[Mission] People sure love stealing

[Kao]

The man was obviously severely agitated over his recent discovery. Reisu had spent weeks perfecting that nagamaki, and it had been stolen right from under his nose. He woke up that morning to find his prized work had been removed from its stand in his little shop. He was absolutely furious that someone had the nerve to steal from him.

Why didn’t he hurry up? Reisu wasn’t too keen on waiting, and he was on a time limit. He needed to find that nagamaki as soon as possible. He wiped the sweat away from his bald head then wiped his hand dry on his dirty shirt. Though he hadn’t seen the thief, he knew someone who did. Reisu could also picture the thief in his head: red hair, brown eyes, thin and lanky…and holding his weapon worth over eighty thousand ryo. Not the most expensive sword he’d forged, but Reisu had a certain pride in each of his projects that made him feel rather violated if one was harmed in any way.

His client was one of the higher ranking jounin in Konoha, and he absolutely needed to get the weapon to the man by the end of the day.

[Jin]

Jin had stumbled over rocks, falling down to the ground while having children landing to the ground balancing themselves safely after hanging off of his left leg and neck with their little weight. And right in front of him happened to be the mission requesting guy.

The man had to smile, knowing Jin, he sure had to have done something 'good' to be this well bounded. When he asked to Jin what happened, there came a story...

Time held Jin in furry. There were people to save in the hospital last night, and even more today. It wasn't quite your heavy duty, war-torn work, just another thing with him lending a free hand on a random busy day. How nice it was, for him to have at it all he wanted to the needy, and see a happy face over and over again. It was his destiny to save lives, and so shall he continue doing so till his arms become frail and weak.

With so many people laying in each room, and so many calls for his service, he had been in a slight hurry, coming back and forth on the ones not needing checking, but just to make sure they're safe, double checking the mildly needed, and rapidly checking the severely needed.

He made himself work a lot, because he likes to express his love a lot. When most of it all had been done that day, evening was beginning to rise, and he had only one thing left to do: walk a child back home from her weekly nursing. And knowing the family, they always wanted their child home before the evening could ever turn gold. And so, as he was in a hurry, and with only thirty seconds left from the innitial point, he lifted the kid over his back, held her wrist in front of his neck, and began a sprint.

Suddenly, after three whole minutes sprinting, a child came from out the corner, making him having to stop on his toes. The child looked sad while picking his nose. When Jin asked him what was the matter, the boy said his mother was sick. And with all the symptoms being read to him from his now whimpering voice, Jin knew of the problem, and quickly went to their home. Still with the dizzy girl on his back.

Then he saw the mother, drained from an illness. He began taking things from his pocket, and with a closed hand in front of her, he opened it after only a second. What came out were the same items, but magically stored with medicine creation. As she at it, she instantly was cured.

Then the boy looked at him, booger dripping now down to his neck. Blushing.

By the end of the day, Jin had numerous kids on his back. All due to him helping them out from merely being asked to. And luckily, he had brought the girl to her parents on time. However, as soon as he turned the corner, a land-stuck pebble took him down. Along with the heavy load of children, but they ended up landing on their feet like faeries or whatever.

Then Jin saw the paper, and began to read it.

"ah... By tonight? This isn't good."

[OOC: Hope this quick post didn't seem too long. :S]

[Kao]

Honestly, he was in a hurry. As the story went on, he got more and more impatient. Reisu drummed his fingers impatiently as he half listened to what he felt was a needless story. The man turned away, rustling through a drawer. ”That was a nice story. But honestly, I just want my nagamaki back.” He stood to his full height, now clutching a piece of paper in his hand. He held it in front of his face so Jin could see it. On it was a drawing of what appeared to be a huge blade, surrounded by insets of its details.

