Trouble in Ōgaki City

[Axcel]

SPOILER: Click to show

{Spoiler}

Counter Terrorism Special Ops: Ōgaki City!
Rank: A
Description: Ōgaki city has reported several bomb threats in the last week by an unknown terrorist group. With the Daiymo's wife's sudden appearance, the investigation of these these threats have become a top priority. Find out the source of these threats and neutralize any terrorist plot against the people of Ōgaki. The protection of the Daiymo's wife is of the highest priority.
Restrictions: Team Akuseru + Edric Valkyrian
Rewards: 100 EXP, 10,000 Ryo

Team Akuseru had arrived at the city with little information to go off of. Their mission? To protect the Daiymo's wife from threats that have been made against Ogaki City. Her arrival was unexpected to say the least, and wasn't without purpose either. The Daiymo's family had been "campaigning" in order to win the hearts of the people. Of course, they didn't need their approval—their reign was supreme so long as their partnership with Konoha continued. No, the purpose of winning the hearts of the people was so that the rebellious factions that plagued Daiymo's all over the continent would never be born. Unlike Asato, they depended on others to wield the sword. And when your military strength depends on another then you better be damn good at politics.

"You two are the ANBU here—I'm hoping you have some crazy detective skills now. . ." It had been a week since they returned from their last mission. Hopefully they had picked up a few new tricks upon being promoted into the ranks of Konoha's ANBU division. He doubted they had become experts in their profession in such a short time, but knowing their Hokage, it was unlikely a week had gone by without required training. At the very least they could have read a ANBU for dummies manual or something.

Their arrival at the city was not unexpected of course. Their contractor was the Daiymo's head of security who had been assigned to his wife. Before they could do any investigating of their own, they would need to go to him in order to know where to begin. The Daiymo's wife and her security detail stayed in only the most luxurious hotel, obviously.

The trio had been traveling through the bustling city in the early afternoon to their destination. Akuseru tolerated the sun that beat against their backs, all too used to the warm days of Hi no Kuni. His thoughts hadn't left the mission—while it was the same rank as retrieving the Tsuchigakure's corpse, its importance to Akuseru was much higher. Actual threats against civilians were being made here.

If they failed to investigate these threats properly then hundreds could die.

[Anmida]

"I've got my brain. Is that enough?" Aneun replied as he removed his mask and placed it within his coat pocket, not wanting to draw unneeded attention to himself. With this being his first mission as an ANBU, he thought it fitting that he look the part; adorning his ANBU outfit albeit entirely covered by a long, black hooded trench coat.

Having arrived only seconds after Akuseru, he too, had little information on the situation they were in, aside from what had been explained at the mission briefing. With them lacking a veritable mountain of information, it only made the mission harder as information which was vital to the completion of any mission -- this mission in particular.

Ogaki City had received multiple bomb threats over the last week at the hands of an unknown terrorist group and Team Akuseru was assigned to investigate the situation. Not only were they to investigate - and of course find and neutralize the bombs - they had to ensure the safety of the Daimyo's wife. Even with all the mayhem that might fall upon them, they had to make sure some rich bitch was safe. While the situation could be described as dire, Aneun could not help but find it plain annoying. In truth he could care less if the city was bombed and innocents died. While his mind  would understand it as a tragedy, such events did not affect him in the slightest; his indifference the determining factor.

With an annoyed sigh, he tried to contemplate why he was there, and all he could think about was how his fears were realized after receiving the promotion to ANBU. With an unwanted promotion forced on him, there was simply no escaping the responsibilities thrown his way, lest he end up a Nuke-nin -- a situation Aneun might have preferred over his current.

"I guess we should head to meet our client, no? Although truthfully, what good will that do when we're supposed to be looking for the terrorist group?"

