[tokonatsu yukari]

A seed of suspicious had planted in the soft loam of Yukari’s mind: that the new Lady of Takigakure was resentful of her close working relationship with Mikatakujira Ruto, and was endeavoring to keep her as far afield from her place at his side in the research lab as possible. There was no other possible explanation for why she was being assigned, once again, to babysit a child half her age on a farce of a mission that would accomplish nothing except to waste their collective time. She was in on the ruse, though her young charge of the day would not be—for all Saigo Shigeo knew, they were investigating the mysterious disappearance of a priceless family artifact, a medallion monetarily valued at some eight million ryo. Yukari privately thought that the price tag attached to the "heirloom” beggared belief, but she was not here to criticize the lack of imagination of a wealthy civilian: she was here to observe and evaluate Shigeo as he conducted his investigation. I don’t know, Kyuusai said thoughtfully, his whiskers twitching as he paced around their shared mindscape. I’m a priceless family artifact, no? How would you price me, if not at eight million ryo? I would pay someone eight million ryo to take you off my hands, Yukari replied flatly, but neither of us will be so lucky. Still wearing her lab coat in the vain hope that she would be able to return to the lab once her business here was concluded, Yukari waited for the genin outside of the wealthy civilian’s estate, hoping beyond hope that the boy would be halfway competent and able to see this charade through quickly.

Saigo Shigeo -- 287

LAIKA OF THQ

SPOILER: Click to show

Double-Oh-Heirloom

MISSION RANK: D
NPC REQUIREMENT: Optional
PARTICIPANTS: Open, Open
DESCRIPTION:

Giving an opportunity for new Ninja to get experience in the area of investigations - the Lord has several 'fake item(s)' based missions that civilians are being paid to provide a false story of an heirloom that has been stolen. The goal? Investigate and retrieve the 'heirloom' and return it to its rightful owner.

*Repeatable!

[Saigo Shigeo]

From the moment he accepted the mission, Shigeo's eyes were squinted. He continued to stare down at the missive as though it were written in a language he did not understand. "How many zeroes is that...?" he murmured as he sucked in a breath and let out a long whistle. For a Genin, or really, for a young man in general, there was no other way to react. He had never seen eight million Ryo in his life- and he might never see it, for that matter. He came from a merchant family, and even his father had never come close to that much.

Crumbling the paper in a fist, he stowed it in the kitbag on his right hip. Other than gawking at the ridiculous appraisal, he had memorized everything about it that he needed. Where to meet the woman who would be joining him, in particular.

The home was quite lavish, which helped to reinforce some of the veracity of the claimant's story about the value of the artifact. Large gates, an exterior garden and a cobbled path leading into the estate greeted him just behind the figure of a woman in a lab coat. Shigeo squinted again, reached back into the kitbag, and pulled out the paper. "...this is starting to sound like the beginning of a bad joke," he said aloud, critiquing his current state of affairs. "I wasn't expecting to find a doctor here. Hey lady, have you seen a female Ninja around? Your age maybe younger, maybe older? I'm supposed to be getting some support for a mission and this is the designated rendezvous point."

He folded the paper down so that only the name of his contact and where to meet them would be visible, not wanting to compromise the privacy of the contractor. "Tokonatsu... Yukari. That's her name."

[tokonatsu yukari]

For one long, excruciating moment, all Yukari could do was stare at the young man, her scarlet lips pressed into a line as thin as a razor’s edge. All of her hopes for competency and a swift resolution were gone like so much smoke in a summer’s breeze. Be nice, Kyuusai pleaded, twitching nervously. He’s just a boy, barely older than Touwa. How shameful for him, then, that he is the lesser of a twelve-year-old. "Female,” Yukari repeated—slowly, as if to ensure he could keep up. "Late twenties, early thirties. At this designated rendezvous point.” She shifted in place, turning her body at just the correct angle to reveal the hitai-ate neatly tied to her bicep; beneath it, the band that demarcated her status as a med-nin, critical for her work in the field. Calling this particular excursion "in the field” was generous to the extreme, but good habits were not borne of carelessness. "Tokonatsu Yukari is my name,” she said. "Yours is Saigo Shigeo. At least I understand now why you were chosen for this mission.” Disdain dripped from her lips like venom. Kyuusai, dismayed, kept his peace, unwilling to agitate her further. "Go inside, then. Interview the victim. I will be evaluating your conduct. For your sake, I hope your powers of observation develop quickly.”

