If It Ain’t Broke…:

Practicing. It was something she had to do. Truthfully, she could have asked her father for help considering he had the concept and knowledge of sword usage, especially katanas, but this was something Zaylee wanted to do on her own. She wanted it to be a surprise, as well as giving her an advantage against her father in their upcoming training session. The element of surprise was very much needed when it came to the shinobi arts, and by Zaylee practicing on her own and getting the concepts down this meant she could pull out her katana in a moments notice to use against her father and - hopefully - catch him unaware. Considering he had been sparring and training her with the kid gloves off, especially after their conversation a few days prior while the two of them were overseeing several Genin matches, this would be needed now more so than ever before. Daremo had been pushing her to her limits before, especially considering their differences in rank and power, but the training had only begun to get harder from there, and she needed something to give her an edge. Besides, in Zaylee’s mind there were just some things she needed to do on her own, and this was one of them.

So, Zaylee had found herself in one of of the many training grounds of Konoha quite early in the morning, having set out just after breakfast. Riku, who was her constant companion unless the bird was off hunting which she seemed to prefer doing at night while Zaylee was safe at home and resting, was perched up in a nearby tree and staring down at the child with a look that was a mixture of curiosity and amusement. Zaylee had been practicing for hours, trying to copy and move like the ways she had seen when studying the various textbooks and scrolls she had got her hands on regarding swordplay. It had been hard, very much so, in the beginning: with lots of stumbling and falling, Zaylee dropping her sword on more than one occasion, and sometimes ending up so frustrated she just wanted to quit. Yet, during one of the times she had almost walked out of the training grounds with every intention of heading home, Riku had flown down from her perch and blocked her way - cawing and squawking at her until she returned to her position and began once more. Now though, Zaylee had begun to catch the hang of things: the moves which she was emulating from what she had studied and saw were coming easier, and she was learning how to adjust her grip on her katana as it moved so that she didn’t drop it or lose control. It was still difficult, but she was slowly beginning to realize she had to use the katana not as just a weapon, but as an extension of herself.

Hours had passed during which Zaylee practiced, people coming and going through the training grounds as they arrived or finished their own bits of training in the various spaces nearby. Yet, as the day grew longer the black kimono-clad child was finding the training grounds to be more and more busy and packed with people, so much so that she no longer had quite as much space as she had started out with. It was because of this that she overheard a conversation between two people lightly sparring nearby as she was practicing various swings of the sword.

“So who are you betting on in the exams?”

“Hands down I’m betting on Xio.”

“He does seem to be doing quite well for himself. I’m surprised. He wasn’t one of the major contenders in the beginning.”

“He wouldn’t be doing quite well now if his opponents weren’t being paid off to lose on purpose to him.”

“Wait, this shit is rigged?”


“Oh yeah, and I’ve made quite a bit of ryo off of it so far. I plan on going all in on his next spar. I’ll easily leave for home with quadruple the amount of ryo I came here with. Not bad considering it took me a while to catch on to what was going on myself. You should join in on the betting, make yourself some money too. Maybe you’ll be able to afford your girlfriend that pretty kimono she wanted the other day.”

“Yeah, I might just do that. Where would I go for this?”

“Come on, I’ll show you… Not much more we’re going to be able to get done here anyway, this place is getting packed.”

“Yeah, it sure is. Let me just grab my gear…”

As the conversation faded into nothing Zaylee found herself glancing sideways at the two males, taking in their appearances as well as their Iwagakure headbands they both seemed to be proudly displaying. Glancing up at Riku she watched as the bird fluttered down from her perch, landing on the padded shoulder piece that kept Zaylee safe from the birds talons. ”This doesn’t seem right does it, Riku?”, Zaylee whispered softly to the bird, watching as the two began to leave out of the corner of her eye as she lightly petted Riku’s chest in an affectionate manner. Hearing the bird piping in response, and taking it as agreement, Zaylee frowned thoughtfully while carefully sealing her sword away and slipping it into the hidden pouch of her black kimono’s sleeve: careful not to jar Riku in the process. ”Riku, I want you to follow them. I’ll be close behind, and I’ll be watching through your eyes just like we practiced, okay?” In response the bird gave one last pip of a noise before carefully launching off from Zaylee’s shoulder, cawing softly as the bird took to the air, following after the men.

Zaylee, after waiting for a moment so that the men would be out of her sight, formed a single handseal before closing her left eye: forming a connection between herself and Riku that allowed her to see through one eye while watching what the bird saw through another. Just as she had thought Riku went unnoticed as she soared after them, adding to the various bird species that flew around. Knowing she had to remain within about forty meters of Riku for this to work she hesitated just a moment before following, making sure she wouldn’t be spotted by those she was tailing. It was easy enough, keeping enough distance to allow Riku to watch while Zaylee remained far enough away to be completely out of sight - going so far as to take a different route than what the others she was following were to keep all manner of suspicion down. It took roughly ten minutes for them to reach their location, Riku perching nearby and watching the pair until they disappeared inside. Reaching the building her bird was perched on she held out her arm for Riku to fly onto, the harpy eagle landing carefully. After removing a meaty treat from her pocket which Riku took as thanks for such a good job, she stroked the birds chest with her fingers idly as she thought. ”Come on, Riku. Let’s head back home. I want to tell dad about what I overheard, okay?” Hearing the bird pipping in agreement Zaylee made her way carefully off the building, Riku taking flight so that she could follow her from the sky, and landing once more on her shoulder as they reached the front door.

Heading inside she glanced around, listening for any sounds that her father might be home. ”Daddy, you here?”, she would call out, waiting for a response. If she was given one she would follow the sound of her father’s voice, Riku remaining comfortably perched on her shoulder as she so often was. ”Daddy… Riku and I overheard some people talking about how they were cheating when it came to betting on the exams..”, she would explain, more than willing to go into more detail should her father show interest in what she and Riku had overheard.

---

1,360

Jutsu Used and Chakra:

Outside from the sound of a fork hitting an empty plate, the in-law’s house was silent as a grave. A pair of citrine colored orbs, belonging to Daremo, absentmindedly looked around the kitchen from his position at the table. Though coming to Konohagakure no Sato was meant to be a vacation for the family and to allow his children the chance to spend time with their grandparents on Amaya’s side, the village seemed adamant to make use of him, despite him no longer being apart of the village. Having been short-staffed at the hospital, not surprising considering who was left in charged when Amaya was stripped of her duties, Daremo was asked to help during the night shift. He could have told them ‘no’. He could have lied about having other responsibilities, but, he did not. He accepted the responsibility if only for his own reasons.

