Second as a Farce : Part 1

[HotelBravo]

Second as a Farce : Part 1

This is a mission of utmost secrecy.

The Lord Uncle had come in person to Konohagakure no Sato to employ the shinobi on a matter that could not go public. The briefing for the mission had involved none of the usual administration staff. The Lord Uncle had demanded a team be assigned to him, and he would brief them himself. No one else was allowed to know what their mission was, not even the Hokage himself. The fact that Fanho was otherwise occupied meant that the Lord Uncle held the leverage over the clerks in the mission office. So the team was assembled and the briefing had been given directly by the Lord Uncle to the team. Takeshi and Akito of the Hyuuga and Nakano and Inokara of the Yamanaka. Two of the most powerful and oldest clans in Konohagakure no Sato, and known for their powerful clan techniques. The Lord Uncle had been satisfied with the selection. As powerful shinobi from powerful clans, they were accustomed to the kind of situation that this mission called for. What he didn’t know was that the mission office had also tipped off the ANBU about the situation, and as a matter of security two Anbu operatives were assigned to the case. At least one would be an Anbu captain so he could make calls depending on how the situation evolved.

This would be Nakano’s first mission of this caliber. Her skillset wasn’t necessarily geared towards what this mission’s needs were, but It wasn’t like a Yamanaka couldn’t find a good use of their own skills. At the very least, she was an incredible medical shinobi and so that was the role she had been assigned in the group. Her skill with Iijutsu is what had earned her the recent rank of Special Jounin. It would be her first mission as a Special Jounin, and her first as a fully fledged Anbu operative. She was also excited when she learned she would be working with Takeshi. It would be difficult to keep her hands off his pretty body but it was for a mission so she would need to.

Akito was apparently in charge of the mission. He was a natural leader. Calm. Tactical. Everything you wanted of a team captain. While Inokara shared the coveted Jounin rank with him, and could likely be the captain herself, Akito had the be better head for something like this, especially when it was a sensitive task. Inokara was an all-rounder and was more experienced with the Yamanaka style jutsu. Shortly after the briefing with Lord Uncle, the team had displayed their kits to Akito to approve, and soon the team had moved out.

The initial journey had them follow the Lord Uncle’s retinue back to the palace where the 3rd Prince of the Toshikane family had been kidnapped. The Shinobi had been allowed entry, disguised as personal servants so as not to alert the other servants of the palace. So far, the only ones who knew the 3rd Prince was missing was the Lord Uncle, and the 4 shinobi that had been sent on this mission. The Lord Uncle led the four to the 3rd Prince’s room, the last time he had been seen was by his servants before he had gone to bed for the night. In the morning the servants had reported the prince as missing, and the Lord Uncle had them executed to keep the secret, and went immediately to Konoha for assistance. The kidnapping happened 2 days ago. When it came to kidnappings there was always a time limit, and the shinobi were off to a bad start - two days behind thanks to their employer’s… quirks.

Nakano folded her arms beneath her breasts and admired Takeshi’s disguised as a servant. ”Hmm.. This suit really looks good on you Takeshi dear. Makes me want to tear it off you. Maybe we can keep them when we’re done here.” Nakano side eyeed Akito who was also charming but she had remind herself that she was a kept woman now. ”Where do you want us to start brave leader?” While she let Akito over think things she let herself appreciate her cousin’s boyish figure.

Clue 1. A weakness of most ninjutsu was the chakra bleed. It was never possible to completely control one’s chakra - and so the powerful doujutsu of the byakugan or other chakra sensory techniques may be able to find clues to lead the group to the culprit. Its been two days since these techniques had been used. What could the techniques be? What does the quality of the chakra tell the Hyuuga?

Clue 2. A dropped item. It seems to have rolled under the bed. It seems like it was something unusual - not something one would find in the room of the 3rd Prince. What is it, and how did it come to roll beneath the bed?

Clue 3. It is difficult to leave no trace even for a skilled assassin. A curtain out of place here, a chair moved there. Something is out of place, what is it, and what does it say about the objectives of the assailants? What story about what they moved and what they didn’t tell?

Clue 4. Scent. While there is no Inuzukas, perhaps someone with a bloodhound like nose would be able to pick up the scent on the people in the room. What might you smell? Perhaps the scent of weapons or chemicals? Perhaps there could even be a trail to follow.