Saigo Shigeo -- 217

LAIKA OF THQ

[Saigo Shigeo]

She stared at him like he was some kind of bad figment of her imagination, and she was hoping that he would just disappear. Shigeo locked an eyebrow and matched her gaze, unblinking, as if he refused to lose the ill-begotten staring contest. Then, she spoke.

Whiplash.

If looks, words, or general demeanor could kill, Shigeo would have died instantly from the dirty bomb that the woman dropped on him.

She adjusted herself to reveal the hitae-ate that proved she was a Ninja, and he sighed. "You know, if you'd led with that..." he started to say something, then shook his head. If that much was enough to make her bear fangs, then too much more might jeopardize the mission. "...nevermind."

The lab coat mystery was solved entirely based on the medical Ninja band she wore attached to her forehead protector; but still, he had to wonder at she chose to wear it for this particular outing. Was she in some kind of hurry?

When she said she understood why he'd been chosen for the mission, he sorely wanted to ask why. He still couldn't quite grasp that much for himself, if it was as steep of a request as it sounded.

"Way ahead of you, scary lady," the Genin muttered under his breath as he trudged through the courtyard of the home up to the door and rapped three times on it.

[233 words]
tokonatsu yukari

[tokonatsu yukari]

The boy almost back-talked her, but perhaps something in her expression made him rethink this poor decision-making, because he quickly withdrew and abandoned whatever it was he was about to say. She held eye contact with him for a long moment longer; then he turned, and entered the building. Not without a sassy remark, but Kyuusai had begged her to be kind, and so she let it go without further comment. The wealthy civilian in question was Hotaru Chinatsu, some cousin or another of her husband’s—a further bad taste in her mouth, as she almost universally detested her entire host of in-laws. Chinatsu was bubbly and effervescent, perpetually glowing with the firefly light of a happy marriage and good social standing, and Yukari despised her for it. "Thank you so much for coming!” Chinatsu cried as Shigeo entered, Yukari reluctantly following in his wake. "Oh, it’s terrible! My family’s prized medallion, heartlessly stolen! Please, will you find who’s responsible for this heinous crime?” She glanced sidelong at Yukari as if seeking approval for her performance; Yukari offered absolutely no feedback, and instead folded her arms across her chest, keeping her gaze firmly locked on the back of Shigeo’s head. Whether or not he would be able to conduct an investigation with the intimidation factor at his back would also be noted in her evaluation.

Saigo Shigeo -- 224

LAIKA OF THQ

[Saigo Shigeo]

If the woman behind him was a raincloud, the one in front of him was like sunshine. Shigeo blinked as he was hit with another round of whiplash, but this shift in gears only left him confused. The woman thanked him profusely, which made sense if the item that she was looking for was so valuable; but something did not sit right with the Genin. He reeled slightly from the excess of enthusiasm, made uncomfortable by how irrational it made the woman seem.

Then, she looked toward Yukari. If she addressed the woman, it might make sense- but something seemed off. Why just glance at the senior Ninja on scene? Why not direct the overwhelming emotions toward her, the request toward the Shinobi who was clearly the elder?

No, instead, she spoke to Shigeo.

He compartmentalized that knowledge while making a determination on how to proceed. The first thing, obviously, was to greet her and if possible, get her emotions in check. He could get scant important information from her while she was being this intense.

"Of course ma'am," he said, shifting his weight onto his back foot to shrink his height a bit, in order to seem less intimidating. He kept his eyes softened, letting the muscles that formed a smile remain prominent so that she could see he was friendly, in spite of the many bandages he wore. "I'm here to help. We will find your medallion," he assured her- after all, who did it was slightly less important in this particular moment than who had done it.

Had that slip of her tongue been accidental?

"After that, I will be glad to piece together who did it for you; and of course, I'll be collecting as much evidence as I can to that end as I search for it."

