome glance, her expression conveying the notion that she's enraptured by the words coming from her friend's mouth. As the two continue their trek, the smaller girl stops in front of a small restaurant stall. The design of the exterior is reminiscent of a food truck. The vendor is a short and slender, elderly gentleman. He's sporting a pair of spectacles, a bald head, and a goatee. His attire consists of a light blue, collared, button-up shirt, a pair of khaki-colored slacks, and a pair of black, slip-on, loafers.

"I'm telling you, Jurei, this is the best place in the village to get a bowl of ramen!" The kunoichi's voice is peppy and lively.

"Yeah, sure. If you're into eating a whole bunch of sodium, then maybe." Jurei's tone is sarcastic, and her demeanor is dismissive, but she doesn't seem annoyed.

"C'mon, live a little! You're not gonna die from a little salt. Besides, we're ninja, aren't we?"

"What does that have to do with anything, Mina?"

"Well, if a ninja can't even handle a little bit of salt, then what good are they, y'know?"

"That's... not how it works. At all."

"Sure, sure, whatever you say. Anyway, let's eat! I'm starving!"

"Fine, fine, you win. Let's eat."

As the duo approaches the food vendor, the brunette takes the lead, and the blonde follows suit.

"Heyya, Oji-san! Can I have two bowls of your finest tonkotsu ramen, please?"

"Of course! Coming right up, my dear."

"Oh, and could you put a little extra pork belly in mine, too?"

"Absolutely, anything else for you ladies?"

"No, thank you. That'll be all."

"Very well, then. Please, have a seat. Your order will be ready shortly."

The two accustom themselves to the two vacant seats before them and converse away until their food arrives. And when it does, Mina wastes no time chowing down on her bowl while Jurei takes her time, savoring the flavor. And to her surprise, the ramen is actually pretty good. A little too good, for her liking, but she doesn't want to feed into Mina's ego so she reserves the compliments to the chef when they're done. Or at least, they would've been done until a grayish-white-colored pigeon carrying a letter lands next to the two, catching both of their attention. This startles the both of them, as the man who served them is busy at work by his station, they spot a small missive attached to the ankle of one of its legs. The pigeon saunters over to Jurei's side of the table, first peeking at her from one side of its face, then eyeing her bowl, then looking back at her again.

"Either that bird's hungry or it's got a message for you."

"So it would seem."

Jurei reaches a hand out to the bird's ankle, and the bird doesn't flinch. Instead, it allows her to remove the note and read its contents silently to herself. It reads, "Please come to the following address immediately. We need your assistance regarding an ongoing investigation concerning a break-and-entry with one recorded casualty. You have been assigned to a team to conclude your findings and either apprehend the culprit or report any further details concerning the matter. —Hoshigakure Administration Facility."

"Huh. Looks like duty calls." Jurei murmurs and grumbles. And just when she was enjoying the meal.

"Aw, really? What's it for?"

"It's confidential, sorry. But I'll make it up to you later, okay?"

"Alright, I'll hold ya to that. Later!"

With that, Jurei quickly—in the most ladylike fashion she can possibly conjure—before she stands up and begins her journey to the specified location. Although the details of the mission didn't specify who exactly she would be working with, a few names come to mind. It could either be with Koda or Kaze, or a completely different and new entourage she'll find herself in company with. Nonetheless, her presence is requested and she intends to answer the call. When she finally arrives, neither appears to her as reminiscent of anyone else she's encountered here at the village. Two men sporting starkly different designs. The one furthest from her dons traditional ronin robes with red-haired and striking blue eyes, his weapon holstered by his person. The towering, hulking figure of a man next to him wears a loosely fitted white shirt, black pants, and shoes. A colorful retinue she finds herself for this investigation, to say the least.

"Greetings," She starts, nodding in their general direction. "My name is Ryoinsatsu Jurei. Am I correct in assuming we'll be working together on this current investigation?"


