Fukai strode up the stairs of the administration building. He was a little late for the briefing on an ugent matter that had come up. He hustled up the stairs, three at a time. He wondered what the matter be that would call for him to be notified of in this way. Was it serious? Who was he kidding, his jobs were always serious these days. His scarf came loose as he bustled and flicked it back into place as he entered meeting room 32a. Inside were two figures, one was an elder that he recognised to be an ex shinobi and was now tasked with task handling. The second was a masked anbu agent that stood by the open window.

"Ah, come in and close the door." The elderly woman motioned him in, not bothering to mask her irritation. The anbu man stood motionless and observant as they usually did. Fukai made note of how the people that made up the special division all seemed to like to carry the mysterious persona along with themselves. Maybe they were all just that sort of person or maybe the job shaped them as such. Whatever the case, it seemed to draw some sort of wanted reaction out of people, the fear induced respect that the mask gave was more than enough persuasion to get their way sometimes. Although you had to have the goods when it mattered most, there was no getting around that. And when it mattered most was when somebody was willing to challenge the anbu and whoever was willing to do that was obviously serious enough to give special attention to.

It had given him a bit of a surprise this morning to awake to the call of a genin messenger outside his window. He had gone from a position of having almost nothing to do with the village to being one of it's most relied on shinobi in the space of a year. That was a good thing, even if it was a bit unexpected. It showed that his gradual climb was working as intended, he wondered how high he could go before he would become the Kage's personal lap dog.

"You have an assignment that needs dealing with as soon as possible" The old woman continued to speak. We have gathered intel that fifty explosive tags were purchased by a retired shinobi that lives outside the village. His name is Igarashi Moto and we have him profiled as a potential threat due to his past." She glanced at the masked man that remained unmoving before turning back to Fukai. "As a shinobi of Iwagakure, he was prone to emotional outbreaks during his missions. As he grew older, these incidents grew worse until he was decommissioned. Regardless of these problems, he still attained the rank of Jounin. That should give you a sense of his capabilities even though he is an old man now." Fukai's purple eyes were steady on the woman and watched her face droop a little. There was a good chance that she herself knew the man if she was the same age and had the same career path. "There was something else. His daughter was murdered recently in their outskirts home by some criminals that are now in custoardy. We have recieved angry complaints from Igarashi."

The silver haired shinobi now had a clear view of the situation and could guess already what he would be doing. "You must go and confiscate the tags and assess his stability and threat levels. There is potential for a terror attack, expect to be met with violence when you confront him." Fukai nodded. He could see that this was a very solemn task. Not only would he be required to bring his trademark proficiency but he would need to treat his target with the respect that was due of a seasoned veteran. A hostile that was still considered an ally was a tough opponent to face, he hoped that it wouldn't come to the use of lethal force. "Here is the location of his home, I suggest monitoring him from afar to pick up any info on his current state before closing in, if you can. If there is a way to resolve this without loss of life, you are to go down that avenue. That being said, a treasonous attack will not be forgiven. That is all, be on your way." Fukai knew that this was how it had to be, for the shinobi village was essentially a military barracks, and for a soldier to turn against it's country was the worst offence there was.

He left without another word, hurrying down the stairs and out the door. He had been told that this mission was urgent so there was possible imminent danger. Fukai started to prepare himself mentally as he exited the admin building and jogged towards the eastern gate. He decided his plan of action would be that he follow the track around to the ridge where Igarashi's house lay and then he would circle around and try to see if he could work out what his deal was before he confronted him. One way or another he would have to get those explosive tags. As he jogged through the street, some of the people around him would move to the side and some stopped and looked at him. He guessed that he was quite the recognisable character around here now, one of the states finest and most reliable soldiers. He was not someone that was wholey revered by the citizens like the monoliths were, but he still managed to have some form of notoriety. Whether that was a good thing or a bad thing, Fukai was never too sure.

As he jogged to the gate, he briefly checked in with the guard and they cleared him for travel almost immediately. The guards seemed to know what was going on, apparently no civillians were allowed to exit the eastern gate until he had completed his task. It made sense, Fukai nodded and then resumed his forced march jog. He sucked in and spat out air with a metronomic rhythym. Despite his larger size and build, his years of relentless cardiovascular conditioning had shaped him into a tireless workhorse of a man. His body was his ultimate tool and was one that would not fail you easily if you treated it right. As he pounded his feet on the pavement, he made headway towards the the house of Igarashi Moto.

The old man in question, once hailed as an exceptional ninja and had retired to a home outside the wall to live a well deserved peaceful life. Oh how he must have felt after his daughter died, to be in such anguish as to threaten the very village that he had worked so hard for. The old lady who dispatched him said that he had blamed the village for the death of his daughter, and maybe the village was to blame. It was true that some things couldn't be avoided, but some freaks simply slipped through the cracks. Some events were avoidable but chances were that there was some sort of slip up, some form of human error that lead to a misjudgement on a particular profiling report or something similar. And to know how things were done, he couldn't help but be let down on the one thing that mattered most to him. Fukai understood his state of mind, but he also understood that there was no excuse for attacking the village, and there would be no remorse if it should come down to violence. This task was left to Fukai, if he deemed it neccesary, he would have to use lethal force against the man. This would mean leaving his subjective view behind and acting as a mindless drone of the village. It was a neccessity of his line of work, because after all, ninja were simply a tool. A violent, viscious tool.

