FRIENDLY INTERVENTION.

[Seijūrō]

SPOILER: Click to show

Name: Friendly intervention!
Rank: C
Ninja needed 1-3
Mission info: A group of thugs have been terrorizing the village streets at night, making them no longer safe for those who walk during the midnight hour. They've been said to lurk near the market district so starting there is your best bet. Permission to use force is given, but do not underestimate them, they may not be shinobi but they will more than likely be armed. Bring them to justice!

---

Time seems to have dragged to a halt for Seijūrō ever since he was promoted to his new rank as a Genin. Needless to say, the constant raining and depressing atmosphere in the village didn't help mitigate the young shinobi's boredom. Luckily for Sei, however, there was no rain this morning when he woke up and carried out his daily morning rituals with rejuvenated vigor from a good night's sleep. The day was off to a particular good start as the Genin left his apartment and proceeded to the Mizukage Tower.

It was a relatively short walk to the structure due to the fact that Sei lived around twenty minutes away from it. As he made his way through the market district to the tower, he took note of the locals opening up shop and others going through their morning routines as well. He recognized a few familiar faces here and there and he exchanged greetings with them as he walked past their stores and stands. Yet — Sei couldn't help but feel a sense of distress from some of the villagers.....perhaps it was just his imagination.

As he arrived at the base of the building complex, Seijūrō couldn't help but admire the view. The tower had been under construction for quite some time now with the same two ANBU guards always standing there like a pair of stone statues, blocking public access into the building. Sei has heard some rumors going around that a new Mizukage had been appointed, although he wasn't too sure how much of that information was true. Whatever the case may be, Sei has a feeling that something big is going to happen in the future. Until that time comes, however, the young lad will have to make due by killing some time with missions.

After walking for several more minutes, Sei finally arrived at the Mission Compound, which was located directly east of the Mizukage Tower. A more tamed design than the tower, but still a sight to behold. As he stepped inside, Sei looked around and saw the wanted posters plastered all over the bulletin board and one of the receptionists inscribing information onto a scroll at the nearest desk. He closely examined the receptionist's features, taking note of the delicate feminine features before approaching her.

"Ohayō beautiful." Sei replied with his usual charming tone and the receptionist who had been busily immersed in her work turned her head up and looked at the teenager. She smiled before shaking her and continued to write down information.

"Ohayō gozaimasu Fujiwara-san, I'm presuming you are here for a mission." the woman stated in a matter-of-fact tone much to Sei's displeasure before retrieving a scroll and placing it on the desk for the Genin to open.

"Oi oi, how many times do I have to tell you that you don't have to be so formal?" said Seijūrō as he sighed before taking the scroll with a yellow label with the letter "C" marked on it. As he unraveled the scroll, Sei skimmed through the scroll, looking for an interesting mission to undertake. His gazes stopped upon one that was called "Friendly intervention!"

"So that's the reason for the feeling I got before in the market."

"I'll take this mission." replied Sei as he snapped back into reality and placed the scroll on the desk and pointing at the mission he wished to take.

"Understood, remember that while C-Rank missions are not difficult, they pose some element of risk so please be careful." the receptionist said before making a note somewhere that Seijūrō has taken the mission.

"I always knew you cared. I'll drop by later when I'm done, but for now....I have some reconnaissance to do."

[Seijūrō]

By the time Sei arrived back at the market, the streets were bustling with activity. It didn't come as a surprise though; it was almost 12 o'clock and most of the workers were off on their lunch break. Sei had planned to ask some of the local store owners about their recent incidents during the night, however, his stomach was growling at him which was a mistake on his part for eating a light breakfast. The Genin wandered around looking for a restaurant to dine in before settling on going inside a modest-looking establishment with a sign containing the kanji for the word "Minado."

He was greeted by an older fellow the moment he entered, presumably the waiter that will be taking his order. There were quite a few customers dining inside from the looks of it. The exterior of the restaurant gave no indication that this place was a local favorite.

"So what will it be?" the waiter asked as he gave the motion for Sei to be sited at an empty table.

"I'll have a dish of mitarashi dango and a cup of green tea for now." said the teenager to which the waiter nods and leaves to relay the message to his co-workers.

It was a horrible habit on Sei's part, but the allure of wagashi ^{(Japanese sweets)} has always been too tempting for the teenager to resist. The luscious sweet soy sauce gently applied onto the delicate mochiko ^{(rice flour)} after it has been lightly grilled. Before Sei could continue fantasizing about the dish, another customer sat down next to him. He recalled the customer as being one of the shop-keepers he passed by on his way to the Mizukage Tower earlier that morning. The old man looked like he had seen better days and laid on the table. The same waiter from came around again with Sei's order and placing it in front of him before walking over to the man next to Sei.

"You look a bit tired, Kuri. Your wife keeping you up all night again?" the waiter asked in a joking manner as he patted the shop-keeper who still had his head down on the table.

"My wife is the least of my problems at the moment. You remember those thugs that messed up Tendo's stand last week?" said the shop-keeper as he raised his head off the table and sighed.

"What about them?"

