Mission:

The threads of pastel lilac hair would pass through her fingers following the heavy clasp that weighed it down forcing it to tap harshly against her chest, the contact causing a hollow sound to raise from the cavity within, almost echoing it would seem. The sound would repeat as the attached the second clasp to the other section of hair that framed her face trailing down past the protrusion of her bust. With a subtle sigh, her hands would feed up beneath her shirt, fiddling around to find the loosest section of her bindings before carefully and meticulously tightening them off until her chest flattened. Her chest would rattle as she took a few deep breaths, making sure the bindings simply restricted her bust and not her breathing before stretching out her arms then drawing one across her chest to twist, repeating the movement with her other arm the other way. Breathable, perfect.

From the hanger nailed into the wooden post against the wall that sat as a marker or more so a separation from the space of the next bed such consistent through out the large room even though most of the time the low beds were pushed close enough together that you could feel the next individuals breath, though with how many lived within the orphanage such were customary, they often slept in neat lines on the ground with their bedding spewed about like a nest, most often found a form of comfort from their past lives when surrounded by those they knew and felt safe with. Taeru would carefully remove her black and red jacket from the nail before threading her arm into the sleeve, followed by the other before tugging at the front to fit the positioning on the material against her olive green shirt. Though the colouration of her outfit didn’t really match, it was her chosen attire, especially now that she had been growing into it fitting nicely, such being male’s clothing didn’t bother her in the slightest. Her hand would shift to make sure her jacket covered the pouch holding her Tatsu at the base of her back as her other hand shifted to tap against the sheath holding Amai against her left thigh.

She would step over to the large round window, plenty of time remained before she had to meet up with the Tsuchikage, her sensei. Whether the meeting entailed training, a mission or simple talk as it had upon their first meeting past their squad meeting she planned to be ready. Her right hand would dip to brush the pads of her finger tips against the pouch attached to her right thigh absentmindedly checking it’s condense through the material of the pouch.

She would lean forwards looking out of the window resting the pads of the palms of her hands against the windowsill, enough for her fingertips to tap down against the wood a subtle hum hiking up in the back of her throat. A tune not often played aloud but more so in the back burner of her mind as multiple thoughts flickered their way through her mind. Another single rasp of her fingertips against the windowsill would sound like an echo in the usually full room. It couldn’t hurt to be a tad early could it?

Turning on her heels she would step from the room and down the stairs, silently passing by some of the other inhabitants of the orphanage, like a shadow though she did note that two of the group spotted her, a smile would draw along her lips, a small offer of a smile to the child usually attached to her and the elder brother of the house, as she paused in place beside her boots. Upon receiving a light nod from the older brother after he had observed her for less than a second, she would incline her head before dropping to her rump to tug her boots on. Slipping from the house she would carefully close the door behind her form, an attempt to not alert the others that she was off out again. As of late she had been rather busy with missions and training that she had simply been sleeping there as a post to living there.  She would take a moment to inhale the scents around her before dipping her hands into the pockets of her jacket and stalking her way to the meeting place that had been set.

Once she were out of the living quarters and into the Bazaar she would take to the roof tops before settling herself on the roof of a small teashop just off from the central market place, the view enough to keep a careful watch on her surroundings as per usual as the soft hum returned to the back of her throat, the scent and mixtures of the tea wafting up to enter her nose enough to raise a smile to her lips.



(Word count: 827.)

OOC:

There was a silent hum in his apartment just after the consciousness would move into his brain. Things were so dead quiet and so forwarded, he would always awake with a sigh and stiff joints. Well, not that he could feel them but he could feel the difference between his bodies apathy to move right when he awoke and when he was 10 hours into the day. It was different, and more likely to cause his death but with a few moans and slaps to the face he would be up and into his morning routine. It was simple and didn't require much effort but the overwhelming silence of his place gave him time to think, time he didn't really need given that he'd spent basically every waking minute else-wise thinking through anything and everything.

