Mission name: Onsen Troubles
Mission rank: C
Objective: To put a stop to local brigands/bandits harassing and robbing Homomoro's relaxing Onsen.
Location: Homomoro's Relaxing Onsen; Kimnari No Kuni
Reward: 300 Ryo or a Lifetime Pass to Homomoro's Onsen
Mission Description:  Local bandits with no better way to spend their time have been harassing, ogling and robbing the local Homomoro's Onsen for days now.
Mission Details:Most of the bandits threatening Homomoro's Onsen possess negligible stats and capabilities, and are only a threat in numbers. These members of the group number a half-dozen strong while their leader is a bandit possessing D-3 stats across the board, all Academy Jutsu and possesses A-Rank Suiton

Nil's thin, nervously kneading hands fiddle and crumple at the singular sheet of paper clutched between them. His mouth, currently feeling as if it were full of cinnamon and cotton, set in a firm, worried line of consternation as they read out, for what must have been the dozenth time now 'Homomoro's Relaxing Onsen' atop the page which advertised the mission he was here for. Nil's eyes then rose from the elegantly scrawled lettering on the paper to those very same letters scrawled across the front of that very same Onsen before him.

From what the mission advertised the Onsen, and subsequently it's guests and patrons, had been assaulted, ogled and robbed on numerous occasions by a local group of brigands with nothing better to do. Nil awkwardly averted his eyes in thought as he couldn't help but feel like no small amount of lewdness is what spurred them to initially target the establishment. Since Homomoro's Onsen offered the, slightly controversial, service of mixed-bathing for the more... adventurously inclined Onsen veterans.

If what Nil had read was correct due to his age he would not be allowed to guard or oversee the Onsen proper, a stipulation he was only too happy to accept. However due to this restriction another Shinobi, one Hina Hyuga, of sufficient age was also enlisted to watch the Onsen guests while they were bathing. Nil's stomach turned slightly as he thought about the last Hyuga he had met, his face heating up as he remembered how pretty she had been. An odd, warm yet cold feeling twisting his tummy with a vice like grip that made Nil shuffle his feet to do SOMETHING about the feeling.

If this 'Hina Hyuga' was anything like the last Hyuga Nil had met..... Nil had to shake his head and rub at his eyes to avoid how nervous the simple thought made him. His hands, one of which still grasped the mission report in his hand, tugged his kimono tighter to his small frame. Something about the breeze tickling over his pale skin was bothering him as his mind wandered. In order to calm his thoughts, and direct his mind toward something more manageable than his almost-blossomed feelings for girls, Nil neatly folded the now slightly crumpled mission report before stowing it away and walking into Homomoro's.

Homomoro Daseke was a middle-aged man with a somewhat-receded hair-line, a slightly pudgy yet friendly face, and a stocky, tall, slightly over weight build that denoted his upper class lifestyle. The older man smiled down at Nil, wiping his hands on a towel he kept over his shoulder. Nil was.... rather surprised at how Homomoro chose to dress despite the obvious wealth he possessed. Wearing a simple white shirt, a loosely, casually tied robe and a pair of matching white pants. Said white clothing was slightly damp in many places due to the Onsen's nature and the older man chuckled down as Nil shuffled his way inside. Smiling fondly at the young Shinobi as he leaned forward on the counter in an extremely casual manner. Nil's eyes scanning the front of the building where he would be keeping watch and watching with innocent curiosity as men and women alike draped only in towels stowed away their clothes in lockers before trundling back to one of the three Onsen spas. One being Male exclusive, one being female exclusive, and the third being shared between the two sexes.