As expected, the work was grueling and tiresome. When it came to their jobs, the new hospital management was incompetent, to say the least. A lot of things were left half-done or did near criminally wrong. Patient files were not in order. Some rooms were only partially cleaned with there still evidence of the last patient being in there. Some of the normal nurses did not know where things were at, or how to perform some of the basic functions in their job description. Along with some of the competent personnel worked in fixing the mistakes, and getting the nurses on the right track. Reports were made and sent to the council. In the reports were detailed information  regarding the concerns and worries about the hospital, how some nurses and doctors were able to get away with things that were borderline sexual harassment and/racism, how incident reports had been filed with the hospital head but nothing was done about them, along with a slew of other stuff.

Not only did he had to deal with the mess created by the lousy management, but, also make sure the patients staying at the hospital, and those coming in, was taken care of well up to standard. For some of the newer nurses or doctors who were not used to dealing with certain tasks, Daremo, and the other staff, helped them along. None of held by the hand by the silver-haired male, rather, guided in a similar fashion as a teacher would guide a student. He was active during the seven and half hour shift, and help in any way possible. By the time his shift was over, all the empty rooms had been cleared and sterilized, equipment was put in their corrected places, and paperwork was completely and nicely stacked with a note on top of them detailing the importance of certain documents.

With his work done, Daremo had headed home and was greeted to the sight of everyone up, and having breakfast. Utterly exhausted from the work at the hospital, he skipped out on breakfast in order to take a quick nap. He only been woken up to the sound of Amaya coming into the room, and mentioning Zaylee went out to train, the in-laws were going to visit other relatives, and Mamoru asked her if she could teach him more about Taijutsu. Knowing what everyone would be doing, a quick kiss was given, and Daremo was out like a light for another hour. When he woke up, his stomach demanded food, thus, resulting in him cooking, and how it ended with him in his current situation.

Having finished eating, Daremo got up from the comfortable chair and walked into the kitchen. Racking the pieces of food into the garbage disposer, the hot water was turned on. There was no way he was going to leave his dishes, and the stuff he used, for someone else to clean up. He was raised to clean up after himself, and that is exactly what he was going to do. Thus, for the next ten or twenty minutes, Daremo took to washing the dishes, pots, and pans that were dirty along with wiping down the counters and stovetops, the latter being done with shadow clones. Having cleaned up the kitchen, and swept the tile floor, Daremo heled back to the room he shared with Amaya. He stripped out of his clothing and walked into the bathroom for he desperately needed a shower.

Nearly twenty-five minutes later, Daremo emerged out of the shower, as naked as he was born. With him being the only one home,  there was no need to cover himself up. Walking across the bedroom, he opened up the closet and reached for a black training-gi. While he was not going to do heavy training today, he did have plans to do some meditation and to practice gathering senjutsu chakra at a more effective rate. As shown by Lamya, he was nowhere near close to reaching the pinnacle of what was possible with Sage Mode, thus, he was determined to continue to explore it. Slipping into the attire, Daremo left the room and exited through the backdoor of the house.

The moment he stepped outside, a familiar presence made herself known, and Daremo felt the weight on his shoulder. The nipping at his hair, something which he had decided to leave free-flowing, caused him to look at the king vulture, “Hello to you too Hiretsu.” The aforementioned bird responded with another peck at his hair, causing the male to sigh. Reaching into his person, he unwrapped three strips of uncooked bacon. “Her - -” before the words could leave his mouth, the strips of bacon was gobbled up by Hiretsu in a feverous manner.  It was apparent his companion was hungry as she turned to him, obviously expecting more.

“Sorry, don’t have anymore.”, he mentioned, watching as the bird fluttered her wings in annoyance, smacking him on the back of the head to show her displeasure, before taking off. Instead of going to find food, as he expected, she simple perched on a branch in a nearby tree. Shrugging his shoulders, Daremo moved to the center of the backyard, passing by a medium size koi pond along the way, and sat cross-legged on the ground. Eyes closed, Daremo began to regulate his breathing as he cleared his mind of everything. Feeling the familiar sensation of natural energy enter him, Daremo focused on the energy, as he entered sage mode.

There was something breathtaking about seeing the world through the eyes of a sage. One got to experience the feeling of being connected with every living thing in the area, and come to realize how small they truly are in the grand scheme of things. The birds, plants, insects, canines, felines, reptiles, and everything in between, Daremo was able to sense it all. Incredibly overwhelming when he first experience, now it was easy to find himself amongst the vibrant feeling of life Senjutsu oped up to him. Having entered Sage Mode, he began to dive deeper, looking for what he knew he lacked.

Feeling Zaylee and Riku approaching the house, citrine eyes snapped over and looked in the direction in which they were coming from. Were they already back from their training? How did the training go? Such thoughts crossed his mind, “I’m in the backyard.”, he answered, responding to Zaylee’s call. Standing up, Daremo looked at Zaylee as she made her way to him. His eyes shining with curiosity as he waited for her to say something. What she said was surprising, but considering what was at stake, not too much.

“Are you sure that is what you heard?”, Although he believed her, Daremo wanted to make sure words weren’t taken out of context. If indeed that what she heard, he could continue, “Who were these people? Did they say how they were cheating the exams? The exams offer many ways for people to gamble.”

---

1323

Hearing her father call out that he was in the backyard, which was really an outdoor hidden garden located in the center of her grandparents house complete with the rarest of beautiful plants as well as a koi pond she headed in that direction with Riku perched still on her shoulder: the bird having little to no issues with being inside of the house unlike what another animal might have had. Thankfully for her her grandparents didn’t seem to mind the bird all that much at all, Riku being quite docile acting towards everyone within her family and seeming to enjoy the attention and affection she was given - as well as the numerous treats a day that were smuggled to the harpy eagle.

