Mission: The Sound Of Paranoia!

[Kaku]

A timid young man, Kikuzou had never really gotten used to the fame which came with the name. His musical talent was almost unparralelled and on stage he exuded an almost unnatural confidence but in person, he was the exact opposite. Since he started recieving these threats, his public appearances had been getting lesser and lesser, eventually coming to a halt. Soon, he began running out of money, which led to him having to accept this tour invitation. However, he decided he wasn't going to go without protection, so applied for ninja bodyguards, the best money could buy. So, he patiently sat with a harpoon gun in his hand, waiting for his escort to arrive. Upon arrival, they would have passwords to tell him, something which he requested out of his paranoia. He stood at the gates of his house, a somewhat stupid move for someone who was so afraid.

[Mendokuse]

Katsumi was one to be early, and today was no exception. Today was an exciting day: Her first C-Rank mission. She was a quite apprehensive, of course; there was a high chance of conflict, and even with her Jounin sensei, Jinsei, there existed a chance of harm or even death, and her nerves rebelled against this grim knowledge with vicious protest, manifesting a stiff ache in her bones and joints that no amount of stretching could ward.

Despite her reservations, a childish optimism burned within her. She'd been working hard her whole life, and here was a chance to do some real good, to protect a musician from danger. She knew that she had the capacity to help do so, and so despite her fears, she couldn't help but look forward to the experience.

The sun warmed her but the sky was the softest of blue, the air heavy with the scent of impending rain. Katsumi wasn't a superstitious girl, but this was certainly a mixed omen, she thought to herself as she sat on her bed, pulling her sandals on, absentminded as she gazed out of her bedroom window.

Retrieving her holster and item pouch from her nightstand, Katsumi gave herself a quick scan in the mirror. Presentable, professional, but not nearly as beautiful as her mother. Just like every day. Katsumi pushed her insecurity from her mind as she donned a cheery smile and exited her room, kissing her father on the cheek and closing the heavy front door behind her. She was glad that they'd discussed her mission the night before - the risks, the dangers, but most of all, her well-known competence. She wasn't sure if she had the composure this morning to sit through that talk again.

Katsumi passed by Kira's house, hoping to walk with him to their designated meeting place, but at no point did their paths cross. Shinju lived in the opposite direction, so she resigned herself to her lonesome walk and nervous internal monologue, arriving at the front gate a few minutes early and greeting the timid musician with the password from a safe distance.

[Deleted User]

'Anything is possible in a future where nothing is certain,
but I know that one thing is for suuuure~'

Shinju's soft voice sang as she cheerily jogged down the street. An odd occurrence, as she much preferred to leap across town in a hurry. However, she decided to take her time; today, she left the house in a much better mood and much earlier than expected. The perks of her very first mission; a c-rank, no less!
It had been a perfect morning for her, with a bright bright sun, and a cool friendly breeze to keep thoughts of blazing heat far from her mind. Her elder brothers had been much more respectful that morning;
Shinju didn't have to race Yuutaro to the bathroom, Ryohei didn't steal her towel or hide her clothes, and Tetsu even saved her a big plate of food so she wouldn't have to fight the rest of them for her breakfast.
Her mother had insisted on Shinju wearing her favorite bandana tied around her arm.
'For good luck,' she had insisted. Shinju wasn't so sure. The tiny gold sun stitched into the cloth shined brightly whenever she made her purple clan light, and the armcloth seemed a bit gaudy, in her opinion.
But, if it gave her mother peace of mind...
She looked over at an antiques store she was about to pass. By the time on the sundial, she was just a little bit early; not too much so.
Shinju nodded to herself, a grin spreading broadly across her face again as she started singing again, her pace quickening.
'Hanging above the clouds and shining brightly,
the stars will give me hope, I know it~'
It was a good day indeed, she decided, to be singing. Apparently they were getting a new teammate just in time for the mission; as Kira had been missing for quite some time.
The excitement of a new comrade, as well as the challenge of a mission had her excited and raring to go, and she barely contained her excitement as she rushed to the gate and called out her password to the rattled looking man outside the house. She noticed that he was rather unusually armed, and said nothing about it, choosing instead to greet both him and Katsumi.

[KiKage]

"Euphoria! Anger! Winter wind! Fire!" Each word was accompanied by a leaping step. "Exuberant! Austere! Confidence and cheer!" Again, grand movements were made with each exclamation.

Villagers who saw the young lady's bizarre behavior exchanged strange looks, confused by her twisting, leaping, and shouting. Of course, she was perfectly content with the knowledge that they were doing so. The feeling of liberation that this method of travel overpowered any other emotions she could feel. And on a day like this, when she would need to be at the top of her game to make her new team proud, liberation was the best thing she could get.

"Rebirth! Downpour! Miracle!"

