To Catch a Thief [Mission]

[Ethereal]

SPOILER: Click to show

Catch the Criminal
Rank: C.
Shinobi Required: 1-4.
Mission Information: Fujioka, Kiyoshi. This is the name of a rogue Sunagakure no Sato genin who was caught trying to sneak into the Kazekage’s vault. No doubt he had plans to steal ryo or village secrets for malicious intent. It was recently reported that Kiyoshi escaped his cell at the Sunagakure prison. As the village gates are being guarded he has not been able to escape. A skilled shinobi or group of novices is required to capture the convict. Be on your guard, as he is a skilled Fuuton user. Bring him in.. dead or alive.
Special Information: Repeatable. Any difficulty setting is allowed, as you will be the one(s) playing out the criminal. However, you are expected to make it believable—no one is invincible. There is a chance that you may be injured.
Reward: 50 EXP & 1000 Ryo.

Tracking down escaped criminals wasn't quite as easy as they made it seem in the movies. Even with a vague intelligence report to at least point you in the right direction, there was almost never a conveniently placed fruit vendor who just happened to have far reaching contacts and knew about all criminal activity in the city, or who had just so happened to have been robbed by said criminal, remembered his face, and was somehow able to pinpoint exactly where he was going by the rough direction in which the thief disappeared into the crowd.

But, for some reason this time that had been the exact case. Ethereal had, after completing his training session and heading off in search of his first mission, followed the pathetic excuse for a lead given in the small intelligence report - all based on 'intelligent guesses' pointing in the direction of where he 'is projected to be' - to a small bazaar. The bazaar itself was a rather simple affair, though if the worn nature of the dirt road underfoot in the light of the evening sun was any indication, it was quite a busy one in the height of the day's business. As it stood there was a modest amount of business, but nowhere near enough to crowd the streets. Fortunately for the aphephobic ninja wandering the streets, who now only had to go a little out of his way to avoid being touched.

The lead he'd needed came when Ethereal, after finding that he couldn't see hide nor hair of the rogue genin whose appearance Ethereal had already memorized from the photograph obtained upon acceptance of the mission. The boy had been just about to give up his search of this area out of pure frustration and hunt around one of the various shinobi complexes for rumors or leads when a chance encounter with a very frustrated stall owner (and a subsequent curious questioning as to why he was so frustrated) lead to the discovery that the elderly dried fishmonger he'd spoken to by mere chance had been robbed by a ninja matching the very description of the rogue genin Ethereal was hunting. And while it admittedly wasn't much of a lead to go on, the fact that the boy had been seen immediately turning down into a nearby alleyway was just enough of a lead for the maroon-haired boy to go on.

His next move was a simple logic check. If the thief had immediately sprinted off into an alley, that likely meant he was comfortable enough with the back roads in the area to risk running into a potential dead end, which would have been game over for many thieves, even the ninja kind. So, after bidding farewell to the helpful yet angry merchant, who was now angrier still since Ethereal left without helping him clean up his stall or giving any other token of thanks for the information, the boy spun on his heels in a flurry of his sleek black coat and turned off into the alley the thief was indicated to have run down, making it a point to adjust his headband belt to make the Suna emblem emblazoned on the metal as noticeable as possible.

[Ethereal]

Naturally, Ethereal didn't find the rogue genin when he turned down that alleyway, nor was he expecting to. But every search had to start somewhere, and it would have been a crime if he hadn't at least given the alley a walk-through on the off chance fate would toss another gift in his lap. Sadly, this time there was no such luck. Just high earthen walls on either side, and a dust-filled dark corridor before him. It was quite the eerie sight to be honest, the kind that if shown in a horror movie, the crowd would no doubt be just waiting for the bad guy to swoop down on the unfortunate character who'd mistakenly chosen to wander through such an obvious trap spot.

Of course, that didn't actually happen. Ethereal would have welcomed the change to whip out the sword he whose sheath he was clutching securely in his left hand. It would have been far too easy if he'd been saved the trouble of looking. So, once he'd crossed through the eerily silent dusty pathway and noticed there were literally dozens of similar alleys, he decided a new approach would be necessary. That meant taking to the rooftops, which was exactly what the maroon-haired boy did after stepping back into the alleyway, using the walls and its various built-in footholds to bounce back and forth between either side before finally hitting the roof above.