Sliding open the door to the garden area she stepped out onto the porch that ran along all of the garden’s inner ways, pausing to close the door behind herself before making her way over to her father who she was not surprised to find had likely been meditating: something she hadn’t quite got the hang of herself despite trying very hard - she was just too fidgeting yet to get it right, and could never truly quiet down or dim her racing thoughts to truly and really be able to lock on to that inner harmony she had heard about. Her father’s response to what she said wasn’t surprising: he needed to make sure she had heard correctly, such an assumption if it was false could cause a lot of headache for all involved, something that she understood quite well: yet, she knew what she heard was correct, and she didn’t mind explaining it in further detail. ”I’m sure, daddy. I don’t know their names, but they wore Iwagakure hitai-ate on their persons. Riku and I were at the training grounds practicing, and more and more people kept arriving. They showed up not long after some others did. They were sparring and talking among themselves about who they were betting on in the matches. One of them mentioned that he had been betting on a Genin named Xio. The other gentleman said he was surprised Xio was doing so well for himself since he wasn’t one of the major contenders in the beginning. This is when the man who said he was betting on Xio mentioned that he wouldn’t have been doing so well for himself if his opponents weren’t being paid to lose to him on purpose. His sparring partner questioned that the fights were rigged, and his buddy confirmed it was true and that he had made a quite a lot of ryo already off of the fights. When his buddy showed interest his friend agreed to show him the betting location.”, Zaylee explained, detailing better what exactly she had heard and making sure to leave nothing out: her memory had been honed sharply so it wasn’t hard for her to do so.

After another breath she continued on, ”I created a jutsu a few days ago that allows me to link my own ocular cortex with Riku’s. Using this jutsu I asked Riku to follow the two men as they left, which she did, allowing me to stay well enough away so that I wouldn’t be spotted. Riku blended in with the other birds flocking about and was able to follow the two men to where the betting has been taking place: they went inside. After I caught up with Riku we came right here to tell you.”, she added on, making sure that her father knew exactly how it was she knew where their location was, as well as the fact that she hadn’t been spotted during the whole ordeal and how. Secrecy, blending in, and being able to track and trail targets was all in a day’s work for many ninja, and she knew that just overhearing such a conversation without adequate proof would make it hard to actually prove the cheating was going down - this is why she had kept her distance and made sure she wasn’t seen. She hadn’t wanted to startle them, as it might have changed their path and caused them to avoid the location altogether. It was better for the two cheaters - and however many more were involved - to be caught red handed rather than just simple accusations to be made against them without subsequent proof to back them up.

As she fell silent, having explained all that she had overheard and knew, she reached up and stroked gently at Riku’s chest, the bird upon her shoulder piping away quietly in a happy manner: something she took to be akin to a cat purring when it was content and happy. She waited for her father’s words on the matter, giving him a chance to think over all of the information she had provided, as well as decide what it was he wanted to do about it. Zaylee herself was leaving it up to him: while she didn’t like cheating, and she found it to be appalling, she also knew that this was supposed to be a vacation for them and they had already been so busy as it was. Even still, there was an itch to investigate that needed scratching - but she couldn’t do it alone: as much training as she had been given, she was still unprepared to handle such an endeavor by herself, as she well knew: this is precisely why she had brought it to her father’s attention instead of trying to just handle it on her own - only the Gods knew what kind of trouble she would have run into had she tried following after the two men herself.

---

Personal WC: 955 | 2,315
Total Thread WC: 3,638

Daremo did not have to wait long for his question to be answered. The visage of indifference, the silver-haired male gave Zaylee his undivided attention as she talked about what she had overheard and saw during her time training at a local training ground. Cheating was not uncommon in the shinobi and civilian world. Shinobi cheat to make sure they are able to live another day. Civilians cheat to potentially aligned their pockets with more money, or reap some value from the action. And, believing her words, it seems some people had decided to make a little extra money from the exams. While betting on the matches was not unheard of, there being legal establishments that catered to such, the way she described it was certainly illegal.

The men who were betting on these exams were rigging the outcomes in their, or those who they were close to, favors. The unpredictable and guessing nature of betting on the competitors was removed by these men actions. There was no guesswork. They knew exactly who was going to win, thus, would always make a fortune. From Zaylee words, it seemed the men had a very simple system. They had chosen someone who, by all rights, should not have made it far in the exams. With odds stacked against the individual that meant there would be a higher payout if said individual somehow managed to win their bout. The plan was simple, let the biggest underdog win to reap the most out of those who betted against them.

The individuals who were doing this was, in plain terms, robbing the other people who gamble. Logic dictates that the one with the highest chance of winning would be considered the favorite, thus, is a safe bet. Only the truly daring would bet against the system, as in, chosen the underdog to win, thus, most people would end up betting on the one with the highest chance to win instead.  While the amount of monetary gain would not be as lucrative as it would have been if they had betted on the underdog, it would still be a nice chunk of money for anyone who wanted to win a little extra for one reason or not.

However, those who expected to win would end up losing due to the interference of these people who were also looking for a means to make more money, just in an illegal sense. None of them had anything to worry about due to knowing right away who was going to win. They were safe to put a large amount of money on the underdog, knowing full well that their earnings would be triple or quadruple what they had invested into the match. For them, it was a win-win situation. Though, there a question remained, how exactly did they rig the matches? The other competitor had to be in on it as well. For them to take a loss, they must have been compensated somehow or threatened. There was no way anyone would take a loss willingly. Of course, there was a darker angle to this, that being sabotage. The opposing competitor could, unknowingly, be taking something which degrades their performance. There were many ways for them to go about tipping the proverbial scale into their favor.

“For them to talk about cheating in this manner tells me that they care not who heard about it, or they were confident enough that no one would investigate them. Even if someone overheard them talking, one could mistake the conversation has just lies being told to get the other into gambling. Not many would have taken it as seriously as you did.” Daremo mentioned, thinking deeper on the subject. “Are they still at the training grounds?”, while none of this was his concern nor business, he was curious, to say the least. Just as he asked about the men whereabouts, Zaylee answered.

There was a look of surprise, that morphed into proudness, at his daughter’s admission of making a jutsu on her own. Jutsu creation at the earliest stages of a shinobi’s career was difficult for some of them not knowing the intricate nature of how jutsus were made, such knowledge came about later on in their life. So, for Zaylee to create a jutsu of her own, without his knowledge nor help, was amazing, to say the least. As she described the jutsu, and how it functioned, Daremo was immensely proud of what she accomplished. “I am amazed at what you managed to accomplish on your own. Jutsu creation is not the easiest thing to do, but, you seem to have a knack for it.” The words being accompanied by a playful ruffle of her hair.

