Drunks in Distress: Rough Robbery

The streets of Tsukigakure were bustling with livelihood as they enjoyed some fall festivals, the beautiful and gothic decorations really brought out the spooky nature of the village. The sounds of merriment and fun echoing throughout the shops and making its way into the newest local tavern called "Moon Drop Inn", a recent upstart that had rather delicious sake from a locally sourced rice farm. It is here where Takashi found himself at the bar, he was attempting to charm a local beauty that happened to have the misfortune of sitting by him. He seemed to be performing rather well as he poured her another round in hers and his choko, their laughter as the glasses clinked together seemed to roar out over the crowd. Their fun was interrupted as a small portly fellow walked from the kitchen, he looked over at Takashi and spied his katana and shinobi like demeanor. "You there, care to make a little ryo for services rendered?" Takashi looked up from the dame, who was currently leaning into his chest using him to hold herself off the barroom floor, "It's such a delightful night, what did you have in mind sir?" The girl sighed as he seemed to defer his attention to the prospect of ryo, looking up to see the once 'drunken' behavior was gone as Takashi seemed sober and alert. She began to wonder if he had been playing her all along, standing up slightly angered yet still drawn for some reason. She placed a card in the fold of his robes by his heart as she turned and walked away, Takashi leaned forward on the bar as the little man continued to explain what he needed from him. "So, we had a break-in this morning. Lost near a dozen cases of our one of a kind sake, if you stay the night here you can watch the bar during the day and catch the perpetrator. Deal?" Takashi pondered this proposition as he poured another full choko from his sake bottle, lifting the little cup and swirling it a bit before shooting it down. As he cleared his throat, Takashi placed his kiseru in his lips. A moment would pass as he pulled a flip lighter out and ignited the tobacco in the little brass cauldron that made the bowl of his pipe, he blew a controlled and perfect smoke ring only to be followed by his response. "I stay all night, you allow me access to a supply of sake and I'll take my payment when I had over your intruders. Those are my terms." The portly man mumbled under his breath "As bad as the robbers..." he displayed a look of frustration, but responded more directly "Fine, but if you fail to hand anyone over or destroy the bar. You'll owe me for the sake and the damages. Agreed?" The terms were agreeable in Takashi's mind, he nodded to the man his agreement as he continued to puff his pipe and wait for the night to close. Throughout the night he would survey the room, having a few ideas of suspects but not pursuing until morning when he could catch them red handed.

As the night came to a close, Takashi walked out the front door with the other patrons being sure to be seen leaving. He, despite having drunk most the night, pretended to be overly drunk as he stumbled down the street. After traveling a good distance he slipped into the nearby alley, traversing his way back to the rear employee entrance of the Moon Drop Inn. After being met by the portly man at the door, Takashi was allowed inside and even had the door locked to lock him in the bar so that a burglar wouldn't know someone was still occupying the bar. Takashi made his way back to the bar, this time standing behind the counter as he pulled a candle from one of the shelves. Pulling his lighter he lit the wick and then placed a box shaped shade over the candle to dim the light and keep it from giving him away. He turned reaching into the sink grasping a sake bottle wrapped in a steamed rag, a gift the bartender had left for Takashi and his morning that would follow. A few hours passed as this 2 am stakeout crawled into the later hours of 5 am, Takashi tossed the ceramic sake bottle in the small trash can containing the other 2 bottles of his morning. He took out his kiseru and lit the tobacco as he took a puff of smoke, he knew this was a waiting game and time was on his side it would seem as he began to hear the familiar sounds of a key in a lock cylinder. Takashi, as he exhaled a puff of his pipe, used this action to quickly blow out the candle from earlier living himself in darkness. The low glow of his pipe, the only light in the entire barroom, Takashi jumped to the rafters above and took a seat watching the front door as the clicking from the cylinder lock unpinning and turning. After a few moments the door opened, the three men piled through and closed it slowly behind them as they made their way towards the bar. Takashi studied each one as they quietly conversed amongst themselves, the tall thin man was operating under the name Ro, the chunkier of the three going by Cho, and finally the smallest and possibly the leader was Lo. As they scurried around the tavern floor, Takashi honed in his sense of hearing to catch the man Lo speak. "The cart will be here in 30 minutes, find the crates in the back while I take a look around. Remember, we will load the wagon out back of the bar." Takashi had been continuing to puff his pipe as he stayed in tune with the events happening on this night, though it would soon take a turn as the perpetrator named Lo began to smell the smoke in the air.

