Legend

Spoiler:

Approved: Here

It was a quiet little village. Far out from Kumo, just barely within the border of Lightning Country. A large, sprawling mansion dominated the center of the town, boasting walls five meters high, made out of solid, thick sandstone. Probably imported, but the rosey hued stone certainly did not occur naturally anywhere within Kaminari no Kuni. Maybe Iwa, perhaps. Whatever the case, it was hardly relevant. Every road within the tiny town radiated outwards from the mansion, establishing it as the clear center of the village. Despite its comparatively small size, it still managed to keep up a steady hustle and bustle within the streets. Strolling down one such street was one Takeshi Gouka, call sign Jestre.

That was not to say, anyone would have recognized the individual as Gouka, much less suspected him of being a member of Kumogakure's assassination division, the KYOBU. He had taken on a Transformation to affect and completely alter his appearance. Where would normally be a his standard, cat-burglar outfit was instead a loosely fitting black tank-top, baring both his arms, and blue jeans. Down one arm ran a tattoo of a coiling dragon, and along the other, a ferocious tiger. His hair, once a deep black, now had a grungy look, messy, bearing a rusty brown color, the color of dried blood. His eyes, blue and dark as an ocean trench on any other day, were a dull green, the color of old jade. Overall, he looked like some young Yakuza-thug wannabe. Some might wonder why he'd gone to such pains, but the answer was quiet simple.

He was going to kill a man.

Four days ago, he'd been called into KYOBU HQ. He'd passed the tests, he'd joined the ranks, now it was time to do the job; assassinating elements that were detrimental to the security and foundation of the village, of Kaminari no Kuni on the whole. Gouka had received no reason for why his target had to die, and had known better than to ask. Grunts didn't get answers anyway, and the reasons were irrelevant. The man was slated for the chopping block, and Gouka- no, Jestre, was to be his executioner. It was as simple as that, and Jestre would carry out his duties to the fullest.

"Quick and clean is preferred," the KYOBU Captain Raven had finished his briefing with, "But more important is that no one knows the KYOBU are behind this." He'd paused for a moment then, a chill entering his voice as Gouka had stood at attention. "No witnesses." The chilling finality to those words had left Gouka with little doubt of what was expected of him. He didn't doubt he'd have the fortitude for it- after all, his first kill had been at twelve, and he'd executed a young ninja going rogue not too long ago. All the same, he did not relish the act, and still hoped it would not become necessary.

As Gouka wandered along the street, he took the time to get a "feel" for the town, to understand the lay of the land, as it were. It was a bustling little town, nothing to make it particularly stand out. The trade road passed through it, and it was the last stop within Kaminari before crossing the border, hence why it existed at all. The mansion in question was actually the residence of the mayor of the town. Which was to say, the mayor would be the first direct assassination target Gouka would be called upon to kill in his line of duty as a KYOBU.

For the moment though, Gouka would gather intel first; while he was expected to complete his duty as quickly as possible, it would not do to rush overtly and botch the job. The mayor was not going anywhere, and unless there had been a severe intelligence leak, would not be expecting death to be coming for him anytime soon. Espying a bar that seemed busy enough, Gouka made for it, ducking under the cloth flap covering the entrance, making his way inside. It was a cozy enough little place, with dim lighting and hardwood... Well, everything. The bar, the floor, the tables- not the luxurious, polished hardwood of class and taste, but the rough, sanded down stuff of a place that expected a lot of spills and wear. Gouka's entrance didn't garner much more than a glance from the patrons, their conversations and drinks continuing unabated.

Gouka eased himself onto an empty seat, the bartender, a stout, bald fellow with a ruddy complexion and friendly enough face (and a magnificent walrus mustache) quickly coming up to him. "Welcome to the Raiju Burrow," he spoke in a deep baritone, giving the name of the bar. "We got some decent grub, but if you don't mind my saying, you look a little too young to be drinking." Gouka shrugged in his disguise, returning the polite conversation. "Not much of a drinker anyway. I'm new to town, and cliche as it sounds, figured this would be a good place to learn a bit." The bartender chuckle, wiping a clean rag across the counter.

