Kagegakure; Team 5 [IC Thread]

[El_Frenchie]

Sanma

"Zato Ichimaru." He said, pointing at his own chest, then nodding towards his aquiantence, "Sanma....uhh...just Sanma."

"Utanaru." Sanma felt the need to complete the information. He looked at the genin with sharp eyes and he smiles, still running side by side with Ichimaru and Ryuu.

"I'm afraid you're chasing after only one target now, we found our lost tiger already. Did the other one looked like a mummy? He's our other teammate. Our sensei sent us in this direction to look for him."

Looking ahead, and around them, he couldn't see any clues, but if they were all running in the same direction, then there had to be a logic to why their sensei sent them this way.

"We are team 5, pleased to meet you Ryuu."

[ChronicLunacy]

Matsumoto Ryuu

"Whoa. Fast tiger." Ryuu said, eyes widening a bit in surprise and appreciation. "So this mummy kid's gone missing, eh? Sure, I'll help ya find him!" he went on to say without anyone asking him. "Stick with me and we'll find his bandaged butt in no time!" He grinned, just pleased that his entire day wasn't going to be devoted to mindless training once again.

"So you guys go to the ninja academy with me? I don't know if I remember you." he said, jumping over the next small space between the buildings while keeping an eye out for mummy boy. Truth be told, he wasn't entirely sure what to look for. Did the kid leave strips of bandage behind when he ran? That'd be mighty convenient. Otherwise, he just looked for disturbed scenery, people blinking in confusion, or just the guy himself walking around at normal speed. Why would he come all the way out here when the tiger he was chasing already went back? Should we sweep back around assuming he followed the tiger? he thought to himself.

Spoiler

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Spot: 1d20+7=23

[El_Frenchie]

Similarly, Sanma looks for signs of unrest, disturbance, and confusion. As well as his teammate, naturally. They are going pretty fast, but sufficiently slow so as to be able to spot something.

Spoiler

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Spot: 1d20=11

[ZeroNumerous]

You scout out the area where Toshio apparently went, but the only thing you find is a small brown package marked "Sanma, Urgent". When the young genin opened the box, he discovers a letter, a knife, and a obsidian stone carved in the shape of a dog.

The letter is simple, and describes a very plain dark-haired old man. The letter goes on to inform the genin that their mission is to deliver the knife to the man, between the ribs and just between the lungs. The man is a simple merchant named Onaki Miro, and he's apparently cheated your client out of several thousand yen. Lani doesn't expect guards, but the search for Toshio has to wait until this mission is completed. The mission must be completed before 10 P.M tonight.

Good luck!

12:33 P.M.

[El_Frenchie]

Stopping quite abruptly telling Ichimaru to stop in his tracks, the genin stoops down and finds the parcel. While reading, he looks towards Ichimaru. Scratching his head slightly, he takes the knife in hand.

A mission, already? She was only gone for a bit, and now she sends us a pack with our first mission? And not just any mission either... already a mission to kill.

Sanma sighs slightly, his head bent forward slightly, reading the letter once more. He then turns towards Ichimaru, walks up to him and says:

"Ichimaru. I've got good news and bad news. The good news is, we don't have to continue looking for Toshio. The bad news is, we got our first mission... and it's not easy a D-rank."

Sanma then explains to Ichimaru the mission, and reads the letter to him.

"I suggest we start scouting in the area and try and gather some information on the man. He's cheated our client of money, so I expect we might get some info at the marketplace. Coming?"

"Oh, and, I think we should look for info on the man separate ways, we can meet back on the main road after we think we've searched enough."

Spoiler

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I'll roll the gather information check when we get there.

[Paragon Badger]

(Snap, how did the new posts escape me? )

Scratching his head, Ichimaru groaned. 'Killing a man?' He thought, '...Uwah! Sensei really is crazy.'

"Uhhh. Our 'client'? We don't have a name or anything?" The boy asked, "Is there anything else with the letter?"

[ChronicLunacy]

Matsumoto Ryuu

"An assassination, eh? Pretty cool of your jounin to give you guys this kind of mission right away!" Ryuu piped up, looking over their shoulders at the note. "With Toshio gone you'll need a fourth member for your team. So, I'll go too!" he grinned. "And don't expect to know the name of the client. The village elders would keep that sort of thing confidential so the target's associates don't try to get revenge for the death."

Ryuu adjusted his Kagekure headband, pushing it back a little bit so that it kept his hair out of his eyes. "It should be easy enough to find him if we search the marketplace. We wait until he's alone, deliver the...eh...package, and get out before we're seen. Mission accomplished. Doesn't sound so hard."