While waiting for a reply and walking toward the direction of their clients hotel, he reached into his pocket to remove a small piece of machinery which he placed around his neck. The device was a radio signal interceptor, specially made for ANBU and used to intercept any radio signals in the area. Aneun assumed that any group attempting a large scale strike would be using some means of communication and hoped he might be able to catch any stray conversations going on as he fidgeted with the newly purchased device.

SPOILER: Click to show

{Beep beep.}Radio Signal Interceptor

[Hecatus]

“Sure. You could say that.” Likewise removing his ANBU mask, Jack commented rather dryly with little enthusiasm. It was clear that the lad was mulling over their arduous one week training course from hell. Though this held true, the brevity of his response held a deeper meaning. Having been taught less orthodox manners of investigation, he’d remain more quiet than usual with full understanding that Akuseru would disapprove should he find out. Unlike his squad mate, Anuen, the shinobi had willingly accepted the promotion. Desperate to climb the career ladder even further, he had quickly realized the price that was paid.

Dressed in a similarly styled hooded, black trench coat, Jack followed not too far behind their team leader clad in white. Unlike his companions however, his physical appearance was altered via use of henge, creating the visage of a grizzled, blonde haired man in about his mid-thirties. Given the oddity of their garbs and the large amount of equipment saddled by Jack himself, the youth deemed it appropriate to alter his appearance further due to their inability as a whole to remain low profile.

Hearing Song’s initial remark regarding their objective, a disapproving look was shot towards the opposing hood. Considering the number of ears and individuals drifting about, it was a rather careless comment on the Uchiha’s end. The last thing the trio wanted was for their prey to be on high alert after realizing that a game of cat and mouse was about to begin. That said, his junior’s words were slightly off the mark as well. “Finding it won’t do us any good if the client’s been dead from the start. Remember our priorities.”

Eventually arriving at the hotel’s entrance, Jack paused for a moment while turning to Anuen. A while back he had noticed the lad fidgeting with a device recently exposed to the pair during this boot camp. Quietly moving over to the quirky youth, he’d check the results of Song’s eavesdropping. “Any fish biting?”

[Axcel]

Regardless of what Aneun found, who Akuseru suspected wasn't actually looking for any terrorists and instead was trying to eavesdrop on civilians, the party would arrive at their destination after walking two more blocks. The benefit of the doubt wasn't something Aneun would have from Akuseru in this scenario.

The hotel had exceeded the boy's expectations. It was a massive skyscraper, one of the tallest buildings in the city, and everything about its architecture and design screamed "expensive." The trio wouldn't see that though, they would likely only see one big target. Akuseru's head had dug into his palm as he entered the building.

"We're looking for the Daiymo's security detail—they were supposed to meet us somewhere around here?" Akuseru asked the receptionist as his eyes began to scan the large hotel lobby. The woman who appeared very busy as she was taking multiple phonecalls simultaneously managed to point her pen towards a corner where a group of burly men stood. Akuseru scratched the back of his head before moving towards the group.

"Uh. . . Is this the security detail for the Daiymo's wife?" The Genin asked awkwardly to the backs of many tall, muscle bound men who dressed in black suits. Suddenly their heads all turned in unison and stared down at the trio.

"Yeah! Who is asking? Are you a terrorist?!" A small girl, no taller than five feet, pushed her way through the crowd of men. Her attire didn't adhere to the same strict uniform as the others despite still being dressed in all black. She immediately questioned whether they were terrorists, as if a group of terrorists would announce their presence to her.

"Wait. Don't tell me you're the shinobi Konoha sent. Is this really the best they could do?!" One look was all it took for her disappointment to settle in. At first glance, the trio didn't seem like much. It was understandable why she would underestimate them. Normally Akuseru would respond with some witty comment on his own, but he was really baffled at the amount of respect these huge bodyguards seemed to give this tiny woman.

". . ." Akuseru turned to Jack, a habit he had developed whenever he was speechless. Didn't know what the hell was going on or what to say? Jack had an answer.