Clue 5. Witnesses. While none of the servants might be aware of what happened, those who were on duty that night may have seen something that might be a clue. Perhaps a clever Yamanaka could look through their memories for things that they overlooked while on duty but that might stand out to a Yamanaka?

[Drak]

With the Hyuuga as noticeable as they are, Akito had used a simple transformation jutsu to change his eyes to a deep brown, but keeping his other features as they were. His long hair was gathered into a ponytail which was pinned up against the back of his head, and he was attired in the livery of one of the royal house’s footmen: well-draped black pants and a tailed black jacket with peaked lapels over a waistcoat which came down in a deep U shape to just under his ribs. A starched white shirt, black bow tie, and a lapel pin bearing the royal family's Mon -- marking him as an especially trusted servant -- completed the look.

I can’t believe that this idiot Lord had the witnesses executed. Akito thought as he surveyed the room. I suppose there isn’t anything to be done about that now. We’ll have to glean what we can from what’s left. He instinctively raised his hand to his chin and furrowed his brow as he studied the room’s details. His eyes darted around, trying to put together a picture of what could have happened.

It is a traditional room with sliding doors, so no need for forced entry.

He overheard Nakano whispering something about tearing Takeshi’s clothes off, and shot her a warning look. His disguised eyes betrayed more sharpness and irritation than his natural eyes would have. She asked him what they should be doing.

Akito took another moment to study the room.

“Very well,” Akito announced, turning to face his team and the Lord Uncle. “My Lord, we are going to examine this room. We would also like to speak with any staff – any living staff that is – who were on duty that evening. If anyone has seen anything, it could give us the clue we need.”

Akito bowed deeply, and the Lord Uncle left. When he closed the door behind him, Akito’s eyes changed back to their natural white with a puff of smoke.

“With him gone: we will need to investigate this room thoroughly while our witnesses are being assembled. Something we find here may provide the key to unlock their testimony. Leave no stone unturned. To use our limited time optimally, I suggest we divide our efforts. I will focus my efforts on looking for traces of chakra use.”

As he said that, the veins around Akito’s eyes began to bulge as his Byakugan activated. He turned to Takeshi.

“Takeshi, you should also look for chakra traces, but with your tracking skills, your main focus should be on looking for other sensory clues that our kidnappers may have left: scents, hair, particulates. Things of that nature.”

He turned to the two Yamanaka.

“For the time being, you two should focus on looking for physical evidence. However, when the witnesses arrive, you should shift your efforts to focus on them. Ka-” Akito cleared his throat. “Inokara, I will leave exactly how you want to divide your efforts on the witnesses up to you and Nakano. You should also be sure to interview the Lord Uncle himself. Given the odd nature of how this mission was assigned, we cannot clear him of suspicion just yet. My one suggestion is that Nakano may be-”

Akito glanced at Takeshi, then at Inokara, and sighed, rubbing the bridge of his nose.

“The man is known to be a bit of a lecher. Nakano, I think that extracting information from him may be well within your skillset. Keep it tasteful and discrete. The last thing we need is a palace scandal on top of the kidnapping.”

Akito looked at each of his teammates in turn, although his eyes may have lingered on Inokara for a moment longer than the others.

“Begin.”

Akito began to pace around the room, looking for anything out of place. Taking advantage of his doujutsu, he focused his vision intently, trying to catch sight of any chakra remnants no matter how faint. He caught sight of a faint blue shimmer above the bed and took a step closer to investigate. At first, he could only see that the chakra was there, but as he studied it, patterns began to emerge. He thought back to a few books he had read in the University library about the nature of chakra outside the body, and tried to match what he was seeing to a pattern. As he funneled more chakra to his eyes, the image became clearer.

Ninpou, no elemental affinity. The afterimage looks almost like an electrical arc emanating from the pillow.

Akito looked down at the pillow and noticed the faintest residue of chakra running through its fibers.

A jutsu trap. Almost certainly Rattrap. Which means we are dealing with skilled shinobi.

Jutsu LearnedShow

WC: 736/400

Byakugan: Chakra Identification
B-Rank Ninjutsu
By channelling additional chakra to their eyes and focusing their vision, the Hyuuga can identify the nature of the chakra which they can see. This will let them identify not only any elemental affinity that the chakra has, but may even let them identify the jutsu. This jutsu is especially useful for identifying jutsu stored in fuuin or for spotting traps.