Not a triumph worth any note if one was a shinobi. And next came the part where said ninja would run from roof to roof, casting quick cursory glances to the space below each gap between the buildings beneath them as they made their leap, searching for any sign of life whatsoever. When Ethereal started doing this, there were many times during which he'd have to stop and go back, to make sure a fleeting shape he'd seen down in the alley below hadn't been a human shape. A few time's he'd even spotted a human below and leaped down in front of them (usually royally scaring the piss out of the poor individual) before having to leap up and go again, never failing to find that the person down there was not what he was looking for.

As fate would have it, Ethereal wasn't destined to meet his foe on the ground. In fact, Ethereal had almost run over the poor genin. For some reason - probably the most intelligent decision the thief had made so far - he'd decided to set up a make-shift camp on a rooftop. And since by this point night had just fallen, the rogue genin was understandably trying to get some sleep. Or rather, had been before a certain red-haired genin had jumped onto his rooftop and began running across it, which naturally disturbed the otherwise silent nature of the night. That wasn't what alerted Ethereal to his target's presence, however. He might have passed by the unfortunate rogue altogether had the boy not been directly in Ethereal's path, and if he hadn't chosen to sit up right as Ethereal was about to obliviously leap over the obstacle on the ground.

Naturally, that didn't end well for either of them. The rogue genin, for one, received a nice square foot to the face while Ethereal was sent sprawling forward to crash against the earthen roof, though his blow was able to be softened by tucking his shoulder in just before the impact. Then came that awkward time when the two groaned and grumbled as they stumbled to their feet, then regarded one another coldly before finally letting lose nearly simultaneous expressions of surprise as each discovered who (or what) the other was, Ethereal spotting the physical features he'd been looking for while the rogue spotted the Suna headband woven through the other genin's belt loops.

[Ethereal]

For a long while the two merely stared at one another, allowing Ethereal that brief moment to better study his target in person. Even at first glance it was obvious to tell that this was a person who was down on their luck. Not taking into consideration the dirt and grime smeared across his figure, the other boy's clothes were raggedy and torn, consisting of a pair of light, breathable navy blue pants and what was likely a matching shirt, though it was hard to tell since it was hidden below the tattered shape of what was once a cloak that had been designed to cover only the upper portion of his body. The boy looked to once have been rather well built, or at least as well as one would expect a lean and lithe shinobi trainee to be, which Ethereal could tell only due to the way his tattered cloak was especially worn around the sides, giving plentiful glimpses of the very, very tanned skin beneath. Which was the second hint at his poor state; his incredibly tanned skin meant he'd been spending far too much time in the sun. As far as facial features went, the boy had rather messy brown hair and a matching pair of eyes which darted left and right from their steady position on Ethereal himself out of what seemed to be nervous habit.

While Ethereal couldn't say he pitied the boy, he could honestly admit that his target were a little older. This kid looked to be no more then fourteen or fifteen years old. And while that was a bit of a relief as far as the difficulty of the immanent fight was concerned, Ethereal couldn't help but feel a bit of reluctance about the thought of killing someone so young. But, that was an easily solved problem, assuming the other boy knew when to give up.

"Gunna stare all day, or ya gunna go ahead an' try t' take me back?" A voice from the figure he was studying stole Ethereal's attention away from his observations to stare at the boy with a blank, almost pitying stare. "What if I hadn't been here to capture you? You just gave yourself away." was Ethereal's response in a tone that bordered on condescending. To this though, the boy merely shook his head and spat off to the side, a rather crude action that easily made it clear that he'd adapted quite well to prison. "Shuddit. Not stupid. Yer here t' take me back, right?" This time all Ethereal could do was exhale slowly, then reach across his body with his right hand to grip the hilt of the katana he always carried in his left. "Something like that... yeah."

This action had an instantaneous effect on the rogue boy, who immediately dropped into a low, defensive stance, though curiously kept his hands near one another. A clear indication that he was a ninjutsu user who was more confident in his speed than he was in hand-to-hand skills. Ethereal filed that bit of information away for later use while staring blankly at the boy, left hand releasing the sheath to let the sword be held ready for use by the right, albeit how it still had its sheath covering the blade. "I won't ask if you'll come back quietly then."

