[Graded][Plotboard] Scum and Villainy

[Sanjuro]

"You're done for."

The kunai whistled as it escaped his grasp, sailing with unerring accuracy through the air. Birds scattered and woodland creatures vanished into the undergrowth as Kazuo leapt from his perch among the trees, surveying his kill with a small sense of pride. It wasn't the most exciting way to get the job done but sometimes quick and quiet was better than chasing down his pretty and ending it with his bare hands. Retrieving his blade, Kazuo turned his attention to where he knew Shikari was waiting. It was time to check back in.

---

"Grubs up!" Kazuo hollered as the rabbit stew finally reached a stage where Kazuo was sure he wouldn't accidently poison himself or his boss. Pouring some out into a bowl, he offered it to Shikari before pouring another two for himself and Koji. Slurping at it loudly, he looked up at the canopy above and managed to get a peak at some of the stars blinking through the night sky. Around a mouthful of rabbit meat, he turned back to Shikari and started talking. "We should get to the building site pretty early tomorrow morning. So far there's been no sign of bandits or highwaymen. Kinda lends a bit of weight to this guy being a stingy prick."

Putting the bowl down on the forest floor beside him, the Inuzuka picked up a dead branch and used it to stoke the small campfire they had going. He wasn't overly worried about stealth. Like he mentioned, there had been no sign of bandits nearby so far and they were still well within the borders of Fire Country. If anyone was stupid enough to try anything they were well within their rights to take care of the problem with any amount of force they deemed necessary.

"How do you wanna handle this? I can have Koji look around while we talk to the guy or we have split up three ways. He's got a good nose, if folk're stressed or worried then he should be able to pick it up and let me know. Could always all go and get this guy talkin' but there's always the chance having all three of us up in his face will give him a heart attack before we get any answers, heh."

[Yura]

"Are you sure I can trust your cooking?" Shikari asked skeptically as she took the bowl of rabbit stew from her companion. It had admittedly been a while since she had had to live off the land, foraging for food in the wild. She eye'd the stew cautiously at first, but seeing no obvious reasons to reject it, she lifted a spoonful to her mouth and swallowed. "Passable." She said after a few moments, "It'll do."

Finding a tree suitable to her liking, Shikari seated herself at the base of the tree, bowl in hand, and leaned her back up against its base. It positioned her just perfectly so that she could feel the cool night air while simultaneously feeling the radiating heat of the small campfire, making for just the right temperature. "We still have a little ways to go, but yeah. The lack of bandits is fairly telling. It's not like we've been going out of our way to avoid them, after all. We've been following a fairly well used route so you would think they would be watching, if they existed that is." She had been trying to remain objective throughout their journey, not wanting to immediately decide that her suspicions were correct, but each day that they were met without resistance chipped away at that resolve. "Perhaps when we are almost there they will actually show themselves."

"As for how we should handle this, I'm torn between two different options. Part of me wants to just march right up to him and confront him directly, but as you said, or rather implied, he very well may just break down and become useless to us. And you know the council will hear about that which wouldn't end well for either of us. The other part of me wants to take some time to visit each of the villages that the workers come from and verify some information before confronting him, but news of our arrival will likely spread and the villagers may reveal our presence to him, if only accidentally, which will cost us the element of surprise. Each way has it's downside, I'm just trying to figure out which would be best."

[Sanjuro]

Kazuo put on an affronted face, clutching at his chest. "I'm hurt, boss, truly I am. Passable? I take the time to go hunting for us, cook for us, and all I get is a passable." Large crocodile tears welled up in the corner of the Inuzuka's eyes and he turned away from Shikari with a very exaggerated 'harrumph.' "Not even so much as a thank you. See if I cook for you again!" Leaning back on his outstretched hand, Kazuo let out a long sigh after finishing his bowl of stew. Sure, it wouldn't pass muster at some fancy pants restaurant, but he had thrown some rather nice wild herbs in there damn it and at least he liked it. If the sound of Koji pushing his bowl around with his snout was any indicator to go by the giant mutt had enjoyed it as well. "You've been stuck behind a desk too long, Shikari. Forgotten what real food tastes like. It's okay, I forgive you."

