patrol mission

[Kinz]

name; city patrol
rank; b
description; Looks like you’ve been assigned to the entire village patrol itself. This may sound overwhelming and to be honest it is, but it’s B rank so don’t complain. You need to hit every district, stop and report all crime and make sure that the village itself is running well. Write down anything out of the ordinary that you see.
reward; 100 experience, 2,500 ryo
minimum shinobi; one
mission status; interminable

Asa strolled through the crowded streets of Kumogakura, with a light heart. He had been assigned a fairly simple mission. Go through each of the districts and basically be a presence on the streets. It was a good detail for the most part. Sure some areas were more trouble then others, but getting the village patrol detail was actually a pretty coveted thing. It didn’t require as much effort as most of the individualized patrols, where you specialized in one particular district. You merely skimmed through each as a sort of warning. A way to say “We’re here” to all the would be scum.

Asa had the inclination to begin his day in the more upscale areas. He knew they were the area’s with the most guard presence, so it be more prudent to be there during the day when the criminals were less likely to strike, and save the poorer, more dangerous districts for when night fell since they were more susceptible to crime.

As he strolled through an open gateway, Asa found himself in the market district of Kumo. Shops dotted the landscape and people in all sorts of finery walked about with their money freely being displayed. This district was all about money. Besides the treasury itself, this was probably the one place in Kumo with the most money and the most worth while environment for a thief. In his short entrance Asa had already seen four guard patrols, and two ninja patrols. It was quite well protected, and those numbers would sky rocket later in the evening.

[Kinz]

He could hear the shuriken clinking in his pouch as he walked. The jingling metal seemed to make others shy away from him, and though he failed to see why, it did give him a clear path way to walk over the cobblestoned streets. The cobblestones beneath his feet made for steady walking, but they were nowhere near as comfortable as the soft earth he was used to walking on. It wouldn’t hinder him very much, but he found himself wanting to take to the roof tops to ease his travel. He knew that would be counter productive though.

Along the street peddlers sold their wares, calling to those passing by to generate sales. One stall in particular interested him though. It sold masks, of all shapes, sizes and colors. One however he recognized. It was a mostly white mask that had painted lines over it. It made the mask take on the appearance of a bear. He was part of a Bear anbu squad, and it was oddly similar. Almost to similar. Sure the craftsmen could have seen one at sometime in the past and copied it, but Asa wasn’t so sure. He had every detail right, and he knew that no Bear Anbu would have taken the time to let him examine the mask. Something was fishy.

Asa knew he couldn’t just grab the mask and inspect it for authenticity. That would violate the man’s rights. After all, Asa could just be paranoid about someone filching from his division. But he needed to make sure. Strolling around a corner, Asa formed a quick handseal and a small puff of smoke enveloped him. He would be transformed from his usual smiling, robe wearing self into a pot bellied man with a very expensive looking kimono. His ninja pouch would be turned into a purse. The shuriken clinking would serve as the sound of money for what he needed.

[Kinz]

Asa, still disguised as a fat, rich man, walked up to the counter to speak with the clerk. His ninja pouch jingled with what the peddler had to assume was loose coin, but in reality it was deadly sharp blades. The peddler, a balding man whose thin frame made him look a bit like a snake, greeted Asa. Asa’s had trouble trusting any shop keeper or manager that was skinny. In his experience the skinny ones would cheat you. Fat owners were usually to well fed and rich as it was to really consider the need for greed.

“Why hello good sir. How may I assist you this day?”

The man’s tone was a smooth, but carried a sickening feeling with it. It felt similar to grease. It would flow like liquid, but it seeped in to whatever it touched, making it feel corrupted. Asa gave a smile through the plump lips he now sported, and schooled his voice to a more boisterous and presentable one. A tone that would further his charade.

“My good merchant. I’d like to see that mask there. It’s just so intriguing.”

Asa clasped his hands together over the large, fake belly he had created in this form. The shop keep smiled at the potential sale he was apparently facing. Picking a hook from the ground, the shop keeper lifted it up to the mask and unhooked it from the wall peg, bringing it down for Asa to inspect. Asa’s hands ran over the mask. He tried to make it seem like he was merely inspecting it for size and quality, but he was unsure whether or not the shop keeper was becoming curious of his probing.