Nil blushed softly as he noticed the distinct popularity of the shared spa, especially to the male clients, though a decent amount of females did enter it as well. Homomoro chuckled before reaching out and waving the towel that had previously been draped over his shoulder in front of Nil's face making the young Shinobi jump and blink. Flushing an even duskier pink as the older man laughed and slapped the counter jovially. Nil pouted for a brief second before correcting his demeanor and bowing to Homomoro, who only grinned and waved a hand at him. " Yeah yeah kid, I get the formalities all the time. Heck, I should be the one bowing to you for showing up, and first no less! Homomoro gave Nil a suddenly conspicuous look, his eyes narrowing as he leaned even further forward and his voice took on a lower, more raspy and conspiratorial tone as he wagged a finger at Nil. " Now, ya know I can't let ya go back into the Onsen right? I'm cutting it close as is letting you watch up front." Nil nodded, averting his eyes sheepishly as his ears turned a bright pink and Homomoro all but howled in laughter at teasing the young Raiu.

" Lighten up kid, heck in your line of work you'll be seeing worse things soon enough." Homomoro grunted, eyes narrowing as he, evidently, didn't seem to like the idea of someone like Nil having to see the things Shinobi did. " Anyways, your partner should be here pretty soon, thankfully those deadbeats haven't had the stones to attack during the day. Why don't ya go sit down, take a load off?" Nil nodded, murmuring a respectful "Thank you Sir." Homomoro rolled his eyes before waddling back to check on something while Nil sat patiently on one of the slightly damp benches, hands folded passively into his kimono as he sighed and looked around to see if he could spy his partner for this mission approaching.

 -- Homomoro's Onsen Lobby --

Nil was almost beginning to think his partner may be arriving late when he noticed Hana enter the Onsen. Nil's steely grey eyes interlaced with jagged streaks of stormy blue widening at the sight of the very attractive kunoichi and her choice of.... clothing, if the revealing swimsuit could even be called that. Nil blinked up at her, his soft, pale features flushing a timid pink as she asked him if he was himself. Nil merely nodded, wordless, only to blink even more in confusion when his partner turned and marched off into the onsen. Homomoro returning just in time to give Hana a glance, though the older man seemed surprisingly less interested in her than Nil, before shaking his head as he grinned at Nil. The young Raiu's eyes following Hana with what could only be called pubescent appreciation. The old man rumbled a laugh and snapped his fingers in front of Nil, making him jump and blink before looking up at the onsen owner, embarrassed.

Homomoro laughed and grinned, crossing his rather thick arms across his broad chest and gave the young Shinobi a knowing look. "Don't worry kid, you'll get used to the ladies before long." Nil hunched his shoulders timidly, his eyes dropping to the damp floor of the onsen. Homomoro gave a gruff chuckle before walking back over to the counter to attend to some customers. Nil sighed, timidly fiddling his fingers together before shaking his head and standing back up. Deciding to take his mind off of women, and Hana in particular at the moment, Nil decides to walk back out to the entrance of the onsen and look around. Deciding that, to occupy his mind, he would study the perimeter.

---- Inside the Onsen ----

Hana would find the particular section of the onsen she had walked into as the unisex bath. Men and women alike shedding their towels before stepping into the hot, steaming water of the bath. As to be expected of such a setting, a few couples were rather handsy with each-other, though an older woman, presumably Homomoro's wife not only staffed a little kiosk with snacks and drinks but also always seemed to be present whenever a couple got just a little TOO into their bathing. Rapping both offenders on the head with a small bamboo writing sticks before going back to her kiosk.

A few people gave Hana looks, both curious and flirty, as she entered the onsen. Quite a few men, and women, smiled at her. The onsen, at least this section, was confined on all sides by a tightly-packed, tied-together and lacquered bamboo walls. Assuming the other two matched then each area of the baths, for each separate gender and the unisex, would be a single square area cut off from the outside world by three walls and the onsen building itself. With several baths, large and small, scattered around it's square interior. The unisex onsen, that Hana now occupied, would have one large, central bath where most of the occupants sat along with two smaller more private baths in each far corner of the square area. Each of these possessing their own small bamboo chutes that could be tipped to pour fresh douses of steaming water in the bath when needed.