“Do you know what the building looks like?”, he questioned, realizing she never did mention what the establishment looked like, just that Riku followed the men to a building. If he had to guess, the building was plain, and not out of the ordinary. “Let’s go into the house. I need to get change.” He suddenly said, walking into the house to do just that. He did not make any comment in regards to what all she had mentioned or his take on it. Instead, he went upstairs to change, returning back downstairs wearing a dark a vibrant crimson kisode hidden underneath a black haori that matched his hakama. His hair was put up in a man-bun, being held by a pair of black senbons.

“So, what do you want to do about this information?” Daremo asked, walking into the kitchen to pour himself a glass of orange.“You can either turn this information into the authorities and maybe they would look into it. Or, you can take actions into your own hands, and put a stop to it, of course, I would help, but the choice is yours. What do you want to do? “ He asked, taking a sip of the juice. Citrine eyes stared at Zaylee, “If you do want to take this in your own hand. You will need to come up with a plan that we will execute. Consider this a chance for you to lead. . .” Was it wrong to put such pressure on a ten-year-old? Yes, but, do to the profession she has chosen, the world does not care about that.

---

1059[2382]

Expectedly, her father gave her his undivided attention as she explained what was going on. As she mentioned what she had overheard, the openly spoken conversation that spoke of either stupidity or boldness on the part of the individual involved in the cheating already, it was unsurprising to find that her father had a comment to make. She listened quietly as her father spoke of how it seemed that they didn’t care who overheard them in regards to the cheating they had been speaking of, that it was easy to think they did so because it might seem to everyone else like it was lies to get the other involved in the gambling. He went on to say that many wouldn’t have taken the words as seriously as she did, and after he asked a question in regards to if they were at the training grounds or not still she shook her head no in response before continuing on.

Once more her father gave her his full attention, and the look of pride on his face was hard to miss. His words about her having a knack for jutsu creation, something many others had failed at, as well as the ruffling of her hair caused her to smile happily: a smile that spread from ear to ear and lit up her citrine colored cause, causing them to glow with happiness. When he asked her about if she knew what the building looked like she found herself nodding once more, focusing back on the problem at hand rather than the sense of happiness her father’s praise had given her. ”I do. It’s an inn with a bar. Made out of stone and wood. The sign that was hanging above the door was weathered, but I could make out the name The Drunken Huntsman.”, she would reply, recalling the details from memory that she had got not only from the glimpse of the place that Riku had given her, but the careful and guarded look she had taken herself.

While she expected her father to either say they should check it out, or to disregard it, she was surprised when he simply mentioned them going back into the house, and him needing to get changed. Nodding her head yet again while curiosity bubbled within her she followed her father back inside, waiting downstairs, seated upon one of the many comfortable cushioned couches, for him to return. She wouldn’t have to wait long for her father to reemerge from upstairs, dressed in what Zaylee considered to be his typical attire: though this meant little in regards to her curiosity if he wanted to handle the situation or not - he trained in what he normally wore, something he had Zaylee do as well. It allowed them to be comfortable in anything, to know how to move even when constrained by non-training attire. In fact, because of this, Zaylee often wore to training sessions with her father what she enjoyed - various kimonos of different lengths depending on the season and weather.

Getting up from the couch she followed her father into the kitchen, watching as he poured himself some orange juice. His question caught her off guard, considering she expected him to make the decision on this, but she didn’t falter with her response. ”I want to put a stop to it. This isn’t as simple as just insider information about the potential skills of opponents, this is actually bribing people to quit or purposely fail. I don’t like cheating - well, in most circumstances.”, Zaylee paused, having felt a need to amend her position on cheating. There was a time and place where what could be considered cheating was necessary, such as going into a battle against someone with an ace of some kind up your sleeve. Or perhaps other situations that she couldn’t quite think of. But in a situation like this, a controlled environment like the Chuunin Exams - or that was what she saw them as anyway, there was no point of it and it was out of place. Besides, if someone took the bribery money to fail, and then decided not to take the loss, Xio could get severely injured or even killed. Before she responded though she listened to the choices her father presented to her: she could either turn this situation over to the proper authorities or she could try handling it herself. If she wanted to handle it on her own her father would help, but she would have to come up with a plan on how to do that. For Zaylee it wasn’t all that tough of a choice to make - especially with the certain distrust for Konoha and the lack of competency Konoha seemed to have: things she had heard about from both her mother and father.

”I think handling it ourselves would be best.”, she spoke, offering a shrug of her shoulders before continuing on, ”I don’t exactly trust Konoha to handle something like that properly, especially after what you and mamma have said about how they seem to be incompetent. Besides, I don’t have proof beyond what I overheard, and shinobi or not most people don’t take what a child says seriously.” It was a simple statement of fact but a truthful one: her lack of any sort of high rank, plus her age, would play well against her - at least it would without her having proof beyond a conversation she had eavesdropped on. At best the two she had overheard could make it sound like they were just joking and to not take her seriously, at worst it would look like she, as a member of Kumogakure, was trying to cause problems for the two Iwagakure nin. Either way, it wouldn’t bode well for her. ”If I try telling someone about this the two in question could make it seem like they were just joking and I took it too seriously, or worse than that they could make it seem like I was trying to cause issues for Iwagakure in general simply because I’m a Kumogakure nin without any sort of reputation to back my words up with.”, she spoke, putting her thoughts out there so that her father could easily understand her manner of thinking. ”I think it would be best if we at least try and get proof of what’s going on before turning it over, this way it cannot be so easily disputed.”

