Farmers in the Dell (Mission)

[Kildred]

Usio stood outside the adjoining landscapes of the feuding farmers. Their homes were placed right next to each other, with their farmland stretching far behind. He considered himself lucky that his own farm was far away from these two nutbags. No one could even remember what it was that started these two fighting so long ago, only that they had done so for years, even before Kusagakure's initial destruction. Whatever grudge they had, he was sure it was only their stubbornness that kept the damn thing going. And now they had the audacity to bring in the village's ninjas into this. Well, whatever. More ryo for the coffers.

He hung back within the foliage, gazing at the site. There was only one birdbath between the two of them, and only one yard actually had a flock of geese, so it wasn't difficult to tell which yard he needed to infiltrate. The problem was the dogs and geese. Dogs were an obvious problem, but people often underestimated the ferocity of geese. Usio himself had firsthand knowledge thanks to a year spent on a family member's bird farm. Whether the farmer kept the birds on purpose, or they just decided to stick around this particular stretch of land was unknown. All he knew was that it was an unwanted obstruction to the completion of his mission.

He spent a bit of time mulling over exactly what he should do. The only stealth technique he could pull off here was useless, seeing as the dogs would sniff him out almost immediately. As if that wasn't enough, the birdbath itself was made of concrete and was undoubtedly heavy. This was going to take some thinking. After a while, he came up with a rather crude idea. It heavily relied on him being able to distract the farmer, so that he wouldn't suspect any foul play while he was there. This whole thing annoyed him to no end. I mean, who steals a birdbath? A birdbath?! Honestly... Bringing his hands together, he quickly went through some hand-seals.

[Kildred]

Approaching from a safer side of the house, Usio knocked on the door and awaited whomever decided to open the door. Just his luck, it was the farmer that he needed to distract. "What? What is it? His voice was gruff and quick, obviously annoyed that he was being disturbed for any amount of time, much less by someone more than half his age. With his plan already underway, he tried his hand at bartering, the best way he knew how. Flattery.

"Ah, Mr. Shirahama. I'm glad you're here today. I would be rather distraught if I was unable to see you today." The elder farmer cocked an eyebrow. "I'm sure you know my family, the Yamamotos? I assure you, we may be related to Roji, but we have nothing to do with his methods of profit-making." The surly man coughed and nodded his recognition of the name. "In any case, I had a talk with my estranged Uncle, and he mentioned that among farmers, you were one of the lead producers of vegetables and fruit for the village. I was hoping for your assistance on a personal manner."

"Roji said that? Hmm." Briefly worrying he stepped across a line he shouldn't have, Usio silently celebrated when he was invited in. After being shown the way to the living room, the two took a seat. "I know that most people around these parts resent Roji for what he did, but quite frankly, there were few choices left for him. He played with the hand he was dealt, and I can't fault him for that." Interesting. He may have inadvertently helped his uncle. "Now, what is it I can help you with?"

"Well...as you may or may not be aware, my parents and I run a little shop selling the vegetables and fruit we grow on our farm. Unlike you, who sells and supplies the village as a whole, we simply sell to the local population. We don't make much money off of it as it is, and our relationship with Roji, strained though it may be, is doing us no favors as far as keeping customers and contacts is involved. What I was hoping is that...well, that we could work out a deal, and that we could buy seeds and supplies from you rather than our usual market contacts. They seem to routinely overcharge us, and we're on the verge of shutting down." The best way to lie was to put a bit of truth in with it. This mission might help him kill two birds with one stone.

[Kildred]

While Usio was inside talking, his two clones had henge'd into two unassuming individuals and had already started off on relocating the birdbath. The first clone had to make sure that the dogs were placated enough that they wouldn't bark. The geese constantly honked as it was, so when they got riled up, it wouldn't make a difference. Using a camouflage cloak, he slowly crept up on the two dogs. They smelled hi already, but were confused by the fact that they couldn't see him. Standing up and growling in its direction, the clone tossed one of the kunai Usio left behind towards the dogs. When they ran up to investigate it, it kawarimi'd with the kunai and immediately wrapped its ninja wire around their muzzles. The shock sent them off on a tangent, but it already had them subdued.

The second clone caught the ire of the gander of geese, but wasn't too put off by them. A few hand-seals found him covered in a thin layer of stone. The geese fell upon him, but couldn't pierce his armor. They did chip away at it rather quickly, however, so he hurriedly grabbed the birdbath and tilted it on its side. Quickly rolling it over to the fence, it signaled for the other clone to make its way over. The two lifted the concrete creation, albeit with some difficulty, and managed to get it over to the neighbor's yard. Once they put it in an ideal location, they released the dogs and disappeared from the area.

At that moment, the door opened from the side of the house, both Usio and Mr. Shirahama looking pleased with themselves. "I trust everything is in order, then? With a nod and a handshake, he two approved their new partnership. "I'm very glad to see this has come through. I hope that we can both prosper with our arrangement." Bidding him farewell, he smiled to himself when he heard the door close behind him. No unneeded scenes to be had, after all. When he walked up the street, he saw the new location of the birdbath and chuckled to himself. The mission was easier than he expected. He doubted he'd be able to do so again, however. There were only so many deals you could make with a person.

-thread end

[KEITH]

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