-- Back out front --

Nil pursed his lips as he returned to the front of the building, humming quietly in thought as he tucked his hands into the sleeves of his kimono. While the front and sides of the building seemed relatively flat and clear, the very back wall of the onsen that covered all three bathing areas was incredibly close to a small forest that had, evidently, been cleared back to make room for the onsen. With a knowing nod Nil stepped back inside the building, Homomoro currently mopping the floors of the reception area free of water which, Nil suspected, was likely a large part of every day for him.

Waiting until Homomoro had finished Nil respectfully nodded to him and asked. "If you don't mind Homomoro-sama I would like to ask you about the last encounter you had with the......" Nil was interrupted as Homomoro let out a low, gruff rumble of "Bandits." Nil nodded, continuing. "Bandits." Homomoro sighed and leaned forward on the counter, dabbing at his forehead with the small towel he seemed to perpetually keep on his person. "Well.... I was closing up shop one night, nothing too out of the ordinary. We had heard about a few of our customers getting heckled and, in some cases, robbed after leaving but... well.... it didn't happen in my store, wasn't really my problem at first. But then it started to get worse, after a while people started to stop coming because every time they came here something happened to them."

Nil nodded, waiting for the older man to return to the original story. "Well. That evening we had just closed up, I was counting our earnings for the day and...." Homomoro paused and Nil noted that he became noticeably more flustered, his forehead turning a dusky red as he set his lips in a much tighter grimace. "....and they were just... here. Or... behind me, I mean. Soaking wet and wearing these odd robes and masks. Hiding their faces like cowards.And my poor.... my poor wife, she was bruised and knocked unconscious in the back, I didn't even know..... they demanded all of our earnings. They had weapons and I...." The older man was speaking faster now, his voice growing more agitated, more frustrated as he recounted the tale. "I couldn't FIGHT them. I'm no Shinobi." Homomoro sighed and finished resignedly. "We've been closed ever since, until you and the lady agreed to come and keep an eye on the place."

Nil grimaced as well, suddenly feeling a distinct weight on his shoulders. If he and Hana were the only reason Homomoro felt safe to open his store then...... well..... they had better make sure they succeeded. Nil was brought from his reverie as Homomoro's gaze went from being intense and focused on the young Raiu, to the older man blinking and looking up at a few customers who had just entered the onsen behind Nil. Nil stepped aside, allowing them to pay for their entry, before turning back to the onsen owner. " We will do our best. You have my word." Homomoro grunted a small, not quite amused chuckle and nodded. "I'll hold ya to that, little Raiu."

Nil nodded, pursing his lips as he straightened his back in determination. It took him a moment to become aware of a singular problem however.... if these bandits had been soaking wet when they had stolen from Homomoro then that meant they had... been in the onsen? Nil's brow furrowed in confusion. For a moment, he considered that they may have entered the onsen as customers, possibly to get inside, but if Homomoro had already closed shop before they appeared..... the onsen didn't seem like the kind of place with many places to hide, never mind that their ROBES had been wet. If they had only come in as customers in a towel, why were their clothes soaked?

Nil bit his lip, thought for a moment as his eyes flicked back and forth as if reviewing everything he had been told about the story, before he turned back to Homomoro and asked. " Homomoro-sama. Where does the water for your onsen COME from?" Homomoro raised an eyebrow, responding with a soft scoff before smiling softly, eyebrow still raised as he answered. "Bit of a personal question innit?" Homomoro waved a hand, cutting off Nil's response as he chuckled. "Just jerking your chin kid. It comes from behind the onsen, down the mountain behind us from a central hot spring into a basin out back we use to fill all the onsen baths."  

Nil paused, eyes widening, and he nodded. He began to take a step back toward the baths, before remembering he wasn't allowed back there. Sighing, Nil decided it wasn't worth waiting for Homomoro to go and get Hana from the bath anyways. Besides.... all he wanted to do was see if his hunch was correct.