Truthfully, Matsumoto seemed a little squeamish despite his words. He didn't know how he was supposed to feel about having to kill a man, but if he was going to be a ninja, then assassination was part of the trade. He'd have to get used to killing eventually if he was going to become the best there was.

[El_Frenchie]

Sanma

Scratching his head, Ichimaru groaned. 'Killing a man?' He thought, '...Uwah! Sensei really is crazy.'

"Uhhh. Our 'client'? We don't have a name or anything?" The boy asked, "Is there anything else with the letter?"

"Yeah. The package that we are to deliver. A dagger. And specifically, deliver it in between the ribs, and beneath the lungs. I hope you guys are keen stealth specialists... Because we'll need to find him, and then get him to drop his guard."


"With Toshio gone you'll need a fourth member for your team. So, I'll go too!"

"Well, that's much appreciated. Alright, the clock's ticking, all go to the marketplace, then meet back on the main road and crossover information that we found."

He closes his eyes, breathes deeply, the wind brushing through the hair of each of the members of the 3-man team.

"I'll hang on to both the stone and the knife. Now, scatter!"

Sanma starts in the south of the marketplace, and first looks into the poorer shops, seeing as the man cheated their client. Hopefully we can wrap this part quickly and find his location...

Spoiler

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Gather information check: 2 charisma modifier. (1d20 2=18)

[Paragon Badger]

"St-...Stone?" Ichimaru asked, wide-...mouthed. Sadly, it seemed as if Sanma had fled before the blind shinobi could inquire about the potential clue.

Facing the other remaining member of the trio, Ryuu, Ichimaru wondered if he was still there... Taking no chances, the ninja turned around and made an abrupt fall on his rear, into a cross-legged position, hoping to gain some privacy from the other ninja.

Sliding his forehead protector off of his 'eyes' for a moment, he soon replaced it with a few thick layers of bandages.

"Maybe we shoulden't go announcing our presence as ninjas too much, huh?" he said, turning around and stuffing the forehead protector in one of his pockets.

"Then again..." he continued, "I think more than a few people in the village already know about me... because of my, uh, 'gift!' Heh...heh."

[ChronicLunacy]

Matsumoto Ryuu

The other genin smiled at the blind shinobi's self deprication. "There are so many ninja in the village that I doubt you would stand out too much in that regard. Just do your best. If you have a comm device, tune it to channel 3. We'll keep in touch." he said. Then, he jumped off the roof, heading towards the east market to begin his own search for Onaki Miro. He wasn't going to start any conversations. Rather, he would simply keep an eye out for the man described and listen to any idle chatter while keeping to the shadows himself.

Spoiler

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Listen: 1d20+3=21
Spot: 1d20+7=10
Hide: 1d20+9=19
Move Silently: 1d20+9=20

[Paragon Badger]

Crossing his arms and brooding for a short moment, Ichimaru looked discontent.

"Onaki Miro, huh?" The shinobi pondered... "Uwah! I've never even heard of the guy...Too many of us asking the same question in the same place will seem suspicious..."

Groaning, he got up and made his way towards the residential part of town (if there was one...)

Spoiler

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Gather Information(Where is the Onaki Residence?) (1d20+3)[22]
Time Taken: (1d4+1)[5]
Bluff("My master has sent me to deliver a message to Onaki Miro and I forgot the directions.") (1d20+9)[21]
Listen, just in case (1d20+14)[22]

Edit: Five hours!?

[ZeroNumerous]

12:35

Matsumoto Ryuu

Kagegakure is a fairly large village. And finding one man among six hundred others is nearly impossible, particularly when you're just walking around looking for someone as plain as Onaki Miro.

After four hours of searching, Matsumoto learns that Miro usually sets up a shop in the merchant quarters, but only on Tuesdays. Since today is Wednesday.. Well.

2:35

Sanma

You discover that Miro usually sets up a shop in the merchant quarters, but only on Tuesdays. Today is Wednesday, so..

3:35

Ichimaru

You discover that he lives somewhere in north sector of the civil district. A very poor sector indeed. You can use the information you gained to find his home rather quickly.

4:04

Group

You all gather at the road and exchange your various information. Time is running out..

[El_Frenchie]

Sanma

"I'm glad you chose not to do your investigation at the marketplace, Ichi. Good thinking."

Sanma thinks over the information in his head for a second.

"Alright, let's go into a dark corner, I don't really want to discuss that in the middle of the road."

Going towards a dark corner of a dead end street, he takes out the objects. The obsidian stone, the dagger, and then says:

"We know he sets up a shop on Tuesdays in the merchant quarters. That's not a lot. Maybe he's already afraid of something. And because he has bad reputation, we can assume he's already on his guard."

