Welcome to Gaia! ::

Sorain cracked his knuckles before rotated his shoulders, "ah the slums, Ive been there a few times. One of my favorite bars is located there. If we head down there I can make sure we meet some friendly faces who would be more than happy to help us out. Best part is, not many of them know who I am so I would imagine they dont know you very well either" He finished, remembering the female bartender whom he frequently snuck out to visit. She was only an aquantance to him but he suspected that she considered them friends at the very least, a fact that he could easily exploit to his own needs should he ever find himself in such a situation. "Lets go ahead and head out to the market district and pick up what we can." Sorain reached inside his Kimono and pulled up a light colored medical mask that he now used to cover his mouth. With his eyes and mouth covered it served as a small disguise while not sending the message that he was hiding. Anyone whom saw it would simply note him as a medical ninja that just so happened to be blind. It was a nessicary precaution, there were not many twins in the village, and even so Sorain and Sai stood out in a crowed due to their strangly colored silver hair and crystal blue eyes.

Sorain motioned for their new 'friend' to follow them before turning to follow Sai down the bridge that lead to the market district. Like most of the village this area was heavy lush with trees, something that always truck Sorain as odd considering the climate of Kirigakure, however none the less these trees stood as a basic structure to the country, causing the vast majority of is buildings and districts to be made across vast bridges and walkways to allow travel between the tall trees and such. The lower areas that were not built as high were the slums, a place were the more unsavory folk chose to reside. Which made sense in its own regard, if you were up to no good, you would not very well want to spend time in an area that stood so high up and begged attention.

Kaji sighed as well when he was sure he was going to have to fight Novvus. "You do what you have to do and I'll do what I have to do." Kaji said as he let his chakra flare up. The chakra began to form around him, condensing into an almost visible form as he prepared for battle. He growled as he let his feral side take over and Kurosai even shyed away from him having never seen his chakra this intense before. Kaji's face began to take on even more feral features and the air around him began to crackle with electricity. "I warned you, but no one evere listens." Kaji muttered as his claws dug into the ground and his eyes began to change to a feral yellow. Suddenly his chakra formed into an aura shaped like a feral wolf. What's happening to me? There's so much chakra! Kaji thought as his body seemed to be creating a defensive shield for itself.

Novvus tensed his guard in alarm as a cloak of electrically charged chakra surged into existence and surrounded Kaji's body. It seemed as if every second that passed, the boy became wilder and wilder.
What is he?! thought Novvus in alarm, Director Mishima made no mention of another Jiinchuriki in the Mist Village, so he must be something else, but what? The dark-skinned boy began to apply everything he had learned at DEW to the situation. An enemy with an interesting power had shown up. It was time to see what he was capable of. "Swift..." he mumbled.

Novvus dashed forward. His eyes never left Kaji, being wary of how he guarded. The feral boy's stance was wild and full of openings, so the dark-skinned boy dashed headlong at Kaji.
Reverse psychology. He will think i'll do some fancy technique due to seeing the ice mirrors. Let's see what he thinks of a fancy punch to the face! Novvus increased his speed, abruptly stopping in front of the feral boy. At this range he could see the chakra crackling violently and the wildness that had overcome Kaji's body. It was truly a fearsome sight to behold, but Novvus had seen many things that had hardened his nerves. "One-inch punch!" he cried, bringing his fist one inch away from the feral boy's face, then snapping it forward. Novvus didn't stick around to see if his punch did any damage. He bounded away, but tripped on a rock which sent him toppling into one of the ice mirrors. the dark-skinned boy expected to find resistance, but was surprised to find that he was in an icy world overlooking the battle scene. "What the-!" he gasped, trying to understand what just happened. Unknown to him, the mirrors that surrounded Kaji all bore his confused image.

After meeting the round woman, Kyuzaku continued down the street in search of any more information he could find. Perhaps talking to a third person would clear up a few more questions that he had. However, save for the fat lady, there was no one on the street. Kyuzaku mumbled, “Looks like I’m going ‘shopping’ again. I hope the next guy isn’t like the last…” The blacksmith that Kyu had met was a real downer. Not only was his story sob-story quality, he also scapegoated Kyuzaku for it! While Kyu specifically hadn’t done anything, he was sent too late to save the marketplace. If that wasn’t tough enough, Kyu actually agreed with him.
The market place was a long, winding street that crawled from middle Kirigakure all the way down to the South Gate of Kirigakure. While market central wasn’t too affected by these crimes (yet!), market south was in ruins; a ghost of what it once was. Kyuzaku frowned as he saw his reflection in the shattered glass shards that remained in some of the windows. Adjacent to his reflections often hung a sign that read ‘CLOSED’ or ‘FOR SALE’. Kyu walked down another building’s length, and saw his reflection again, but this time, he saw a sign that read, “HELP WANTED!”
The shark genin scratched his bluish-black hair, and said, “Hiring? What kind of business hires when they have no business?” Kyuzaku looked up at the shop’s hanging sign. The shop was an apothecary, a dealer in medicines and drugs. Interested, Kyuzaku entered the building. Above his head, a small bell tinkled to announce his entry. The pharmacy was a dark place, and had an odd layout. Kyu squinted to see what some of the strange objects in the room, but before he could get a good look, he heard a scream. Coming from his side was a middle aged man holding a katana high above his head.

