[risi]

SPOILER: Click to show

TAILING SERVICE
MISSION RANK: C
NPC REQUIREMENT: Optional
PARTICIPANTS: 1-2
DESCRIPTION:

A businessperson hailing from Sancho is requesting that a tiny team of shinobi follow one of their business partners, as part of an effort to root out corruption within their company. The business partner is docking in Moyama on Sunday; the mission is to follow them for one week as they conduct their business in Moyama, writing a detailed report of all their comings and goings. The team must be small in order to avoid detection, but surveillance must also be around-the-clock, demanding constant travel and very little sleep.

In your iteration of the mission, the company may deal in:
1. art,
2. textiles,
3. herbs,
4. hospitality,
5. medicine,
6. food supply, or any other industry you can think of;

the target of the tailing mission may be:
1. involved with the local yakuza,
2. taking bribes from ‘preferred’ clientele,
3. involved in a domestic dispute,
4. complicit in insider trading,
5. fencing goods,
6. completely innocent of any wrongdoing, or any other circumstance you can think of.

To add a little random chance to the scenario, roll a 1d6 on each list and conduct the mission according to those parameters!

Risi is sitting rather comfortably at a small and well-situated cafe, wearing his usual garb but having left his scythe back home; after all, such a large weapon would likely get quite a lot of unwanted attention directed right at him, and he knows from his training from the Inshi family that attention was, for an operative, deadly. Ironically enough, the Kyuumu ninja is quite well-suited for this particular job, having been trained in espionage work for over a decade, albeit he had been trained without the use of chakra for most of that time. He wears a sleeveless white shirt and frilled cravat, below a black waistcoat with silver buttons on the front flaps, connected to the black mantle over his forearms. His skirt has buttons and a number of brown waistbelts with skull adornments. He also wears black boots and arm warmers, as well as fingerless gloves on both hands: a white one on the right, and black on the left. Risi also wears a black top hat, though he's gone without the Kumogakure headband completely this time around, not wanting to be outed as a ninja unless absolutely necessary. He's also wearing a very dark pair of round-lensed sunglasses, allowing him to keep his eyes and, by extension, where he's actually looking hidden.

His straight black hair gets tossed about a little on the occasional ocean breeze, but it also causes the fishy smell from the fish market waft over to him, and despite his carefully controlled facial expression, he can never keep himself from putting on a disgusted expression whenever he smells it. It's almost enough to make him lose his appetite for the coffee on his table - almost. He's at least able to bring it up to his face so that the strong smell of the coffee overpowers the fishy stench, but he can't leave for now as he watches the reflection in the cafe's mirrored front through the corner of his eye, seeing their target, an art dealer, "casually" loitering in front of an art gallery, though it was closed for Sunday. He'd taken this mission with a Chuunin this time around, although all he really knew about her was a physical description of what she looked like and her name; "Maimomu" was certainly one of the names of all time.

Come on, I'm getting bored and I'm almost out of coffee...

While it wasn't common for him to get so impatient, this art dealer was getting on his nerves with how he seemed so nervous all the time. It was so obvious that he was doing something shady, but he was also far too cautious to be caught immediately, and going to an art gallery was expected behavior.

[Shitai Maimomu]

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[attr="class","vgroup"] [attr="class","vogue"] [attr="class","mainv"]U M E [attr="class","vlyrics"] Cause my insides are red And yours are too And the red on my face Is matching you [attr="class","vcred"]risi - 309WC

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[attr="class","vpostbg"]If she wasn't used to staying undercover by now, Ume would have a problem with the way she's dressed today. For one, her hair is down, and it tickles her shoulders. She's without her cloak, which was a little bit of a comfort item at this point, so she feels naked despite wearing more clothes than usual. She's wearing a black turtle neck longsleeve with a heart cutout over her chest, and a purple, flowing skirt cut at her knees - complete with a white, frilly petticoat beneath. She feels naked without her hitai-ate. For now, she is without much of her arsenal - save for the knives strapped to her thighs.