Sanma nods quickly, presenting the letter again.

"We need to hurry. Let's sync our watches. It's 4:04 now. The mission finishes at 10:00. We have roughly 6 hours to find his house and carry the mission. If his house in the north district, then let's focus our efforts there."

Sanma looks towards the road.

"There's not a lot of time left. Let's try and make this quick. If you have a comm device, put in on channel 5. Ichi, you lead the way."

He looks at the obsidian stone in the shape of a dog and his eyes narrow slightly.

"You keep this Ichi. I don't know what it is for, but seeing as it came with the package, I feel we should hold on to it."

Handing it over to Ichimaru, he gets up.

"Alright, let's go!"

Sanma speeds through the marketplace, jumps towards the roofs and then makes his way progressively towards the north of the civil district. He turns on his comm device to channel 5 and speaks:

"Alright, you guys try to scatter around as possible. If the info is correct, then he's around here somewhere. You might want to take off your headbands if you're going to talk to people. Copy?"

He then goes North, taking off his Kagegakure headband, walking around that part, looking for the person described as Onaki Miro. Asking a few people where he might be found, staying at a distance from Ichimaru.

Spoiler

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First roll: Gather information check. (+2 modifier) Second roll: Spot check. (+0 modifier) (1d20=13, 1d20=6)

Gather info:
13+2=15.
Spot:
6+0=6.

Number of hours gathering info:
(1d4+1=5)

edit: ((urgh, 5 hours, if uninterrupted xD))

[Paragon Badger]

Sighing, Ichimaru scratched his head. 'I bet these guys are as crazy as Sensei...' He thought, 'I'd better find this guy, fast.'

Nervously, Ichimaru walked sideways until he put his hand on the wall of a building, giving him some vague way of telling him which direction he was going. Trying to remember the exact directions to the Onaki house, the shinobi concentrated and made his way to the merchant's home, as fast as he could.

Spoiler

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Listen (1d20+14)[22]

[ChronicLunacy]

Matsumoto Ryuu

Ryuu went with Ichimaru, slipping off his headband and sticking his hands in his pockets. He calmly walked down the street whistling so that Ichimaru would be able to know where he was. He stayed on the other side of the street, but kept the blind genin in sight as he was basically following the kid to the house. All the same, he kept his eyes open for anything unusual and tried casually to blend in to the crowd.

Spoiler

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Spot: 1d20+7=18
Hide: 1d20+9=25

[ZeroNumerous]

Group

Finding the way to the Onaki house wasn't too hard, at least, you think it's the Onaki house. A trio of homes stand side by side, each of them built in the same style. One house sports a red roof, a second sports a yellow roof, and the third has a blue roof. Ichimaru knows it's on this street in this area, but which house specifically isn't something he knows.

Sanma

You find out that he lives on the same street that Ichimaru had found out earlier. No one knows which home he lives in.

9:04 P.M.

[Paragon Badger]

After moving for quite awhile, Ichimaru realized the whistling wasn't just incidental.

'Eagh! I'm being followed... Probably coulden't hide from em' very well, but I might be able to outrun him with Shodan Kousoku... I hope it doesn't come to that.'

Scratching his head, The ninja paused.

"Uhhhh..." He mumbled, "Is that you, Ryuu?"

Putting his hand behind his head and smiling innocently, he turned around and said, "Ummm. This guy, Onaki Miro... He may be a thief... as far as we know. But... that doesn't really mean... he deserves to die, right?"

"Umm. Maybe we should just make him...dissapear... Like, to another village. Heh. Heh. Heh?"

Frowning, the ninja's head sunk and he thought, 'Eep! I guess keeping my intentions a secret from both Sensei AND my other teammates is impossible now."

[El_Frenchie]

"Well, we're stuck. Again."

Sanma had approached the two of them again.

"I couldn't find out which home he lived in, Ichi."

"Ummm. This guy, Onaki Miro... He may be a thief... as far as we know. But... that doesn't really mean... he deserves to die, right?"

"Umm. Maybe we should just make him...disappear... Like, to another village. Heh. Heh. Heh?"

There is a pause. He sighs, closes his eyes and thinks to himself in silence, 'What would my parents say?'

Opening two shiny eyes, he looks at Ichi.

"I don't like it either. But I want to be a shinobi. Like my parents. And die like my father. I'm going ahead with this, even if I have to vomit both breakfast and lunch after it's done."

His eyes are determined, but of course, for Ichi, there was only the determination in the voice for him to pick up.

"Now that you voiced your opinion, I wouldn't let you go do this yourself."

He smiles.

"I don't trust you with your benevolence."