"Ah, the old tavern trope. Suppose it's true, given people shoot the bull in here all the time. Whatcha looking to know?" Gouka leaned himself against the bar, adopting a casual posture. "Ah, nothing fancy. Just an idea of where a good place to rest myself for the night might be, and maybe where I might go looking for some work." Gouka tilted his head towards the door. "That's a pretty fancy mansion yall got sitting in the middle of town." The bartender shrugged in response. "Well, the only inn I'd recommend in town is the Raven's Rest. As for work... Well, it's funny you should mention the mayor's residence. That is, the building in the middle of town." He leaned over the counter, a little closer to Gouka. "No one knows the details, but ever since a Kumo representative stopped by a month ago, the mayor has been snatching up bodyguards left and right." The bartender looked Gouka up and down. "You look a little green, but you're a strapping young lad. Sure they wouldn't mind training ya." Gouka kept his face tactfully blank as he absorbed this information. While taking up such a position would likely make it much easier to get at his target, the revelation in itself was worrisome. The mayor was expecting company. This could make things... Problematic. Keeping his internal dilemma carefully hidden, Gouka spoke up.

"Sounds like a good ole plan. How do I get to this Raven's Rest place?" The bartender obliged Gouka with directions, and furthered him along with where to go to see about the bodyguard work. A few minutes of conversation later, Gouka turned to make his leave. "Hey kid, what's your name?" Gouka paused, giving the man a polite nod as he answered. "Toshiro. Name's Toshiro." The bartender nodded back. "Well, name's Sakaba. Good luck to ya." Gouka nodded again, finally making his exit from the bar. Despite the fact it was late enough in the day for the sun to begin setting, Gouka did not make immediately for the Raven's Rest. He had another stop to make first. Heading down the main road, it did not take Gouka very long to leave town entirely. The area around the village was lightly wooded with sparse, hardy pines- the type of tree you'd expect to grow in as mountainous a country as Kaminari. Gouka made a beeline for one tree in particular, safely out of sight of the town. It was an old, ragged tree, burned and split, as if struck by lightning multiple times. Reaching inside the hollow of the tree, Gouka retrieved a backpack. Tucked safely away inside it was all his gear, including his mask and blades. It had made him feel naked to go without the gear, but he did have to take precautions. Now that he had a destination, he could move the gear into town, into the inn with him.

Gouka hefted the bag, slowly making his way back to town. He'd done his daylight recon; now to wait for nightfall, and continue his information gathering from a different front.

Legend

Spoiler:

Gouka found the Raven's Rest easily enough, booking himself a room for a solid week, paid up front. It was a cozy enough place, but Gouka didn't pay much attention to the insides of the place, beyond marking out escape routes if they became necessary. The innkeeper, a portly woman with brown eyes, curly black hair, and a froggish, but kindly face, lead Gouka to his room, a small, single-cot affair with a tiny little washroom attached. Gouka thanked the woman, locking the door as she excused himself from the room. Truth be told, he doubted he'd make much use of the place, but it was still good to have a "base of operations" as it were, and one nearby to his target's location.

He set his pack, containing all his gear, onto the cot, taking a more thorough glance over the room. He thumped his boot against the floor, getting a hollow thudding noise for his effort. Pondering, Gouka nodded to himself, unzipping open the pack and pulling one of his daggers from it. Plopping it down on the bed, Gouka gripped the cot, heaving it to the side to reveal the floor underneath. Kneeling down to his knees, he carefully considered the hard-wood floor. After a moment's hesitation, he rammed his dagger down along the line between two boards. A few stabs later, he'd managed to hack a hole big enough to slip his dagger into and, after some working, pry up the board. He took careful stock of his gear, equipping this and that; mostly his armor, coat, mask and daggers. He only intended to do light-recon this night. Placing the rest of the gear into the hollow, Gouka replaced the board, and moved the bed back in place.

'There. Nice, tidy, hidden.' Gouka thought to himself as he opened the window, and leaped out into the night. Darting across the roof-tops, he was a a shadow that made a whisper seem as loud as a shout, that made a tiger prowling the jungle look like a house-cat pouncing through flowers. Takeshi Gouka took pride in few things, and his stealth, his ability to move in absolute silence, was one of them. It was one of the skills that'd made him so suited for KYOBU work, that had made him so ideal a candidate. With his skill-set, he hadn't needed any retraining at all to fit properly within the field of Blackbook Operations, Black Ops.

