Phayne
[▬▬(ஜ۩۞۩ஜ)▬▬]
Team Yukari
Enkai Kaji
Mokunoha
Whispering Puppets - Dining Roomt
Remaining seated and in reserve, Enkai's eyes would subconciously begin to wander to the surrounding interior of the dining room; haphazardly looking for any signs of something amiss whilst still listening in on the exchange between Koyome and Mr Ouzen. It was evident that Enkai was the 'odd' one out among them, givenhis interest in this particular hobby and art form waned in comparison to the aforementioned duo. Unlike Koyome and their client; Mr Ouzen, Enkai didn't really have too much of an interest in the deeper intricacies of puppetry; weaponized or not. This fact confirmed as he affirmed his positive impression of the Koyome, though his following admission of Yue being the sole member of staff on the premise did pose some concern for Enkai. Naturally, it would point to Yue as being a prime suspect, given she had now been confirmed to be the sole other party living within the property; of course that didn't rule out a 3rd party presence.
Like many who didn't understand the time and effort required to excel at mastering puppets, Enkai's interest in them were largely aesthetic. Yes, they looked amazing and where highly effective in combat, but beyond that Enkai simply didn't have that deeper emotional attachment to them; not like those that sought to perfect the craft. This didn't mean he had no interest. He was simply another 'audience' member that admired from the outside; lacking the actual skill set needed for puppet mastery. Though, if Enkai was being honest, he still wasn't sold on the idea that 'everything' the man claimed to be a puppet, would actually qualify under the strict definition.
Any further thought towards this internal debate would be halted as the chorus of bells reverberated from down the hallway; Enkai's brows furrowing as he instinctively thought of Akari's little adventure; a casual side eye towards the corridor spared as he considered the implications of what this sudden chorus meant. Given their lack of a plan prior and Akari's decision to wander off, the sudden sound of bells could have indicated that Akari herself had gotten caught in some kind of trap. Though considering the surprised and tensed reaction of the missions benefactor, it was highly unlikely that he had prior knowledge to the bells being set up.
A small glance towards Yue would hint towards Enkai's present thoughts. Given how she was the only other 'known' person of interest thus far, it was possible that this former kunoichi had set up the alarm without Mr Ouzen's consent; further implicating her as a suspect. If her intentions were good, then there would have been no need to hide the fact from her Boss; thus if she were the reason for these bells then there was the possibility that Akari needed their aid.
Fidgeting slightly in his seat, Enkai glanced at Koyome and quickly took note of her lack of reaction. Given what he knew about her from their time in the same squad, Enkai trusted her mysterious perception skills to the fullest and given how there was no apparent reaction towards what could have been their teammate being in trouble, Enkai had to trust that the danger wasn't that serious yet. He couldn't count how many times her perception skills had come clutch during their previous missions. That being said, a niggling concern did teether itself to the back of Enkai's mind.
There was still the potential threat of Yue's presence . If she were the culprit, then anything they said or did right now may have worked against them. Despite her facial expressions remaining unchanged, her explanation that it was her clone doing some spring cleaning with bells hadn't convinced Enkai, rather it just made her seem even more suspicious. It was clearly not an 'everyday' thing, to clean with bells given how Ouzen had reacted.
Taking Koyome's lead to remain in the dining room, his attention would subtly be drawn back towards Mr Ouzen; though expectations as to what these 'fragments' were would unfortunately not meet with reality. Enkai almost had to force his facial muscles to remain as neutral as possible; the desire to look at the man with 'amazement' being almost unbearable. Though this isn't to say he was amazed at the fact gathering ability of the man, rather he was amazed at how silly some of these claims were.
Suppressing a sigh, the following revelations s would do little to support the idea of a 3rd party involvement, rather given how outlandish some of the 'fragments of evidence' turned out; it had instead pointed towards another plausible scenario. An exasperated sigh would escape Enkai's mouth, as he avoided eye contact with the man. Remaining silent so as to not cause a potential problem, Enkai couldn't deny that he was leaning more towards the idea that their client was simply a senile old man.
Lord knew Enkai had had enough of senile old men... the vast majority of his experiences with their kind being the old foggies that came to the Azure Dragon Store. While they were valued customers and regulars, there were a handful of them that had instead proven to be a unique training method towards developing 'patience'. Enkai could not count how many times he had almost lost his patience with these customers; old men coming into the store and forgetting what they needed. Old men hitting on his mom. Worse yet... in his youthful naivety, he had somehow ended up in a game of Shogi with one of them; the young man taking over his father's pieces as the man went to attend to urgent business.
While he enjoyed a game or two of Shogi, that single experience with Old Man Yamagushi had proven to be a traumatizing event for a younger Enkai. Not only was the man slow in deciding what piece to move...even forgetting that it was his turn on a few occasions, Old Man Yamagushi had even forgotten that he had already told Enkai the same story three times... THREE TIMES. ON THE SAME DAY. TWICE DURING THE SAME TURN.