She returns from a "bathroom visit," which had really just been a way to skirt around the area to scout out any allies. She folds her skirt beneath her underside to sit properly in her chair, not much at all phased by the stench of fish. It smelled no worse than death, and that was a smell she was well adjusted to. Her expression is only annoyed because she can't get a good outlook from their position. "I can't see any accomplices, she breathes into her coffee, tinged with chocolate (because she cannot stand bitter tastes), "but that does not mean they aren't there."

Ume takes a moment to glance over to the suspect, then back to the Genin in her care. She's still not sure why he of all Genin was the one to accompany her on this mission, but she didn't question it. Not that she was even sure she was allowed to. Kyuumu Risi, was it? All Ume really gathered from the information she was given was that he was at the top of his class in the academy. So far, he proved to be an asset instead of a hindrance, so Ume couldn't complain.

[attr="class","cred"]VEL OF PIXEL PERFECT

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[risi]

Risi sets the coffee cup back down on the saucer he'd lifted along with the cup he was using to drink up the coffee, treating it daintily as he does so before setting both on the table, the cup nearly empty as his teammate approaches, speaking softly to let him know that she hadn't seen any accomplices, and he gives her a curt nod, barely noticeable unless one were looking for confirmation that he'd understood, before he gives the Chuunin a bright, cheery smile, sinking back into the persona of a good friend meeting another friend for brunch at the tourist trap city that was a jewel for Kaminari no Kuni, as far as commerce and trade was concerned.

"Oh, honey, there's no doubt that the night scene has to be wild out here! But you're right, we're definitely gonna need to keep an eye on our drinks... Oh, speaking of drinks! Excusez-moi, monsieur?"

Risi's accent is spot-on, so right that the garcon seems somewhat confused that the young man would speak out in a different language; after all, they were in Kaminari no Kuni. But the waiter seems not to mind, since they were in a port city, and it was equally possible that he was there on vacation. As it is, while the waiter is giving him more coffee, the Kyuumu ninja is once more watching the motions of their target through the reflection on the glass windows of the cafe. Whoever the manager for the gallery is opens the door, seems to speak hurriedly and dismissively to the loitering art appraiser, then fully shoos him away before closing the door again and locking it down. Risi continues watching through the reflection, though now he's rather sad that he'll have to quickly down the coffee that he's only just gotten refilled. But just in case, he takes one of the scones he'd been nibbling on, and uses it to entice a singular crow closer to himself while making cute "baby" noises like he's trying to lure it in closer. Hidden within those high-pitched nonsense words were careful instructions as he feeds the crow from the sweet bread, then lets it fly off with plenty of bread to keep it full while it continues their surveillance aerially.

With a wave of his hand, he dismisses the waiter, giving Maimomu an appraising look and a much smaller smile, this one not part of his disguise. He makes a singular handseal, masked by his movement from the handseal to lifting the cup and saucer again as his eyes behind the sunglasses take on a clouded, unfocused look, watching through the eyes of the crow that was now busy following their target as instructed. After a few blind sips of his coffee, he carefully places the cup and saucer back down while scribbling some notes on the nearby napkin.

"Mmmmm, I've got to admit, that chocolate in your coffee smells absolutely yummy!~ I'll have to give it a try myself next time, I think..."

SPOILER: Click to show

NAME: Me no Karasu [Eye of the Crow]
RANK: D
CHAKRA USAGE: Very Low {Very Low drain to maintain}
CLASSIFICATION: Ninjutsu
ELEMENT: -
HANDSEALS: 1
DESCRIPTION:

This jutsu uses a crow as a medium, enabling the user to see directly through the eyes of a crow. The range of this jutsu is about 2 miles, allowing the user to see through the eyes of any crow within that range. While this jutsu is much simpler than Spying Flock Technique, it can help acquire much more useful information by getting the chance to directly see what the crows in that area are seeing. When using this jutsu, the user must be aware of the general location of the crow that'll be acting as the medium.