[Kinz]

Asa’s fingers slid over the section of the mask where the forehead would be covered. His hands met an odd texture. While most of the mask was a cross between porcelain and plastic, this spot was almost wax like. Without touching it Asa figured nobody would have ever felt it. With a quick motion, Asa turned it over as if to inspect the inside of the mask, using the mask itself as a shield, Asa traced the surface of the wax with his thumb. It had the shape of the Kumo emblem. It was a bear anbu mask, and they were trying to sell it as a forgery? It didn’t make sense.

Asa looked up from inspecting the mask to be met with the merchants advance. He hadn’t been paying much attention to the man’s movements other then to make sure he was there, but Asa regretted it now. As he looked back, he saw the end of the pole the merchant had used to unhook the mask poking forward towards his head. The man knew Asa wasn’t who he appeared and that he was onto him.

Luckily for Asa, the head was a dangerous target for an attack. A good blow almost always meant death, but it was difficult to land a decisive blow on such a well guarded target. Asa’s head shifted sideways, as the pole passed forward over his right shoulder. His transformation being bigger then his usual form help in his avoidance. The man didn’t expect the bulk to move so fast. Asa’s hand quickly lashed out, as his transformation faded and caught the pole in an iron grip. The man began tugging, but Asa was far stronger then the shopkeeper. This shop keeper was no warrior, but there was no way he came by that mask honestly.

Pulling the pole once more, Asa raised an elbow. The man came careening over the table and his jaw implanted directly into Asa’s elbow. A numb sensation rolled through his arm from the impact, but the shopkeeper slumped over onto the display table, out cold.

[Kinz]

Releasing his grasp on the pole, Asa began securing the merchant. He found some rope in the stand and tied him up, only just realizing the commotion he’d caused. A large crowd of onlookers were staring at the scene. He smiled at them and continued with his work of tying the merchant in knots. He heard the whistles of guards heading towards the area, and Asa knew they would have questions he was more then capable of answering. He outranked any guard and though he didn’t have any proof of wrong doing, this shopkeeper was suspicious, and he had struck out with the first blow. Surely someone in the crowd would be willing to vouch for that.

The man was beginning to stir when the guards arrived, but Asa’s identification was in order, and the man wasn’t really in a state to defend himself. Under his order, the guards cleared the area and helped him carry the shopkeeper to their barracks where he could interrogate him. Before they could move the man though, he began bursting out with information. It was so much so fast that Asa had difficulty understanding it all. A quick slap with a heavy hand silenced the man for the time it took for Asa to give him a specific question. “Where did you get the mask?”

The merchant looked like he was going to wet himself, but Asa kept a focused gaze on him, prepared with another heavy strike to jog the mans memory. It was almost as if the man was more afraid of what would happen if he told what he knew. Eventually he would though.

[Kinz]

It took no more persuasion to loosen the man’s tongue. He began spilling information to Asa, at least all the information he knew. Asa stood there, never editing his expression while the weak man told what he knew. When he was finished, Asa blinked and breathed in deeply. A quick strike surprised the man as Asa’s fist caught him squarely in the ribs. The guards released the man as he crumpled to the ground.

“You will be packed up, and moved out of the village by sun down. You will never return. I will keep your wears to be distributed, the money going to the victim’s family. Now pray I don’t have to come after you again.”

The man scurried to his feet, wheezing from the blow he just took, and bolted down the streets. The guards looked at Asa bewildered, wondering what they should do. Asa didn’t have an answer. There was nothing they could do; it was out of their capability. The man had explained to Asa he had been given the mask by a shady individual, whose name was not known. This man claimed to get the mask from a dead man who was in an ally in poor district. This information disturbed Asa. He was most concerned over who would be able to kill an anbu member without anyone in the village knowing about it until now.

[Kinz]

Asa was unsure where to begin, other then moving himself towards the poor districts. There were many alleyways there, and one dead body would unfortunately go unnoticed. He would need to just hoof it it seemed though. He leapt to the roof tops, forsaking his duty to this area now that it had such commotion and would launch off towards the poor district. It wouldn’t take him long to reach the outskirts of the area, and he knew immediately when he did. The sounds of sorrow permeated the air.

It smelled like moisture and sweat. Dirt seemed to cover everything, including the sullen faces of the residents. What a sad sight. He hated this district. When he was elsewhere he could have it out of sight and mind, but here it forced its way to the forefront.