Enkai had no interest in the love affair of Old Man Yamagushi's eldest daughter.... a promiscuous vixen if his descriptions and story telling were to be believed. In reality, she simply sounded more like a woman in her 40's that preyed on younger men. If this was somehow meant to be a warning to Enkai at the time, - a young bachelor hitting the double digit age club- then Old Man Yamagushi's daughter was really someone to be feared. God forbid his daughter visited the village.
Shivering at the moment of nostalgia and returning to the present; a furrowed brow had appeared across his forehead.
Three weeks of mysterious occurrences according to the mission brief, yet the only 'evidence' their client had that something was amiss were some missing apples and painkillers as well as parted grass and his puppet slightly out of position. 'hang on..' thought Enkai to himself as he ran these 'fragments' through his mind again; noticing the number three appearing several times. Three weeks, three missing apples and three painkillers missing. Though the significance of this could simply boil down to being nothing more than a coincidence.
Having gone on a wee little tangent of thought, Enkai had almost missed Koyome's conclusion to their interrogation; voicing their next plan of action to the client, before turning to him. "That sound's like a plan" replied Enkai, standing up and turning to glance at Mr Ouzen and Yue, before focusing his attention towards Mr Ouzen. Maintaining a 'professional on the job tone', Enkai would clear his throat once before speaking up.
"Ouzen-San, I hope you don't mind, but as part of our investigation into your case; I will be utilizing a steam based Jutsu within the property. Given your attachment to your vast collection of puppets, I must assure you that no damage will come to them" he paused and glanced slightly towards Yue. "The jutsu will simply help reveal any fingerprints or footprints that may be invisible to the naked eye. So if there really is a junkie stealing your pills, then it should display a pair of footprints that do not belong" he continued, lying intentionally to their clients. "While finding the culprit is our mission, I can assure you that we will take utmost care to ensure your property remains in-tact" he added, bowing slightly, before turning around to leave the dining room; though he did stop. "Of course, for this to work efficiently it would be best if both you and Mrs Yue as well as any clones remained in one room. Of course, this is on order to better protect your puppets," he intentionally put more emphasis on the word puppets "it would be best if we found the suspect as quickly as possible... and any additional new footprints or fingerprints could tamper with the results of my jutsu" Enkai paused, a whimsical thought fluttering through his head as he remembered the 'fragments' Ouzen had mentioned. "The faster we get this done... the safer your puppets, apples and medication" added Enkai, before turning and leaving the room.
Whilst this made up jutsu itself did sound useful, his steam based jutsu had no such ability. Rather, outside of being an effective smokescreen, he could detect anyone with a chakra nature that was caught within its gaseous body. If Yue was really a suspect, then she may attempt to hide any fingerprints or footprints in area's that they shouldn't be, in addition she may not suspect the sensory properties should she enter the smokescreen; thus giving Enkai info on her present movements.
"Koyome-San, just say the word and I will get my jutsu set up" spoke Enkai as they went in search for the missing Akari.
Ganryu
Spoiled Bread
AtlannianSpy
Like many who didn't understand the time and effort required to excel at mastering puppets, Enkai's interest in them were largely aesthetic. Yes, they looked amazing and where highly effective in combat, but beyond that Enkai simply didn't have that deeper emotional attachment to them; not like those that sought to perfect the craft. This didn't mean he had no interest. He was simply another 'audience' member that admired from the outside; lacking the actual skill set needed for puppet mastery. Though, if Enkai was being honest, he still wasn't sold on the idea that 'everything' the man claimed to be a puppet, would actually qualify under the strict definition.
Any further thought towards this internal debate would be halted as the chorus of bells reverberated from down the hallway; Enkai's brows furrowing as he instinctively thought of Akari's little adventure; a casual side eye towards the corridor spared as he considered the implications of what this sudden chorus meant. Given their lack of a plan prior and Akari's decision to wander off, the sudden sound of bells could have indicated that Akari herself had gotten caught in some kind of trap. Though considering the surprised and tensed reaction of the missions benefactor, it was highly unlikely that he had prior knowledge to the bells being set up.
A small glance towards Yue would hint towards Enkai's present thoughts. Given how she was the only other 'known' person of interest thus far, it was possible that this former kunoichi had set up the alarm without Mr Ouzen's consent; further implicating her as a suspect. If her intentions were good, then there would have been no need to hide the fact from her Boss; thus if she were the reason for these bells then there was the possibility that Akari needed their aid.
Fidgeting slightly in his seat, Enkai glanced at Koyome and quickly took note of her lack of reaction. Given what he knew about her from their time in the same squad, Enkai trusted her mysterious perception skills to the fullest and given how there was no apparent reaction towards what could have been their teammate being in trouble, Enkai had to trust that the danger wasn't that serious yet. He couldn't count how many times her perception skills had come clutch during their previous missions. That being said, a niggling concern did teether itself to the back of Enkai's mind.