This day was no different, he'd gone through it all and tightened his armor to his body, pulling the straps as tight as they would go and making sure they were straightened up across his body. With a final stance and cross of the window, he saw himself before grabbing the white robe and throwing it over himself before exiting the quiet apartment and leaving it empty and alone for the day once again. His journey to the administration building so early in the morning was a similar quiet, with so few people on the streets he tended to his cup that contained a freshly brewed, bitter, and dark coffee. Small trails of steam escaping from it as he would nod and wave far less than normally in the day, small bits of conversation cut off with pretend urgency to get to work. It kept things neat and polite as best he could and keeping an early morning and raspy voice as he tended to himself and kept as much attention off himself as possible.

His arrival at the administration building came quickly after he left his own home, pushing in the front doors to more greetings and 'good mornings' to fill the small space as he took a sip of his drink. The first stop was a nearby chuunin with a few happenings, a certain mission report about high value goods being stolen. It wouldn't have caught Karumo's eye normally but it did this time, he glanced at it for a moment and took the folder with his free hand and nodded away the attendant to leave him be.

In his office he quickly folded the rob and placed it on a hook and left him to the grey and black armor and clothing underneath like normal. With the folder he set on his desk and placed the cup down as well, with a small sigh he sat down and began to think even more, nothing in particular but it just happened to buy him a few minutes as he drank his coffee and watched the clouds move about the sky from the window of his office. With a final nod of his head he grabbed the folder and folded it under his arm as he finished the drink with his other hand. Standing and focusing at the window out of his office, he stepped through the wide bearings of it and dropped down quickly to the nearby rooftops below, aimed to meet his pupil for the task of the day.

When he would arrive in the bazaar, he would spot her on a rooftop, his eyes catching her watching things and tilting his head, wondering for a moment what she was doing there but pushing the thought out quickly he would leap up to the rooftop near her and pause where he was, not minding if she saw him or not but keeping his ascent quiet. He would pause for a moment before speaking up, giving her time to register his arrival if she hadn't already, "Most people prefer the taste of breakfast and tea rather than just watching it." he would offer a small smile and then hold out the folder towards her with the mission details on it.

"Sorry, I should have started with Good Morning. And, that you have a slight mission ahead of you for the morning whenever you're ready. Rather, it'll be a test of your investigative skills, I'm curious to see how you'll do putting things together so we'll consider this mission your training for the day too." he would trail off and leave it to her mind to put things together and begin reading over the dossier as Karumo fiddled around to the pocket behind his chest plate and pulling out a cigar absent mindedly. With it in his hand he snapped back to reality just as he was bringing it to his lips and about to light it, his purple eyes would turn back to his student and anything she would have to do or say before he would close his mouth and quietly put the cigar and lighter back away in their pockets. Not just yet... he would think to himself and wait for her response.


[855 words]

Though his steps were silence it were the simply breeze that would give him away, the scent of him carrying along it, just enough to give her heavy beaded bangs a light sway against her collarbones. It would have, however, been too late if he were there to attack her, from her seated position she would have been at a sufferable disadvantage. She would begin to stand as the Tsuchikage spoke, allowing her form to face him before dipping into a low bow as a greeting. Her gaze would flicker off to his pocket, though such an action were shaded from view by her off cut fringe, as the sound of his rummaging fingers hit her ears. “Good morning Tsuchikage Sama. I have already tended to my needs of sustenance this morning, before the raise of the sun.” As she slowly rose from her bow she would offer up a light smile as she stepped closer to take the folder, before allowing her features to return to their more neutral setting.