[Ethereal]

With scarcely two meters between them, the rogue ninja seemed rather nervous, shown by the way his eyes constantly flicked warily to the sword held in Ethereal's right hand. And for good reason; at this range Taijutsu and weapon users were at their best, and the rogue no doubt assumed that this was what his opponent was, and with good reason. Who wouldn't assume they were about to be hit with a taijutsu attack when their opponent was brandishing a sword, even though Ethereal was still standing with a relatively neutral posture despite how his amethyst gaze never once wavered in the slightest from his target.

As things were, it was only a matter of time before one would initiate a first attack against the other. And since Ethereal seemed to have nearly limitless amounts of patience, the other ninja was the first to snap. Ethereal was notified of the jutsu by the forming of handseal coupled with the rogue gening taking in a massive breath. Now, being a fuuton user himself and having been forwarned of this genin's skill with the element, it was more than obvious to him what was about to be done, down to the exact jutsu. He'd already mostly expected this jutsu anyway, since his opponent's need to place some distance between them was obvious. A simple run-through of the basic skills made---"Fuuton, Daitoppa no Jutsu!" Yeah... that one.

A burst of wind leapt forth from the rogue genin's lips as he released his jutsu in the direction of his opponent, ripping into the air whatever loose sediment had been lying on top of the earthen roof that was acting as their battleground up into the air as the torrent of wind chakra made its way towards Ethereal. Who, honestly, seemed utterly unconcerned, if only for the moment. Unconcerned (or arrogant) enough to slip his empty left hand into his pocket. The reason why was revealed moments later as the boy casually swung his sword to meet the oncoming rush of wind, no more force behind it than any other strike. But, naturally, he wasn't trying to strike back at the attacking jutsu. Not with his sword at least. The unseen summoning of his own Fuuton chakra being channeled across his weapon had been the only thing signifying his block before the boy called out in response, "Kazekaeshi." in as simple a voice as one could use.

The affect was a simple clash of winds, in which each met in a powerful center vortex which easily caused both Ethereal's jacket and the rogue's scarf to whip around them in an attempt to leave their body before the winds finally settled, both nullified. Saying that the rogue was disturbed by this was a bit of an understatement, but he quickly retained control over the horrified expression that appeared on his face to glare across the roof at his opponent, then smirk after having the realization that he was likely facing off against another ninjutsu wielder. Albeit one with a sharp stick.

Next came a more serious attack, the rogue seeming to give up on trying to place distance between them in lieu of merely lashing out with an attack technique. "Match this..." the rogue muttered before returning to forming handseals. And quite the long chain of them at that, though for some reason Ethereal merely watched warily, though with a decisively more tensed posture than before.

After several moments of preparation, the rogue genin finally let out a sneer, eyes narrowing before he spat out the words, "Dai Kamaitachi no Jutsu!" At this, Ethereal's eyes widened a bit, tongue clicking against his teeth in irritation as the name of the jutsu was recognized, letting his breath hiss through his teeth as he quickly kicked his front foot into the ground, propelling his body backward as the rogue let loose a long swipe of his hand, expelling a vicious torrent of wind chakra in the direction of his opponent.

[/font][/justify]

[Ethereal]

Even with an effective range of an estimated five meters, Ethereal was still more than aware that the jutsu unleashed by his opponent was the deadly type, and strung together a long chain of mental insults in an attempt to find one that would fit just how stupid he was for waiting for the handseals to finish. Luckily though, a timely leap backwards could usually be enough to clear one from the last one meter of the danger zone, which was exactly what Ethereal had done while removing his left hand from his pocket - the side turned toward his opponent.

Unfortunately for what may otherwise have been a clean evade of an otherwise devastating attack was the fact that his left arm had been left hanging loose during the jump, which logic dictated would then be pushed out by the force of his backwards jump in the direction of the wind attack. And having an exposed limb was never a good thing, especially when one wanted to keep that limb intact. Bottom line; Ethereal's arm wasn't quite as fortunate as the rest of him.