Grabbing herself a glass, and the orange juice which she filled the glass with before putting it back, she thought over how her father had mentioned that they would need a plan. While most people in her position, regardless of age, would feel pressured by the idea of someone of Daremo’s rank leaving them in charge, Zaylee simply took it as an opportunity for growth and development. She knew that if any plan she came up with was bad her father would say so, and while negative feedback was never enjoyed, she welcomed it as a chance to be able to fix her mistakes should she make any. ”The building they went into, The Drunken Huntsman, had a sign that advertised they sold food, too. There also wasn’t an age limit posted because of this. We could go in, order food or drink, and simply mingle. Mention between ourselves who we’re hoping wins the fights. It’s a chance whether or not someone would overhear us enough to let us in on the little scheme, but if so it would be our way in. Bookies tend to keep records of some kind as to who has made bets and how much they’ve betted so that payout or payment is kept track of. If we can discover who the bookie is and secure these records we’d have the proof of the betting going on. If the bookie confronted with the proof it’s liable they’d be willing to talk to save their own skin from being in trouble with the authorities - or to cut a deal at least. Getting inside also will ensure we get a good look at the place, so when we leave quiet as can be we’d be able to to tell the authorities whose who as well as the entrances to the place so that no one can escape when they show up.” It was the best plan she could think of on the fly, one that would ensure them physical evidence of what was going on. If a lot of people were betting on Xio, especially highly, and if there were records of people paying his opponents off, it would be all of the proof they needed to show the authorities and to have the operation closed down - at least, in her opinion. Sipping her orange juice she fell silent, awaiting her father’s disapproval or approval of her plan, curious as to what he would say. Of course, he might also have questions as to why she knew about bookies and betting in the first place, which was easy enough to answer - to stop crime one had to know about how it worked, and Zaylee was determined to do her job to the best of her ability so she watched, listened, and gathered all the information she could whenever she could.

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Personal WC: 1,570 | 3,885
Total Thread WC: 6,267

When questioning Zaylee on the appearance of the building, Daremo did not have to wait long for a response. The answer given was one he had come to expect considering the nature of the crimes being committed. He doubted the building was chosen due to the lack of funds by the individuals, but, rather for its appearance that some would overlook. “Make sense for them to choose an inn and a bar with an old weathered signed.”, he spoke, “If one needed to set up a building for their operations, chosen one that was luxurious and eye-catching would not be the best idea. It might draw in a large number of people, but, if the place becomes too popular than it could attract the attention of people they are trying to avoid. A inn like the one you described is ideal because it attracts the type of people who they wish to target, or who might be interested in the dealings.”

Although dealing with this type of crime was something he did very little with, having a preference in dealing with kidnapping and human trafficking, Daremo was still knowledgeable when it came to the mind of a criminal. He had been apart of the underworld long enough to know how some criminals think. The reason he knew so much is thanks to those who he had hung around during his youth and teenage years, and because of his activities throughout a good part of his adulthood. He was not an innocent man. He was not a good man. He was just a man who did what was needed to survive. He had dipped in hands into areas of the criminal world that should never be known for the safety of his family. But, because of the experience, Daremo had a better grasp of the situation than most would.

”Do you really want our daughter to see apart of the underworld, even if it is just a fragment of it? She is only ten years old. Do you really want to expose her to it?” Daremo did not respond to his inner thoughts. While he did try shelter his children from the harshness of the world, this would be the first time either of them would enter into the underworld, in a way. He could not justify Zaylee being fine with this experience because of his own childhood. His childhood was abnormal. He was born and raised in the underworld. He knew nothing else but what he saw on a daily basis, and while he did get out, the experienced fucked him up on a psychological level, more so that he was willing to admit. So, was he truly willing to allow Zaylee to experience a fragment of the underworld, and hope she is not scarred from it?

The question weighed heavily on him, even after he had ascended up the stairs to get dress, and descended down them and walked into the kitchen. ”If you go through with this, let’s hope these men don’t have any of their toys laying about.”, the mental picture received caused Daremo’s right hand to twitch. The movement so subtle that it did not disturb the orange juice being poured into his glass. The beast brought up a point which he had been trying not to think about. There is a good chance that the men would have prostitutes strutting around the place, barely dress, and doing favors for the customers. The practice not being uncommon, in order to keep customers interests there must be some entertainment and considering those who would be going to this establishment, no high-end prostitutes were needed. ”Let’s not forget about the drugs. There is a high chance people would be doing drugs as well. Do you think she is ready to be exposed to all of that?”

Was Zaylee ready to experience the underworld? Could he, as a father, thrust her into the underworld, allowing her to see a fragment the criminal underworld. Ultimately, the decision would not be in his hands for Zaylee was adamant in putting a stop to this. Citrine eyes trained onto Zaylee, scrutinizing her, “Why do you want to stop this? Do you have some invested interested in stopping this from continuing? Are you friends with Xio, and do not want him to be promoted due to matches sabotaged in his favor? Are you doing this for the people who were cheated out of their money do to the matches being rigged against them? You don’t need to answer me but know well that every action we take comes with consequences, and maybe enemies. Are you ready to deal with that?”

His statement was not meant to dissuade her from doing this task, but, rather to mentally prepare her for what was to come from interfering in something neither had a reason to. Those apart of the illegal activities could very well come after them in the near future, and Daremo wondered was Zaylee ready to handle that possibility? Daremo cracked a smile at her comment regarding Konoha’s incompetence when it came to dealing with their own matters. Indeed, the village had seen better days under leadership not named Rippa. “This is true. The only proof is that of words you heard. Anyone could argue that you made up everything, especially considering that we are Kumo-nin, and our village is not seen in the best of light. “

All the lesson him and Amaya forced down Zaylee’s and Mamoru’s throat was paying off. She understood the ramification of what could happen if she went to the authorities about the situation. The political landscape was not a pleasant one for Kumo-nins, and Zaylee seems to understand this. Daremo could not be more happy with his daughter, ”Our daughter.”, the beast said. “Once we gathered the proof, what do you want to do with it? We can’t just hand it over unless we want to be suspected in illegally restraining people, even if they are doing wrong. So, what is your plan for the information to be found by the authorities?”, he questioned.



Putting the empty glass in the sink, Daremo’s head snapped in the direction of Zaylee, “How do you know so much about what bookies do? I’m sure we haven’t covered any of that yet.”, Any question on rather he wanted to expose her to the criminal underground was a somewhat moot point with her admission of knowing something about bookies. If would seem his daughter had been learning stuff without neither of their knowledge. ”She has some explaining to do.”, Daremo agreed with the beast statement. He wanted to know how she knew what bookies did.

Once an answer was given, Daremo questioned her on the plan, “What would we do about guards? A place like this would have some protection. We can’t just outright kill them. So, what do you suggest? I do have a jutsu that can put targets, a room full, to sleep. Do you want to use that, or should we just use stealth and knock them out?  Also, how do we report to the authorities without incriminating ourselves?.”