The larger drawing of the weapon showed the obvious: it was rather huge. Small writing indicated it had a nearly four foot blade and a shaft three feet in length. One inset showed the intricate detail of the shaft: it was made of beautiful wood, carved with drawings and patterns that would have taken weeks to make correctly. Another inset showed the blade was also carved with symbols and designs. Overall, the weapon was a painstaking creation that would have been the pride of any weapon forger.

It was obvious why Reisu was so upset about losing it.

”This nagamaki is worth a lot of money; I’m honestly surprised I made it as cheaply as I did.” He shoved the paper into Jin’s hands. ”You can keep that. It’s honestly not hard to miss, but I know how you kids get sidetracked and forgetful.” He began mumbling as he walked to a wall decorated with his past works. ”If I wasn’t so old, I’d go after that bastard myself. I don’t know who he is, but someone who saw him said he has red hair and brown eyes. And that he’s rather tall.”

Reisu turned around, an almost pained look in his eyes. ”I hate to even have to give that weapon away to someone, let alone have it stolen from me. So hurry and get it back, will ya?”

[Jin]

Jin, luckily, had been spared by the old man's sense of desperation. The fact that time was of the essense laid rest of only, to the Hyuuga's calculations, 5% of the man's worries. And when given an image, the Hyuuga scanned it for only a second with it in his hand, and his eyes well into the item's fancy details.

Looking at the drawing, he could only imagine what it appeared in reality. Stroke by stroke, feature in feature, complexity to the fullest; all blended with a high and mighty tour de force in the design and mechanism; with only probably an anvil, a mallet, those, tiny old hands, and a perfect eye, able to unshackle all false hopes to create a swordsman's dream weapon. Jin just imagined how important this could be for the Shinobi, or any of the clientele, and had to put himself to high gear after opening the front door.

“Sorry I was late,” was the first and last thing he said.

What could he do in these situations? Was all he could think of before he took action.

After he leaped from the "Welcome" Matt, and went like a blur of ink into the burning skies of the setting sun, he looked for a person within the village who may or may not have the ability to see the suspect, or where the suspect themselves. He allowed this tiny moment high up in the air become his heavily relied chance to find anything useful.

With his Byakugan, he scoped the area for any odd activity, such as someone carrying something with a sluggish movement, or, if lucky, see the actual blade shining from the setting sunlight.

[Kao]

…I thought Jin was actually telling that story….

The faint smell of cigarette smoke wafted through the trees, drifting between the leaves before fading into the breeze. Burned out cigarettes littered the forest floor, forming almost a trail between two tall trees. Shaded by the foliage, a man lit another cigarette, taking along drag that burned half of it. He held in the smoke for a few moments. He suddenly released it through his nostrils, blowing straight into the air. He took another drag, exhaling in quick puffs to form small smoke rings.

The man pulled out his pack, sighing when he saw he only had three cigarettes left. He’d better save them for later. He brushed back his flaming red hair with his hand; it had always been wild, but today it was especially messy. He stood to his feet, brushing off the dirt from his clothes. He was tired, but if he was going to get anything done, he had to get as far away from Konoha as possible.

He pocketed his cigarette pack, pouting as he did so. He took a final drag of the one in his mouth before flicking it near the trunk of the tree. As he exhaled, he bent down, picking up a hat. He placed it snugly on his head before he began walking in the opposite direction of the village.

[Jin]

Hyuuga Jin could not see anything totally significant. Nothing long and shiny, or anyone carrying anything heavy inside this section of the village; nothing but the normality.

As his leap began to lose touch from the air's grasp, Jin placed both hands together, and began to use the seals able to cushion his landing. Fuuton • Eakusshon Any Shinobi of his amount of strength, wouldn't have been able to continue on far from such a jump and landing without the use of Fuuton or of some similar quality.

Now he know it was clear: This man had left the village. But only to go so far if his timing were correct. Since the weapon was so large, he couldn't have gone off sprinting out someplace. If he had, this man was indeed too strong for Jin at this time. Still, even if he were to die, it was worth the try in acts to fight for Justice.