Gouka hopped from roof-top to roof-top, a silent shadow of death as he flitted over empty streets. Even if the few out at this hour, simple civilians, had bothered to look up, Gouka would have appeared as little more than a silent, blink-and-miss-it blur across the stars. He made a complete circuit of the town; slow work, but necessary. Once could never be too careful, and the scouting helped Gouka get properly familiar with the layout of the small village. The entire place was surrounded by a thick, sturdy stone wall, ten meters high. Not that such wall was useful for keeping anything beyond wild animals and roving bandits out. Being a ninja had its perks, amongst them the fact that most laws of physics were mostly optional. It'd made Gouka a little dizzy at first, tree-climbing, but he'd gotten over it soon enough once he'd just stopped thinking about it. Gouka circled around the village in tighter and tigher circles, drawing closer to the mansion at the center of the town. There were numerous small streets in between, but for the most part everything was focuses along one main road that pass right through the center of town, splitting to circle around the mansion. Gouka didn't think it made much sense, but then, he wasn't a city planner.

As he got close and close to the mansion though, he did begin to see the sense of it. The road was fairly wide, putting the mansion and its six-meter walls a good distance away from the rest of the buildings. No thief could simply scale one building, hope from it to the top of the wall, then work their way inside the pilfer and loot. Further, the outside of the wall was cleared, leaving no hiding places; anyone coming up on the mansion would either be exposed and visible, no matter where they approached from. That said, it was still no siege castle; the building enclosed by the walls was too pretty, too ornate, to be anything but a status symbol. Flamboyant and extravagent, Gouka silently pondered just how much of the town's budget had gone to funding the building of it. Whatever the case, it was of little consequence; just another obstacle between him and his target.

Finding a dark, quiet hiding place, Gouka carefully watched the building. Ringed around the building were guards, all in pairs of two, one group always within sight of the next group as they periodically shifted positions, turning a slow circle around the building. 'That... Could be problematic.' Gouka thought, studying their movements. True, they were more than likely just simple civilians, or armed mercs at best; clad in, from what Gouka could see, dated samurai armor, of some dark color that faded to black in the depths of the night. Still, even as easily as he could take them out, it was still bad form to leave a trail of bodies, and their formation meant any bodies would be discovered almost immediately.

Gouka watched the building for a few more hours, observing carefully, taking in every detail. The beginnings of a plan were forming in his mind, one that could work... It would hinge, however, on Gouka being elected for this suppose body-guarding duty. Pulling out of the shadows, Gouka darted and leapt across the roof-tops, rapidly making his way back to the Raven's Rest. He would need a good nights sleep in order to carry out his plan.

If all went well, the mayor would be dead, and Gouka would be returning to Kumo, duty taken care of, in a mere two days.

Legend

Spoiler:

Early the  next morning, with his gear safely hidden away, "Toshiro" headed out from the Raven's Rest, cleaned and tidied up after a warm, filling meal of beef stew that the inn had been serving. Very thick, very warm, and very tasty. Gouka rather liked it, it had a certain spice to it. He'd have never thought beef could have a cinnamon flavor to it, and not come off as awful. Gouka shook his head, divesting himself of his rambling thoughts. He had more important matters at hand than the oddly flavorful beef stew the inn had been serving. If his plan was to work even half as well as he'd hoped, he would need to secure a position as one of the bodyguards on duty to the mansion.

It was still relatively early morning yet as Gouka made his way to the "sign-up," a small guard-outpost set up within view of the mansion down one of the main streets. It was a respectable little building with a small courtyard, men in light samurai armor smacking about some training dummies as Gouka walked in. They paid him little mind as he walked past them, focused on their practice, smacking about the training dummies with bamboo kendo sticks. Gouka ducked under the cloth flap that marked the entry to the building, squinting as his eyes adjusted to the dim light inside.

It wasn't a particularly large building. Down one wing, Gouka could see a line of cots, presumable for guards to rest on in-between shifts for those long night hauls, and down the opposite wing, what appeared to be a storage area, decorated with armor and armaments. Another small entry-way showed what might have been a break-room, with food-cooking facilities and such. The bulk of the main room, however, was dominated by a set of filing cabinets and a large, bulky mahogany desk, polished smooth and dark. The man seated at the desk seemed nearly as large and bulky, decked out in full samurai regalia, which seemed an odd thing to wear while filling out paper-work. His skin was a dark, tan bronze, not unlike the desk he wrote, with a completely bald head, bulbous nose, and thick, waxy-looking white walrus mustache, which twitched as he humphed and harrumphed over the paper work.