"Tch, I hadn't planned on relying on Shinobi anyways—I'll brief you on what we know and you can conduct your own investigation." She signaled for the trio to follow her into a nearby room.

[Anmida]

"O-oops. Did I say that out load? My bad." He said rather nervously as soon as he felt the intense stare from Jack digging into his skin, sending a chill down his spine.

"Seems quiet at the moment. Nothing yet, but I'll keep trying."

Just as his teammates had done, Aneun stared at the massive building they had arrived at, and while impressed, could only see it as a potential target; an easily toppled giant that would cause untold destruction on its surroundings if it were to fall. Slightly worried it would be attacked while they were inside, he steeled his resolve and followed his buddies inside.

Arriving at the receptionist behind Jack and Akuseru, he continued to fidget with his device in hopes of getting a lead on the terrorist group, but with no luck. "There doesn't seem to be any cha--"

"Aaaaaaaaaahh~!" The voice of a woman moaning suddenly emanated from his radio followed by the deep voice of a man. "Oh yeah gurl! Har--"

Shocked by his discovery, Aneun immediately switched the transceiver to another channel before turning to his teammates; a low embarrassed laugh directed their way. His next few moments were spent looking around nervously to see if any patrons had heard, and for a moment he felt relieved when it seemed none had, until he turned toward the receptionist Akuseru had spoken to. Her shocked, and disgusted look was more than enough to signify she'd heard everything; his gaze quickly averting from her and toward their next destination, but not before reaching into his pocket to retrieve a headpiece he attached to the interceptor and his ear.

Now standing before the group of burly men who all looked as if they'd suddenly strip down and begin dancing wildly, Aneun tried his best to stay focused on the situation when the voice of a girl caught his attention. And immediately lost his attention as he laid eyes on the washboard that appeared. Sighing dejectedly, he went back to fidgeting with his radio while following his teammates lead.

[Hecatus]

Hmm. A single fleeting though passed through the chuunin’s mind as he heard the child’s initial query. Technically speaking, Jack was in fact a terrorist. Having single handedly decimated a majority of Mizu’s walls, it was safe to say that the man fell under the same category as their opposition. Luckily for the girl however, the dark haired man was a terrorist on her side. Something that’d remain that way provided she didn’t keep pushing her luck. Her irritating demeanor already wriggling beneath his skin, the shinobi instead started tuning her out while allowing Akuseru to handle the negotiations. (What a huge mistake…)

Upon spotting Akuseru’s desperate plea for help, the youth was met with a rather blank expression indicating that Jack had for the most part tuned out of the conversation once it had been revealed that a midget was in charge of the hulking mass of men before them. Noticing that the puppy dog eyes had yet to cease, he’d sigh once before moving forward next to his captain. Eyeing the girl rather skeptically, several thoughts came to mind, none of which ever passed through his lips. Are you really the best the Daiymo has to offer? Maybe we should just go home and report to Asato that it’s time to just take control of this shit hole. Showing little trace of his true thoughts, the man put on a grin before chuckling quietly and responding to the girl’s retort. “I think we’re doing a good job if the princess here doesn’t think much of us. Just how on guard will terrorists be if our employer thinks were trash?”

A hand placed itself atop Akuseru’s shoulder reassuringly as he’d continue. “So… you gonna brief us in broad daylight and risk exposing our identities to give the bad men a head start? Or are we about to move to somewhere a little more discreet?”

[Axcel]

"Sounds like I struck a nerve. You would think a freak such as yourself would have thicker skin." She said as her eyes moved between Jack's two hands. Not waiting to hear his retort, she turned on her heel and entered a room with all but two from her team followed. They entered a conference room with a oval table and enough chairs for them all to sit down. In the center was a device that could play back recordings.

"We received this a few hours before we reached out to Konoha—we're not exactly sure what to make of it. We only know that it came from the same group that had been previously making threats against the people of Ogaki." Of course, the threats only mattered now that the Daiymo's wife was involved. Prior to that, the Daiymo hadn't bothered to send a single soldier to investigate. That was the reality of this world though—the concerns and problems of the bottom only mattered when it began to affect those at the top.