As he left the gates, and sprinted out into the forest, he used his Byakugan once more to scan anything out and about.

Luckily, after about an hour, he found in the distance squashed cigarette buds. Nothing severe, but can at least ask this person if they have seen... a man with red hair, and a big sword.

[Kao]

He hummed joyfully, despite the fact that he a.) probably couldn’t return to the village, and b.) he SERIOUSLY needed more cigarettes. After quite a bit of walking, he was deep within the vast forest of western Fire Country. Suddenly, he snapped, remembering why he was walking in this direction in the first place. He took off his hat, removing a small match tucked in a hidden pocket within the hem. He didn’t light it; he just held it lightly in his hand.

He began walking in the opposite direction, his eyes sweeping the foliage high above his head. He searched for nearly half an hour before he saw it: several feet above his head was a long, yellow ribbon. It would have likely gone unnoticed to anyone who hadn’t been looking for it. Replacing his fedora, he jumped and grabbed onto a low-hanging branch. With a grunt of effort, he lifted himself onto a sturdy branch.

He forced himself not to look down as he made it higher and higher into the tree. The tree was huge, at least thirty feet tall. Halfway up, he had finally reached a thick branch around which the ribbon was tied. He leaned against the tree branch, panting heavily to catch his breath. It was amazing that he was able to make such a climb in the dead of night with only the light of the full moon to guide his way.

On the branch, tied tightly with the ribbon, was a long wooden box with metal trimmings. The box was exquisitely made, and locked tight. The man knew that what was in it would make him a small fortune. He grabbed the box, holding it in his hands greedily, almost cuddling it. After several minutes, he finally set it down to pick up a bag that was hanging on an above branch. Within it was all the possessions he was willing to carry.

With a heavy sigh, he began to make the descent down, severely slowed down by his new burden. It took him a while to climb down; by the time his feet once again safely touched the ground, he was quite ready for a nap.

[Jin]

As Jin began hoping over trees, reading the trail and also reading any bodies within the premises, he began to think of who this man ought to have been. If he had a purpose for being here or whatnot. The reason being that he stole a sword exactly on the day it was suppose to be purchased. Rather than taking any that may have been waiting for other customers, he instead to the freshest object. And according to the drawing, it didn't look like something that was cheap at that.

Was it the actual man asked for it to be made that stole the weapon? Or a lucky guy?

When the Priest finally paused to the last bud, he figured that the man thought he had been lurked, and probably went another way, still away from the direction from the village. Then again, there had been up to three bodies within the premises. One behind him, walking to the village's way; another walking forwards; and another climbing a tree to his right.

Then Jin took a good glimpse at all of them with his Byakugan. They were all far, but he could narrow it down to see if one of them had...

There he was!

With another leap to the tree branches, he grinned a bit. Thinking that this Shinobi, as he now went down from the tree, simply went this way for that thing he was hiding. Another stolen item?

He's like a racoon...

[Kao]

He hummed an upbeat tune, trying to keep himself going. He figured the old weapons maker would be in a fury at this point; certainly he realized the weapon was missing by now. Still, he wasn’t too bothered by that. The forest was huge, and he’d gotten quite the head start. He wanted to hurry up and get to one of the nearby merchant villages so he could pawn it off.

He was actually pretty curious about how the nagamaki actually looked. He’d taken a glance at the drawings of it a few days before he’d actually stolen it, but he had yet to see the finished product. He’d managed to steal a few tools to pry open the box, but he had no idea how long that would actually take. His best bet was to get far away from Konoha before stopping to open the box for a peek. Still, he was in no huge hurry. He continued to walk nonchalantly through the forest.

[Jin]

There.

Little that the man could have ever known, Jin was hot on his trail. It seemed like he had such a laidback personality, looking at the gestures. If anything, the man was in a hurry, but not to what Jin saw. Probably he ran this far and simply felt tired. Or maybe he walked all this time, and found it not within the boundaries of his character to continue on hopping on trees or sprinting as Jin was, cutting into the forest quick and as easily as scissors through soggy paper.