Jutsu UsedShow

Byakugan Doujutsu
One of the most famed doujutsu in the world, Byakugan is the bloodline limit of the Hyuuga Clan. When active, the clan member gains 360 degree vision and Penetrative vision, allowing the Hyuuga clan to see the Tenketsu of their enemies. Their telescopic vision can be activated via jutsu. As such, the Byakugan is capable of ability channeling, allowing the Hyuuga to activate their Doujutsu techniques without hand seals. It should be noted that while using their telescopic vision the Hyuuga experiences tunnel vision, making it difficult to see their surroundings.

Prolonged usage of the Byakugan is strenuous and requires a high level of endurance. The maximum operating time a user can utilize their Byakugan at a time is equal to their Chakra Pool stat divided by 4 rounded down, to a minimum of one post. Upon reaching the max duration, the stress of using their Byakugan to it’s limit causes a cooldown period of 1/2 of the duration time, to a minimum of one post. During this cooldown period, the Byakugan cannot be activated and attempting to do so will cause physical pain. Duration is based off total posts where the Byakugan is activated, meaning users can turn it on and off to have a shorter cooldown.

[Kabu]

This wasn't Inokara's first time in the home of a royal house nor was it her first time being made to dress as, and play the role of, a maid but admittedly the combination of the two left her feeling less than comfortable. But why? What was nagging at her so much? The uniform itself was fine, being a long sleeved dress with a long skirt and an apron tied around the waist, her hair even had been put up into a bun at the back of her head. She also had no issues with playing her role, going so far as to make use of her business smile. dropping it only once their employer had left the room.

Ultimately she just couldn't help but feel a bit on edge. This whole situation was beyond strange and there were too many unknowns. Of course answering those questions was part of the task at hand but even still something felt off...

In any case she turned her attention away from her nerves and doubts and towards Akito addressing the group, quietly giggling to herself as he corrected himself from using her nickname. As their eyes met she gave him the tiniest of waves and a soft smile. While it didn't fully erase her misgivings she felt some comfort in Akito being here alongside her

With instructions given she glanced over towards Nakano, contemplating for a moment on how to begin their own tasks. Should they really be keeping their search to this one room? No, there was likely evidence to be found elsewhere as well and given their disguises they should be able to explore without much suspicion...

"Right then, we can leave this room to Akito and Takeshi. For now the two of us should stick together and meet with the servants and explore the home." she spoke, having made up her mind. Admittedly she did realize that she may be jumping the gun a bit but how couldn't she? A child's life was at risk and she had a personal stake in this incident.

With that in mind she once more put on her waitress smile and led the way out of the room and into the hallway, casually glancing around for anything out of place as they walked. She did notice some nicks in the wallpaper and the remains of what once was a potted plant decorating the hall, odd but nothing too suspicious just yet...

"Either there was a struggle or some clumsy servant was just having a really bad day." she mused out loud, not entirely willing to dismiss the notion that perhaps it was all accidental. She had had plenty of clumsy coworkers in her time.

"What do you think? Do you see anything else we can use for questioning or evidence later on?" she asked, the question directed towards her cousin whom was hopefully still following behind her.

[Izanagi]

It was no coincidence that the Prince had gone missing during such tumultuous times. Of that Takeshi was certain. The Hokage had led some of Konoha’s strongest shinobi to Iwagakure and elsewhere Sunagakure was occupied defending their own walls. It was easy to surmise that Konogakure wouldn’t have the resources to spare to track down a missing person, even if it was royalty. Fortunately, the Crescent Coalition was still reeling from the assassination of their leadership, and their threats of attack seemed unlikely to come to fruition. Thus several elite members of Konoha’s defense team were able to be redirected to pursue this high-priority mission.

Nonetheless, Takeshi felt uneasy. False intel had led to Konoha being ransacked by Kirigakure in the past. He had sworn that when he gained strength and influence, he wouldn’t make the same mistake. And yet here he was, an Anbu captain and a Special Jounin and he was leaving his sisters in a village defended by only a few dozen Jounin and an armada of rookie Genin and talentless Chunin. Even his mother, strong as she was couldn’t be relied on in her grief. The stress of it all had been putting him on edge and throughout the trek to the royal palace he found himself occasionally sneaking off during breaks for a quick smoke. A bad habit, easily picked up from observing his mother. At least he could justify it and call it training for the Ash style he had taken upon himself to learn.