Akuseru frowned as this truth began to sink in. He hated it. If possible, he wanted to help everyone. Whether they be a king or a beggar. No matter how many times he had been lectured on the subject of sacrificing the one for a thousand his stomach would churn at the thought. Naive? Definitely, even he was self aware enough to realize that. Yet he rejected that truth. So long as he continued to grow in power then he would come closer to reshaping these realities he disagreed with. A single click was all it took to break Akuseru's train of thoughts, as the recording began to play.

"Of the king I am blue and of the peasant I am red. Of the frog I am cold and of the dog I am hot. Continuing your crusade of lies will force me to surge through Ogaki city."

"Not a lot to go off of. We know they want us to cancel this campaign—but if we took every threat against the Daiymo's family, especially from a unknown group that hasn't committed any terrorist acts before, then they would never be able to leave their homes" The little girl went on. "We can't exactly leave our Lady alone, so that is where you come in. We need you to find these angst filled kids and teach them a lesson about making empty threats."

Despite her small frame, the girl carried herself like a general. An air of experience surrounded her—she had clearly dealt with situations like these before. Akuseru found himself saluting the entire time, slowly lowering his arm when he realized how silly he appeared. The squad would begin to take their leave after Jack and Aneun voiced any questions or concerns, finding themselves outside once again with no leads.

"Maybe try that radio again?" If they were really terrorists, they should be somewhere close enough to pick up on Aneun's scanner.

[Anmida]

All in all, the meeting turned out rather boring just as Aneun expected as he followed his teammates into the room. Taking a seat to the left of Akuseru, he listened to what transpired, but for the most part focused on his transceiver. While he had not found luck in its use, he knew without a doubt that it would lead them to a clue on terrorist group as it was only one of two ways to communicate over long distances; the other method being through use of a long range communication jutsu.

Continuing to search the multitude of channels that existed, the message from the terrorist group caught Aneun's attention. Unsure if others found as much interest in the message as he did, he made sure to memorize the words played and wondered if they held some meaning. Taking the time to speak in code or riddle meant the terrorist group had a penchant for the strange but also a level of cunning similar to his own.

"King? Blue? What does a King have that is blue? Wait, a King rules an area so. . . the sky? Or maybe the sea? Then red of a peasant, maybe means blood? A sea or sky of blood? But what does the second part refer to if it actually is some code or riddle?"

While lost in his own thoughts, the meeting would suddenly come to an end, and Aneun had found himself moving even without his knowing; his mind focused on deciphering the hidden message that may or may not be there. Arriving outside the hotel, he had forgotten to mess with his machine, and left it on some random channel. But only moments after Akuseru had inquired did a voice speak from his ear piece.

". . . i--. . .ju--. . . a . . . --est run. Clear out."

As Aneun tried to signal his teammates about what he'd heard, a resounding boom off in the far distance would break the calmness that had taken hold of the city. A relatively small explosion spanning just half a city block would send everyone into a state of panic and made the situation all the more real.

"Uhh, a tad late but I caught something. Sounds like this was a test run. Looks like the threat isn't so empty after all. Little miss washboard must have blown a nerve by now. I would say head over to help but our targets likely did not stick around to chat. And that message they left has me bothered. Could be a riddle or it could be nothing. I for one think the first part talks about a sea of sky of blood or a red sky if that makes any sense."

Curious what his teammates thought, he would allow them to decide the next course of action as they generally had more humane points of view.

[Hecatus]

Shrugging at bit at the girl’s comeback, he’d follow her upstairs with much more to say. Her response was rather typical for someone her age, jabbing personally at them rather than replying directly to a losing conversation. In his book that was a win. That said, upon reaching a private room he’d listen carefully to the words played back to their squad. Initially at a loss, he’d send a confused look toward Anuen and Akuseru.