WC: 1,018
TWC: 1,018/667
TMWC: 1,637/2,000

Roy did not have to wait long for his teammates, Jurei and Malik to arrive, and Roy would take the little team inspecting the house outside for any sort of details leading to the attack. Before Roy could have investigated further, the two of them arrived to begin their work. Roy was not familiar with either of the ninja that were present but this was going to be a great opportunity to meet new people.

Roy gave both ninja a once over when they got close and introduced themselves, clearly the three ninja were a dymanic bunch, and this could mean that the mission could be completed in a number of ways. Roy wasn't too caught up on their appearances though and would be more focused on seeing what they could accomplish in the field. Greeting the two of them with a smile Roy would introduce himself.

"Hey! Roy Goka here, it's nice to meet you both, Malik and Jurei right? I'm sorry I'm terrible with names! Anyways, when I got here I looked on the outside of the building, and it looks like that window up there was opened by force, probably how the assailant got in?" Roy would ask, stepping forward to the unlocked door, opening it, and viewing the damage that was inside the front room.

With furniture broken and thrown about, the front room appeared to be a place where the victim and the aggressor met. As roy would carefully enter the center of the room, he would find a light switch and illuminate the area. Roy would continue to look around for clues, at it looks like whomever attacked this person wasn't very worried about leaving a trace.

[320]

"It looks like we have a lot we can look through here, Malik, help me sift through this debris here, maybe we can find something. Jurei, can you check to see if you find anything upstairs?"

"Or probably how the perpetrator got out." Jurei appends, tapping her chin. If the culprit had to smash open the window to get in, she could guess they aren't the brightest bulb in the box. Then again, it might've been an act of desperation on their part. "I'll take a look around." She nods, turning towards the stairs.

The house is rather spacious for one person, but that's not to say it doesn't have its own charm. A quaint little thing that feels lived in with its various knick-knacks and trinkets scattered about. It's a shame it has to be tarnished by a crime like this. She makes her way up the stairs, taking care not to disturb anything. The first door she comes across is a bathroom, which she quickly dismisses as a likely location for any evidence. The next room she finds is the bedroom. It's a mess, with clothes strewn about and furniture upturned. Jurei recognizes some of the clothing as missing items reported by the victim's neighbors.

"Looks like I found where some of them are." She mumbles to herself, scanning the area for more clues. Her eyes land on a small piece of paper on the nightstand next to the bed. She picks it up and reads it, "Meet me at the address below at 10 pm sharp tonight with the merchandise." The address is unfamiliar to her, but it's worth checking out if there's a chance it could lead them to the culprit. Before she announces her findings to the group, she makes one last bout around the floor above ground for anything else conspicuous.

Traversing to the third room in the room above, she finds a study of sorts filled with bookshelves and a desk with papers scattered about. Jurei takes a closer look at the papers and finds that they're mostly documents related to the victim's work. There are also some notes about a potential deal between two parties that were never finalized. She pockets the notes for later analysis and continues looking around the room. In one corner of the room, she notices a small safe hidden behind a painting of a mountain landscape. When she goes to examine it but fails to notice any signs of it being tampered with during the break. Nevertheless, she makes a mental note of its existence and moves on to the final room on this floor: the attic.

The attic is dusty and cramped, with boxes piled high against the walls and cobwebs hanging from the rafters. Jurei carefully navigates her way through the maze of boxes until she reaches the far wall where a large window is located. Upon closer inspection, she finds that it's been broken recently, most likely by the perpetrator as they escaped. She peers outside and sees that there's a tree nearby that would make for an easy escape route.

"They really nicked this place for all its worth, huh? Must've been a big operation of something if they had to scour this much. I wonder what kind of person would do something like this..." Seeing nothing else, she returns to the ground floor where she finds Malik and... just Malik? Strange, she could've sworn she saw Roy here just a while ago but... maybe life had other plans. Nonetheless, she reports her findings to the remaining member present.