[Shitai Maimomu]

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[attr="class","vgroup"] [attr="class","vogue"] [attr="class","mainv"]U M E [attr="class","vlyrics"] Cause my insides are red And yours are too And the red on my face Is matching you [attr="class","vcred"]risi - 328WC

[attr="class","vpostb"]

[attr="class","vpostbg"]Okay, she could complain about one thing - the character they played felt too real, and made Ume feel like she had to try harder in her own disguise. But she refrains from exerting herself, tapping her finger against the table as she sips from her cup as Risi speaks to the waiter. Her eyes follow his gaze to the reflection in the cafe's window, blinking slowly at it as she sets down her drained cup.

Blue eyes snap to the crow Risi is cooing at, blinking slow again. She thinks waywardly about how its blood might taste, then watches it flutter off with its new meal. Ume smiles a little because it's cute, then steadies her expression to casually ignore Risi's jutsu casting. Controlling crows or whatever? Asset as hell.

Umechika leans back in her chair, folding her hands over her lap. She twirls her thumbs idly, watching what her temporary teammate is writing down. "Oh, you simply must," she says in a singsong voice, sickly sweet and dripping with faux honey. She wipes at her mouth with her own napkin, letting out a small laugh. "I can't stand anything that's not sweet!" Okay, that wasn't a lie - she really could not choke down food unless it was smothered in sugar and sweet. It's why she hates the blood of chronic smokers and alcoholics.

Still tracing him through the same reflection Risi is eyeing him through, she shakes her head from side to side as he ducks down the street, seemingly disappearing. When he's out of ear shot, Ume's head stops shaking when it's tilted over her left shoulder. A click of her tongue. She speaks in code. "Akaitori exit stage left." Akaitori simply meaning "red bird," as in a bird which migrates (art thief on the move), and a red flag. Ume had laid this out carefully at their basecamp (shitty hotel room in the nice town), but she felt like somewhat of a loser for it.

[attr="class","cred"]VEL OF PIXEL PERFECT

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[risi]

Risi lets a little bit of a smirk play on his lips when his mission partner goes along with the cover of being a pair of tourists just hanging out with one another and discussing their plans for what might seem like a vacation for others. He takes halting sips of his own coffee, a taste he only enjoys somewhat, as he's much more of a tea drinker. It would have been too odd to pass if he'd ordered tea, however, so he had stuck with coffee instead. Although he hadn't said anything out loud during the planning process in the hotel room, he did inwardly cringe, both then and now, at using code phrases, especially since they were tailing him together. In his training with the Inshi, code phrases such as this were never useful; it was more common to use extremely common phrases, though ones that neither would have normally said otherwise. But, now just as much as then, he had kept his mouth shut, both because it would out his spy training for the Kyuumu clan, and because his teammate for this mission outranked him, though he had no idea that she was actually a member of the ANBU.

Risi feels a little lurching feeling in his stomach when the crow takes off, but he hides it well, still watching through its eyes as it follows the nervous little man, though with the size of the neighborhood in this city being quite small, it's not hard to track him through the crow's vision as he returns to his swanky, high class hotel room. It was honestly quite dumb to get a penthouse suite, and he was thankful that crows often love to perch on those particular balconies as he watches through the window using the crow.

"Mmmmm, I see!~"

He's not sure how much more obvious the statement could be that she doesn't really have to worry about both of them tailing him too closely, as he slides across the napkin to her, then rubs at the edge of his mouth like he's suggesting that she's managed to get something on her cheek. Listed on the napkin, however, are instructions to go directly from the cafe to his penthouse, which would likely be quite helpful in trying to keep their surveillance on him. With a blink, he ends the connection, as he can see through the crow that he's starting to undress for the day, despite how early it is. He really doesn't want to see any more of that gross body than he has to for his line of work.

"So, where to next?~ I hear there's a nice park nearby, we could go and people-watch.~"

The park was actually near the penthouse hotel, but too close to the building to be easily seen from the balcony, and it really was fun to use the term people-watch with two different meanings, one for watching who comes and goes from the hotel and one for the actual typical hobby for some people.