When Jin finally took a route around, so as to face the man upfront, and block his way, he leaped up to a tree, and then landed just ten feet in front of him, a small gust emitting from his martial arts shoes.

"Return what you have stolen and this won't turn ugly, sir."

Even at this time, he was still polite to say sir to the guy.

[Kao]

The man turned around, tipping up his fedora to better see the newcomer. A wide smile spread across his face, his thin lips spreading impossibly from ear to ear. His small, brown eyes looked Jin up and down, casually, like he was window shopping for a new coat. The box twitched in his hand as he used his opposite hand to make a kind of salute, pointing three fingers to himself, then at the shinobi.

”Oi, ‘ello there. Nice day for a walk, isn’t it?” Either the man didn’t hear what Jin said, or he chose to ignore him. Or maybe he didn’t care; it was most likely a healthy combination of the three. The man took a few steps to the side, though his body turned around to completely face Jin. ”I wasn’t expecting to see someone else out here, but if you’re looking for someone to travel with, I’ll be happy to oblige.”

The man was the picture perfect example of politeness, save for the way his eyes constantly shifted to the side. He was considering his options. There was no doubt in his mind he was probably about to be arrested, or at the very least, have the nagamaki taken away from him. His smile faded slightly at the thought, but otherwise, he remained the image of a perfectly happy, well-to-do traveler.

[Jin]

The night was young, and surely Jin had quite a bearable amount of time to take the weapon and return it to the owner, who can then sell it to his customer without a problem.

Then it struck him: the customer. Again, the thought of this man being that very person became the actual question to be inevitable to resist on asking,

"Are you the one who ordered that weapon?"

Even though the man entirely ignored what he had said before, like the polite man he was, Jin followed along and questioned him this time, than tell him to get ready for combat.

With his arms now behind his back; creating his official readying stance. Although it was obvious that his opponent wouldn't know this was him ready to combat, but rather ready to act formal. Stepping a little closer to show that he wasn't willing to take a lies for an answer.

"If so, I hope you're ready..."

Now his voice was a bit louder, and again, he said a sentence that surely would get his opponent's blood pumping. His white eyes were looking at his opponent, still with the same measure of sight looking anywhere else around him.

But he wanted to look dead at him for the intimidation.

Walking could only make it more of a value. More to signify that his opponent best try to say or do something...

[Kao]

If the shinobi was trying to look intimidating, the man certainly didn’t notice. He lifted his hand to massage the bottom lid of his left eye. ”Weapon? I don’t know what you mean by a ‘weapon.’ This here is my personal belongings, that it is.” He lifted the box a bit, though he showed no intention of handing it over. ”You lose something? I can help you find it. After all, I’m pretty good at finding stuff.” He grinned, taking a slight step backward to counter Jin’s move forward.

”Well this is…pleasant. But if you’re not going to take up my offer to travel with me, then I’ll best be on my way.” He raised his hat from his head, bending forward in a bow before turning his back. Wow, did that actually work? Only time would tell. If the man turned away, well…that would be just fantastic. However, if the man insisted, he wasn’t quite sure what he would do.

[Jin]

Jin could now see where this man was coming from. For a while, he had a hunch to think that this man had to be intoxicated. That might not be the case.

It could be a mental disorder.

Like the medicine man he was, he had to think of there being a link of any kind. Already the care-bear felt sorry for the guy. Then again, was happy to find a thief not necessarily willing to combat. After two signs and sayings of intimidation. This would bring about any thug from within someone.

A mixture of feelings entered the Hyuuga's brain, but nothing was at all drowning into total susceptibility of being hustled.

If this man had plans to trick the Hyuuga in any way, already he had 1 foot's step placed ahead of him in the game.