He didn't talk for a while, just listened as the Nara laid out their options. It had actually been a long time since he had had the joy of taking on a fair simple mission. Sure, he wasn't actually on a mission at the moment, simply helping out Shikari as the beginning of his working vacation, but it was a lot like his old Chuunin days. On the road, travelling to some city or village to help out some local with their problems. This was the simple life. Well away from the stress and headaches of having to manage a rather significant portion of the village's forward defences. Caught up in his musings, Kazuo would take a minute to respond.

"How far is it between the site and the villages? Couldn't be more than a couple hours at the rate we can travel. We could easily hit them up. There's also the option of finding a generic enough disguise, use a Transformation technique, then blend in as one of the workers at the construction site. Gather information from the locals while they're at work, get a bead on the foreman from the level of his 'employees' so to speak." Taking on the appearance of others had become a rather common strategy for Kazuo these days. Maybe it was because of his reliance on the Beast-Man Transformation when fighting alongside Koji but hey, it seemed to get the job done. "And if it does get back to the council… I don't know, you're one of the villages few active Bannin. Can't you tell 'em to just shove it?"

[Yura]

"I most certainly cannot tell the council members to go shove it." Shikari replied with a small laugh, a hint of amusement in her voice, "Not that I wouldn't like to from time to time. They're a real finicky bunch. I'll tell ya, dealing with them on a regular basis is pretty draining and sometimes I just want to tell them off, but, Bannin or not, it would make a mess for Takeo which in turn would be a mess for me." She finished with a sigh. Looking up at the stars, it occurred to Shikari that this was the first time in a long time that she was able to see the stars so clearly, even if they were only poking through the canopy of the trees above. Ever since Kawa had passed and Rai had taken a step back from the shinobi life, Shikari had spent the vast majority of her time within the walls of the village managing the affairs of the organization. The days where she regularly went out on missions were replaced by days spent under a pile of paperwork or stuck in meetings. When had she become so trapped?

"But anyways, getting back to the task at hand, the villages and the construction site are only a few miles apart from each other so we would easily be able to cover the distance in an hour tops." She said, gathering her thoughts, "I suppose, if we were able to enter the villages without raising attention, we might be able to disguise ourselves and gather some general information about the area and the construction site, as you suggested. Though I would like to visit both villages so perhaps we split up at one point." She paused to consider her last suggestion, realizing that she wasn't fully sure she liked the idea. They were both capable shinobi, but if a horde of bandits truly were to attack, it would be beneficial to be together when it did. "Well, we'll see where the initial village search takes us, I suppose. What's Koji going to do while we're in disguise?" She asked, referring to Kazuo's canine companion. She didn't have much interaction with him, likely Kazuo's attempt to keep the dog's aggression in check, though there had been a time in the past when she had been able to offer him a treat without losing a hand. "I don't think he would blend in so well at a work site."

[Sanjuro]

"I wouldn't worry about that giant mutt," Kazuo said. Koji looked up from his bowl at the sound of his name being spoken and immediately bared his fangs at Kazuo when the human spoke. Kazuo stared right back and for a moment his eyes flashed amber. The giant hound held his gaze for a second before bowing his head and burying his nose between his paws, curling in on himself to get some rest. 'I'll send him to scout the outskirts while we're in town. I could transform him, but I don't want to waste the chakra just in case we do end up needing to fight something. There's an old Inuzuka trick, super high-pitched whistle. People can't hear it, but he will. If we need him, he'll come running. Ain't that right ya big wuss?" Koji lifted his head from his paws and barked in an affirmative, though there was a definite undercurrent of 'keep it up, human.' Kazuo simply smirked before turning and laying back on Koji, using his side as a pillow.

"As for splitting up… eh, I'm not a fan. Koji can vanish pretty easily when we are forced to separate but even then, he'll still be within calling distance. Unless you've got some trick up your sleeve that will let us bamf to the other's side when they call, I reckon we should stick together. Every time I've split from my team, somethin' has gone horribly wrong." He failed to mention that every time he had used that plan he had also been applying his transformation tactics as well. No need to jinx it. "'Sides, I'm not all that great at the talkin' to people thing, ya know? Good at pickin' out lies from truth though. People can say whatever they want but yer body will always tell the truth. You talk, I'll listen, Koji'll guard. Sounds like a good plan to me."