SPOILER: Click to show

NAME: Me no Karasu [Eye of the Crow] (Maintained, then ended)
RANK: D
CHAKRA USAGE: Very Low {Very Low drain to maintain}
CLASSIFICATION: Ninjutsu
ELEMENT: -
HANDSEALS: 1
DESCRIPTION:

This jutsu uses a crow as a medium, enabling the user to see directly through the eyes of a crow. The range of this jutsu is about 2 miles, allowing the user to see through the eyes of any crow within that range. While this jutsu is much simpler than Spying Flock Technique, it can help acquire much more useful information by getting the chance to directly see what the crows in that area are seeing. When using this jutsu, the user must be aware of the general location of the crow that'll be acting as the medium.

[Shitai Maimomu]

Ume sees the way her partner cringes and she herself cringes inwardly too. Damn, she was a loser for it! Nobody ever wanted to play with her and use code words. Ugh. Outwardly however, Ume saves face. Even at the cost of her pride and dignity.

Casually as she can, Ume slides the napkin in front of her, reads the directions written across it with a single glance, then dabs it at the make believe blemish on her cheek. Balling the information in her hand and keeping it there under her chin, the fledgling continues on the guise. She grins a bit too cheekily - the only thing to ever give her away was that wide, toothy grin. But stifling it might only appear more out of place, so she lets it burn her cheeks and crinkle her sight.

A shrill giggle. "A breath in the park sounds lovely. Shall we be on our way then?" She flags down the waiter to pay for their stay. All while she performs on the outside, Ume reflects inwardly and ruminates on what little they know. Part of her wants to call it a night, even with so many hours left in the day - but the way she saw it, he surely wouldn't strike tonight, would he? She assumed he was waiting for someone, or something, to trigger the heist. But what? Or was she totally wrong and this guy was acting alone? Seemed doubtful.

Cafe paid, Ume stands from her seat and gives a placid yawn. Surveillance work was always a bore. 

---

risi - 259WC

[risi]

Risi doesn't really expect their mark to invite anybody over to his hotel room to conduct "business", but it would have been a shame if they missed it after all, and the Kyuumu is at least keeping up a short connection to the crow that he'd fed and started a conspiracy with, so he should be able to catch the crow if the art dealer were to have any particularly shady guests. As their short brunch gets paid for, Risi stands up with this woman that had referred to herself as Ume when they'd met for the mission, and he gently wraps his arm with hers, holding them elbow-to-elbow as though they were longtime gal pals as he leads her to the park for the stage two portion of their surveillance. Had she said so aloud, Risi probably would have agreed with Ume's observation that this type of tailing work was exceedingly boring, particularly when it was some kind of shady business thing and not a mission with any really dangerous combat issues.

Still, at least the mission was good for pay, and so he wouldn't have complained, either. It was also the type of work that he had actually been trained for, even longer than the training that had made him into a ninja in the first place. He was rather used to the tedium of tailing and surveillance, as although both were ninja skills, they were often followed up by assassination, or at least some form of combat. While Risi was somewhat capable in combat scenarios, he was far better at escaping such things, since a spy that's having to deal with combat is often either a dead spy or a compromised spy, and neither is useful to the Inshi. As it is, he leads Ume to a park bench that's particularly close to the hotel building, and therefore underneath the balcony and outside of view for their mark. The last thing they would want is to be recognized by this Akaitori, and being hidden from his view would be the best way to ensure that they could both watch for visitors to his hotel room while also staying in cognito.

"Ewwww, look at that guy!~"

Although the sound of disgust is evident in his voice, it's a joking sort of disgust, like a high school bully that's taking joy in tearing down someone else. His finger is extending, taking note of a large man with wide shoulders wearing mirrored sunglasses and a mostly black suit. In the weather they had at the moment, he would likely be sweating a lot, even in the more moderate temperatures this close to the sea. It was certainly an odd-looking fellow when most people wore vibrant but more loose and airy clothing.

[Shitai Maimomu]

Another shrill giggle escapes her as Risi locks their arms. At least this guy was making things fun. Most Genin tried hard to act tough and mature, or at the very least were a little frightened by her, and Ume found it just as taxing as hanging out with other ANBU acolytes. But even as they play and keep up the guise, Umechika is surveying the area outside the museum. Even as it fades from view and she smiles with Risi down the street, the fledgling is considerate of their operative. 