---

1206[3588]

The question from her father, regarding why exactly she wanted to stop this, was not surprising. Everyone had motives behind things, everyone had a reason for doing what they did, and she was no exception to this. She wasn’t blind to the fact that by screwing with the scheme these people had going she would make herself some enemies, that these people would be pissed off and infuriated with her for messing up what they likely considered to be a ‘good thing’ for themselves, but considering her beliefs about life and the preservation of it, as well as her motivations behind why she wanted to intervene, it didn’t alter or change her thinking. She took a sip of her orange juice, the glass now half empty, while she thought over how to put her thinking into words - she knew her father had said she didn’t have to answer, but she felt the need to explain herself nonetheless, if for no other reason than to see if he thought her thinking on the subject as wrong: after all, she regarded his opinion highly. ”I do not know Xio, I have never even heard his name before today. What he and the others are doing doesn’t affect me in anyway minus the fact that it irks my subconscious. I want to do this because while I understand fully that the loss of life is part of being a shinobi, a part of the world I begged to enter, I also believe that if it can be prevented it should be. If someone who has been paid off to lose on purpose to Xio suddenly has a change of heart because they feel like they have more to gain by winning, or any other reason really, they could decide to attack Xio back and it could end up in his death. He could be unprepared for it, thinking that the match is no different than the rest, and end up becoming wounded or worse. I know that some might say Xio deserves such a fate for cheating the way he is, but it’s still a needless loss of life. If something were to happen, and I did nothing to try and prevent it with the information I have, his death would also be in my shoulders for standing by and allowing the situation to continue. I would rather make enemies - as I already know will very well happen - and possibly save Xio’s life in the process, than to have to deal with the burden of his death on my shoulders because I made the choice to ignore this and walk away.” It was a simple reason really, but it was hers: the loss of life was never okay, it was tolerated, accepted, understood, and sometimes necessary, but that never made it okay. Zaylee had not yet been hardened so much to the world around her that such a situation wouldn’t affect her, and it was because of this that she had a need and want to act.

She would pause and listen to her father once more, giving him a chance to respond to her reasoning if he so made the choice to, before she would move on to the remainder of what it was he had to say, taking time to sip her orange juice as she did so. She listened as he seemed to agree with her words, adding in that with the current standing of Kumogakure in the eyes of many there was a chance that this very well could be exactly how things would go down should she try and report the incident without proof. When her father inquired as to what she wanted to do with the proof should they be able to acquire it she found herself thinking about the matter quite deeply: he was right in what he said, them turning it over could incriminate them in some way, or cause them issues should they try and restraining citizens not of their own village. This would have to be handled carefully as to not cause trouble for Daremo and herself. Yet, before she could come up with a response her father pegged her with a question regarding how it was she knew so much about bookies to begin with, mentioning that it had been something they had yet to cover. Realizing suddenly it was a topic she had never spoken of, the reason why she knew these things, she took a deep breath and sighed softly, her gaze taking on the appearance of someone wise beyond her years. ”When I was in the Academy you and mom had to sign off on a paper allowing me to act as an intern to a doctor in the hospital since the Academy though it best I get the experience due to my natural knack of medical ninjutsu. That week was tiring and hard, I barely made it home, and I realize now I hadn’t really told you and mamma about what it was I had seen. My second night at the hospital a woman came in battered and bruised. She had been sexually assaulted, and then beaten. She was afraid of the doctor, and it quickly became apparent it was because he was a man. There were no other nurses, so the doctor made the decision to allow me to try and tend to some of the wounds that I at least could while he watched from a distance. The woman opened up to me, she explained how she used to be a gambler but a bad one. She ended up in over fifty-thousand ryo worth of debt to her bookie. She had no family he could threaten her with, and she had lost the majority of her friends due to her habits. In the end he had given her a choice if you could call it that: either she ended up working for him as a prostitute until her debt and the interest on it was paid off, or she paid with her life. She was afraid to die, so she agreed to becoming a prostitute. That night a man didn’t pay her for her… services… the bookie beat her, severely.” Zaylee paused, no longer interested in the orange juice within her hand: the taste remaining in her mouth souring as memories of what she had seen that day surfaced to her mind. The woman had been healed, as best as Zaylee and then the nurses who showed up later could do, but she had ended up going right back to the streets and the bookie in question because she had had no other choice. It had been the first true taste of the darkness of the world that Zaylee had gotten, and it was something she knew would likely be with her forever even well after the woman died - if she hadn’t already.

Zaylee found herself shaking her head, hoping that it would help to remove the memories from her mind in the process. She focused on her father’s question about the guards instead, as a means to distract herself, and it seemed to help. His question brought up a problem that she had overlooked, but that she knew he was right about nonetheless - and she found herself making a mental note not to be so quick in her answers and plan making in the future. ”I think that a sleep jutsu would be best. Less physical, and if you can put them all to sleep at once it’s less chance for anyone to flee. As far as I’m concerned those making the bets are just as guilty in all of this as those who set this whole thing up. As far as the authorities go, I think an anonymous report would be best - after we remove ourselves from the establishment. Allow them to stumble upon the sleeping people and to see the proof for themselves and sort it out. If they decide at that point not to investigate it further, or do anything about it, then at least I tried and my conscious is clear.” It was simple enough really, with her father having mentioned the sleep jutsu, and it caused her to make a mental note that she needed something such as that was a means to effect a large group in the future. While it was something that was likely far beyond her skill level now, she could at least prepare and work towards it if nothing else, so that she was prepared when she had the means to perform such a feat.

She would give her father time to respond, to decide if her plan was sound and make any alterations or changes to if that he saw fit, before the pair would leave her grandparents house and begin making their way to the establishment. It would be nothing more than a fifteen minute walk away for a civilian, and Zaylee found her adrenaline beginning to spike - which she suppressed after a moment to remain as calm and collected looking as was possible for the young Genin. As she had described the building they would arrive to would be a simple inn, easily overlooked. The outside was nothing but stone and wood, with yellow and orange diamond shaped frosted glass windows. A sign hanging above the door, made out of wood with cracked and peeling paint, would read “The Drunken Huntsman”, and Zaylee found herself momentarily pondering how it had gotten such a name: had a huntsman who liked getting drunk established the place? She could only guess, but it wasn’t important, they had a task to complete - and she was ready to do just that.