[Yura]

"I suppose that would be the most logical approach." Shikari replied, finding herself agreeing with Kazuo. "We can just start with the closest village and then move on to the other one before approaching the construction site or just go right there after the first village depending on what we learn." She was beginning to realize that she seemed to be overthinking a lot of aspects to this mission. While it was always a good idea to consider every angle and possible solution to reach an objective, it seemed that all of her thoughts and potential solutions were beginning meld and she was having trouble keeping herself from jumping down the rabbit hole of possible outcomes. It was actually helpful having someone like Kazuo around, someone who seemed to rely more on instinct than strategic logic to make decisions. In a way, it was helping her sort all of her own thoughts out.

"Do you ever miss the simpler missions?" Shikari asked after a while, leaning back against the tree and placing her bowl to the side. "You know, the ones where the objective was clear and the path to achieving it was even clearer? It just seems like lately that every mission that we plan for the org or partake in requires so much planning that it's like a game of shogi. And when you're leading the entire org, sometimes it feels like you're playing a dozen games all at the same time." She continued, explaining her question. She was surprised with herself; she didn't often voice her inner feelings and it wasn't like she knew Kazuo extremely well. They were business associates, sure, and they both had a common interest with Yoshi, but they weren't close. So for her to be so open, even if he was the only one to hear her, was out of character. Perhaps the pressures of her job were finally starting to take their toll. "I guess I gave up the right to have those simple missions when I accepted the role of leader, didn't I." She said with a soft chuckle, "I suppose we should probably start preparing for the night. We can get an early start in the morning and begin our search with the first village."

[Sanjuro]

Kazuo gave a thumbs-up to Shikari's agreeance with his proposed plan. He didn't see the point in over thinking things. Sure, strategy and planning were all well and good, but at the end of the day the best way to get a job done was to just get in there and do it. Things usually worked out in the end and if they didn't then the situation could usually be resolved through running away or a judicious application of physical violence. Leaning back to absorb some of Koji's warmth, he closed his eyes and enjoyed the crackling of the fire for the brief moment of quiet before Shikari piped up once more.

"All the time," Kazuo answered without hesitation. "You know me. I'm no leader or strategist. Point me in a direction and let me go and I'll get what needs to be done, done. Outside that, missions that require more than a simple objective, they make me wish I was still a rookie Chuunin not trusted with real responsibility yet. The drama and headaches that come with leadership are rarely worth it if you ask me. There's a reason I spend as much time out in the forest as I do." The Inuzuka clicked his tongue and sat up a bit. This was probably the most amount of words he had ever heard out of Shikari's mouth in one sitting before and he offered her a half-grin. "Being a leader means you have to take on extra responsibilities, sure, but maybe you just need to let go for a bit occasionally. Let your instincts take you where they take you. Usually they're right. As smart as you are, you don't get to your level of skill on intelligence alone. Gut instinct plays a part. Maybe just listen to it for a while, live like an Inuzuka." A cheeky wink later, Kazuo got up and set about final preparations for the night.

Once the flames were doused, he leapt up into the tree with a wave. "I'll take the first watch. Get some sleep, boss."

[Yura]

Shikari remained where she was for a time and simply mulled over Kazuo's words. She found herself appreciating how blunt and open the Inuzuka was with her as there were many others within the village that saw her rank and position and simply followed her orders without question. It was something that others may appreciate, and at times she found it useful, but overall she would rather some push back at times. She needed people like Kazuo to keep her grounded in reality and, as he had demonstrated, remind her when she was over-complicating things. She realized that she hadn't had this kind of openness since Rai or Kawa, a fact that made her smirk slightly. "It's not so easy for a Nara to think like an Inuzuka." Shikari finally replied with a soft chuckle, "Rai would probably enjoy the thought though."

"I only need a few hours. Just come and wake me when you start feeling tired." Shikari said as she finally stood from her position and stretched, "And thank you, by the way. It's been a while since I've been able to speak so freely with someone else. It's kind of refreshing." She added before turning and walking away from the fire and towards her camping gear. As she prepared her sleeping materials, she continued to work through her conversation with Kazuo in her head. In a way, he had put to words how she had been feeling in recent months. She had had this overwhelming feeling of stagnation and burden recently in part due to increased responsibilities within the organization. While she took pride in the organization and what it stood for, as well for all that it had accomplished for the village, she was getting the feeling that she was ready for a change in scenery, to do something different. She had been metaphorically walking the same path that she had been on when Kawa died.

Maybe it's time to begin a new one, she thought to herself as she laid down. It was a scary thought, but one that she was going to have to serious think about. Eventually, however, she found her eyes getting heavy and she soon drifted off to sleep.