"Chotto Matte [Hold on]," He said innocently before clearing his throat. To make himself clear towards the situation, he had to—pretty much—get on this man's level.

"I will join you on this little journey. Interesting box there that you have. So nice, that I thought it was one of my grandmother’s belongings."

He had to make sure that the man wasn't having him think it was the sword on his back he was after.

"Sumimasen ."

Then he bowed.

Then he thought...

How am I going to get this sword by midnight now...

[Kao]

The man laughed, though he was in no way completely at ease. He, of course, had a very expensive stolen sword in his possession. "That's quite alright, old boy, quite alright." He tipped his hat a bit and turned around. "I am going away on business to make a very important sale, so I don't want the distraction." He swung the box back and forth a little as he started to walk. "My name is Mizaku, by the way. A strange little name, it is, but my mum named me for her old man. So I can't complain."

Mizaku seemed completely amiable and pleasant as he began to walk with Jin. He moved the box in the opposite hand, away from Jin, just in case. Thieves were careful, even if they didn't have to be. There was no way this man was going to simply give up his precious box, especially since he was sure it was worth several thousand ryou. He was determined to cash in, and that was that.

[Jin]

Jin could care less about the fancy box. When living with the Hyuuga clan, elegance was here, there... everywhere. Just looking at the box reminded him of his father's pride. And he distaste the word with a passion.

When the man spoke more and more, Jin actually listened. He wasn't the type to discard all the information, since this was a mission. And he was kind enough to follow him in the night, with no true aim. He knew this man was a good thief, having the box holding in the other hand, but that was just to keep him astray from the real goal. Unlike a thief, a Ninja has his ways to concentrate to a certain goal with all information absorbed, with a patient channel of thinking unlike any other.

"My name's Hy—Hayabusa, Suzuki. I know, a girl's name. But that's life." Maybe his innocent appearance could go hand in hand with that small stutter in the beginning. When he almost slipped and went all truthfully and said "Hyuuga Jin". Luckily, he had the gift to gab to this level, and replaced it, along with a good story that his parents named him for a girl—possibly creating a good little narration in Mizaku mind.

"If you need protection in this trade or whatever, I have your back, friend. That box reminded me so much of my grandmother… I miss her. Maybe this was fate?"

While saying that, still with his normal kind voice, Jin looked up and counted the time of the night... Something he learned in his studies and training as a Field Medic.

7:30...

[Kao]

It was, in fact, growing steadily darker as the two men began walking. Mizaku didn't particularly care whether or not "Suzuki" followed him or not, so long as he didn't try to take his prize, he was content. He honestly didn't like having the man walk with him as he fled the village; he was sure the old man would send someone on his trail to retrieve the nagamaki, and he wasn't entirely convinced that this character wasn't that very man. As a precaution, he kept glancing over at him to make sure he didn't try anything funny.

They were surrounded by trees, beautifully tall trees with canopies that nearly completely blocked out the sky. Only occasional rays of the fading sun made it through the foliage, making the forest seem even darker and more mysterious than it already was. The two had to constantly climb over huge roots of the goliath trees, or stumble over the trees' dead, fallen brethren. The fores t was indeed a sight to behold, and an intense obstacle for Mizaku to pass. Not only that, he had to get rid of this guy.

"Where're you headed, mate? It's not very often you see people wandering around outside of the village." Mizaku knew this very well, and hoped it wouldn't come back to bite him. He hadn't thought of making a fake form that would declare he was authorized to leave the village. He paused to hop over a huge root protruding from the ground. It actually made a nice shelter, as it was surrounded on one side by smaller roots , and vines. Perhaps he'd rest here for a while. He sat the box on the ground, observing the way the roots formed a high arch in front of him.

Mizaku turned towards his fellow traveler, beaming. "I'm a bit tired. What say we rest here, eh?" He quickly picked up the box again and ducked his head as he walked under the roots.