He laughs cheerfully.

Looking at each of the houses, he then says:

"Ichi, you can choose to go with either Ryuu or me. We will inspect both houses at the side of the center one. Me and Ryuu both have comm devices."

He turns to Ryuu:

"Channel 5, Ryuu. All report any findings immediately. And if you don't find anything, report anyway in 10 minutes. If there's no report, then we all know something is wrong, and we can back each other up."

"Now, let's choose what houses we go to. We have less than an hour to go through with this."

[ChronicLunacy]

Matsumoto Ryuu

The young shinobi tuned his comm device to channel five and gave Ichimaru a sideways glance. The poor guy was scared of killing someone...understandable...Ryuu felt sick thinking about it. However...he was going to be the best ninja to ever come out of Kagekure and in his mind he'd long since come to terms with the killing part. It was part of a shinobi's job. He just hoped that Ichi's squeamishness wouldn't screw their mission when the time came.

"Why don't we just ring the doorbell and ask for Mr. Onaki? When he answers the door, we deliver the package. One of us goes around back to make sure he doesn't flee." Ryuu piped up. This way, they'd take the houses one at a time. With one person in the back, even if someone in one of the other houses overheard, he wouldn't be able to get out without being seen. "It'd have to be either me or you in the back, Sanma. We have the comm devices and...well...Sorry Ichi, but you wouldn't be of much use as a lookout."

[Paragon Badger]

Frowning, the shinobi put his hands on his hips, "Why do you say that? Not even ninjas can move silently enough to sneak by me... I think. Gah!"

Scratching his head, Ichimaru bit his lip and smiled, "But...maybe I should stay out in front. Heh. Heh."

'...What should I do?' He thought, '...Do I stop them? Maybe...maybe there's more to this. Maybe this is a test... Err...well, Tora-Sensei doesn't seem cunning enough to test us like that... Or maybe, she's cunning enough to make it seem like she's not cunning at all! ...Eagh!'

"Hey..." He mumbled, "Promise me one thing? We'll...at least find out whether he deserves it or not, okay? I mean, maybe this is all one big mistake, eh?"

[El_Frenchie]

Sanma

He looks towards Ichimaru for a second, then smiles broadly:

"Well, if we get an opening, I'm sure we can capture him. Do your best, Ichi-kun!"

Looking towards the left house, he breathes deeply for a second.

"Don't worry about the man, I'm sure he's grown-up enough to know that his actions must've consequences. Whatever happens, he knows what's coming, Ichi."

Turning to Ryuu, his eyes narrow slightly.

"I don't really mind either way, Ryuu, but let's not lose anymore time. Let's do this your way then."

"Ryuu, if there's no answer at the door, you guys break in through the front. I'll take the back. Let's start with the left one."

He pauses.

"I'm counting on you Ryuu."

He moves around the block of houses, then finds a spot where he can observe the back of the three houses and hides. Using the comm device, he speaks softly:

"Alright, I'm in position. Go!"

Spoiler

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Hide roll (1d20=5) total: 5+2=7.

[Paragon Badger]

Shrugging, the Shinobi calmly (albiet grudgingly) walked up to the left most house, felt around for the door, and knocked.

Looking back at Ryuu, he gave a thumbs up. 'I have a few harmless genjutsu that can subdue him...' He thought, 'As long as everyone stays calm.'

[ZeroNumerous]

Matsumoro and Ichimaru

A young boy, no older than ten or so, answers the door. He's wearing a pair of well-worn blue jeans and a dark blue shirt. "Hello?"

[ChronicLunacy]

Ryuu

The blind genin was starting to become another problem in an already tension-racked mission. Nevermind that they had to assassinate someone who lived in the village, but they had an incredibly short time limit with little preparation time. How were they supposed to not screw this up? Add to that Ichimaru's reluctance to go through with it and everything was going wrong. If the kid decided he didn't want to be a part of it and tried to stop the other two or warned the target it would take another turn for the worse. Before Ichimaru could wuss out again, Ryuu spoke up in a sort of just another day on the job, bored member of the workforce tone. "Is Mr. Onaki home?"

Of course it'd be his luck that the man had a family. Everything that could possibly go wrong usually did. He should have expected it. Either way, it was too late to do anything about it now. Hopefully, Onaki would be a neighbor and they could just pretend to collect donations for a school fund raiser or some such. If not, well...they couldn't leave any witnesses. That meant making some hard decisions. What did a twelve-year-old do to get these kinds of troubles anyway?

[ZeroNumerous]

Ryuu

"Oh, your here for dad.. Well, he's visiting our neighbor right now.. Right over there." The kid points you across the street. "Her name is Suni, and Dad spends alot of time over there.. If you need to, I can go get my mom."