Nailed it.

He nailed it, didn't he? The most important thing at this leg of the mission was to establish rapport with the client and undertake the mission in earnest. How he handled the rest? Well...

After giving her ample time to respond, he glanced back toward Yukari. "I imagine that we should start with the markets," he said, gesturing toward the door. He walked out of the home with purpose, not bothering to see if the Medical Ninja was keeping pace.

He knew she was, because he could feel her scowl.

"A crook with that kind of haul will want to unload it quickly," he said, "and not necessarily for full value, so we're looking for the shadier stalls." He'd waited to discuss his methods until the petitioner was out of earshot, since his words might seem indelicate to her predicament, but it was important that Yukari be allowed to hear and weigh in on his thought process.

"This whole thing feels off," he muttered under his breath.

tokonatsu yukari

[tokonatsu yukari]

"Y-yes, of course,” Chinatsu said, wringing her hands. "As long as the medallion is safely returned, that’s what matters. I’m sorry, I’m terribly concerned—it’s just so valuable, you see, and I’ve been all out of sorts, I can’t even imagine who would do such a thing…” She trailed off, her eyes darting again to seek validation from Yukari, who ruthlessly provided none; with the lack of encouragement, Chinatsu instead launched into a description of the medallion, and offered up a charcoal drawing she made of what it looked like. The boy was handling her poor acting surprisingly well, considering the piss-poor first impression he’d made; he was making the client’s comfort a priority, which Yukari had always struggled with and believed to be foolish, but he reminded her of Tadashi in that way. Always trying to make sure everyone else was comfortable. Her mood grew blacker. Chinatsu, perhaps sensing this, squeaked, "thank you so much for your help, Ihopetohearbackfromyousoon!” and ushered the pair back out into the world. Yukari issued a noncommittal hmm to Shigeo’s assessment of their next steps. "As you say,” she replied. "Do you know where to go to find the shadier stalls?” He knows something’s up, Kyuusai hissed. Of course he does, Yukari replied. Chinatsu is one of the most uniquely unintelligent people I’ve ever had the displeasure of interacting with. She couldn’t act her way out of a paper bag. I’d be more concerned if he took it at face value. "What feels off about it?” she asked, as neutrally as she was able.

Saigo Shigeo -- 262

LAIKA OF THQ

[Saigo Shigeo]

"Well," he started as they continued to walk and he navigated them toward the market district. "If something that valuable were stolen, sure, the client would be beside themselves, but don't you think that they'd have the money and the pull to get someone more important than a Genin on the case?" he asked. "Of course, the village elders and the Lady herself have the final say on how important missions are and who get them, but a VIP would definitely have people in power trying to curry favor with them. That's just the first thing," he explained.

A few twists and turns of the map set them back into the more populated portion of Takigakure. "My dad is a merchant," he told Yukari, "and he's always saying the most important skill you can have is appraisal. Of the situation, of the goods, of the person. If you know more than the people you're dealing with, you always come out ahead. This situation, yeah? It's a mission, I get that, but the feeling is off. The client, for example." He turned to face the elder woman, deadpan- though, with the bandages on his face, that was probably assumed to be his default setting. "A VIP with wealth and power losing one item like that shouldn't lose their composure to that degree. They wouldn't want to show weakness, because that would let on that there's blood in the water. Thieves would be at their doorstep every night."

He was walking backward now, deftly avoiding passersby as they made their way into the thick of the markets. "I've been around plenty of rich people. Dad's got some pretty big ticket arms dealers and antique brokers on his short list. None of them have as bad a poker face as that lady did." Shigeo stopped suddenly at the corner of a back alley street that curved off from the promenade, slapping the wall of the building with a hand to indicate that they were hanging a right.

"But assuming that we have ourselves a witless thief, this is the place we'd find them dumping off their haul." He turned and started to walk forward again, under several shady looking, lesser kempt signs that had dubious names scrawled across them in a mix of hiragana, katakana, kanji, and emoji. He ducked into one and called out loud.

Lookin' for some expensive jewelry," he eyed the shopkeep, who immediately spun around and shot him a skeptical look.

tokonatsu yukari