Along the way, Takeshi observed the Lord Uncle carefully, studying his mannerisms and body language. His intuition warned him that he was a man not to be trusted. It was suspicious to execute the last person to see the Prince alive. But there wasn’t enough evidence to accuse the Lord Uncle of being involved in the disappearance. They would arrive at the palace and begin their investigation. In such an environment Takeshi was grateful for his comrades. He could trust them to have his back, and he knew that Nakano in particular would do whatever was necessary to succeed, even less savory tactics that their squad leader might not approve of. Ultimately, the Princes safe return meant little to Takeshi, that was a secondary objective. What was important was discovering if there was a traitor within the royal family and then dealing with them appropriately. For Fire country to prosper it was imperative that any infighting was quelled immediately, they could not risk a civil war. And any word of betrayal from within would have to be kept quiet. He hoped this was simply a matter of extortion, a group of opportunistic criminals of some sort. That would be much less messy.

Looking more like a gangster than a shinobi himself, Takeshi wore a black suit with a deep neckline, fastened by a single button giving him a sleek look as the fitted fabric clung to his lean muscles. A crisp white shirt and a silver patterned tie completed his outfit. His weaponry was worn but disguised under the illusion of a henge jutsu. On the middle finger of his left hand he wore an ancient ring of black rune inscribed metal embedded with a large blood-red gem. As usual, his head was shaved at the sides, his dark brown hair pulled into a ponytail that reached his shoulder blades. He had transformed his eyes to appear cobalt blue like his father’s.

Once the Lord Uncle finally left the room, Takeshi sneered, “I don’t trust that man”, he barely spared a glance at Nakano as she spoke of removing his clothes. “Sure, later” he said simply before listening to the team leaders instructions. He tilted his head slightly, observing the interaction between Akito and Inokara before suppressing a knowing smirk. He had thought Akito seemed happier lately and suspected a woman might be involved, but he certainly hadn’t expected his cousin to have such similar tastes, rebelling against the clan’s rigid rules by fraternizing with a Yamanaka. Perhaps they had more in common than they realized. However, the moment passed quickly as Nakano was instructed to use her talents to extract information from the Lord Uncle. This was why Takeshi kept himself focused when on missions, he couldn’t let personal feelings get in the way of their job. “Do what you do best” he approved stoically, nodding to his beautiful girlfriend. After this mission they would be able to afford to move in together, only a few months in to dating perhaps they were moving quickly but he trusted her. And he knew what he was signing up for. Seduction was her specialty and it would weaken Konoha to selfishly forbid her from using her talents for the sake of the village. However, as he watched her leave the room his features hardened, he hoped if she did resort to sleeping with the man that he was somehow involved. It would be difficult to resist killing him if he wasn’t.

Exhaling slowly, the veins around his eyes bulged, activating his Byakugan as he began searching the room. Within a minute he honed-in on an object under the bed. Approaching, he kneeled down, inspecting it closer with his Byakugan. He didn’t recognize the symbol it was shaped as, but he could discern a partial fingerprint. His training with Aizawa Yoru was paying off. Producing a small evidence bag from his pocket he carefully retrieved the cufflink, noting that it was made of gold. Inhaling, he further noted a trace of the scent of cologne as well as distinctly male pheromones. “Cufflink, gold. Partial print and a male scent as well as cologne. Could have been the kidnapper, hard to say” he mused aloud, holding it up for Akito to inspect before tucking it away in his jacket pocket. Either way he would have the scent fresh in his memory. But something wasn’t quite right. He hadn’t smelled the scent of cologne upon entering the room which meant the man whose cufflink this was hadn’t lingered in the room for long, either that or it was from longer than 2 days ago. He inhaled again and noted a handful of other scents that lingered closer to the Prince’s bed. “Incense, massage oil. We should check the Prince’s itinerary the day before his disappearance as well as get the names of any guests that visited the palace” he considered. While the attacker's exit had been clandestine, they may have arrived in plain sight.