Whatever existing train of thought Jack had however was quickly interrupted by the blast that Song had apparently been a smidgeon too slow on. Being a demolitionist himself, the dark haired shinobi hardly flinched, turning toward a window to look casually in the direction it originated from. After hearing the Uchiha’s perspective on the matter, he’d contemplate for a moment before shrugging with nothing more to offer regarding this so called riddle. “I can’t make heads or tails of that audio clip. Maybe the frog and dog reference physical locations in the city?” Turning back to the princess, he’d check for a reaction before suggesting her underlings cross reference points of interest within the city. After receiving a favorable response, he’d then turn back towards the squad.

Given his team leader’s propensity towards being naïve, simply ignoring the crime scene was an option that probably wasn’t on the table. That said, Jack also found himself inclined to visit the disaster point. Being an expert in this particular field, chances were high he’d be able to at least discern the nature of the explosive and work backwards from there. “We should at least go check out the bomb site. I might be able to glean a thing or two given my familiarity in the field.” He paused for a second before turning back to the young girl. “You sure things are covered here? Our top priority was to keep the daiymo’s wife safe. Catching baddies comes second.”

[Axcel]

There was nothing to discuss. When the bomb went off, Akuseru had already began moving towards the aftermath. Considering his duties, taking off like that was unprofessional, but those in charge of his contract did technically tell them to go conduct their own investigation. Not that Akuseru ever felt the need to rationalize or justify his impulsive actions.

The scene, a diner, wasn't a pretty sight to say the least. The diner had been covered in scattered flash, with blood staining the charred floors. Akuseru's hand moved to cover his nose in response to the repulsive smell. Despite the unpleasant scenery, it was quite clear that this mess had been created by a single body. No casualties? Akuseru thought the crowd outside had simply consisted of concerned citizens.

"What happened here?" Akuseru spoke to the group of people hovering outside, still in shock of what had happened. One man was simply staring into the diner, as if his brush with death hadn't sunk in yet. The Genin grabbed him by the collar and asked again. "Tell me what happened! Whoever did this couldn't have gone far!" They were long gone by now, as Aneun had mentioned.

"T-the man walked in holding a trigger of some kind. He warned us, saying it was a test run and to clear out. I'm just thankful he let us all go before setting the bomb off. . ."
"I knew him! He was a wealthy, successful man with a family. Why the hell would he walk into a diner and blow himself up?!"
"Who knows? His blank expression and monotone voice was creepy--the guy was probably on drugs!"

At this point, multiple people began pitching in their two cents. For the most part, it was all useless drivel. It was a strange situation for sure. Test run or not, Akuseru needed to learn their motives if they wanted to actually find these bastards. His teammates might have had insight to provide, so he waited to hear them out before making any decisions of his own.

"What do you guys think?" Both the bomb and the bomber were mysteries in their own right.

[Anmida]

Aneun should have known that their leader could not allow the life of innocents to become an after thought, so when the explosion occurred, and Akuseru took off he lagged behind a bit as he didn't want to investigate the scene. But he followed nonetheless.

Arriving at the scene of the crime, he let his team leader be the belligerent one while he took his time examining the area. Not a stranger to death, the smell emanating from the area did not bother Aneun as he walked through the carnage. And just from a glance, he noted something very strange about the explosion. Overhearing what the citizens had said, Aneun searched the scene, and yet aside from the trigger device, he found a veritable lack of incendiary material; as in what comprised the bomb. For a bomb of such scale to leave zero trace of its composition made absolutely no sense.

Confused if it was something he missed, his eyes shifted to a crimson hue as they'd done many times before. And even that revealed the strange; a definitive lack of chakra signatures in the area, and specifically from what was left of the bomber. Staring confused at the blood scattered across the area, he could not wrap his brain around it, and then suddenly--

"Wait. Blood?" The thought bringing back his memory of the message they heard not long ago.