Gouka crossed his tattooed arms behind his back, waiting patiently. He's seen the man's eyes, a shockingly vivid green, like old jade, dart up at Gouka's entrance before returning to the paperwork. Best to start making good impressions now, to better aide himself in gaining the position he would need to accomplish his mission. Gouka stood there for a good quarter hour, arms clasped behind his back and patiently waiting, the the mustachioed man continuing to work over sheathes of paper before finally looking up, a hint of approval in his stern eyes. "Well, you look like a right little yakuza thug, but you certainly know patience." He clasped thick, meaty hands together, armor clinking as he leaned on the desk. "Well brat, what brings you in here?" Ignoring the jab, Gouka answered with a polite, respectful tone.

"To be perfectly honest, I've fairly new into town, and hoping to pick up some work." He bent over, giving the seated man a respectful bow. "Name's Toshiro. Sakaba over at the Raiju's Burrow said there might be guard-work  round here?" He asked inquisitively as he unbent from the bow, eyeing the seated man. "I'll admit, I've knocked a few heads around now and again. Might do me good putting the experience to use doing honest work." Silvered and skilled, not a word of it could be called an outright lie. Though technically speaking, he'd more stabbed heads than he'd knocked them. But, no need to be quite that honest. The mustached man harrumphed, standing up from his desk with a clink and rattle of armor.

"Well, you're an honest sort at least, and Sakaba doesn't send louts towards good, honest work. Alright Toshiro, let's give you a shot. My name is Yojimbo, though the men call me Brigadier. You may do the same." He rattled around from behind the desk, motioning Gouka towards the armory. The disguised lad followed readily along. "Now, you got any experience fighting in armor? Sword practice and such?" Gouka answered readily as the large man, a good foot taller than him, sorted through the small armory. "I'm a fair hand with swords, though I've always felt more comfortable with shorter blades. Armor... Not really my thing." Gouka shrugged as the Brigadier turned to squint at him. "With my build, it does me more good to avoid the hits than try and tough them out."

The Brigadier snorted, but seemed to agree with Gouka's personally assessment. "Well, as long as you have some capacity with a blade, you can be outfitted with a lighter armor." He picked out a few things, turning to Gouka, who immediately held out his arms to catch the load dumped into them. What appeared to be a set of light armor, still uniform-like and similar to the armor he'd seen on the men outside, blue plates with the town insignia stamped on them- but at the same time, less numerous and thinner than what he'd seen on the mean outside, with larger stretches of tempered leather around the joints, and no helmet. He'd also bequeathed onto Gouka a wakizashi and a tanto, both shorter than a katana yet still longer than the daggers he was used to, but they would suffice. Gouka didn't plan to keep them anyway.

Gouka didn't need much encouragement to start fitting the armor on, the Brigadier watching with a practiced eye as Gouka fitted the pieces into place. Honestly, it was not far removed from equipping himself with his KYOBU armor, just with more, larger pieces. He fitted it on well enough, but the Brigadier waved him off as he began to attach the wakizashi and tanto. "We'll worry about that in a minute. First, let's make sure I'm not having you strip the armor right back off and going home." The bulky man lead the way out of the building, Gouka following along somewhat awkwardly in the armor. It wasn't terribly heavy however, he would just need getting used to the shape. Well, for a few days at least, if all went well.

Gouka followed the Brigadier out into the courtyard, where the guards who had previously been training eyed him curiously. Brigadier wasted no time, speaking in a loud, commanding voice. "Alrighty boys! Toshiro here fancies himself cut out for some honest guard work. Let's see if he's right." The men nodded, two of them stepping aside while the third remained, drawing up his kendo stick. Brigadier was quick to procure  one for Gouka as well, handing it to the young man. Gouka hefted the padded stick. Light weight, but long, and slow compared to his usual weapons. Combined with the fact he'd have to restrain himself, lest his ninja training showed, and he couldn't afford to take a solid blow, lest it dispel the transformation. 'A fair fight.' Gouka hefted the kendo stick, as his would-be-opponent did the same. 'I hate fair fights.'

Legend

Spoiler:

There was a moment of silence as Gouka and his opponent sized each other up. His opponent apparently decided he'd seen enough first, darting forward, his kendo-stick sweeping toward' Gouka's side. Gouka's swung his own staff, slapping it against the oncoming attack, stopping it in place. Before the man could react, Gouka twisted the wooden sword, entwining the two blades before, with a flick of his wrist, disarming the man. Before the shock could register in the man's face, Gouka swung the wooden sword again, the man flinching as the wooden sword stopped a mere inch from his face. Brigadier laughed.