The only fortunate part came with the fact that the unleashed ability was on the very edge of its effective range when it hit the outstretched arm, resulting in far less damage. Nevertheless, it was hit, which was made very obvious when the dust settled enough to reveal Ethereal standing a meter further than he had been before, unharmed saved for the tattered clothing covering an arm dripping with blood. But, quick tests to see if it was functional proved that the arm was fine other than whatever slices had been cut open in the skin to cause the bleeding. All-in-all, the results were this; Ethereal's arm was now sliced up, but still mostly functional. And his opponent, the unfortunate rogue genin, had just expended what was a very, very costly amount of chakra for one his level. And he was showing it too, mostly in the way he'd begun breathing heavily and how sweat was dusting his brow as he stared down in discontent at his only minorly wounded redhead opponent.

And finally, Ethereal decided it was his turn to attack, likely a decision made out of anger and a thirst for revenge for the pain searing through his arm. With a knitted brow and rage-curled lips, the boy raised his sword high, gathering his wind chakra once more, then calling out "Fuuton, Kamaitachi no Jutsu," before bringing his sword crashing down into the earthen roof below. The effect was an instantaneous and truly massive wall vortex of wind that leapt up in front of him, measuring an easy fifteen meters tall before lunging towards the rogue genin like a ravenous beast.

Ethereal was naturally unable to see the effect of his jutsu, largely due to how he'd closed his eyes to focus on pushing the pain out of the forefront of him mind, though he was informed quite clearly of what had likely happened when the word "Kazekaeshi!" was frantically screamed out. Which was why, when the dangerous vortex of cutting wind began to settle, Ethereal immediately broke into a head on charge in the direction of his victim, eyes snapping open to find that the rogue was still standing, winded but unharmed.

[Ethereal]

The five meter distance was cleared in the blink of an eye, or at least that's how it seemed to the rogue genin. And he'd just stood there, limbs heavy and aching from the rapid expelling of his jutsu, each one taking a massive toll on his small chakra pool until the boy had been left mostly drained, trying in vain to get his body to react to any of his commands. And it did... but not anywhere near quickly enough, and nowhere near as deft as he needed to be. All he was able to manage was a clumsy step off to his left side with the corresponding foot before impact was made.

Ethereal's dash towards his opponent had been angled off to one side, true to swordsman code. Naturally, he'd picked his and his opponent's right side to best take advantage of his right-handed nature. The end result had been him driving the blade (or what would have been the blade had the weapon not still been sheathed) into the gut of his victim with as much strength as he could muster. And judging by the splatter of blood the rogue genin coughed up, the attack was effective. Though that was likely also due to the strain his previous jutsu usage had placed his body under.

The removal of his weapon from where it was still pressed against his enemy's body was what came next... or would have been, had the rogue not grabbed onto it with both hands in a desperate bear hug while falling to his knees, eyes wide and teeth gritted in a mixture of fear, rage, and desperation. A stupid and useless move in Ethereal's eyes, since anyone else could have easily drawn the blade from the sheath and attacked again, though perhaps it was by sheer dumb luck that the genin was facing what may have been the only person that wouldn't (or maybe just couldn't) draw his sword.

The rogue genin, Kiyoshi Fujioka, for some reason began laughing. The reason was soon apparent when he proved to be able to shift his arms just enough along the sheath to begin performing a rapid chain of handseals, while still holding onto Ethereal's sword, seemingly very triumphant in the way he just kept on giggling. Until a sharp pain drove itself into the back of his neck, though there was only a brief, brief flash of it before he could feel... nothing at all. The last words he heard were; "More than one weapon."

Ethereal yanked his kunai out of the back of the rogue's neck just as soon as the body had gone limp, then knelt down to wipe away the blood on the tattered cloak of his victim before slipping it back inside the hip-mounted holster he'd drawn it from with a small sigh. The clattering of his other weapon across the ground caused the boy to wince, recalling how he'd been forced to relinquish his grip on his katana to draw a new weapon in light of the injured state of his arm. While it was still usable, the pain he'd have suffered for such a simple thing didn't seem worth it. With yet another sigh, the crimson haired boy bent over and picked up his still-sheathed katana, then stared down at the corpse. "... I really should've brought a way to transport that... I don't really want to carry a dead guy in my shoulder..." was his only comment before sighing and hefting up the body with a good bit of reluctance on his right shoulder before setting off with a third, final sigh.

[Trigga]

+ 54!