Without scents to follow, at least not immediately he continued to scan surfaces for fingerprints, hoping to find a match to the partial he had found. However, the room was kept immaculate, as one would expect of royal quarters. Most surfaces were routinely wiped down. He did however find several distinctly different sets. One would be the Princes, others might be some of the servants, perhaps even the ones who had been executed but without them being present he couldn’t confirm. “There are several sets of fingerprints that I’ve memorized, there, there, there” he noted, pointing out three distinctly different sets from various points in the room. Moving closer to one of them he observed it closer looking for particulates while inhaling again. “This one has traces of the oil. If I can get something we are sure only the Prince has touched I can determine which prints are his. The executed servants may account for other sets” he considered. Then, searching beyond the room he honed in on the Lord Uncle, watching Nakano interact with him briefly before focusing in on the man’s hands and attempting to scan his prints as well. Would he be able to match his prints to anything that might implicate him?

Jutsu UsedShow

Foremost Polygraph
B-Ranked Nintaijutsu Discipline
Prerequisite: Perception & Byakugan
The user will activate their byakugan, they will use this to check for subtle facial features, the way the target moves their hands and their general mannerism, see their heart and how fast it is beating, and other minute details that no normal eye could see. This allows the user to see if a target is lying and detect any signs of hostility or deception with pinpoint accuracy. Only if the target has a technique of equal or greater rank for masking their body language will they be able to deceive the user.

Fangless Hound's Legacy
S-Ranked Taijutsu Discipline
Growing up surrounded by Inuzuka Takeshi has developed a nose keen enough to rival their own. He can pick up on faint scents that average shinobi wouldn’t even notice to the point where he can distinguish the individual body scents of people, able to determine various emotional states including detecting aggression, deception, fear as well as determine specific species of animals or gender even by just a strand of hair. The passive range of this ability is 100 meters though if he has picked up on a trail, he can continue to follow it to its source assuming there are still scent particles in the air or physical remnants of a trail.

Jutsu TrainedShow

Art of Perception • Latent Print
D-Ranked Nintaijutsu Discipline
Prerequisite: Perception & Byakugan
Once the user’s visual dojutsu is activated, they will be able to use the telescopic ability and adapt it, giving them pseudo-microscopic vision, able to check surfaces for fingerprints and retain the exact appearance of the fingerprints.

Art of Perception • Latent Validity
D-Ranked Nintaijutsu Discipline
Prerequisite: Perception & Byakugan
Once the user’s visual dojutsu is activated, they will be able to use the telescopic ability and adapt it, giving them pseudo-microscopic vision, able to check the targets hand and see their fingerprints and are capable of matching them up to any they have previously seen with Art of Perception • Latent Print.

[HotelBravo]

“I don’t trust that man” Takeshi spoke beneath his breath. He also agreed to her proposition, although he had put a pin on it. ”Then I’ll trust you for now Takeshi. You better reward me later for being good.” just a lilt of a pout in her voice. Despite her behavior she wasn’t the kind to get distracted from her objective, despite how pretty Takeshi looked. Seeing him did feel her with… Feelings. It made her grateful to be a woman.

“For the time being, you two should focus on looking for physical evidence. However, when the witnesses arrive, you should shift your efforts to focus on them. Ka-” Akito cleared his throat, and Nakano was infinitely amused. Was that a pet name just now? Nakano eyes darted to Inokara in time to see her stifling her giggle and the cutesy smile. It was too cute to exist in this world. Nakano wanted to slit both their throats and pose them on the bed - now that would be cute. A lover’s final embrace. She kept her expression smooth, and reminded herself that she would need to weight the pros and cons. Unbeknownst to most, on her solo mission the seal that forcibly prevented her intrusive thoughts of violence and lust had been removed. The only thing holding Nakano back right now was Nakano. The cons outweigh the pros by a massive amount. A fleeting thrill versus a lifetime of having her freedom restricted. She didn’t consider getting killed in the process a con, so it was really the idea that if she did, Takeshi would try to apprehend her without killing her and she would be locked up without her jutsu. That lack of freedom was a big con. Having one’s chakra cut off was a suffocating thought. Enough so that she ignored her desire to kill the lovers. “Inokara, I will leave exactly how you want to divide your efforts on the witnesses up to you and Nakano. You should also be sure to interview the Lord Uncle himself. Given the odd nature of how this mission was assigned, we cannot clear him of suspicion just yet. My one suggestion is that Nakano may be-”

”Yes?” Nakano was not oblivious to the reason behind the pause. Akito was side eyeing Takeshi and seemed to be accepting some kind of doom as he finished his orders. “The man is known to be a bit of a lecher. Nakano, I think that extracting information from him may be well within your skillset. Keep it tasteful and discrete. The last thing we need is a palace scandal on top of the kidnapping.”