'Huh. Not much more than an armed civilian.' Gouka thought, as the man sheepishly bowed to him before moving to retrieve his blade. After a few moments shuffling, he once again turned to a ready position, facing Gouka. When he struck, this time he struck from on high, lashing downwards towards the disguised shinobi. Gouka placed one hand against the back of the blade to support it as it raised it horizontally over his head, blocking the earthward strike, lashing out with his foot to boot the man in the gut. He keeled down, wheezing as he lost his grip on the kendo stick. Gouka promptly cracked the wooden sword over his head in a quick, sharp rap, eliciting a yelp as the man fell over, clutching his head.

Brigadier laughed again, twirling his mustache as he eyeballed Gouka. "So, you're more comfortable with short blades, are ya?" Gouka merely shrugged. "More comfortable, yes, but in my experience, a sword is just a really long knife." Brigadier chuckled again, shaking his head. "Well, in any case, that's proven more than enough for me. Report back here at 0800 sharp tonight, and we'll get you on the guard detail. You can keep what gear you've been granted so far. Dismissed." Gouka bowed his head, retrieving both the wakizashi and tanto, before heading back for the Raven's Rest.

Gouka returned to the Raven's Rest quickly enough, pausing only long enough to brief the patroness as to why he was wearing armor, before retiring to his room. He locked the door behind him. Already, the gears were turning in his mind as he dispelled the transformation, moving aside the bed to gather up his gear. If all went well with his plan, he'd be leaving back for the village before the dawn of the next day. All it would take was timing, diversion... And an extra set of hands. Gouka hesitated only a moment before performing the signature seals. "Kage Bunshin." A flare of chakra later, and his body-double had appeared. Without a word, Gouka handed him off the backpack full of gear, and the clone was out the window and off. It knew what to do.

Lacking little else to do, Gouka double-checked that the door was secured, and settled onto the bed to get what rest he could. He closed his eyes, and the nightmares began almost immediately.

That Night

Settling into his disguise once more, Gouka strapped into his pilfered armor, leaving the key to the room placed on the nightstand as he made his egress. He doubted he would have need for the room anymore; failure or success, he would be out of the town by the end of the night. Gouka made his way slowly along the streets, heading back to the guard-house. He ran over the plan in his head over and over. While the guards might have been little more than armed civilians, the defenses of the manor were still formidable, and it would be unprofessional to leave a trail of bodies. As Gouka palmed a smokebomb he'd kept from his gear, he pondered over what seemed the simplest course of action; diversion.

It wasn't long to the guard-house, and after the briefest of run-downs by Brigadier (Keep another duo of guards in sight at all times, rotate every fifteen minutes), they made their way to the manor. As Gouka left the barracks, he took careful note of an armor rack that had not been empty when he'd left the building last. Aside from the one his own armor had come from, it was the only empty rack in the armory. 'So far, so good.' The clone would likely be in position by now. All that was left was the bait-and-switch.

Making their way to the manor, the guards were quickly directed to their positions, relieving the day-shift who gratefully and happily made their way to the nearest bars, several conveniently located near to the manor. Location, location, location as they said. Gouka was paired up with a man who seemed too small for his armor, the pieces hanging loosely on his wiry frame with a thin, rat-like face and protruding brown eyes. He didn't speak to Gouka, simply giving him a nod, before staring off vacantly into the distance. For fifteen minutes Gouka and the man stood in silence, the man only shuffling out of his stupor at some internal clock, clanking towards the next guard position along the manor wall.

As Gouka followed the man along, keeping a wary eye out. 'Has to be.... Ah, there we go.' His clone had adopted the disguise of a simple drunk, covered in rags, his only identifying feature a vividly bright-red hat. He sat against the wall, completely ignored as being of no real significance by the guards. Underneath the disguise, the clone would be clad in the stolen armor. With the pieces in place, Gouka palmed a smoke bomb. Making as if to bend over, Gouka brought his hand up with the smoke-bomb revealed. "Oh hey, a ball." His companion gave him and the ball a glance, before resuming his bored survey as they marched along their path.