"Those bastards came into my store and wrecked the place after I scolded one of them for harassing a young lady going home last night." said Kuri before slamming his fist on the table causing some of the people in the restaurant to turn their heads to see what all the commotion was about.

"If only I was twenty-years younger, I'd show them a thing or two about starting trouble but I'm too damn old, too tired, too fuc—!" the old shopkeeper would have continued with his rant had Sei not jolted out from his seat and placed the ryō for his meal on the table.

"Don't worry ojisan, I'll make sure those thugs pay for what they have done."

[Seijūrō]

Almost twelve hours has transpired since the incident at Minado while Sei was still patrolling through the Market District. At this point, very few people were roaming through the streets and most of the shopkeepers have long called it a day and closed shop. At first glance it seemed to be a relatively peaceful night, but the shinobi had a hunch that the delinquents will be out causing malicious mischief once again.

So far, however, there haven't been any signs of the group anywhere.

"It's almost midnight, time to get to a better vantage point." Seijūrō thought before climbing and jumping onto the roof of one the nearby buildings. As he perched down on the ledge, he took his time to take in the breathtaking view. Even from here, the Mizukage Tower and the Mission Compound was visible. He could see the dim lights emitting from some of the nearby houses, people who were probably getting ready to hit the hay and rest up for another day. A cool breeze brushed Sei's soft brown bangs against his skin. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath before exhaling. The moment seemed like it would never end until he started to hear loud chatter from below.

The Genin looked down and immediately saw a group of ten people directly underneath the building he was sitting on. A few of them were walking around with a weapon in their hands ranging from lead pipes to swords, using it to vandalize some of the storefronts. The people that were previously roaming the streets began to steer clear to avoid confrontation with the posse of thugs. As they made their way down the street, they continued to cause a ruckus and even began to instigate with some of the other villagers. There was no doubt about it; these were the people responsible for the problems in the Market District. Sei leaped down from his position and landed on the ground about ten meters behind the gang who had yet to notice his presence.

"So you're the idiots who've been causing problems in this neighborhood." Sei said, catching the attention of the thugs in front of him. One of the thugs, who had been pressing up against a villager with his sword, lowered his weapon and victim crumpled to the floor before scurrying away in fear.

Another thug came closer, waving his pipe carelessly before pointing it at the shinobi and shouting: "Who the hell are you?!" Sei sweatdropped before realizing that he had underestimated their level of stupidity.

"You would think they would recognize me by the hitai-ate^(headband) I'm wearing across my forehead." mumbled Sei before responding back.

"Let's just say I'm here to bring you and your little posse in for the headaches you've been giving the locals around here — by any means necessary." Sei said before resting his right hand on the hilt of his katana. A few members of the group looked each other before laughing while others could only let out a nervous chuckle, having taken a step back after Sei uttered his last sentence.

"You have a funny sense of humor kid, I'll give you that!" said the head honcho of the pack. He gave the signal to one of the unarmed thugs to approach.

"I was hoping you would do that." whispered Sei before disappearing in the blink of the eye.

[Seijūrō]

Shunpo is a very basic foot technique that allows the user to move faster than the eye can see. For the trained eyes of a normal shinobi, tracing a Shunpo is not very difficult and without some form of distraction, using it would be akin to suicide. However...for the poor unarmed son of a bitch that was currently standing about 5 meters from Sei, he might as well have a sign on him stating "Please hurt me."

The man didn't even completely register the fact that Sei was standing directly in front of him before he felt a blunt object striking the side of his chest with enough force to knock the wind completely out of him. The sound of ribs cracking under the pressure was sickening. The teenager could see the look of fear in the man's eyes before he dropped to the floor and screaming in agony. Unluckily for the thug, Sei had chosen not to use the sharp side of his katana, preferring to incapacitate these low-lives. By the time the other thugs realized what had just happened, Sei had already concealed his katana back in his sheath and lowered his stance.

He could see the shock he had instilled the remaining thugs. He chuckled before stating, "So tell me...how confident are you in taking me down now?"

A few of them came running to the aid of the fallen comrade, but their movement was unrefined and disjointed. One of them lunged at Sei and swung his lead pipe, hoping to hit the Genin before he could react. But to him, it was as if the object descending upon his forehead was not even moving at all. With a simple sidestep; Sei positioned himself to the side of the attacker and decking him in the chin with a left hook. The man's jaw was contorted after the blow signifying that Sei had probably dislocated the man's jaw.

No time to ponder on the matter, three more incoming. Sei reached into his kimono and retrieved a kunai. The first one came in with a sloppy sideway slash with his knife. The shinobi parried with his kunai, stopping the motion midway before delivering a sidekick to the thug's chest sending him flying back and crashing into another thug. The last thug continued to blindly rush in but Sei was more than prepared for the hooligan. Dropping to the ground, he swept the ground with his leg as soon as the man got in range, knocking him down on his back before stomping on his forehead to put the thug out of commission.

"Five down, five more to go." Sei thought as he examined the battle that had just unfolded. Needless to say, the odds were not in their favor. But it will only get harder from here for the Genin.

"This is unacceptable! GET HIM!" yelled the leader as the remaining four of his goons drew out their katana and encroached upon the lone wolf with care.