The penthouse suite, judging by what Ume can tell from their park bench, was plain and unincriminating. Icy blue eyes are caught on the balcony and its window, and what little she can see from there - which was, to say the least, nothing. Dropping her gaze, Ume sweeps the perimeter.

Interrupted by Risi, Ume leans into him as he points out a wider fellow. The absurdity of the interaction makes Ume snicker inappropriately. Just a pair of gal pals laughing at a sweaty guy; nothing out of the ordinary here.

Ume's eyes narrow, turning her head away but keeping her eyes locked on the man dressed like he's going to a funeral. He was out of place - but it seemed a little convenient; especially as his inconspicuous loitering grows closer and closer to the suspect building's entrance. The fledgling eyes him, even as she lays her attention on Risi. "Imagine staying at this hotel," she remarks to the gal pal surface they're playing, voice sparked with some jealousy. She was actually a little green; the criminal, in typical criminal fashion, gets the nice penthouse room and she and the Genin are stuck in a dingy room next to an ice machine that whirrs obnoxiously at night. 

---

risi - 297WC

[risi]

Risi lets another girlish giggle ring from his mouth, though he quiets it with a single feminine hand in front of his face, covering his mouth just a bit with his fingers to keep his princess laugh from going too far after Ume suggests staying at this particular hotel. He was keenly aware that the crummy run-down hotel they were staying at was certainly not like the luxury rooms in the majority of the hotels that dotted this resort town and trade hub, but he was playing a role, and the first trick to learn when playing a role is to lie to yourself until you believe it. If he wasn't so good at hiding his actual reactions, he'd clearly be at least as jealous as Ume, especially since the room they themselves had was far less posh than the room in his own home. In reality, he almost would have preferred to travel between Moyama and his actual home, but there was no way they would be able to keep track of their target.

"Don't even joke like that!~ We're nowhere near desperate enough to stay at a dump like this one.~"

He still keeps his eyes on the stranger, glad that his sunglasses can afford to be so dark that they completely obstruct anyone else seeing where his eyes are actually looking. His head is turned away from the man in black, pointing out at random other "peasants" near them, but in reality keeping his peripheral vision locked on the one they'd originally taken note of. His intuition seems to pay off, because the man puts a finger to his ear suddenly, seems to speak to himself, then "casually" walks to the hotel himself. That was certainly an interesting series of actions, but Risi carefully keeps up the charade for now, pointing at a pair of men apparently having just come from a nearby tourist beach with their bodies oiled. They really weren't Risi's type, but regardless of that fact, he stage-whispers to Ume so his voice can carry, but one arm around Ume's waist with his fingers lightly prodding her opposite side so she's aware that the statement is in code, and not actually referring to the bodybuilders.

"Check it out! Jackpot!~"

[Shitai Maimomu]

The Risi fellow definitely had a good eye and caught on perhaps before Ume did - while Risi looks away, Ume openly watches for just a moment as that hand comes up to touch at his ear. A radio of sorts. She can't read his lips at the angle he's turned and the fledgling tuts just a bit at his uncanny ability to avoid her own vigilant eye.

Maintaining the feigned gal pal date, Ume leans into Risi once again, giggling a little at the oiled men. Even as Ume looks to them for appearances, she watches the man dressed for a funeral in her peripheral. Just what was he doing? Visiting their culprit, or something a little less sinsiter? Ume can't tell.

Momentarily, she's kind of distracted by the men Risi pointed out. Body-builder types, greased in oil, certainly going to flex in a mirror later and kiss their biceps. Kind of disgusting, if she were being honest. Was that Risi's type? I mean, Ume thinks waywardly, who am I to judge? 

Blue eyes dart back to the man she'd almost lost in the crowd beginning to swim by, watching as he loiters at the entrance. But her expression is light and she smiles and giggles, nudges at Risi's side with her elbow and points once again at their oiled pig men. She winks at Risi, her tone matching her partner's. "We oughta keep an eye on them~"

This was so silly.