"Frog and cold. Dog and hot. Blood. . . cold blood? Bingo! Hot must refer to warm. Frogs are cold blooded and dogs are warm blooded. Peasants have red blood and Kings have. . . blue? No idea what that means but it must all refer to blood. Then they plan to make the city drown in it but what if blood is more than just their intent and is their weapon. Could they have used some form of chemical to turn the human body into a literal bomb?"

Unsure if he'd gone on a random tangent that might lead them nowhere or if he'd actually gotten an actual clue, Aneun thought alerting his allies immediately was a good idea. Signaling to his teammates, he'd wait for them to be close enough to avoid any curious ears before speaking.

"I think we should test the blood we find here. That message from earlier is definitely a riddle about blood and spilling it across the city, but I think it might actually be the key to this entire situation. I think the bomber literally was the bomb. I can't find any chakra signatures so they might have used some chemical to turn the human body into an actual bomb."

[Hecatus]

“Kid, they’re probably gone.” The sentence had double meaning, implicating the bomber’s death and the escapes of his accomplices were any around. Judging by the crowd’s commentary, at least some of the individuals were familiar with the suspect’s identity. Quickly eyeing his surroundings, Jack stopped the citizen that had mentioned recognizing the bomber. Hand grabbing the man to pull him aside, he’d question him directly rather than putting forth pleasantries. “You! You said you knew the man? Who was he? What’d he do for a living? Where can I find the family?”

Repeating his string of queries once more in a slower fashion, the shinobi eventually found himself satisfied with the information given. Apparently the individual was a rather wealthy man that profited primarily through investments in a think tank that invented the concept behind “Accelerated Innate Microbiology.” Releasing his grip from the man’s arm, he’d turn to Song upon hearing his musings.

“Sounds legit given the guy’s background. You think any blood’s left after this explosion though? Chances are high it all evaporated in the blast.” A shiver was sent down the chuunin’s spine at the prospect of human bombs. For more personal reasons, that statement hit a little closer to home than he’d like given his lineage. That said, he’d leave his blood line out of the conversation. The topic was something Jack still denied mentally and had pushed toward the back of his mind. “It’s possible. That fatty clan back in town uses chakra to convert calories into energy. Who’s to say there isn’t some drug out there to induce the same process… but to the extreme? Something big, to the point that it’d eat them up down to the bone and then some.”

Pausing once more, he'd turn to Akuseru to check up on the lad's mental status before proceeding. "Think we should follow up with the family?"

[Axcel]

Testing the blood was a great idea, but like Jack said there was none to be tested. The blood stained carpet would hardly provide enough to fill a vial if extracted. Akuseru's fists clenched when he realized they were about to hit another wall. Someone, apparently an innocent man, had walked into this diner and exploded. They left no trace behind—it was infuriating. Their motive? Since they didn't kill anyone, they were clearly just sending a message. A message aimed at telling Akuseru how futile it was to look for them.

"Let's do it. Hopefully they'll have something useful for us. . ." Akuseru said as he brought his hands together in order to form a unique seal. Two plumes of smoke appeared at his sides, revealing perfect copies of himself upon clearing. "Security detail or not, we shouldn't leave the Daiymo's wife alone." They may have been clones, but they would have to suffice. They would double as a way of bringing back information to Akuseru as well, should an emergency occur. The two clones took off towards the hotel, leaving the crowd of people even more stunned at the sight of ninjutsu. With that taken care of, Akuseru let Jack lead the way to the victim's place of residence.

---

Back at the hotel, Akuseru's two clones had immediately went to little girl who appeared to be in charge. Though not spoken, they had received clear instructions prior to their creation on what to do. It was simple—the terrorists wanted the Daiymo's politics to be shut down, so why not give that to them?

"No way." The girl had given her answer. She didn't even consult the Daiymo's wife.
"Why?! Don't you realize that people are already dying!"
"We can't give in to the demands of those savages—if we give in to every demand a terrorist makes then the Daiymo might as well surrender their power. If we don't deal with it, then many more will die. If you want to avoid casualties, then find those fucking terrorists!"