[Jin]

The night continued as it took them through the denser parts of Hi no Kuni. Quite a jungle it turned out to become; so for sure it had to be south they were headed. Still, it did not matter if they went in any of the other dials on the compass, he had time—instead—creeping up along his spine…

"Oh no place in particular. Really had to get away with life, you know?" he answered with his hands behind his head, fingers folding. Not because he was trying to find himself comfortable in this aimless wandering, but figured it was messing up everything.

It was like waiting for a severely hurt patient removal of an injury; having to maintain patience while trying to catch the badly hidden piece of metal, so he could pop when the moment was right. The sensation of everything tingled his toes as he continued to remind himself that this moment on how annoying and time consuming that surgery he had taken him.

Indeed if he did not remove this shrapnel in time, he would surely lose the patient...

If I do not return this sword, the owner—and probably the true customer—will not be all very happy.

Pretty much the game had to be pressed with a pause, as they had to sit and rest. Not much time was left for Jin. He could not wait it out all night long. So he sure knew that sooner or later—whenever the time was right, or if the feeling at to drill in him—he will have to take the sword, and split.

[Kao]

I am SO SORRY but college is really time consuming. D: We'll continue if you want, nanana...

Once he was settled under the canopy of roots, Mizaku began to start a fire. Using his lighter, he ignited some dry leaves that had collected on the ground. Pretty soon, he sat before a roaring fire. He removed the bag from his back, pulling out a small grill. Grinning, Mizaku pull ed out some relatively fresh meat, skewering it on a poker. He settled four pieces above the fire before leaning back onto the tree.

"Hope you don't mind, mate. I'm a bit hungry after all this walking." He reached into his pocket and pulled out a white cigarette. He lifted it up in the air, motioning towards Suzuki. "Want a smoke?" Mizaku didn't wait for his answer; he swiftly took out his lighter and clicked it. He placed the cigarette between his teeth and lit up, not taking his eyes off his companion. He inhaled about a fourth of the cigarette, holding in the smoke for several seconds before breathing it out of his nose and mouth. Just in case Suzuki didn't like him smoking, he blew away from him.

All the while, the box was securely under his leg. Even though Suzuki seemed nice enough, he was still on guard. There was no way Mizaku was going to risk having his prize stolen away.

[Jin]

Hyuuga Jin foud it very kind of the man to keep him at his side for this long. If he were a mere thief, he'd ditch Jin with his best ability at some point in time. But his calm and truthful nature knocked away the thoughts. Jin had never seen a thief like him before, and was beginning to feel a bit uneasy from it all.

Still, even with the key to open up their friendship, a mission was a mission. A contract had been sealed, and he was here in the first place to reassure it had been followed to the letter and punctuation. Jin saw that the man was sharing his cigarettes, and this was finally his time to act as he was sitting by him.

Although he was a man of non-combat, he made sure he had least a few techniques to compare against his own clan while at the same time not hurting the victim at all. It wasn't an official style yet, but when displayed, it would make a foe's thumb move when they're thinking of moving their foot...

As soon as their hands licked, just that second, he performed Ranshinshou [Chaotic Mental Collision]. Even though his opponent had a good smoke, it would pretty much be his last for a long while. Soon as the man's body cramps and folds in, with thousands of things shifting their duties making those with only an amazing level of knowing medical techniques and anatomy become the only ones able to release themselves.

This would be long enough for Jin to take the weapon.

Long enough to return to the village.

Nearly ten minutes left till the last tick could summon forth.

Jutsu usedShow

*Ranshinshou [Chaotic Mental Collision]
A-Ranked Ninjutsu
Ranshinshou is a Ninjutsu technique used by Medical-nin. Changing the chakra in their hand into an electricity, the user can create an electric field to disrupt their targets nervous system. Because the brain and body communicate using electrical impulses, the user can use the field to disrupt their targets ability to move. What results is commands to move one body part being relayed to another, making it near impossible for them to move unless they have high skill and understanding of the body.