”Hyuuga-sama, taste is a matter of preference. Although my judgment of your taste has… improved a little.” Nakano gave a poignant glance to Inokara then back to Akito, as she approached the door. Pausing only to look at Takeshi. Takeshi kept his face neutral and nodded. He knew that this was what she did. Nakano wished he would argue with Akito about this, but she already knew that Takeshi was well aware of the kind of work she did, and he had already made it clear that he wouldn’t hamper that work, but only when it came to work. Right now was not a time he could argue. “Do what you do best” He answered.

Inokara and Nakano stepped out into the Hallway, Inokara having received instructions to check on the staff.

"Right then, we can leave this room to Akito and Takeshi. For now the two of us should stick together and meet with the servants and explore the home." Inokara began.

”you should shift your efforts to focus on the witnesses, by the by, you look real cute in that outfit, cousin, you got a lot of muscle in the rear you should make sure you show it off more. Tight pants. Oh, I think a pantsuit would look good too, oh, and maybe - ” Nakano lowered her voice mischievously. ”How about a choker? Belts and chokers really look good on your figure. Oh, there's my date. Sorry Cousin, got to go.” Nakano would not pause to give Inokara any time to speak, if she did speak Nakano would just talk over her and then leave when she saw the Lord Uncle.

”Lord Uncle, thank you so much for gathering the staff. Would you mind answering a few questions for me? Now that we had a chance to look at the room I -” Nakano approached the Lord Uncle with a pleasant smile. It was toned down, but she was clearly putting to use her womanly assets. It was subtle, almost despicable how she would sway her body or present herself, and it was all being done as if it wasn’t on purpose. This was just how women moved. Thats what she wanted him to think, but in the mean time she had complete control of his eyes. It didn’t matter if it was men, or women. There was nearly no force in the world that could stop a pretty woman from getting what she wanted. ”Would you mind if we went somewhere private? This isn’t exactly the kind of topic that we can speak about out here in the hall.”

”Oh, Yes, of course.” the Lord Uncle then gestured to the Head Maid and Butler. ”Please see to it that the young Miss gets whatever she needs.” He indicated towards Inokara. Both the maid and butler bowed to their master. The man then gestured for Nakano to follow him and she did. She glanced back at Inokara and gave her an evil smile, before letting her face rest in a more pleasant one as she turned back to the Lord Uncle and continued to build rapport, this was something that she had been working at long before they had arrived here. She wasn’t sure it would come into play but it seemed like it would pay off for Akito now. He probably had noticed thats what she had been doing this entire time.

[Drak]

I’m grateful that went off without a hitch, Akito thought when Takeshi did nothing to countermand his orders to Nakano. He knew of Nakano and Takeshi’s arrangement, but still, he suspected that this might be a sore spot for them. And a sore spot for his team was a sore spot for him. Akito watched the looks that Nakano and Takeshi gave each other carefully. They seemed professional enough about this, other than the undressing comments, of course. That was to be expected from Nakano, and he was pleased with Takeshi’s response.

Watching the pair, Akito also saw each of them glance at Inokara. One can only hope that Nakano’s comment was about my order, not about Kara. Damn, why did I have to let that diminutive slip? Given a little more time to prepare, Akito would have coached himself – and Kara for that matter – on how they should behave together on a mission. Given the nature of their respective clans’ relationship, they had been keeping theirs hidden. That said, in a city of ninja, no secret remains hidden for long without great effort. Akito was sure that between the two of them, they had left some clues to their relationship behind in their interactions with others. Thinking further, Akito was sure that Takeshi suspected something given the nature of a previous conversation. Of all the people in Konoha to find out, Takeshi was probably the best: their situations could not be more similar had they been dreamed up in parallel by some dramaturge. It wasn’t Takeshi that Akito was worried about though. As Inokara and Nakano left the room, Akito’s mind continued to stray from the mission at hand.

Even if Takeshi wanted to do me harm and exposed Kara and I, he knows that I could do the same to him. He is far less enmeshed into the clan than I am, and has a whole host of connections through his late father. Thus, any censure from the Hyuuga would fall much more heavily on my head than his. That said, the Yamanaka are only barely less suspicious of relationships between our clans than the Hyuuga are. Given Nakano’s particular status, the sanctions they are likely to exercise against her will overshadow the consequences for Takeshi a thousandfold. He and I will sink or swim together.