[Paragon Badger]

As the boy said, "Right over there.", Ichimaru groped about and eventually found the boy's outstretched hand, then bowed with an apology.

Scratching his head, Ichimaru said, "That's quite alright. We'll deliver it ourselves, It's about his business, and the information is a bit sensitive."

Bowing low and respectfully, the genin made his exit and walked towards the other house.

Waiting until the merchant's son closed the door (or if not possible, just trying to be discreet), the ninja used his com device. "Sanma, he's in the house across the street... And uh... I don't think he's alone, there is a Miss Suni with him. We have to be careful..." Turning to Matsumoro, but allowing Sanma to hear him, he asked, "Do you...think you could impersonate his son? I...uh, was never so good at that jutsu."

Frowning, the shinobi made up his mind and said, "I...I'll only help you guys if we agree to take him alive. I mean, this is as much a mission against his son as it is against Onaki. At the very least, We should let someone more wise determine his punishment."

Spoiler

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Bluff to boy: (1d20+9)[23]

...Yes, I like playing with forum's dice roller at every possible opportunity.

[El_Frenchie]

Sanma

"Sanma, he's in the house across the street... And uh... I don't think he's alone, there is a Miss Suni with him. We have to be careful..."

"Copy, I'll go round the back and we proceed in the same way. I'll try to be extra careful and maybe find somewhere where I could get in, in case you need my help."

"Do you...think you could impersonate his son? I...uh, was never so good at that jutsu."

The boy listened and facepalm-ed his face. A son?! Oh gods, he has a family. Ichi is going to go crazy.

And as expected:

"I...I'll only help you guys if we agree to take him alive. I mean, this is as much a mission against his son as it is against Onaki. At the very least, We should let someone more wise determine his punishment."

"Ichi..."

There is a pause, as he tries to determine what to say. For him, too, the situation felt somehow unreal. He could relate to what it felt like, losing his father. A shattered family, a broken future. He saw himself walk alone, in the woods. He would collapse every now and then. The rain falling from the sky, running down his cheeks, his entire body, the water mingling with his tears. "Okasan... 'tosan..."

Opening his eyes, he looks for windows or maybe a back-door from where he could enter.

"Ichi... This might not be the mission where capture is even possible. They're two, and the woman inside, we don't know who she is. She might even be trained as a kunoichi."

He pauses again.

"Don't be careless. You could die. We need to act as a team."

Breathing deeply, he takes out his daikunai and gets ready. Getting closer to the back of the house, till the point he is up against the wall. Out of sight of the window, attempting to listen inside. Whispering:

"First, we dispatch the woman with him, then we focus on getting him. Capture... if possible."

Spoiler

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Move silently skill (1d20+2=9)
Listen skill (1d20=7)

[ChronicLunacy]

Ryuu

"Sanma's right, Ichi. We have to do this right or we could die. We need to complete our mission to the letter or we're failures as shinobi. I know it's a lot for twelve-year-olds to handle, but...sometimes a ninja has to kill. Its part of our job. If you can't deal with that, maybe you shouldn't be a shinobi." Ryuu said soberly. "I haven't learned Henge no Jutsu yet, so I can't do the impersonation either. I think we should take out the woman with the genjutsu Ichi mentioned before and then all attack Onaki at once. Only way to be sure we get him."

[Paragon Badger]

Shrugging, Ichimaru conceded, "Alright. But I mean... what are the chances Miss Suni is dangerous? Sanma said the letter doesn't mention any guards or anything."

Sitting down, cross-legged, the shinobi groaned. "I'm...not so good at finding shadows, so hiding and sneaking around isn't my thing unless I can use my genjutsu. Maybe I should go up to the front entrance and distract whoever awnsers the door... being blunt has worked perfectly for me, thusfar... And nobody suspects me." He said, with an uneasy and unconvincing smile.

"If anything goes wrong, I always have these." He said, revealing a small stash of smoke grenades and flash scrolls.

[El_Frenchie]

Sanma

Whispering inside the comm device, Sanma kept an eye out for anything like an open window, a back door or anything that could be used as an entry on this side of the house.

"Copy. Ichi and Ryuu, you two go through the front, Ichi first. Ryuu, you're backing Ichi up, but stay hidden preferably, or just act nonchalantly. I'm staying here to prevent anyone fleeing from this side. Call me through the comm device if you need me."

Taking the dagger he received for the mission in his hand, he examines it now more carefully. Maybe he'd have to use his new technique. Hopefully Miss Suni wouldn't be dangerous.

"Alright, go!"