“Men! Strike him down! We can’t let him get away!” Suddenly, the light above turned on, and Kyuzaku saw the strange shapes from before. The room had two floors, one where Kyuzaku stood, and another platform floor elevated six or so inches above the first. The slightly higher floor curved like a stage with a single stair connecting them. The stair was aligned and centered with the door. On this floor two repeating crossbow turrets sat between the edge of the ledge and the pharmacist’s desk in back. Both crossbow turrets were manned by a man in their teens or early twenties. Far in back was a girl behind the desk, who had a switchboard in front of her, with wires that fell to the ground and scattered to various places around the shop.

The girl announced, “Initiating Lock Procedure!” With a buzz, a heavy iron-bar wall fell down, covering the entire front wall of the shop, preventing exit through the door or windows. Kyuzaku gasped, “What the hell?! I’m locked in!?” An arrow whizzed by Kyu’s head, and the katana was placed up against his neck. From his side, the aged man yelled, “Surrender yourself, vandal!”

Kyuzaku looked around, and things started to make sense! They made an offensive defense against their intruders, and he’d been confused as one! Kyu laughed, “There’s been a misunderstanding, sir! I’m no vandal, I’m a genin of the Mist Village, see my headband?” The others were tense, then one of the teens behind the gun, a dark-skinned chap with a lazy, tired look on his face and a slumping afro said, “Yeah, he doesn’t look like any of the one’s we’ve seen. I think it’s safe.” The second young man concurred, “I ‘dink we’ah safe seah. Like Heiken seahd.” This young man had lighter skin than the rest, and long brown hair with blond streaks. His multicolored locks fell over his face, and covered it down to his lips. Both of the turret men wore matching shop uniforms.

The shop owner grumbled than lowered his sword, “Men! Rearm this gate!” The two teens ran over to a winch in the corner, and started pulling the gate back up. “Now, ya damn ninja, what are you doing here? Ya need some soldier pills or something?” Kyuzaku shook his head ‘No’, “I’m in the Market, investigating the vandalism that you’ve no doubt experienced. Now… what is this setup for, sir?”

The man stared hard into Kyuzaku’s eyes. The tenseness in his eyes was offsetting. He then spoke gruffly, “Simple, we’re the last ‘open’ shop on the street, and we’re the only one who’s been able to protect our supplies. However… This will be the fifth straight night in a row for us.” From behind came a call, “Aye ‘ope we-ah gettin’ pae’ foh all ‘dis.” The shopkeeper’s eyes furrowed angrily. He turned around, brandishing his sword furiously, “Don’cha get that if you don’t do this, you’ll never get another paycheck!?” The man sighed, “Damn kids, they don’t get the weight of things like this.”

Kyuzaku, being younger than them, felt a little annoyed, Don’t lump me with idiots. Kyuzaku said, “I don’t suppose you have anything that could help me out on my mission, do you?” The shopkeeper nodded, “I can put a decent bet on this: Those thieves will try to ransack the place tonight. They know we’re getting tired and weak. I figure they won’t give us a night off, not until they’ve robbed us. What’s worse is that we haven’t had any business since the Market went downhill, so we couldn’t afford ninja help even if it offered… However… if you’d like to, by your own will, stake out here for the night… I would have no problems whatsoever.”
Kyuzaku nodded, “Listen, I’m going to meet up with my team. We might just take up your offer, sir.” Kyuzaku left the building, and looked up at the sun behind the misty, swirling clouds. “It’s probably been an hour. I should head back” Kyuzaku walked down the street, and saw that the dog and the runt had already met up. Kyu came in just as Hibiki said that they were in over their heads.

“Ya’ think?”

663 lines

"Ya' think?" Came from the blue-skinned shinobi as he responded to Hibiki's worry. And to add to that worry even more, Rinku was attacked by a clone, but fought him off. "This place is definitely tied to the thieves in some way. Considering I found three entrances. The front door, the back door, and the secret entrance hidden away in the dumpster. What's worse, is Kuro found a Hidden Mist headband in the rear." The Inuzuka paused long enough to take the headband out of his pack. "Now, I am not an expert tracker, but from what I know, this headband was owned by a Hidden Mist Shinobi. I know that is quite obvious, but thats the only conclusion I can develop from this."