---

Personal WC: 1,625 | 5,510
Total Thread WC: 9,098

Daremo knew the accusation thrown towards Zaylee could be seen as harsh and unfair, she was just a child who wanted to stop evil from prospering. The words spoken could easily be seen as him denigrating her values. Such statement mattered little to him, he did not want his children to be raised in a fantasy of where good men prosper, and the evil suffer. He did not want them to believe it was their duty to bring peace to the world at large, even at the cost of their own life. He wanted his children to make decisions that are not manipulated by the mass. For them to choose a path which they knew well of what awaited for them. Not everyone can be saved. Not everyone want to be saved. For every person saved, a new enemy is made. He wanted his children to understand this well, hence why he questioned Zaylee.

Stoically staring at his daughter, Daremo listened to her response. His face giving very little away to what he thought of it. As she spoke, he took pride in her composed manner and eloquent way of speaking. The teachings he and Amaya had put both of the twins through was paying off. “Very well. But, be prepared if Xio does not appreciate being saved. That he hates you for busting up the criminal ring. Not all competitors are unaware of matches being rigged in their favor, so be prepared to make an enemy out of the one you saving. For not everyone wants to be saved.” There was no point in changing Zaylee’s mind on her course of action. His daughter seemed staunch in her defense in wanting to help Xio, something he was against. Sometimes lessons must be taught at the cost of a life.

Patiently, Daremo waited for Zaylee to explain to him how she knew about the job of a bookie. He knew well the academy did not cover some of the heavier topics. Those topics and situation were reserved for the Jounin sensei, or higher ranking officials to do. While cruel, body shields are needed within any military structure, thus, waiting to tell potential military assets the harsh truth of the world was reserved for the moment they graduated from the academy and become genin. This way, they have to serve some time in the military. He did not particularly care for the practice, but alas.

For a brief moment, citrine eyes turned cold, an uneasy feeling settling in the room, and glass which he was holding shattered as Zaylee mentioned how she came across the information. The anger felt was not directed at his child, but rather the male doctor who had the brilliant idea of using Zaylee to deal with a sexually assaulted prostitute, unintended. He cared not for the hospital lack of staff, such responsibilities fell on the head of those who were in charge. It was important to have a good number of men and women on duty in case such aforementioned cases arrived, and not having young children who were on their second day on duty. The amount of shit that could have gone wrong was insurmountable, yet this doctor did so anyway.  Sighing, Daremo’s eyes soften as he gazed at Zaylee, “Do you remember the name of the doctor? I will be having a little chat with him when we return back to Kumogakure no Sato, and questioning his mentality is putting you in the situation. The doctor should have enough women on staff in case moments like those happens. Under no circumstance, an academy student should have to deal with such things in an unsupervised manner.” the words were spoken as he hugged his daughter, lightly running his fingers through her hair. Although she did not fully show it, he knew the moment affected her, and thus, he wanted to comfort his child.

Allowing her to leave the embrace, if she so chose to do so, suiton was used to clean up the broken glass on the floor with the shards being deposited into the nearby trashcan. Listening to her plan, Daremo agreed with her thinking, “I can put everyone within forty to sixty meters asleep. They will only wake up when I want them to. Once you get strong enough, I will teach you the technique, you will find many uses for it, even outside of combat.”, he mentioned, “If I may suggest. Once everyone is asleep, I could use a smoke bomb. The explosion would make enough noise for the authorities to investigate with them finding everyone asleep.”

Having said that, Daremo walked into the living room, picking up a familiar mask of his. Eyeing the mask, he looked at Zaylee, “Put this on. It will hide your identity and voice. This way no one can identify you, and it can just been seen as one of the fake Anbu masks that can be bought at the exams.” he said, slipping the mask onto his daughter’s face, making sure it was secure. Once secured, Daremo followed Zaylee to The Drunken Huntsman.

Eyeing the group of people who were being let into the building, Daremo, holding Zaylee’s hand followed suit. The guards not providing them any trouble, only seeing them as more customers. Music blared loudly, and chatter was abundant as, much like he expected, the female servers walked around in skimpy attire. Looking around the bar, he spotted other people who had kids tagging along with them, many of them enjoying the food, or, for the adults allowing their eyes to wander across a waitress passing by. Waiting till the guards were not busy, Daremo approached one of them, “Excuse me. I was told this was a good place to bet on the upcoming matches. And I was wondering if any of you could show me where the betting takes place?”, he asked. The guards looked between one another, their eyes flickering towards Zaylee, the message being clear. “She will come with me. My wife is sick. So I can just leave the child at home by herself. Asides, she has always been a good luck charm for me. So, I am hoping it will continue.”

Being satisfied with the answer one of the guards led them up a set of stairs, and knocking on a door several of times before being told to ‘come in’. Any clothing the females wore downstairs was non-existence in this room. Women walked around naked, serving alcoholic drinks to the men and other women who were up here. Music blared as naked women danced on the strip pole, performing acts with one another that Zaylee was too young to see. Just as he was about to make his move, the other guard, that was at the entrance, brought in another couple.

Making sure Zaylee was behind him, Daremo released a fine mist that took everyone in the room by surprised. Before any of the patrons could react, they dropped with their snores being heard as they were fast asleep. “Let's find the information needed to incriminate them of rigging the matches in Xio’s favor.”

---

1194[4782]

Her father’s words caused her to nod her head in understanding: she didn’t expect Xio to be grateful for what she and her father were about to do. The chance was high that he was well aware of the cheating going on, that he was in on it and likely being paid well for his participation in it, so if that was the case he wasn’t going to be happy about the whole thing being spoiled. Even if he wasn’t involved in it the fact that his matches had been won unfairly would likely cast him in a bad light, or cause him to be disqualified, likely costing him the promotion from Genin to Chuunin. Either way, she didn’t expect happiness for what was about to occur, but at least Zaylee wouldn’t have to worry about the idea of him dying if someone decided not to take the loss in the end.