Casually, Ume produces a paper pad and pencil from the waistline of her skirt. She jots down the time, a description of the man, then shows it to Risi and laughs as if she had just scribbled something inappropriate.

---

risi - 281WC

[risi]

Risi watches the formally dressed man as well, utilizing his peripheral vision to keep watch of him until he simply stands there and loiters for a while, squeaking a bit when he gets nudged in the side by his own Chuunin to see her pull out a pencil and paper, scribbling on it quickly and then showing the Genin, causing him to giggle again girlishly. Then he uses the paper pad as a cover to form a single handseal again, and his eyes get a faraway look again as he once more watches through the crow's eyes, once more making good use of the one on the balcony that's just observing the art dealer speaking rapidly and with hushed tones into his own radio, and Risi deftly picks up the pencil and pad, writing down what he sees the art dealer doing.

Even as he does this, Risi puts on a goofy expression, as though he's scribbling something inappropriate as well. Then, although Risi can't see it, Ume is likely to see the larger man with an earpiece suddenly frown and then enter the hotel lobby himself. Things looked to be heating up, with both ends of the hotel under their surveillance. This "secret" rendezvous was apparently taking place right this second. Risi pauses in his note-taking as the art dealer suddenly puts down the radio and turns his head. Although he can't hear what's being said, he can see that the hotel room door is what the art dealer is focused on. He's at least able to put two and two together to figure that someone is knocking, but he waits to see who it is. Their target reaches over and opens the door to reveal the large man that had been down on the ground floor with a radio headset in his ear, and he appears furious, jabbing a finger into the art dealer's chest again and again. It's only a few minutes of this apparent yelling before he seems to get a better hold of himself, and visibly calms down.

Risi jots down a quick explanation of the situation, then writes a question mark, suggesting that it's up to Ume if they do anything at all. Not that he can see if she writes anything, but he'd be able to hear her if she wants to speak in code now. Then he lets out a big giggle while handing back the pencil and pad.

"Mommy was right to warn me about you, you are a bad influence!~"

[Shitai Maimomu]

Amazing. Ume definitely needed some crows of her own. She giggles girlishly alongside her teammate, watching the words hit the paper with utmost interest.

Also, damn, she was wrong to have wanted to turn in for the night - the man loitering at the entrance of the lobby suddenly makes a face and ducks into the building. It was happening! And thank the Gods for those crows Risi was looking through, because it was undoubtedly going to give him a front row seat to the meeting. For a moment, Ume reflects on what it's like to be in these situations without backup - without Risi specifically. Usually, Ume was putting her life on the line to get too close. In another mission, she might even be tailing the large man, she might even follow him up to the floor where the art smuggler was. Hell, she might even put on some hotel assistant disguise and barge in on the notion that she was room service. But here with Risi, all she had to do was watch what he was writing on their shared notepad.

The only thing that would make him more useful would be if he could actually hear what the men were saying.

Taking back the pen and paper, Ume laughs alongside the little tease. He wasn't wrong. She was a bad influence, but not in this way. More in the way of, I'd like to spear someone through the eyeball and drink the juice that comes out and you should join me type of way. But that was later in their friendship. For now, they could keep it surface level - for now, they would keep it here on the mission.

"Good thing you didn't listen to your mama!~" It was exceedingly easy to match Risi's energy.

Pressing the notepad face down in her lap, Ume leans back and gives a little stretch of her arms overhead. "I know the sun'll be settin' soon, but man, I'm enjoying sitting here and people watching~"

Okay, maybe speaking in code was a lot better than the cheesy codewords Ume had tried to appoint.

But dammit, codewords were fun!

---

risi - 356WC

[risi]

Risi yawns as well, then deftly pulls the description of activities off their notepad as he ends the technique that was allowing him to watch through the crow's eyes; the last thing he saw was the man in dark clothing leaving the room, leaving the art dealer to wallow in his misery in his penthouse with a new black eye. Whatever the conversation had been about, it hadn't ended well for the wimpy art dealer, and the Genin was starting to think that tailing him for a week wouldn't really be necessary. They'd likely have to keep a watch on him for the full week anyway, though, because who knows what that man in black was doing? This was likely to be their best chance to ensure the completion of the mission.