Taking the Kunai from Rinku, the first thing that caught his attention was how ornate the kunai was. He began sniffing the kunai delicately, and then sniffed the Headband, pretty much smothering himself with the cloth of it. Alternating between the two, Hibiki nodded, "We have a problem." He paused to sniff the kunai one last time, "This headband, and the kunai, are from different people. I'd bet Kuro on it, no offense pal. However, ninja from the Hidden Mist village have a different scent from other countries, just ad the Hidden Leaf village smells differently from the rest of it as well. Each Land has a unique smell to them, making tracking a bit easier, and harder at the same time. Now, the Land of Water being made up of many lakes, ponds, and mist, our scent is usually the hardest to track do to all the water washing it away. In contrast, this water leaves its own scent. While other ninja may come to our village, the mist is not enough to wash away their original scent. However, I digress, this kunai is not from this land, and therefore, is not connected to the headband."

"The only vantage point to stake out this store would be from the fire escape next door, since you can see all three entrances and exits from that spot. Any other place would either be out in the open, or too obvious. Even then, the fire escape isn't the place to hide out it in. Damn that Chuunin, no wonder he was so brisk with the mission, it's obviously ranked higher that what we were told!" His anger began to rise slightly, despite his beaming face. "The last piece of evidence I have to present is, a customer from this very store accidentally bumped into me, and after having a nice chat, she let slip that she has seen another ninja in the area today. Someone with a green scarf, could be nothing, could be everything." Kuro whined slightly from Hibiki's side. The fox nudged his owner's hand with another slight whine. "I agree with Kuro when I say that we shouldn't split up anymore, especially after someone tried to murder a fellow comrade, Kekeke."

"So, Kyuzaku, it seems this place is going to be a lot harder to stake out, are we still going through with this mission? Even though we were bamboozled into it as it is clearly above a D-rank mission? And if we are going through with it, which I have no objection to, what are we doing now?" Hibiki rapid fired the question together and forced them upon Kyu. Although he didn't want Sharkie to be team captain, he wanted at least a second opinion from him since Hibiki is tactical, but only to an extent.

Kyuzaku heard his two team-mate's comments about the mission. He heard what they found, and compared it to his own information. Before he could relay what he found, Hibiki rapid fired three difficult questions. Would they still go through with the mission? Even though it had escalated to C-Rank, or even B-Rank? What was the game plan? Kyuzaku looked down, and shook his head, then said, "First... Let me tell you what I've found. Over the past hour I spoke with three people. A blacksmith, a market-goer, and a pharmacist. From the blacksmith, I heard a story of loss. His entire business is going under from these thefts. Everything that he had: product, resource, and money... They were pulled from him. Meanwhile, the good shop gets a shipment of arms. Even if he could make new weapons, the good shop has a better selection. That shop has sequentially taken over the business of every other shop that goes bankrupt. The blacksmith feels... no, he knows that the shop plans to buy the property of surrounding shops, and use the property to extend the shop. They're monopolizing the entire market. What's worse is that they're getting all this equipment through reputable sources."

"Then there's the market-goer, who was able to find something in that shop that was one hundred percent exactly like another that was stolen from another shop. When it was in the other shop, it was a priceless antique. In this shop, it was a bargain. Same with every other product in there. Everything is sold at incredibly low prices. Finally there's the pharmacist. He has given us permission to use his shop as a holdout, as he is the last shop still open. He has been attacked nightly by the crooks, and has fended them off. However, they're tiring, and it's becoming tougher to fend them off. My decision is this: We do the stake out as planned, but we need to do this right. We can stake out the pharmacy, that's where we are most likely to find them. Judging by the fact that Rinku can go toe to toe with one of their clones, and simple villagers can fight back against them, I'd say they are genin rank at best. Perhaps very weak missing-nin."

"Now, do either of you have any objections?"

760 lines

Sorain remained silent as his brother spoke his name for him. Sorain turned around and leaned against one of the wooden planks that held the bridge up over the vast trees and lakes that made up the mist village, he chuckled lightly to himself at the casual expression that Sai had when speaking out the list of things that they needed to get. The fact that Sai had openly make it quite obvious that what they were getting were not simple 'supplies' made Sorain wonder just how there new found companion would handle all of it. He began to contemplate what they would do should they find out that Sennyo did the smart thing and informed the village about Sorain and Sai's plannings. He supposed they would simply have to either persuade him to their side, or see to it that he was unable to speak a word of it. Sorain pondered for a moment what exactly they would do before decided that instead he would just focus on the task at hand for the time being.

Nodding to his brother Sorain turned and leapt directly off the bridge, landing peacefully on the branch of a tree before leaping again and landing on a lower and much less upkept bridge that had a steep incline to the bottom level. Once on the ground Sorain took another deep breath and continued onward, he was headed towards the slums, an area that he always made sure to mentally prepare himself for. Although he was not the most attractive male in the planet, his clean clothing and well kept posture proved a little to exiting for the low expectations of the slum's female population. He sent his attention over his shoulder, wondering rather our not Sennnyo had decided to follow him or his brother, deciding at that moment that if he did neither, Sorain would take that as his unwillingness to be appart of what was about to happen, a sign that would mean before everything went down, Sennyo would have to be paid a visit.