| Walking In Your Footsteps [closed to Genma and Hayate] | [Jan. 31st, 2009|08:59 pm] |
[ Mission Assignment: Takes place four days following Pay It Forward, three days following The Weight of the World ]
Genma and Hayate had arrived in Juunan with little trouble. There'd been decent traveling weather, decent roads, and no urgent need for more than the most cursory of notice-me-not jutsu while on the way. The rookie kid was, Genma decided, pretty much okay, although that incessant coughing was kind of annoying. He hoped it wasn't going to be a problem on the mission. Probably Hayate didn't get too many assignments where lying stealthily in wait was necessary.
The inn they decided to make their base of operations was, in a word, squalid. It had clearly once been a decent place--traditional even, with papered doors and tatami floors. It had just as clearly moved beyond that now, seeing more service with prostitutes and their tricks from the nearby pleasure quarter than from legitimate travelers. The bored desk clerk had given Genma and Hayate a brief glance, inquired if they wanted the room for an hour or the night, and demanded payment up front when Genma told him it was for the night.
It had in fact turned into a couple of nights. They'd had to scope out the offices of Juunan's city council member Oimikado Hanabi, where there were documents to be stolen and a murder to be staged. They'd had to figure out where guards were posted and what their routines were, and specifically where those documents might be located. And they'd had to tail and observe the habits of Oimikado's assistant Mitsugawa, the target of their assassination plot. Well, not their plot. Someone's plot. Someone who didn't want to get his or her hands dirty. That's what ANBU was for, after all. Doing other people's dirty work.
Now, two days into their stay, Genma felt like they had done all the casing it was profitable to do. The sun was slanting towards a pale orange set, and he and Hayate had just shared an early meal of some locally famous shrimp dish. Genma speared a bit of it out of a paper takeout container, leaned back against the headboard of the Vibrating Pleasures bed the inn had thoughtfully given them, and looked up at his companion. "So, I think we could maybe stage the hit tonight, if you're ready." |
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