As she went about explaining to her father the reason behind her intimate knowledge of betting and bookies she took notice of the feeling in the air. It was palpable within the house, and thus she didn’t even flinch as the glass within her father’s hand shattered. Anyone else in her position might have likely been frightened, or even terrified, but Zaylee knew her father well enough to know that the anger he felt was not directed at her but rather at the situation and the position she had been placed in. There had always been a fine line drawn when training and teaching that her parents made: between what they should know, what they needed to know, and what they could go a little longer without having the knowledge of. For Zaylee this line had been broken, but not by her father or mother in a careful and controlled environment, but by another who thrusted her into some of the darkness of the world without preparation or preparedness. Considering her father’s reaction she was quite glad she hadn’t mentioned the nightmares she had been plagued with for days afterwards, nightmares that had mixed so well with her horrible tiredness from working nearly fourteen hour shifts at the hospital that she hadn’t been able to escape them on sheer willpower alone. Thankfully, the further from her mind the incident became the less common the nightmares had been until they disappeared entirely, but it made her wonder what that night would bring when it came time for her to close her eyes and rest. It made her wonder, too, if her father was thinking along the same lines as he crossed the room and wrapped his arms around her in a hug, a gesture of affection that she returned with a gentle but firm squeeze. Hearing her father’s question, and the words that followed, she found herself nodding her head: she did in fact remember the doctor’s name, having written about the man and his methods in quite a lot of detail in the journals she liked to keep. As the beast within her began to wonder if her father would do more than just talk with this man, she found herself answering and ignoring the inner beasts musings, ”His name was Doctor Uzumaki Aki.”

She watched as her father used suiton to clean up the glass, disposing of it carefully, while also listening intently to the jutsu he described - one he was willing to teach her when she was ready for it. It sounded like a fine idea to her, and something that would come in handy later on of that much she was sure. She wasn’t headstrong enough to believe that even as a seasoned shinobi she would do well against handling a multitude of opponents at once, especially if they were strong, so having something like that up her sleeve for such occasions would help her to go far and ensure that she could keep herself safe. When her father mentioned then using a smoke bomb to draw the attention of the authorities, allowing them to arrive as they left, she nodded her head in agreement: it was definitely a good idea. After rinsing her glass and putting it away Zaylee would follow her father into the living room, her attention shifting onto the mask that her father picked up. Hearing his words she stood still as he fastened it upon her: the mask would not only hide who she was, but mask her voice as well, ensuring that no one knew who she was or would be able to find her later on.

Leading her father to The Drunken Huntsman she was not surprised to find several individuals being allowed inside with two guards watching the doorway. Being allowed inside without issue Zaylee glanced around behind the amity that was the mask she wore as the loud music assaulted her ears: she could definitely see why this place was chosen, any chance of someone being overheard in here would be slim to none and to anyone trying to use any sort of sensory they would find themselves in a world of pain. Seeing that there were other children inside as Zaylee had expected made it easier for her to blend in, and she stuck close to her father even as he approached the guards that had been previously busy. She kept quiet as her father spoke, nodding automatically to his good luck charm comment in regards to her: all the while keeping her focus not only on the way her father could lie so easily - a skill she knew she would need to gain herself with time and practice - but also watching how the guards handled such a dilemma. In the end they were allowed inside, her father’s way of smooth talking granting them access that Zaylee alone would have been barred from.

Being led upstairs, with the door closing behind them, gave her the first sense of peace she had felt since they arrived; while it didn’t completely block the noise of the music on the first floor it did well to dampen its mind-numbing quality. She waited patiently with her father was a door was knocked upon several times, her eyes showing nothing more than curiosity as any child’s would - Zaylee was nothing if not excellent when it came to playing the harmless and helpless child act after all. As they entered she took note for but a brief moment of how the servers upstairs wore little to nothing before she found her father blocking her view. She didn’t move from her spot, watching as a fine mist appeared that immediately put everyone to sleep - noticeable simply with the way the room went pin drop quiet until her father spoke. Hearing her father’s words she would nod, helping to investigate those within the room to pin point who the bookie was as well as locate the proof they needed of the cheating that was involved with this scheme. It would take but a work of a moment before both were found, leaving them free to leave as her father set off the smoke bomb that created a loud noise, startling those downstairs and alerting the authorities as they escaped and smoke billowed out of the upstairs windows.

---

Personal WC: 1,215 | 6,725 out of 2,500
Total Thread WC: 11,507

Total Ryo Owed: 500
Total EP Owed: 3 + 3 = 6EP

Using 2,500 words for base mission pay, leaving me 4,225
15% training reduction due to Daremo being A-rank
Speed E0 -> D0: 4,225 - 639 = 3,586
Reaction Time E0 -> D0: 3,586 - 639 = 2,947
Perception E0 -> D0: 2,947 - 639 = 2,308
Endurance E0 -> D0: 2,308 - 639 = 1,669
Strength E0 -> D0: 1,669 - 639 = 1,030
Reaction Time D0 -> D3: 1,030 - 1,000 = 30
Discarding 30 Words

No sooner after the last body dropped to the floor, leaving on himself and Zaylee awake, Daremo made his move. Walking through the heaps of crumple patrons who’s bodies were in careless positions. Although he did not care if any of them, he did show some concern for the females and the few wayward children who were brought up into the room by their parent. Citrine eyes carefully scanned them, making sure none of them injured themselves during the fall. His eyes did not linger on the naked bodies of the females, though, he would admit if he was not in a committed marriage, his eyes would have lingered.

Looking throughout the room, Daremo found various documents was laying about. Eyes narrowed as he looked over some of the paper that was present. “Well shit. .”, he murmured to himself, the document in his hand detailing the illegal betting ring was more far-reaching than it seemed. Not only were they rigging matches in Xio’s favor, but, there was a list of other genins who wins were guaranteed as well. No single village profited from this, the organizers had ‘winners’ from nearly every village, both big and small. What’s more, another document showed that some of the proctors and nurses were also on the payroll.

The nurses were given specific instructions when dealing with the competitors. Those who were slated to lose was to be given an untraceable drug that weakens their performed over time. The proctors were paid to overlook certain incidents during the match. Even if an opponent was showing signs of their being something wrong, the proctor was supposed to allow the match to continue. The document also gave a list of competitors who took the dive for winning team, and how much money they would receive for doing such. Daremo’s did not blink when some of the rewards were more of sexual favors, especially some of the younger contestants.

Piling up the documents, Daremo turned his attention to Zaylee, she had found additional information regarding the illegal activity. Gathering the information he had, he handed it over to Zaylee for she to compile it up. Having rounded, Daremo set off a smoke bomb, the smoke being used as a cover for the pair to escape.

Thread Exit

---

382[5164]

Personal WC: 5164
Total Thread WC: 11889
Mission: 4500/4500 for Double Ryo(1k ryo)
Mission Ep: 3
Social Ep: 3
Total Reward: 1k ryo and 6ep