The girl had been equally frustrated. The kage-bunshin could tell that she sympathized with him and what she said was the truth. For now, there was nothing else to do but stay on guard. One of the two clones returned to the conference room, staring at the tape recorder. Wanting to hear the riddle once more, the bunshin pressed the play button. What he heard wasn't the message replaying, but instead a second part.

[Anmida]

"Sounds like a good idea. He must have met with our perp at some point to get infected. Unless this shit is airborne, in which case we are so fucked. Lead the way Jack."

With Jack being the only one who had information on the bombers home, Aneun would wait for Jack to move before following closely behind him. Moving with haste, it would not be long before the trio reached their destination, a small house with a white picket fence.

"This is a nice place." He commented as he followed his teammates toward the front door of the quaint home. Unlike his usual self, Aneun did not waste time, and would be the one to rush ahead to knock upon the door; totally not out of curiosity to see how the widow looked. Before his hand could connect with the door however, the sound of broken pottery emanated from the house, and soon after a woman's scream.

"Shit!" Yelled Aneun as he wasted no time kicking the door with all his strength.

His foot connecting with the area just left of the doorknob caused it to fling open, revealing a small hallway that lead out into a larger area. But the trio need not enter to figure out what was happening, as at the end of the hallway stood a masked individual with a blade in hand, and a woman with a young boy just several feet away. The moment the door flung open, the unknown attacker turned to look at the three Konoha Nin before turning his attention back to the widow and her son in an attempt to strike them with his blade.

With no time to formulate hand seals, Aneun lifted his left arm and fired five senbon from his launcher. They were aimed at the assailants right hand and would easily find their mark as three bore into the back of the attackers right hand, and and a forth the forearm. The fifth however, would hit the blade, and uselessly bounce away into the living room. A grunt of pain from the mask individual easily told them it was a man, but even after his initial attack was prevented, he attempted a second. With nothing left to fire, Aneun had no choice but to rely on his teammates to stop the unknown assailant.

[Hecatus]

Nodding in agreement of Akuseru’s idea, he’d watch as the clones drifted off before leading their party over to the newly widowed woman’s home. Conveniently enough, the house was relatively nearby and didn’t take long for the trio to arrive up. Though a bit smaller than he had expected given the man’s former occupation, he’d shrug before following Song quickly down the walkway. Knowing his team mate, chances were high this sudden spur of motivation was due to the fact that a woman was involved. Secretly within the depths of his heart, Jack would hope for the widow to be fairly attractive if only for the sake of Anuen actually wanting to contribute toward solving the crime.

“Umm…” Given the scream that sounded from within, the Uchiha had acted rather hastily and kicked in the door. Half hoping that the woman wasn’t into such things and coincidentally ended up being a screamer, he’d peek curiously only to find a man assaulting her and a child. Not one to drop a beat, the shinobi too quickly drew his bow and notched an arrow while watching the already prepped senbon go flying forth. Though effective at delaying the attacker, they were incapable of fully halting him. That was simply the nature of senbon. They were versatile and ready at any given moment; however their stopping power left much to be desired.

The warning shot had already been fired by his comrade but the man was stubbornly persistent. With little mercy left in Jack’s eyes, he’d let loose three notched arrows simultaneously. The first directly pierced the hand holding a knife, forcing it to drop freely to the ground as a scream of pain sounded from the invader. The other two were primed more towards hindering his mobility with one running him through the knee. The final strike severed the man’s Achilles’ tendon, landing on the opposing leg.

“Secure their safety!” He’d cry this out while prepping yet another round of arrows in the event the man persisted. Allowing his team mate to play the hero, he’d send a darting glance to Anuen indicating to secure the perimeter. Chances were high the man had an accomplice nearby. Perhaps someone was listening in on their conversation?