"Hey, doll, I gotta go to the little girl's room. Safety in numbers?"

Risi's eyes are looking past Ume's as he turns towards her, suggesting that he's not looking directly at her, and his bright red eyes are instead following the man in dark clothing as he briskly power-walks away from their targets' hotel. He was somewhat quick, apparently eager to get somewhere, but with how he had to push through people with his bigger and heavier body, it wasn't like he was able to hide himself. Without waiting for her response, he gets up off the bench they'd been sitting on and stretches one more time, bending his back a bit to stretch his back muscles. Just to make Ume feel better about the dropping of the codewords, he decides to use one.

"Besides, the blackbirds are so droll, and they love the fly up from the west."

The inflections would have been too faint for passersby to pick up on, but they should be clear enough to Ume: that the man in black clothing was heading west.

[Shitai Maimomu]

Everything is going pretty smoothly and they are gathering a lot only in the first day, even if it was anti-climatic in its own way. The man in black is off, and Umechika is only a little interested in what it was the man was up to - but he was not their target, not truly, so Umechika was mostly okay with letting the lead slip.

Then Risi suggests they move out together. Ume doesn't speak, looks instead to Risi's expression then follows the gaze behind her, knowing right away she's keen on the man in black. Just as quickly as he'd made the suggestion, Risi is getting to his feet with the grace of a woman. Umechika's eyes flicker to the their target's window, then back to Risi. She feels a stir of trepidation - her missions were set in stone and she followed them specifically. It was not within her duty to take initiatives outside of the mission's prerogative. If she did now, it would be the first time she ever had - she was unsure of breaking her track record of staying on task. There are a hundred different things she wants to say in the moment. Frozen for only a second, Ume's icy blue eyes are wide, fixed on nothing in particular beyond Risi, looking toward their target's window. Was he suggesting something sinister, suggesting they walk away, or was he suggesting they get a closer look? Ume could not decipher what he meant by the little girl's room, though she assumed it would break surveillance. 

Willing to take a chance, Ume rises to her feet, standing only a bit shorter than her comrade. She gestures vaguely and it is muffled by her giant cloak. "Ma always told me girls were safer in numbers," Ume relents. Her eyes sweep from side to side, looking past Risi, then falling to settle a gaze at the building's entrance. "So lead the way, girly."

---

risi | 322

[risi]

Luckily, Risi was smart enough to plan ahead, having taken several hundreds of ryo with him on the trip, and Ume was likely to get quite a nice surprise. After all, the Kyuumu had been trained specifically for work in espionage as well as surveillance, and while the crummy hotel had been good for an initial base, it was much better to have a base right in the same hotel as their mark. In this way, they would be able to keep a very close eye on him without the potential of losing sight of him or making either one get caught out as stalkers. Internal espionage was far easier and harder to get caught than external espionage, after all. Risi comes right up to the hotel lobby's front desk, and asks for a room for two on one of the top floors, slipping in a little more cash just to make sure they can get it.

Although he hadn't discussed it with Ume beforehand, after their combined disgust with the cheap motel rooms they'd been stuck with, she likely wouldn't have many complaints about the much more swanky rooms at this particular hotel. Although, there was the question about their other supplies back at the original motel room, since one of them needs to maintain surveillance on the art dealer, although a quick check in with a nearby crow confirms that the older man is now sleeping in his hotel bed; he can tell it isn't a decoy because the bird's eyes are at least good enough to see that his body is rising and lowering in a slow breathing rhythm. However, this particular form of surveillance means he won't be able to go and get their things from the original cheap motel.

"Hoo. Okay, I'll keep an eye up here. How are we gonna get our things from the cheap motel up to us, though?"

He's somewhat hoping that Ume has an idea that wouldn't involve her having to make trips back and forth between the two hotels, as that would be very tiring for her, and he wouldn't want to make her overwork herself, even if that is the only option they might have. His crows certainly aren't going to be able to carry such heavy luggage to their hotel room, after all. Even Yatagarasu, strong as he is, won't be able to carry them while remaining airborne in flight.