After a substantial amount of additonal yelling and nimble bounding through the Konoha streets, Takara Sayuri found herself close to the gate where she was told she would meet her team and go on a mission with them. "Marvelous! Here we go, Sakamoto-san!" She sang her words and pranced forward to meet her new squad, as well as the client.

Sayuri waved and dipped into a courtsey, whispering the password as a greeting. The man was armed with quiet an interesting weapon, at which the girl's eyes glittered with wonderment. "Hello! My name is Takara Sayuri! It's a pleasure to meet you!" She chirped, letting off her waves of peace and joy that were always partnered with her presence. Looking at her two team mates, she made a quick assessment of each. First was Katsumi. 'Her hair is beautiful! She seems a bit serious, though...' Then, was Shinju. What? Shinju?! "Shinju-san!" She cried excitedly. "I had no idea that we had been placed on the same team!"

[DanteFlambe]

Jinsei snored in bed with one leg hanging out of his messy sheets. He began to toss and turn, and rolled right out of his bed hitting the floor.

"Augh, son of a-...what time is it?", he said groggily reaching for his clock on the nightstand near his bed. He grabbed it and pulled it down to the floor with him and stared at the time, letting his eyes adjust. When they finally did, he didn't like what he saw.

"Shit! I gotta be there in fifteen minutes." Jinsei kicked around in his sheets trying to get out of the tangled mess. When he finally did he ran for the door, but stopped and turned back around. "Can't go in just your boxers, now can ya Jin?", he said to himself as he ran back to his room and picked up some clothes off the floor. He then proceeded to grab his toothbrush, rain-hat, and sword and rushed out his apartment.

There were seven minutes left and Jinsei sped across rooftops as he brushed his teeth. When he finished he hopped down to a small river that was on the way and ran across the surface, dipping his hand in to catch some water. He threw the water in his mouth, and rinsed out the remaining toothpaste before continuing his trip.

Shortly after Sayuri arrived, Jinsei would appear in a gale of leaves. Without looking to his teammates he greeted them with a "Yo", and proceeded to approach the musician and spoke the password.

[Kaku]

The paranoid man stood up from his seating place, pointing his weapon at the group which had just arrived outside his house. he cautiously walked towards them, having previously convinced himself that one of them would be assassins sent to kill them. He looked at each of them, watching like a hawk for their every move. On the weapon, his hands were sweaty, and his legs were shaking like never before. However he steadied himself and reasoned that if they had the passwords, they must have been the ninja who he had called for so they couldn't betray him. but what did that matter, ninja were known to be cut throat people and he was sure that with a big enough pay they could be swayed. Swallowing his fear, he lowered his weapon and began to speak.

"Well, I'm sure you know who I am. But if you don't I'm Kikuzou. I want each of you to introduce yourselves and tell me something which only you would know. I have factfiles here on each of you and I WILL be checking them against your info. Begin." Inside, he smiled, suprised he was able to muster up such a brave and strong voice despite the fear which was plaguing him.

[Mendokuse]

Katsumi smiled at Shinju, happy to see her again. It was unspoken between the two girls, but she felt as if Shinju was one of her best friends, Heero being the other. Where was that boy, anyway? A female voice introduced itself Takara Sayuri. Katsumi turned to the voice, surprised...Where was Heero? She seemed to know Shinju. It was ass if Katsumi had stepped into an alternate universe where the only person who felt that something was wrong was herself. She didn't have time to ponder this or ask what was going on because the man begin to approach, holding his harpoon. Perhaps as a reaction to the danger that she couldn't ignore, having never been conditioned to ignore fear, or because of the eeriness that this new girl had seemed to replace Heero so effortlessly, Katsumi felt the urge to step back as he approached with the harpoon. Then, internally she laughed at her sudden fear, reminding herself that she was a shinobi and he was just a man. Besides, sensei was there, and he wouldn't let any harm come to her...would he? She supposed that she didn't quite know him well enough to be certain. He hadn't exactly been...warm...during their first test. Still, though, she trusted Shinju, and - That's right...The new girl. She wished she could demand an explanation, but she had to be present in the situation. She snapped back to attention, deciding to find out the situation later. Probably, Heero was ill and she was a replacement. Sensei had just forgotten to tell her...or it was last minute...or...Katsumi's head swam with possibilities but none could stifle the sense of foreboding within her, that something was terribly wrong.

The man began to command the crowd of shinobi and Katsumi looked to him, partitioning that worried part of her mind so that she could focus on the task at hand.

"Something only I would know? Well, lets see. Kagami."

Saying the name out loud almost brought a rosy blush to Katsumi's cheeks - She wished she could keep Kagami all to herself but she'd had to share her identity with a few people...and now this stranger knew, too. She sighed and looked away from the man, wishing he wasn't so paranoid.

[Kaku]

OOC: You have given info to the mission giver that you know o.o like a secret question that you give when you sign up to a sight.