"I found some missing items from the neighbors' houses upstairs, missing clothes in the rooms to the left, and stolen documents in the filing cabinet from the office. There was also an address on a note next to the bed, which I assume is where the culprit is meeting with their buyer tonight at 10 pm. Also, there's a safe in the study that looks tampered with but remains locked. Whether that means they managed to break it in or not, I don't know. And up in the attic is a window that leads toward a nearby they may have used to zipline from the household."

Should Malik find anything else worthy of note, Jurei opts to inform the village officials as to the whereabouts of the upcoming meeting tonight along with the remaining evidence they've found on-hand and what's off-hand at the establishment and finalize the completion of this mission without further delay.


WC: 714
TWC: 1,732/667
TMWC: 2,351/2,000

Requesting approval for the following claims:

Claiming the following *mission reward(s):

► Total Ryo Earned: +8,000 Ryo
► Total AP Earned: +40 AP

*Mission reward(s) doubled via Beloved Presence

Investing 1,732 TWC into the following Element(s):

► Learning Water Element (420/1,500) [1,312 TWC Left]

Investing 1,312 TWC into the following Skill(s):

► Training Singularity @ B-Rank (1,312/1,312) [0 TWC Left]

Malik would turn and nod to the newcomer that joined them, she was quite a colourful individual in comparison to himself, her platinum blonde and golden features were a warm contrast to himself. He often found this to be the case with most people, however, understanding that his presence was not necessarily one that invited warmth and joy to those around him, he had resigned himself to this fact long ago. "My name is Malik, it is good to meet you." His response was short and curt, but he meant no malice by it, instead he would continue. "Yes, it appears that the three of us shall be conducting this investigation together."

It was good to know that this Roy Goka had already begun the investigation ahead of their arrival, giving them a head start to the situation. This was clearly a full blown crime scene. Jurei's observation of how the perpetrator may have forced the window to leave the scene was an interesting one that deserved to be investigated further. Malik had to admit though, he was not the greatest detective, his skills were far more... physical and direct. Roy set out a plan for the three of them, and Malik willingly obliged, moving the debris was definitely more suited to his skillset than peeking around inside the home.

It took Malik little time and effort to move the debris that was cluttered around the area, his large muscles allowing him to do so with ease. He ensured that he took his time though, not wanting to miss even the smallest of details. For the most part, the debris was the usual junk that meant very little to the situation, that was until he found something worth note. A very discreetly hidden, or perhaps accidentally misplaced, kunai. The blade was not the generic type found on most Shinobi, it was curved and had an unusual symbol on the hilt. It appeared to represent some form of winged bird, but the image itself was far too scratched and scuffed to be interpreted correctly. Perhaps this was the insignia of some form of criminal organisation?

Taking the blade, Malik would continue to search through the debris until he decided that there was nothing else of interest around him. He would turn to speak to Roy of his discovery, only to find that the other Shinobi was... gone? What an unusual situation, had he perhaps gone to investigate another area of the home? It was odd that he would not say anything before leaving, but Malik simply shrugged before Jurei returned to him with her information.

Listening silently as she shared what she had discovered, Malik would nod before responding. "I see... It appears that this situation is far bigger than we may have thought in the beginning. I also discovered this dagger." He would pause as he pulled out the blade to show Jurei, before continuing to speak. "I would deduce that this incident would be related to some form of criminal organisation, so it would be safe to assume that wherever this meeting is going to take place, there will be many individuals to keep an eye out for. This does not seem to be an isolated incident."

Following their brief conversation, Malik would join Jurei in reporting the information to the village officials, all the while wondering what happened to the third Shinobi in their group...

---

Malik wrote:

Exit

---

WC: 567
TWC: 954

Claims:
4,000 Ryo
20 AP

With max stat %
-954 WC towards Digital Shrapnel at B-Rank (954/1,125)

Approved!

Note: Previous Bonus AP Total from 350 AP + 20 is now 370 / 1,000