Asa landed in the streets and began his search. There was very little guard presence here, most keeping safe refuge in their quarters. The people on the streets shied away from Asa as he walked, most people to tired to stand. He left foot prints in the muddy walkway as he made his way to the alley nearby. The light was beginning to fade outside as he walked through the space between buildings. There were electrical lights here at one time, but it seemed the power was out in this district. It made it difficult to see.

Strolling down the walkway, Asa had to put effort into removing his feet from the mud. It was getting difficult to keep his balance. Every so often he would find that his shoe almost came loose. Hopefully nothing had pushed the body he was searching for deeper into the mud. Otherwise he doubted he’d be able to find it.

[Kinz]

He had no idea where the body would be, and he was getting rather frustrated with combing the alleys for it. It felt like a wild goose chase, and Asa had the idea more then once to turn back and find the shopkeeper who had fed him this information. None-the-less Asa pushed forward, deciding to scour the district until he was sure it was nowhere to be found. Eventually his efforts were bitterly rewarded.

At the cross roads of two alleyways, lodged in the mud were the remains of what seemed to be the back of an anbu uniform. Closer inspection showed that it was in fact one uniform, and the body of its owner rested inside. Though the mud he had been partially submerged in hid most of his physical distinctions Asa knew the man by the odd charm he had embedded in his forehead. A long time ago, this older anbu member had caught a kunai directly in that spot and lived. They had patched the hole with a glistening jelly substance that hardened after a while. It still held, nobody being able to remove it apparently.

Asa sighed. He knew the man to well to believe he had some sort of accident. His poor family was all grown now so at least that was one silver lining. How was he going to tell them. He could just leave that up to the mission bureau, but it was his job to see to. He would not shirk this responsibility.


Asa began inspecting the corpse. He knew that if the mans mask had been scavenged then most of the items he had carried probably were as well. Perhaps there was some indication of how he died though. As Asa inspected the bodies, he found that there didn’t seem to really be any external wounds. He was cut open here and there, but that was most likely post mortem, because the cuts that he had would have been most likely blocked by his arms if he had simply fallen and was still alive. It was strange. It couldn’t have been an accidental fall. This man was too skilled for that. Someone had forced this fall on him, and he was probably dead before he hit the ground.

Looking up, Asa jumped to the nearby roof top

[Kinz]

Asa’s feet landed on the tile of the roof lightly in an effort to not disturb anything. The shingles that covered the roofs surface were very weak, seemingly made of glass though that was an absurd notion. Walking over the surface of the slanted roof, Asa came to the peek. He was scanning over the roof looking for some sort of clue, but he found his objective when he hit the peak of the roof. On the opposite side there was a small group of shingles that were damaged fairly badly. Cracks zigzagged through them, indicating a decent amount of force hitting a small area. “Perhaps a footprint? But why would Captain Shito land so ungracefully? And if he had, why was the step so perfectly straight on? If he had just been patrolling or something and he made a mistake, the bad step there would have sent him sliding down disturbing more tiles. Or he wouldn’t have had any jumping force, and would probably have disturbed more on the other side. No….something happened.”

Looking from the step point, Asa judged the trajectory, but was confused. From the step mark to the next building was an odd angle. Asa doubted anyone could jump it, or if they could he doubted the anbu would be able to land where he had without shattering both his legs. Asa made a quick route and landed back where the building the leap needed to come from was. He was confused by what he saw. The area of the other roof seemed….disturbed? On most rooftops there was a covering of dirt in this village, but the dirt here seemed to have been shifted recently. It looked like something swept a portion of it clear. What was worse was the small wall at the edge of the rooftop. The bricks that blocked the edge seemed to have been blown off. Some large force had blasted through that area. It was difficult to draw the conclusions, he had no time frame for the blast, but he had to assumed whatever blasted over the rooftop may have blasted into the anbu. There weren’t any other clues though. Asa wanted to scream. The trail had gone cold but something had happened here, and whatever it was killed the anbu captain in that ally.

Leaping back towards the body, Asa felt terrible as he tried to pull the mans body free from the mud. As he dislodged it though, below the body was a small piece of mud encrusted paper. Pulling the shred free, Asa read four words. “The treasurer says hello.” Not enough to blame the treasurer of kumo, but enough to make Asa understand. The anbu captain had gotten to close to what Asa had figured out. He would feel more frustrated in a moment, when he informed the anbu’s family and the mission compound.

[Fuck Yeah!]

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