Spoiler:

Junichi was rather pleased to have his second mission outside of the village and into the Fire Country. Suffering from acute wanderlust ever since birth, he had never had the opportunity to venture outside of the village unless he was accomponied by his family and even then, they never went to any inns or hotels. "Mm.. Shukuba Town." he spoke to himself, hands in his pocket. The man who requested this mission promised to meet him near the Dango Shop, right near the very entrance of Shukuba Town. Leaning against the shop, he propped his back foot against the wall and pressed against it, waiting until he saw someone who fit the description. Remembering what the Hokage's Secretary told him when she handed him the mission, the person who requested the mission was an old man who wanted the answer to his burning question of desire. Normally, they would have denied such a mission, but given the fact that the man was so old... no one could say no to him. His thoughts were interrupted when an older man (thought not as old as Junichi envisioned) approached him, dressed in a hakama.

"Ah, I see the headband... you must be the Genin I hired.." grumbled the man. Junichi nodded and the man beckoned for him to follow him into the Dango Shop, the two of them sliding to the table perched against the very back of the room. He winked at the owner and without warning, the owner closed off the inside of the shop, leaving only the table and the stools out front to be occupied. "He must not want to be overheard.." deducted the youth, adjusting his glasses as he waited. A petite waitress walked by, winking at Junichi which surprisingly made his heart flutter, his face becoming rosy. "Oi, one mitarashi dango for me - what do you want, boy?" asked the man, glancing to Jun. Jun halted in his speech, shaking his head, but the man continued to pressure him by adding, "Don't worry, don't worry, it's a treat from me!"

"One Hanami Dango, then." he said, bowing his head out of respect to the waitress. She nodded and bustled back to the kitchen, ready to prepare their orders. A pregnant pause ensued, with the old man soon breaking it.

"Alright, let me explain it to you. The daughter of the man who conned me is famous for playing card games all night long and she's currently residing here in Shukuba Town, after she swindled a bunch of suckers in Kirigakure - so she'll want to spend all the money she earned. I don't know what she looks like, but I'm sure she won't be hard to miss as she's one cocky broad." said the man, his tone hushed and low, moving his face closer to Junichi's. Jun gave a curt nod and the man began again by saying, "She's a ninja too as well as a damned good herbalist and very talented at using a sword. She'll probably try to drug you if she feels something suspicious, so take this."

He pulled out a white pill from the inner pocket of his hakama coat and dropped it into Junichi's hand. Before he got a moment to question, the waitress returned with their cups of green tea and dango on a plate. Taking the pill and swallowing it down with a warm gulp of green tea, the old man continued his rant. "She uses a form of botulism to suppress someone's chakra circulatory system and cause them to feel weak; which explains how she manages to overpower countless of shinobi without putting in much effort. I had a friend give me one of the many antidotes they keep around the hospital here."

"I understand. I'll come up with a way of finding her and questioning her without revealing who I am." said Junichi, breaking his silence as he nibbled into his dango. The old man's wrinkled face broke into a smile, baring his crooked and yellowing teeth. "'Atta boy! When everything is all done, come back here and ask for Kirino - he's my brother and he owns this joint." said the man, patting Junichi roughly on his shoulder. Bowing in respect, Junichi took the rest of his dango, took a large swig of green tea, and exited the shop.

"Damn. How am I supposed to do this?" he mused, wandering through Shukuba Town.

After spending a long night of thinking in an inn, Junichi awoke at around 7 AM. Getting dressed quickly, he picked up the piece of paper that he was writing on last night. He had finally concocted his plan. "Lets see..." he thought to himself, re-reading his words on the paper. His blue eyes scanning each word on the line, he tucked the folded paper inside his pants pocket, locked his inn room, and exited out the inn. It was early morning, yet many people were wandering about Shukuba Town. It was a Friday; the perfect day. The business men were leaving to go to work and would flock back into Shukuba Town in the night, as that's when the hounds came out to play - including the woman he was looking for. Scanning the people that walked by, he was looking for someone in particular... someone who stood out. Tongue flickering over his bottom lip, he watched as many people walked by, some clutching large suitcases. One man in particular caught his interest, as he didn't follow a straight path, going through an alley. Taking it as an opportunity, Junichi quickly ran around the building, arriving in the alley before the man did. Hearing footsteps, he laid on the ground, clutching his ankle. "Oji-san, please help me! I think I twisted my ankle.." groaned Junichi and the man quickly dropped his suitcase, running over to Junichi and extended his hand towards him.