The path led up a small incline and started digging into the rock. Fukai continued down the road, knwoing that the suspect's house was not too far off. The path wound around and created a little canyon between the rock, like a natural maze. Walls of dark yellow rock were walls on either side and kept him on the literal straight and narrow. The path branched out into several different ways, he took the middle one. Again it branched off, he took the left one. These routes were noted on the map he had been provided, and it was simple enough to follow. Fukai kept moving forward and he was passed by a male figure dressed in an old cloak which hung over his face. Over his back, he slung a bag full of something light. Fukai didn't think much of it at the time, but ofcourse, this was Igarashi. The purple eyed shinobi continued forward, not taking much notice of him and passing him. He was fifteen metres past the man when the thought occurred to him. The village gates had been closed and civillians were not allowed through, so why was this man going to town? After that moment, Fukai was instantly suspicious. He jerked his head around to catch have another look at the guy. He had the same look about him, nothing had changed. He was still casually travelling through the mini canyon towards the village. Fukai called out to him. "Hey, you". The man stopped but did not turn around. Then he suddenly broke into a run.

This was him, for sure. Thought Fukai. He immediately started off in pursuit. The old man was fast, that was for sure. He was the same speed as Fukai, the young man couldn't make ground on him as they raced back through the rock maze. Bend after bend, they were slowly getting closer to the wall. What Igarashi intended to do when he got there, Fukai was not certain. Then as the white haired ninja was contemplating his next move, he saw the man jump and do a little twist, sending out kunai with lit explosive tags at him before continuing on. Gah, this was a tricky situation. With the fact that he couldn't move sideways due to the terrain and the small amount of time he had to come up with something, Fukai had to resort to a jutsu that he had always found reliable. His staff slid into his hand and fuuton chakra surrounded it. He flicked it up at the kunai to try to fling them away while shielding himself from the blast. He did so, but the explosive tags detonated and the blast pushed him down to one knee under his shield of wind. He got to his feet as fast as he could and continued the pursuit. The old man had made ground on him and was now a good thirty metres ahead. What was he going to do?

The old man turned the corner and Fukai followed, only to find a huge fireball bearing down on him. Igarashi was using the blind corner to shield the sight of his attack. Such a tactic showed how much experience the man had, he certainly wasn't someone to take lightly. Fukai had turned to see the imminent threat almost upon him, he could feel the heat already. And with his weapon pulsing with fuuton, it would be set ablaze and he could be in a very bad condition, not to mention that it would mean the failure of his all important mission. Almost out of pure instinct, his pores opened and burst out chakra, a raiton aura that rushed to the fireball. The chakra clumped around the threat and suffocated the flames. The massive ball of fire dissipated into nothingness. Another threat had been vanquished, he pushed forwards only to see Igarashi turn around the next bed and disappear. This was becoming a serious problem, the old man kept slipping further and further away. Fukai couldn't risk using a jutsu to increase his speed in this sort of terrain, he still had to practice the control over his phantom steed jutsu. He kept running, hoping that more options would present themselves. Then he heard the unmistakable bang of explosion cracking rock. The old man had done something again, when he turned the corner, Fukai would see that the path between him and the man had been collapsed inward with the use of explosive tags. He was at a dead end, walls of rock on each side of him and a mountain of boulders in front.

Fukai's heart sank. He would surely lose a lot of time here, it seems he had been diverted by the old man's wiles. There was no other option then to continue onward, pushing as hard as he can, maybe he could catch up to him. He activated the supernatural walking practice and scaled the wall next to him. It didn't take him long but by the time he got to the top, the view ahead was completely devoid of any old man. The surrounding mountainside was still and blank, no small figure running towards the wall. He had given Fukai the slip. After cursing under his breath, he started off again. It was true that he did not know where he was anymore, but he knew that he was targeting the village so Fukai would run there. If he had instead decided to go to ground and hide from him, then he could always look for him later. It was the best option to deal with the imminent threat because the safety of the village and it's people were Fukai's top priority. He ran along the top of the canyon and then down the side of the mountain, as fast as he could. He was starting to lose control of his breath, he was getting wheezy with desperation. His legs pumped and feet glowed from the supernatural walking practice. The canyon opened out. He only needed to get down from this rocky part and back onto the smoother road and then he could try using his jutsu.

There was a good chance that the old man realised that there was no point in him hiding anymore. He would have to know that now that the village has picked up on him that his days were numbered. If he was going to make some sort of terror attack, he had already decided to forfeit his life, because no matter the outcome, he would not live for long after the incident. This made it even more likely that he was heading for the wall. Fukai jumped down to the road and as soon as his feet made contact, he summoned the fuuton around him to lift him up and carry him. He could feel the wind pick him up and push him. It formed into a large, purple ghostly horse with Fukai on it's back. With the use of this jutsu, Fukai picked up speed and raced towards his destination. He had his staff in one hand, chakra still pulsing around it, and he held on to the imaginairy saddle with the other had. He had to make it.

As he flowed over the last hill, the massive wall of Bastion Adamante came into view. And just by the base of it, was a solitary figure. It was him. Fukai charged at hims with all he had, closing the distance quickly. Igarashi, snatched a glance behind him to see the shinobi bearing down on him, and hastened his work. He was applying the last few explosive tags to the wall. Ten metres left between them. Fukai had his staff raised and Igarashi pulled his lighter. Just as the lighter neared the tags, Fukai's staff smashed into him like a brick wall, the momentum from his speed crashing into the back of the old man's skull and sending him face first into the wall. His skull caved in and he died on impact. It looked like it had to be this way all along.

2704/2500
Mission complete
~exit~