She would glance at the folder, her curiosity peeked only for her miss matched gaze to raise to his features resting on his lips as he continued to speak. His word causing the right corner of her lips to quirk up just a touch. She would wait for the Tsuchikage to finish speaking before flicking open the file. Her miss matched orbs would scan through the information as she stepped up beside the Tsuchikage, almost absentmindedly as though to share the information with him. She would bite down on the soft pale pink flesh of her bottom lip as she processed the information provided before flickering her gaze up from the folder snapping it shut in the process as her lip peeled from the trap of her teeth. “according to the information the jewels were stolen just last night. Has the scene been left the way the perpetrator left them? Also, with the photo of the jewels I’d be willing to bet that they will want them sold rather quickly. If the crime scene has been left as it were this could give two options, the culprit could be tracked from the crime scene otherwise it would be best to head towards the back end of the bazzar. I’d say close to where the living quarters join to meet the bazzar.” Her voice though usually low in a flat tone would be but a mere whisper, knowing full well the Tsuchikage could hear her.

With her voice low and her features practically stone like it could be said that it was clear she had entered into a business mode, yet even so her gaze would shift to watch the Tsuchikage struggle with the pocket hidden behind his armour. She would bite down on the inside of her lip, not an action she had pictured the Tsuchikage doing yet at the same time she couldn’t really picture him keeping the substance within any of his other pockets. Drawing her attention away from the Tsuchikages pocket fiddling to allow her miss matched gaze to seek out to the far end of the bazzar, wondering for a moment. As though somewhat absentmindedly her lips would part for a moment before speaking up, “If it were me in the thief’s shoes…” Her brow would crease a touch as she continued, the distaste at the thought evident in her tone, “I would wait until either the bazzar’s busiest time so that it would be easy to blend into a crowd or until the back streets quietened so that I would have the cover of the incoming night.”


(Word count:608.)
(Total word count:1435.)

Karumo finished his arrival and Taeru retorted back in an overly verbose tense about having simply eaten breakfast already. As she stood, Karumo passed on the file and let their small talk die away with the breeze. As she looked through the file, Karumo sighed quietly and returned the cigar to his picket and the lighter to his pants pocket.

After a moment she shut the file and Karumo's gaze fell on her as he focused in to her begin to theorize about their situation. Karumo nodded but didn't interrupt her as she continued on with the idea to either head to the scene of the crime or to track back to the bazaar and try to wait out for the criminal. Karumo nodded with a smile as she continued to mentally work through the situation. Karumo stood watching as she continued on, watching her continue through to place herself and think through herself in the thief's shoes. She seemed to have a good grasp on it but Karumo wondered if she were really missing some of the details.

From what Karumo remembered of the file, it had rough details and descriptions of what was taken along with the picture of the necklace and what had happened but an investigation conducted by the village police without the ANBU or anyone else wasn't very reassuring. Not for Karumo who at least caught more flaws in their search and understanding he would prefer to see the scene for himself but he was really focusing on his pupil this time, letting her run the investigation to some degree. Once she had finished, Karumo would nod and cross his arms across his chest and speak up calmly, "Good, understanding your enemy is key to beating them, whether that be their capture or death. When you understand your enemy, you can understand their motives and anticipate their moves."

"But let me ask you before you hand back the report, how trustworthy is the information you have?" he would pause and give her a chance to see within the file that only the police themselves had done the investigation, merely checking the house and taking their stories. No involvement from ANBU and not keeping things cleared off past that. The answer to her original question would be there too, that things weren't left the way they were upon discovery, at least not after they would have left. Once the realization would hit her, Karumo would continue on, "With the loss of so much information it makes it hard to discover anything, and even putting yourself in their shoes, they can escape away. In a village so big, what would your next move be? Do you really think that you can scope out a few areas of the market and catch them?" He'd let another pause sit around, let the options weigh in her mind before he would attempt to cut them off briefly.

"Either way, it's your test. You make the call and justify your decision." he ended and stood silently at the ready of her decision. A bit of a smirk crawling across his lips as he wondered how in depth her plan might be thought out to be, what she would be thinking to orchestrate in her mind while the ball was in her court.


[558 words, 1413 words total]