"Sorry about this." said Jun and before the man could say anything, he lifted his leg and performed a simple roundhouse kick aimed at the man's right side of his face. The man stumbled and his head hit the wall, succesfully knocking him out. Lifting him up and hiding him alongside a group of trash cans, Junichi quickly opened his suitcase, tossing all of his items into the trash can. Although he felt guilty for what he had to do, he wouldn't fail a mission solely because of feeling remorseful. Opening his backpack that he took on the mission, he dumped a series of counterfeit bills into the suitcase; approximately one hundred yen. The bills were from a popular board game and upon first glance, seem very realistic. Only when one picks them up do they feel fake; but he wouldn't let someone get an opportunity to do that.

Glancing at the man, Junichi realized he made the proper choice. The man as extremely handsome - the perfect person to attempt to convince a pretty girl to spill her secrets. "Henge no Jutsu!" he said, transforming into the man; a perfect clone of him. Picking up the suitcase, Junichi exited the alley and walked in the opposite direction of the man. He had approximately another fifteen hours before the antidote wears off... more than enough time, as according to the old man. He would do a stake-out: wait for people to flood into the bar and attempt to discern the woman from the crowd, get her alone, and then ask her questions.

"Hopefully, this won't be too difficult.."

Spoiler:

CP: 49/50

Dusk came rather swiftly, which he definitely appreciated. Although his henge required a picayune amount of chakra to supplement and maintain it, he was tired of being transformed as someone who was a lot taller than him and who was simply not him. The man had charming looks, with deep hazel eyes that were like jewels embedded within his sockets. An intoxicating scent of cologne that Junichi managed to pick up seemed to attract many women, because a few coquettish girls winked at him and flirted with him as they passed by. The man wore a casual hakama along with a pair of loose pants and geta sandals - not to mention the suitcase in his hand immediately suggested that he was doing business; preparing to make (or lose) some money tonight. As if on cue, plenty of businessmen still dressed in their suits began to enter the bar, their neck ties having been loosened up. They all flocked in together and Junichi felt it would be a good time to enter as well, to blend in with the crowd. He was swept up in the current of moving men and women and entered inside the bar and immediately, his eyes were wide.

It was no ordinary bar. Although Junichi had never been to one, he figured there were counter tops where one could order beer at, small tables, and perhaps a table to play a game of cards or shogi. This bar, on the other hand, was essentially a large casino with slot machines scattered about, perky waitresses (and some prostitutes) to cater to the inebriated men, and large tables that clearly were meant for playing cards. He had hit the jackpot in his location - the woman had to be here or would be arriving soon... he could feel it. Inwardly, he was nervous. He was taking a lot of risks and only if he played his cards right would he not have to worry about being caught or a screw up. Alas, there was a lot on the table for him to gamble, but failure was not an option for Suzuki Junichi. Clutching his suitcase tight, he sat in a chair across from the large card playing table that was situated near the back door.

"Well, hello boys~" came a decadent voice that dripped in saccharine near the door. He whipped his head around and glanced at the figure.


A woman with long, dark pink hair entered into the bar. Her outfit was somewhat revealing, a long kimono that had been torn and mutilated. Its bodice was tighter than normal with the obi a deep pink color, coordinating with her hair. Pink markings covered part of her forehead and a small part underneath her eye. The top of her outfit barely clung to her rounded shoulders, exposing an adequate amount of cleavage from her supple breasts, and the slit in the outfit exposed her toned, porcelain thighs. She wore black high heels and while one hand clutched the pipe that she slipped between her fingers, the other hand stroked the hilt of her katana at her hip.

"This has to be her." he mused and snapped back to reality, seeing the woman walk right to the large table, sitting rather comfortably on the pillow, removing her heels. And as soon as she entered, the games unfolded and people crowded around the table, watching them deal out hanafuda cards. They were going to play Koi-Koi and although children could play the game, when adults played for large bets, games could last over two hours long. As hours passed, Junichi watched the woman constantly end up with countless folds, keeping track of how many times she won - a current record of twenty with zero losses. Just as he was growing tired of watching, the woman let out a loud, "Yes!" and placed out the cards in front of her. The oya - the person who deals the cards in the game - blinked, having just passed out the cards.

He squinted and noticed her cards: they were all the same suit. That was teshi, earning her six points to win the game because being dealt that fold meant an instant win. The woman grabbed the pile of money and moved it towards her and grumbling, everyone at the table got up and left. That's when she noticed him.