Nakano is another story. All of the above goes for her as well: I’m just not sure if she cares. She has a logic to her, so the threat of dire personal consequences may be enough to keep her in check. Given how minor the threat of their relationship’s revelation is to Takeshi, the balance that Takeshi and I have may not be enough to ensure Nakano’s silence. Then again, it may.

Any threat from Nakano revealing Kara and my relationship is far off as far as the mission is concerned. No, the immediate threat is how she will treat this information during the course of this mission. I cannot deny that our sets of skills are very complimentary, especially given the parameters of this mission. Still, given what lurks just beneath the surface, this configuration of ninja is difficult to work with. Speaking of which, maybe sending Kara and Nakano off by themselves wasn’t the best idea.

As if on cue, Nakano’s comments about Inokara’s outfit wafted through the room. Akito couldn’t help but picture Inokara in the outfits Nakano was describing. Or, rather, out of them with the exception of the choker.

No. Or, not now.

Akito slapped his hands against his face and slid them down until his fingertips rested just under his eyes. Nakano and Inokara’s footsteps faded as they walked away. With a deep breath in and out, Akito recentered himself. There was business to attend to. Evidence to gather. With his near-panoramic vision, Akito scanned the room and watched as Takeshi gathered evidence after his discovery of the trap. He hadn’t been given any latitude to choose his team, but he was glad Takeshi was here. He was an excellent tracker and even more potent fighter. Most importantly, Akito felt he could trust him. In that regard, he stood head and shoulders over every other Hyuuga – except maybe Kokou whom he only stood a head above. Turning his thoughts back to the mission, Akito listened to Takeshi as he reported what he found. With each addition, new paths inked themselves onto the mental map of the mystery that was slowly unfolding itself in his mind.

A man’s cufflink with cologne under the bed. Gold, with a black stone inlay, some sort of traditional design in the stone. Looks a lot like mine, so probably a servant’s. If that is the case, it might be nothing, but I’ll need to examine it closer when we have a spare moment.

The scents in here are to be expected. Incense to keep the honored prince from smelling anything unpleasant. Massage oil is unusual. Ritual oil I would expect. The boy is old enough that he should be learning how to perform ceremonial rites. No, that means he is also starting his military training, which might necessitate a massage, especially if he sustained an injury during its course.

“We should check the Prince’s itinerary the day before his disappearance as well as get the names of any guests that visited the palace.”

The suggestion took Akito out of his thoughts. “Good idea, Takeshi. We can request a copy of the prince’s itinerary from the Lord Uncle after…” Akito’s voice trailed off. His order to Nakano flashed through his mind. “Later. We can request it later.”

We’ll have much to discuss later: Takeshi is clearly tense. The fingerprints could be useful. If Takeshi has truly memorized them, then they may prove useful in turning suspects into culprits. Traces of the oil suggest that the person who left the fingerprint was the one giving the Prince a massage. That suggests a servant, maybe even a court physician. Something only the prince has touched….

Akito took in the room through his expanded vision. His focus settled on an ornate box placed neatly on top of a chest of drawers.

“Takeshi,” Akito pointed to the box. “Try in there. My best guess says that box contains the prince’s shaku – his ritual baton. He will have held that for every formal court appearance for at least a year, and no one else is allowed to touch it. You know this, but be careful to handle nothing with your bare hands.”

Wanting all his thoughts in one place, Akito reached into one of the pockets of his jacket and produced a small notebook and a pen. He went through the pages to find where he left off, flipping through pages and pages of text obscured with a simple cipher. It would not stop a trained shinobi from reading his notes for long, but it would be enough to stop a casual observer – say a snooping servant – from discovering the meaning of what he wrote.

Before he started writing, Akito pulled the cuff of his shirt away from the threat of brushing against an inky page. As he did so, he caught a glimpse of the cufflink on his own wrist. Just like the one they had found, it was gold with a black inlay. Unlike that one though, his had the seal of the royal house carved into the black portion. Bearing that seal was a sign of a high ranking servant, so maybe the one they had found was of a lower ranking servant.