Gouka bounced the ball up in the air, catching it once, twice, and then quite intentionally letting it slip through his fingers to impact against the ground in an explosion of smoke. His companion cried out in alarm, and Gouka echoed the cry, if only to maintain the charade. Now he had to move quickly; the clone started upwards, one transformation dropping as it dipped into another, taking on the appearance of Gouka's own disguise. 'Let's hope I'm as fast as I think I am.' Pulsing chakra into his feet, Gouka rushed through the smoke, feet impacting to the wall and sticking as he darted up it, a barely visible blur. The smoke covered his path for the first half of the climb, and he covered the remaining distance and dove over the top in a dark blur. He skidded to a halt, chakra halting as he gripped the edge of the wall, dangling down in the darkness as he patiently waited.

There was a clamor as guards rushed to the scene on the other side, a babble of voices and queries rising. Gouka held his breath as the clone spoke up, elaborating on the 'found' smoke bomb. His companion piped up in agreeance with this, and after a few minutes shuffling, the voices faded back to their posts. Gouka breathed a sigh of relief. None had noticed the sudden lack of beggar lying by the wall, and the clone would maintain the charade for as long as necessary until Gouka finished his work.

He loosened his grip, dropping carefully to the ground in a tumbling roll to break his fall, darting up and glancing about. Between the wall and the mansion was a rather large, elaborately ornate garden, excepting on the path from the gate to the front door of the mansion. Numerous large, sculpted bushes in the shapes of dragons, horses, and numerous fanciful creatures, provided Gouka with ample hiding places to discard the armor in, dropping his illusory disguise as he darted through the shadows. Within moments, he had reached a darkened window and, with only a small pause to ascertain its security, uplifted the unlocked portal and ducked inside.

The darkness took but a moment for Gouka to adjust to, revealing a room of stark-white, draped furniture. He slowly creaked open the door, peering down either direction of the long hallway it lead to. Darkness enveloped it, and not a soul was to be seen, not even patrolling guards. Likely, they'd never suspect someone as being capable of getting over the wall, or past the numerous guards guarding it. Or else simple had them positioned to guard the most sensitive areas.

He made his way through the building, pausing every now and again to listen, creeping without a whisper of sound, ducking into nearby shadows at the slightest creak. Making his way up a set of stairs, he froze in place as he heard voices drifting down the hallway. "... With all due respect sire, I insist you allow me to station a few guards within the mansion proper itself. If anyone were to get inside-" A high, haughty voice broke out in laughter. "Brigadier, please! As high as the walls are and as well a guard you set on them, not even a mouse could get past! Besides," the voice sneered, "I couldn't stand having those common rabble inside my precious mansion. Getting their grubby hands all over my artifacts. You may go now." The voice spoke in clear dismissal, silencing further protest as a gruff voice gave sullen acknowledgement.

A door along the long, exposed hallway ripped open, revealing a displeased looking Brigadier, holding a lantern as he made his way towards the stairs. Not a single door or shadow stood near the stairs, the top floor seemingly being devoted to only one large room. He passed along the hall without incident, heading down the stairs grumbling. As the light drifted into the darkness, Gouka dropped down from the ceiling. 'They never think to look up.' He headed down the hall, careful and wary of more interruptions. He reached the door the Brigadier had exited from, carefully prying it open.

The room was large and... Opulent. Utterly opulent. The floor was covered in thick, plush red carpeting, with a ornate, gold-trimmed throne of massive proportions sitting in the middle of it. The walls were decorating with numerous lewd paintings, the floor littered with plinths containing numerous statues and urns; almost all of them depicting equally lewd acts. Behind the throne, an opulently large bed covered in cushions, on which an enormously obese man was tugging onto it an extremely reluctant looking red-head, crooning at her. "Come on, pretty thing, don't you want to be paid this month? A terrible shame for your ailing parents otherwise." Still the girl resisted, silent tears streaming down her face as she was dragged into the bed.

Gouka shuddered, eyes clenching shut against the scene as her weak cries intermixed with his gross, heaving breaths and creaking bed springs. He shut the door, quivering in rage. He had to control himself. Had to restrain himself. If he burst in their now and killed the target... Well, his orders made it clear he would have to kill the girl too. Pulsing chakra to his feet, he climbed the wall, hiding in the dark reaches of the ceiling, gritting his teeth and forcing himself to bare through it. It was the longest wait he'd ever experienced, sitting their in the dark, listening to the drifting cries and sweaty grunts. It felt like hours. It was probably closer to fifteen minutes.