Takashi as quietly as possible slipped off the rafter he had been sitting on, swinging by his right hand and narrowly avoiding detection from Lo. Takashi landed on the other side of the counter, he laid his pipe on the bar itself as he slipped into the backroom behind Cho. Now standing in the kitchen behind Cho, a man completely oblivious of his observer. Takashi slowly drew his katana from its scabbard, lifting his right hand grasping the grip as he slammed it down at the base of Cho's skull. Quickly Takashi used his left hand to grab the collapsing brute of a man, looking to the freezer door as he opened and tossed him inside unconscious. "One down, two to go" Takashi would think to himself as he ever so slightly pushed the kitchen door allowing him to peer into the main room and take note of Ro and Lo's positions. His eyes widened as he heard the words from Lo, "Ro, go in the back and find out what is taking that idiot so long." Takashi slipped from the door opening and even hid behind the tall racks of pots and pans, watching as Ro seemed to peer around in search of Cho. Takashi waited for the right moment to pounce and when it would prove the most beneficial, soon Ro turned to head back into the main room in a hurry. Takashi stuck out his foot hooking Ro's feet making him crash down to the floor making quite a ruckus as he pulled the shelf of pans down on himself, Takashi quickly jumped on the shelf and stomped on his head to knock him out as he did Cho. Then he jumped back into the rafters above, using it as a perch as he waited for his final target.

The sounds of crashing pots and pans caused Lo to spin around and look at the door to the kitchen, that is when he saw the kiseru pipe sitting on the counter of the bar. His eyes seemed to twitch as he looked at the smoldering cinders of tobacco, the disbelief in his eyes that it took him so long to see the signs Takashi had left behind. Lo walked slowly to the kitchen door, placing his hand on it and opening it ever so slowly. The sounds of the hinges as they squeaked open due to the minuscule speed the door was opened, Lo peered into the darkness as he called out to his accomplices and accepted that there was no response. "Where are you? I know there is someone here!" Takashi's eyes flickered over to the door as the light of the rising sun began to creep inside, Lo continued to creep his way into the kitchen as his eyes continued to scan back and forth over the room. Takashi continued to observe the man as panic set in more and more, going as far as drawing the ninjato that hung on his hip holding it shakily in his right hand. Watching as the criminal passed beneath him, Takashi dropped from the ceiling his katana in hand as Lo spun around narrowly parrying his blade with the ninjato he was wielding. The surprise and almost fear in his eyes as the blades struggled against one another, Takashi began speaking in his usual calm demeanor "Hello there, it seems our mutual friend, the owner of this fine establishment has decided you can no longer complete these late night transactions." A smile crept across his face as he began to bare down on his blade and push the spine of the ninjato towards the enemy's chest. With a quick motion, Takashi tilted the blade and ripped it back towards himself. The tip of the blade slicing downward on Lo's collarbone as blood began to saturate his shirt, Lo winced as he seemingly stumbled backward. Takashi flicked the tip of his blade down towards the floorboards of the kitchen, the blood splattered on the floor as he began taking steps towards Lo. As Lo took shaken steps backwards, he began to speak "Please, I'll leave right now. I won't come back, I swear." Takashi felt slight sorrow as he watched the criminal become helpless and afraid of his current situation, however in order to get the reward Lo would need to be captured. With the quickest movement he could, Takashi pounced forward using his katana to quickly flick around the ninjato and effectively disarming, Lo following it by a left handed punch slamming into his gut. Lo's body gave way to his weight as his consciousness slipped away from him and he collapsed to the ground, Takashi sighed as he returned his katana to its scabbard and began pondering the method he would use to restrain the three till the owner arrived in a few hours. After searching through the kitchen, Takashi luckily stumbled across twine used for bread and tying together meat concoctions and gathered the three into the main room. A few moments transpired as he tied very tight and uncomfortable cuffs to each of them, making sure he looped it enough to create tensile strength enough to restrain them.

Takashi walked back over to the bar placing his kiseru pipe back in his lips, taking a moment to re-lite the tobacco and begin taking a smoke break after the morning he had. Soon followed by him grabbing the last bottle of sake that had been left here for him, it was barely still warm but was better than no drink as Takashi filled his choko. A few hours passed, by now the criminals had awoken and were consistently complaining about their situation, as the portly man from the night before walked through the front door. "Found your thieves. I did knock over one shelf in the back, well technically he did.." Takashi would gesture to Ro, "However, I will take my payment now please." He outstretched his hand. The owner chuckled as he paid Takashi, made a few comments as he called the local shinobi tasked with internal village peace keeping. Takashi would make his way out there door, satisfied with another successful pay day.

(WC 2045)