“Takeshi, let me see that cufflink for a moment.” Takeshi handed it over and Akito examined it again, holding it in a cloth. There was some sort of circular pattern on it, but without contrast, it was hard to tell what. As he examined it, Akito thought back to when they had donned their disguises. He and Takeshi had been presented with two options for cufflinks: high rank ones with the royal mon, and low rank ones with the kanji for Fire. This design was neither. Further investigation revealed a faint haze of chakra around the cufflink. It was subtle enough that Akito had not seen it until he had examined it closely.

“I hope you do not need the scent on this anymore,” Akito said, opening his fountain pen and letting ink drip down onto the surface. He spread the ink along the flat surfaces and pressed it down into the paper of his notebook. When the cufflink came away, Akito’s eyes went wide and his heart sped up. He began to furiously scribble in the notebook.

That can’t be. No servant’s cufflink would have something like that on it. Either a servant was tricked into wearing this – unlikely given how much attention royal servants must pay to their livery – or the person who left it here was no servant. If that is the case, we cannot discount the possibility that when the prince was kidnapped, the servants who were attending to him were not really his servants. Such a disguise would allow the infiltrators to come into the prince’s room without suspicion and leave the Rattrap jutsu for him. Furthermore, if they claimed that the prince had asked for a massage, that would give a larger group leave to enter his room after the prince had gone to bed.

But if his servants were replaced, then what happened to his real servants? The ones who were executed after…

The pieces were coming together in Akito’s mind. A possible past constructed from the evidence in front of him.

What if the servants were executed – or at least imprisoned with plans to execute them – before the prince went missing? That would give the kidnappers cover to impersonate them, and the crime they committed would give a reason for the servants to be done away with. If that is indeed the case, then there is no way the Lord Uncle, or another high ranking noble or courtier is not implicated.

Akito began to scribble furiously in his notebook. When he was done, he tapped Takeshi on the shoulder and showed him what he had written. On the page was a stamp of what was clearly a fuuin of some kind with Akito’s note below it.

The cufflink you found had this engraved in it. It is clearly a fuuin. The kidnappers may have disguised themselves as the prince’s servants. The servants may have been executed to cover for that infiltration. The disguise gave them cause to be in here and place the trap I found in the prince’s bed. It also gave them cause to come in when the prince was trapped and spirit him away. This implicates the uncle.

When he was sure that Takeshi had absorbed the words, Akito made a quick series of hand seals and placed his palm above the page he had written all of that on. The ink slowly raised up off the page and returned to Akito’s pen.

WC: 1835/600 Control +2, Speed +1

Jutsu UsedShow

Clean Slate
D-Rank Ninjutsu
By waving his hand over a paper and pulling with his chakra, Akito can remove all traces of ink from a surface rendering it ready for re-use by Ink jutsu.

[Kabu]

Almost as if on instinct Inokara's smile faded as Nakano complimented her, a blush crossing her cheeks... something that had been happening more often than it ever had in the past. Why did the sensation feel so familiar though? And what was this uncomfortable feeling that that thought brought?

In any case her appearance in particular had always been something of a sore spot and she couldn't help but feel lacking... especially compared to her more voluptuous cousin. "I... thank you." And yet she still felt a bit happy, albeit embarrassed. It really was nice to have at least two people that found her attractive, even if she couldn't quite look at herself in the same way.

Maybe I could look into buying a choker... I wonder if Akito would like it? I think mum told me once that men like that kind of thing. she thought to herself as she watched Nakano walk away with the Lord, her expression quickly turning back up into a smile as she was left alone with the head servants.

Right, this wasn't the time or place for that. There was a job to be done and she was going to do it to the best of her ability. "My apologies, I was... momentarily distracted." she spoke to the pair, her smile having fully returned at this point. "I would like to take a look at the servants quarters and meet with the rest of staff." she spoke, following the pair as they led the way, glancing around for any more clues out of the corner of her eye. She had already made note of the disaster area of a hallway for later questioning but surely there was more to be found.

In the meanwhile she did have two suspects right in front of her... "Being in charge of the servants seems like a tough job. If I may, how do you obtain such a position?" she asked, her tone filled with genuine curiosity. It wasn't the most relevant question to the task at hand but she was curious and even idle conversation could potentially lead to hints or clues of some kind. And depending on how they answered she also had access to her Mind jutsu to probe for further information if need be. Doing so was however a bit taxing and she didn't want to waste either chakra or mental energy if she didn't have to.