-- Forest outside Homomoro's --

As Nil trudged his way up the incline of the forested area behind Homomoro's onsen he did his best to stay close to where he felt the path of the stream that led to the basin would be without being right beside the stream himself. After all the last thing he needed to do was fall in and get swept down the mountain into a basin of steaming water. Considering that calling the rather substantial flow of hot water that ran down toward Homomoro's a 'stream' was maybe a bit modest. It looked deep and wide enough for a person to drown in. A thought that made Nil's lips purse as he got higher and higher up the incline.

So focused was Nil on the hot, rushing water and trying to keep it in sight he almost did not notice the sound of... voices? Nil froze, uncertain of whether he could trust his ears at first, only to spring into action a moment later. Hiding behind a nearby tree Nil took a moment to pinpoint exactly where he thought the voices were coming from, before peaking out around the tree towards them. Thankfully, it seemed, they had not noticed him. unfortunately however, Nil's eyes couldn't help but widen at the sight of the six masked individuals crouched around a particularly deep bend in the stream. A small camp set up where they had apparently taken to changing into their masks and clothing.

While five of the individuals wore simple, plain white kabuki masks the sixth wore one emblazoned with deep, oceanic flourishes and wave-like patterns. Nil swallowed, briefly considering what course of action he could take. He likely stood little chance against six individuals, never mind that they each appeared to be armed. Nil decided that he would listen in but be ready to run in case something happened.

"You sure old man Homomoro opened the place back up?" One of the bandits asked, only for the one Nil assumed to be the leader to snort and nod. " Yeah. They've hired a couple of shinobi to watch the place, but they didn't seem too impressive." Nil blanched. He had seen them? Nil racked his brain, trying to think of anyone who had stood out to him at the time. After all, he and Hana had only spoken briefly, but despite this there had simply been too many customers in the lobby. It could have been any one of them, well, at least any male. "One seems to be a ditz just using the onsen and the other is just a little brat. We should be able to handle them, get inside and scare off any customers old Homomoro might still have. After today, I doubt anyone will dare to come back." Nil's eyes widened as each of the six began to weave a series of hand seals, before each of them became engulfed in a thin membrane of water.

Nil almost jumped himself when the six of them then jumped into the stream. Nil paused, watching as he could just barely make out the six membranes begin to move.... down the stream. "Oh no....." Nil murmured, before sprinting his way back down the incline. Hoping he could get back in time to help Hana......

-- Homomoro's onsen; Unisex bath --

Unfortunately for Nil the six figures reached the onsen well ahead of him, whatever jutsu they had used allowing them to swim at speeds faster than the young Raiu could run. Whatever Hana may have been up to, a sudden kunai impaling near one of the customer's legs would surely have caused enough of a scene to get her attention. People beginning to scream, run, clammer and attempt to flee the onsen as the six individuals dropped down from the very same system that had been feeding the hot, relaxing water into the onsen to begin with.

Meanwhile....................

Nil's began to burn, his lungs aching and his heart pumping as he broke through the edge of the forest. He briefly considered channeling excess Ranton chakra into his step to increase his speed, but decided against it, not wanting to frighten anyone more than they already were..... if the screaming was any indication. Nil huffing under his breathe as he got near the onsen's entrance, seeing people beginning to flood out of the entrance.

Back in the bath, the six individuals dropped down into the bathing area, two in each. Their supposed leader dropping into the unisex bath with one of his croneys to face Hana. Giving a wry chuckle as he look Hana up and down. "Not bad. Mind if I......" The leader wove a few hand seals, chakra flowing through his body. "...get you wet? Suiton!  Mizu Kamikiri!" Water would then begin to crack and fissure the earth, breaking apart the tiled floor of the onsen before rising in a sharp, shimmering water blade launched itself at Hana.

Word Count: 2,288
Total: 3,234