"Oi. You've been sitting there the entire time - don't want to play, boy?" she said. He got up and moved over to her table, suitcase in hand, sitting across from her.

"I'm not interested in playing. I am interested in making a deal with you, though." said Junichi, making sure to lower and deepen his voice to match his appearance. The woman raised an eyebrow and then grinned, taking a large swig of beer. "At least introduce yourself! I am the great Suzume of the Cards, daughter of the great Yamishiro." she said. "So she is who I'm looking for..." he thought quickly to himself. "Edogawa Hashi." he said, running fingers through his long, dark brown hair. "Hashi... like Hashibomi - your eyes and hair are a nice shade of brown."

The two of them began to converse in a bit of chit chat and Junichi had ordered a cup of green tea, casually taking a swig of it as he talked. Placing the suitcase upon the table, he opened it up wide, displaying the large amount of money briefly, before closing it once more to not attract attention. "I'm interested in doing business with you; the two of us open up our own casino. You would attract all the business and customers and I'd be your humble adviser." he said, his words eloquent and precise, playing to her high self-esteem. She grinned and raised up, slipping her shoes back on. "Lets go to my inn room and talk; it's more private there." said Suzume and Junichi nodded, following behind her, suitcase in hand.

The two of them entered her inn room, which was littered with beer cans and Hanafuda cards. "Pardon the mess~" she said, slumping onto the floor and crawling under the kotatsu. Junichi joined her, placing the suitcase nearby. The two of them were somewhat quiet for a bit, idly sipping their respective drinks until Suzume broke the silence. "You know, your plan sounds like a really good idea. I'll do it - we can make the casino together." she said, her speech slightly slurred given the large amount of beer and sake she had drowned herself in during the last few hours. "Good.. she's drunk. Now to coax the info out of her." thought Junichi, wanting to quickly get this mission over with; it had prolonged for far too long.

"You know, you're pretty skilled - you won all of those games. Mind giving me some tips? I'm a newbie, myself." he said, attempting to flatter her. It worked, for she giggled drunkenly and winked at him. "You seem like y-you can *hic* keep a s-s-secret so I'll tell ya'!" she said, her speech being interrupted by a plethora of hiccups. "I cheat; my c-clan has a hidden jutsu that allows us to change t-the o-o-odds; t-those suckers n-n-never notice..!! Hahahaha!" she roared, exploding into a fit of laughs. Before Junichi was going to urge her on in her speech, she continued on her drunken ramble. "L-learned it from m-m-my otou-san b-before he c-croaked over *hic*!"

"That's how she did it..." Junichi thought. Rising to his feet, he did't give her a chance to respond and he immediately dispelled the henge, transforming back into his ten-year-old self.

"W-w-who the 'ell a-are you?!" roared Suzume, drunkenly attempting to rise to her feet and reach for her sword. Not giving her a second to do anything rash, he quickly performed a plethora of one handed seals. "Sumi Suihon!" shouted the shinobi, expelling black bubbles from his mouth towards her. The bubbles quickly exploded into a sticky sea of ink, causing the woman to get stuck in the puddle.

"Thanks for the good time. The money is fake, by the way." he said and quickly left the inn, making his way back to the dango shop. Sweat pouring profusely down his brow, he entered the shop and asked for Kirino. He explained to him how Suzume (and alas, her father) managed to cheat the old man and Kirino promised to let the old man know. With his mission complete, the exhausted Junichi made his way back to Konohagakure, sincerely glad that the escapade was over. It seemed he had played his cards right after all. He walked in the dark night, leaving the inn town and promising not to return back for a while, because he knew that eventually someone would recognize him - whether it was the man he knocked out or Suzume herself who wanted to get back at him for tricking her. Junichi made a mental note not to pick such dangerous missions anymore; although it was only C-ranked, with the amount of lying and deception he put into it, it felt like a more difficult mission than he originally perceived it to be. Regardless, he would be glad as soon as he made it back into his bed at home. Arms extended behind his back, he focused his chakra to his feet and increased his speed as he traveled across the necessary bridges to get back home. The night air was cool and crisp, refreshing after being inside the warm, stuffy bar for countless hours on end.

"I sure hope the guy I knocked out is okay.." thought Junichi, feeling rather guilty for what he had done, but knowing it was a necessary sacrifice.

Spoiler:

[exit]
CP: 44/50