After what seemed an eternity, the sounds stopped, except the crying. "Oh, be gone with you, useless little wench, if all you can do is cry." A moment of silence and padded footsteps followed before the girl exited the room, wrapped only in a sheet, closing the door behind her. A full body shiver ran along her, and Gouka could see the faint glimmer of tears by the light of the moon, piercing a window at the end of the hall. Clutching the sheets tightly to herself, she disappeared into the dark. Gouka remained still for many long moments before dropping down from the ceiling, facing the door. He quietly entered. The room was dark, the lanterns apparently snuffed out by the serving girl before she left. A loud, heavy snore drifted over from the bed. As Gouka made his way over, a cold, icy calm descended upon him, his daggers flicking into his hands.

It felt like seconds. It was probably closer to fifteen minutes.

Legend

Spoiler:

A window popped open on the side of the mansion, and poised expectantly for a brief moment was a shadow within the shadow, before a dark blur dropped down to the ground with a slightly damp-sounding thud. A quick glance around further confirmed a lack of any significant activity within the walled off enclosure, and the dark figure made its way rapidly towards a wall, all the same keeping to the shadows of the wide, expansive garden all the same. Once planted firmly against the wall, the figure dug into its pouch, quickly laying across the stone an assortment of tags.

Gouka nodded in satisfaction, backing off a safe distance to a shadowy corner, standing at a ready position as he made the seal. As soon as he chakra flared, he dashed off- for the precise opposite end of the compound from where he'd placed his tags. Mere seconds after the flare of chakra, the tags lit up in a fiery inferno, the loud explosion rocking the night as the stone wall cracked and shattered, a hole appearing in it. Shouts and cries of alarm immediately sprang up. By then, Gouka's speed had carried him a long way away from the hole, and had him scaling the wall on the far side. A quick peek over the side revealed a distinct lack of guards, freeing him to drop to the ground and dash across the open space unimpeded and unseen.

There was a slight hitch as he seemingly tripped over his own feet, tumbling and landing in a heap in a dark alley, retching violently. The clone, duty completed, had slipped away from the crowd, and promptly slit its own throat in order to rid itself. Gouka shivered violently, the phantom memory of the blade splitting his throat open enough to make him nearly sick-up again. He shuddered as he shakily took to his feet, once more dashing off. It wouldn't be long before they discovered the body. Best to be long gone by then, and to make his formal report.

[The Mansion]

Brigadier, a man so long known by his title it took more effort than he cared to admit to recall his actual name, huffed through the mansion, quickly making his way up the stairs, armor clanking. The Brigadier was an honorable man, but he was also a man of his principles; he loathed his master, but would sooner commit seppuku than fail to fulfill his oath to the land, even as despicable a man as the local lord was. And so, he'd made a beeline for his master's chambers. Even now, various other men were searching the ground and the confines of the mansion for the creator of the explosion. Several swarmed behind him as he headed for the bedchambers of the local lord, slamming the door open.

"My lord, are you alri-!" The Brigadier fell utterly silently as he mouthed wordlessly at the site the lantern light revealed. One of his man immediately began retching and vomiting onto the floor. Brigadier pat his back in a daze. "Who... Who would do such a thing..."

[Kumogakure no Sato, Three Days Later]

Raven looked up from the mission report, setting it down as he slowly leaned back in his chair. Of course, carrier pigeons from the local informant had outpaced the ninja easily, but nonetheless, there was protocol and decorum to maintain. Raven idly tapped his mask, fingers tracing the inscribed insignia of the Kumogakure KYOBU as he considered the ninja before him. Gouka stood at attention, his masked visage giving nothing away, save for the splatter of dried blood across the mask and front of his coat that he'd had yet to clean. The KYOBU Commander studiously observed him over steepled fingers. "... Well, according to the reports drifting in, the target is indeed dead." Gouka remained silent as the Commander droned on. "In fact, they've begun a mass man-hunt for a the murderer, due to the violence of the death." He flicked open a page of the report. "Supposedly, he was split open from navel to belly, his skull was clear on the opposite side of the room from the rest of his remains... And..." A gloved finger tapped down on a particular line of the report. "He had a, ah, particular part of himself, stuffed in his own mouth."

Gouka remained stonily silent as Raven continued to gaze at him, the Commander simply shaking his head. He would have to speak to Sparrow about nipping this particular problem in the bud, but rage aside, he could not fault the lad's performance. No witnesses, excellent diversionary tactics, near-perfect infiltration. And the kill itself, while exceedingly excessive, had at the very least further warded off suspicions. "Well, I can't say it wasn't a job well done, but try to be a little less... Excessive, next time, rookie. Dismissed."

[End Mission]