[Deleted User]

Shinju squealed excitedly and swept a curtsy, ecstatic that Kira's replacement was none other than the bubbly, graceful Takara Sayuri.
"It's really great to see you again, Sayuri-san! We'll be great together on this team, I just know it!" Seeing a small sign of hesitation in Katsumi, she patted the girl on the arm gently.
"Ne, didn't you hear? It was in the papers, too; Kira just up and dissapeared...like he ran away from home, or something..."
As their sensei appeared in a whirlwind of leaves, Shinju shot him an odd look.
"Ne, Takahara-sensei, did you not tell Nara-chan...?"
Her happy mood was slightly dimmed at Kikuzou's request...were the passwords really not enough?
He had sent them through Jinsei, of course, but he hadn't said anything then about another way to prove it...
This paranoia of his was really something, she thought, as she shook her head sympathetically.
She stepped forward slowly, not wanting to scare Kikuzou; for the same reason, she spoke gently, in a warm, friendly tone.
"I'm Awai Shinju, Kikuzou-san."
She thought for a moment on what to do to prove her identity...activating her Kussetsugan? No, something that would leave no doubt...irrefutable evidence...
She held her hand out to him, a small ball of purple light gathering in her hand.
"This is my clan's specialty; Hiton, proves that I'm an Awai...It's purple, and no two clan members have the same color light, so that should prove I'm Shinju..."
She gently scraped the ball of light on the ground and dispelled it as soon as it scorched the dirt at her feet.
"The burn on the ground should prove that all of that was not a genjutsu; an illusion could not leave a lasting, literal effect. Touch the ground, if you'd like."

Surely she had proven all she needed at this point; she stepped back and waited.

[KiKage]

Upon the introduction of her new sensei, Sayuri bowed and chirped, "Hello, Takahara-sensei! My name is Takara Sayuri, and I'm the new member of your team!" She performed a simple twirl, as if to shake off the excitement and energy that was coursing through her body. Noting Katsumi's visible discomfort with her sudden appearance, Sayuri came to a realization: there had been another person on this team before her. This wasn't a newly formed team that needed another member, but a team that lost one of its members and needed a replacement.

The thought saddened the joyful girl, but, of course, it did not show.

Instead, she turned to Kikuzou to respond to his bizarre demands. "Hm, Kikuzou-san, I believe that to be a bit of an absurd request," She admitted candidly. For Takara Sayuri to be calling something absurd, it probably was absolutely insane... "I can only give you my word that I'm Takara Sayuri. Anything I tell you is circumstantial, because I could be an assassin that killed the real Sayuri after torturing her and finding out all of her deepest secrets. In fact, that happened to a friend of a friend once. Nobu-kun, care to tell them about your friend, the Chairman?"

She looked to the space beside her, as if there were a person standing there... She gave him a moment of silence to tell his story.

"Oh, no, Nobu-kun, I mean the time with the electric company."

A moment of silence for Nobu to respond.

"Yes, that time, with the pastries. Remember? The raspberry tarts?"

A moment of silence for Nobu to respond.

"Nobu-kun, you're so forgetful. I'm sorry, Kikuzou-san, Nobu has a bad memory. Would you like me to ask the Imps of Inky Irises for their input instead?"

Any factfile on Takara Sayuri would probably note her tendencies to talk to nonexistant beings about oddly specific events that occured in the past. Perhaps this would be enough to prove her identity after all.

[DanteFlambe]

Jinsei turned to his new team member and said, "Eh? Oh yeah, Kira's replacement. Takara, eh? Close to Takahara!", he laughed. The similarity in names made Jinsei immediately like the girl, but that all changed when she began to talk to someone called Nobu...but there wasn't actually anyone there. Jinsei scratched the back of his head and simply turned back to his client for his request, which he didn't like. He had already given the guy the password, what else did he want?

"My name is Takahara, Jinsei. You know I'm the real thing because if I wanted to kill you, you and all these kids would be dead already. Now come on, you'll be late for your show." Jinsei turned around after his little speech and said, "Come on you three, it's time to get to work." He then began to walk off towards their destination. He had a very commanding presence at the time, and didn't bother to check if everyone was following behind. He felt like he knew they would.

(OOC: I'm back for a few days, sorry for the wait)

[Kaku]

Kikuzou watched wide-eyed as the four shinobi proved that they were the real deal, and although he wan't fully convinced, he decided that even if they were imposters, he wouldn't be able to do much, so his best bet was to just go with them, hoping for the best outcome. He was slightly confused as the team leader named Jinsei took charge, beginning to walk somewhere, even though Kikuzou hadn't informed him of the destination. Kikuzou ran after him, his lack of physical skill showing as he almost tripped over his own self whilst approaching the leader. He blocked his path after strapping his weapon onto his back and squinted at him, as if to try and intimidate him, something that he thought would work in his favour as he tried to take control of the group.