"Well you four seemed to be better-armed than those first five. I guess it's time for me to even the playing field."

Sei made a handseal causing a Bunshin to appear right next to him from a cloud of smoke. Both of them bend their knees and place their hands over their katana; waiting for the moment to strike.

[Seijūrō]

Sei's gaze wandered from left to right as he examined his new opponents. He closed his eyes to focus and at that moment, the air around him became dead silent; it seemed as if the whole world had come to a screeching halt. He realized that the first five thugs he had eliminated were mere cannon fodder; these four were on a whole other level. A single drop of sweat rolled down Sei's temple while the four thugs had stopped in their advance only a few meters away from the lad.

"I've put them on guard...one wrong move and I'll be done for." There was an intense rush of adrenaline coursing through his body, Sei felt as he could feel every individual muscle and organ twist and churn within him. But he cannot delay this moment any longer, he instructed his Bunshin to take point and lead the charge.

Three of the thugs focused their attention on the Bunshin but the last one looked at his comrades and yelled: "Don't be intimidated, the front one is just an illusion, focus on the one in the back!" Too late, Sei had already performed another Shunpo. As the man turned his head to look forward again, he felt the wind change as he watched Sei pivot slowly from left to right with his katana. He could feel the backside of the child's blade being pressed on his throat. His windpipe was being crushed under the immense strain but he couldn't react. Sei dragged his katana against the man, kneeling to the ground and slammed the thug down hard.

"Mae Zuki!^{(Front Thrust!)}"

The remaining three swordsmen could only stare in shock and horror as another one of their members go down without a fight.

One of them abandons formation and screams, "YOU'LL PAY FOR THAT!!" Charging at Sei's blind spot with his katana, the man was confident that the little runt won't be able to stop this attack from behind.

"Ushiro Zuki.^{(Rear Thrust)}" Sei mumbled as he turned around and his blade clashed against the incoming strike. The strike had caught the ruffian off-guard and the katana in his hand buckled under the immense force that Sei had countered with, knocking the weapon out from the thug's hand.

"GET HIM NOW!" yelled the ruffian making motions to his friends before getting kicked to the ground by the shinobi. Sei's eyes widen for a moment as he saw the two swordsmen rush to their companion's aid. Both of them came from the Genin's sides at an alarming fast speed and impaling him with their weapons. Both of them grinned as they felt their katana pierce through their target — only for their mark to turn into a giant log!

"Kesagiri.^{(Diagonal Cut)}" said Sei as he rushed in from behind from a low stance and slashing the leg tendons of the two thugs that had tried to skewer him. The blade sliced through their epidermis like a hot knife through butter and without the support of the deep fibular nerve, their legs will be unable to support the weight of their bodies. The two fall to the ground in agony and clenched their legs trying in vain to stop the blood loss.

The tough part was over, but the mission wasn't over yet.

[Seijūrō]

Fortune seemed to be on Seijūrō's side tonight. He found the leader of the gang cowering in fear and hiding near a pile of garbage in an alleyway: a fitting place for one such as himself to reside.

"PLEASE DON'T HURT ME! I'M SORRY! PLEASE JUST LET ME GO!" the man continued to beg for his freedom until Sei knocked him out with a chop to his neck.

"For a small-time thug, you sure keep some interesting company." said Sei as he dragged the hog-tied thug out from the alleyway and back to the main street. He noticed that a group of locals had formed around the gang members that he had tied up against a utility pole. One of them being the ojisan he had encountered earlier at the restaurant as he smacked one of the thugs around with his cane.

"Don't beat them up too badly, Kuri-san. They're going to need whatever they have left after the "rehabilitation" division is done with them." said Sei with a smile on his face as he approached the locals who began to cheer for the shinobi who had stopped the thugs from causing more havoc in their neighborhood.

"Arigatō, now these streets will be safe like it used to be before these idiots barged in." said the old shopkeeper before an ANBU member appeared in front of the locals and surveyed the aftermath of the scene before walking up to Sei and placing his hand on his shoulder.

"Fine work, Fujiwara-san. ANBU had received intel shortly before our arrival that a Yakuza head from the Kaminari no Kuni and has been residing within Kirigakure no Sato for the past few weeks. He has come to our village to avoid arrest from his former village and changed the name of himself and his men and start anew here. From the looks of it, you've managed to put a stop to his attempts at restarting his criminal empire."

"You people are just teasing me now by being so formal aren't you?"

"Why does everyone call me Fujiwara-san?!"

"I beg your pardon?" asked the ANBU with a slight hint of confusion at what the Genin was referring to.

"Never mind, I'm going to call it a night; I'll pick up the payment for the mission tomorrow." said Sei before yawning and stretching his arms out. The ANBU nodded and took the "luggage" from Sei who began to make his way home.

"Going to take a nice hot shower and..." before Sei could finish his thought, he was interrupted by the growling of his stomach. He realized that he hasn't eaten anything since lunch and was starving again.

"I wonder if Minado is still open right now, I could really go for some of their delicious dango."

---

[MISSION COMPLETE]

[adero]

+55 EXP.