There was still the potential threat of Yue's presence . If she were the culprit, then anything they said or did right now may have worked against them. Despite her facial expressions remaining unchanged, her explanation that it was her clone doing some spring cleaning with bells hadn't convinced Enkai, rather it just made her seem even more suspicious. It was clearly not an 'everyday' thing, to clean with bells given how Ouzen had reacted.
Taking Koyome's lead to remain in the dining room, his attention would subtly be drawn back towards Mr Ouzen; though expectations as to what these 'fragments' were would unfortunately not meet with reality. Enkai almost had to force his facial muscles to remain as neutral as possible; the desire to look at the man with 'amazement' being almost unbearable. Though this isn't to say he was amazed at the fact gathering ability of the man, rather he was amazed at how silly some of these claims were.
Suppressing a sigh, the following revelations s would do little to support the idea of a 3rd party involvement, rather given how outlandish some of the 'fragments of evidence' turned out; it had instead pointed towards another plausible scenario. An exasperated sigh would escape Enkai's mouth, as he avoided eye contact with the man. Remaining silent so as to not cause a potential problem, Enkai couldn't deny that he was leaning more towards the idea that their client was simply a senile old man.
Lord knew Enkai had had enough of senile old men... the vast majority of his experiences with their kind being the old foggies that came to the Azure Dragon Store. While they were valued customers and regulars, there were a handful of them that had instead proven to be a unique training method towards developing 'patience'. Enkai could not count how many times he had almost lost his patience with these customers; old men coming into the store and forgetting what they needed. Old men hitting on his mom. Worse yet... in his youthful naivety, he had somehow ended up in a game of Shogi with one of them; the young man taking over his father's pieces as the man went to attend to urgent business.
While he enjoyed a game or two of Shogi, that single experience with Old Man Yamagushi had proven to be a traumatizing event for a younger Enkai. Not only was the man slow in deciding what piece to move...even forgetting that it was his turn on a few occasions, Old Man Yamagushi had even forgotten that he had already told Enkai the same story three times... THREE TIMES. ON THE SAME DAY. TWICE DURING THE SAME TURN.
Enkai had no interest in the love affair of Old Man Yamagushi's eldest daughter.... a promiscuous vixen if his descriptions and story telling were to be believed. In reality, she simply sounded more like a woman in her 40's that preyed on younger men. If this was somehow meant to be a warning to Enkai at the time, - a young bachelor hitting the double digit age club- then Old Man Yamagushi's daughter was really someone to be feared. God forbid his daughter visited the village.
Shivering at the moment of nostalgia and returning to the present; a furrowed brow had appeared across his forehead.
Three weeks of mysterious occurrences according to the mission brief, yet the only 'evidence' their client had that something was amiss were some missing apples and painkillers as well as parted grass and his puppet slightly out of position. 'hang on..' thought Enkai to himself as he ran these 'fragments' through his mind again; noticing the number three appearing several times. Three weeks, three missing apples and three painkillers missing. Though the significance of this could simply boil down to being nothing more than a coincidence.
Having gone on a wee little tangent of thought, Enkai had almost missed Koyome's conclusion to their interrogation; voicing their next plan of action to the client, before turning to him. "That sound's like a plan" replied Enkai, standing up and turning to glance at Mr Ouzen and Yue, before focusing his attention towards Mr Ouzen. Maintaining a 'professional on the job tone', Enkai would clear his throat once before speaking up.
"Ouzen-San, I hope you don't mind, but as part of our investigation into your case; I will be utilizing a steam based Jutsu within the property. Given your attachment to your vast collection of puppets, I must assure you that no damage will come to them" he paused and glanced slightly towards Yue. "The jutsu will simply help reveal any fingerprints or footprints that may be invisible to the naked eye. So if there really is a junkie stealing your pills, then it should display a pair of footprints that do not belong" he continued, lying intentionally to their clients. "While finding the culprit is our mission, I can assure you that we will take utmost care to ensure your property remains in-tact" he added, bowing slightly, before turning around to leave the dining room; though he did stop. "Of course, for this to work efficiently it would be best if both you and Mrs Yue as well as any clones remained in one room. Of course, this is on order to better protect your puppets," he intentionally put more emphasis on the word puppets "it would be best if we found the suspect as quickly as possible... and any additional new footprints or fingerprints could tamper with the results of my jutsu" Enkai paused, a whimsical thought fluttering through his head as he remembered the 'fragments' Ouzen had mentioned. "The faster we get this done... the safer your puppets, apples and medication" added Enkai, before turning and leaving the room.
Whilst this made up jutsu itself did sound useful, his steam based jutsu had no such ability. Rather, outside of being an effective smokescreen, he could detect anyone with a chakra nature that was caught within its gaseous body. If Yue was really a suspect, then she may attempt to hide any fingerprints or footprints in area's that they shouldn't be, in addition she may not suspect the sensory properties should she enter the smokescreen; thus giving Enkai info on her present movements.
"Koyome-San, just say the word and I will get my jutsu set up" spoke Enkai as they went in search for the missing Akari.
Ganryu
Spoiled Bread
AtlannianSpy
Code by Serobliss