"Oi! Are you trying to get me killed already!?" As he spoke, he looked all around, the paranoia surfacing once more, "We aren't going by any main routes. No, that's suicide. We're going by a back route, through a large forest. That way, we won't get ambushed by any attacker's who want my precious head." As he finished, he barged past Jinsei, making sure that his puny shoulder made contact with Jinsei's - which resulted in him being pushed back by the force exerted by Jinsei. Regaining his composture, he walked in the opposite direction that Jinsei had been walking, beckoning for the group to follow him. He smiled, feeling that this performance had just earned him a little bit more respect from the group.

[Mendokuse]

Katsumi watched the man's bravado with a blank expression on her face - although what she was hiding was disgust. Partially because she felt out of the loop about Kira's evident disappearance, and partially because this man was just plain annoying. Still, she wasn't one to complain about a mission, and knew that it would be best to just go along with it, even if it meant having to put up with this character.

Checking her kunai holster and patting the canvas pouch on her hip to reassure herself that she wasn't forgetting anything, the raven-haired girl threw a cautious glance at the strange newcomer before falling into a brisk march to catch up to the client and walk by his side rather than behind him - hopefully to instill at least some sense of trust in him.

[Deleted User]

Shinju fought the urge to laugh at Kikuzou's antics; she did not want to be rude, and she did not know how laughing at his newfound bravado would affect him. She chose instead to walk beside him opposite Katsumi, and watched worriedly as she shot an odd look in Sayuri's direction before looking ahead.
'Is she really so unsettled by Takara-san...?'
Shinju chose not to bother Katsumi; it would be rude, she thought, as she turned instead to talk to Kikuzou.
"Ne, Kikuzou-san...wouldn't a forest be easier to ambush us in? More so than a wide, country road, with no hiding places...?"

[KiKage]

'What a fascinating individual! He's so full of energy and... awareness?' Sayuri giggled silently as she skipped and twirled along behind Kikuzou, Shinju, and Katsumi. Eventually, she took to dancing around the trio of adventurers, whimsically, without care. "Shinju-san, that's not a very reassuring thing to say! I'm sure that the spirits are guiding us on the right path!" The young lady chirped with a tone of confidence. A look she shot Shinju when Kikuzou wasn't paying attention showed that she was just trying to make the man feel for comfortable; saying that any sort of ambush could happen would just freak him out even more, and they had to try to keep him calm.

As she glided around, Sayuri sighed and began to ramble about some obscure gnomes and fairies, in an attempt to soothe the self-conscious musician by distracting him. As she did so, she began to mold her chakra, partially for fun, partially in case Shinju would up being right about potentil ambushes.

[DanteFlambe]

Jinsei stared at the man as he tried to act tough with him. He then raised an eyebrow when he bumped into Jinsei, obviously trying to make a point, but it failed as his frail body bounced off. He was fed up with the man's worries, but let out a sigh as he had a rare moment of sympathy. His client was afraid, and it was Jinsei's job to protect him, whether he liked it or not. Jinsei rubbed his forehead with the palm of his hand and began to walk a few feet behind the four.

"Actually, Shinju's right. While trying to take a back road is a smart idea, a forest is ideal for an ambush. I ask you reconsider your plan of getting to the concert."

[Kaku]

Kikuzou squinted his eyes and shook his head as the ninja opposed his plan, slightly annoyed that they were trying to usurp him as the leader, or so he thought. He turned back to the ninja leader, deciding to get the problem from the head, before strolling towards him, hands on weapon. He brought himself to his full height, trying to get as close to eye contact as he could, before turning back around, walking once more, his job being done. He had given Jinsei a killer evil eye, the worst he'd ever given, and he was proud of that. Still, he didn't let it show until he gave the same look to all the other Genin, then carried on walking, trying to stay ahead of the group, something which he thought being the leader he should do.

"K guys, I'm gonna tell you this once, and once only. We do this my way. We go through the forest, through a route which I know very well. The likelihood of ambush is tiny, compared to your stupid open way. It's like I know more about ninja than you guys. Ugh!" He was beginning to get better at being tough, and he loved it.

[Mendokuse]

Katsumi shot the others a glance when Kikuzou announced that they were to follow his directions, but kept her mouth shut. She actually felt more comfortable taking a forest path; while there were in fact more places to hide, the trees above would give her a larger pool of shadows to attack from. She kept up her pace with Kikuzou and Shinju but seemed to be distracted as her thoughts turned again towards the new companion and what this meant for the future of their team.

(OOC: Sorry guys. It's been a long month with virtually no time to use the internet and an EXTREMELY long day so I'm just not up to an epic welcome back post.)

[Zangy]

(OOC: I'm just going to pass this, since Kaku's not an RP mod anymore.)