Lurking on the Borders [Mission with Chikara]

Takeshi awoke in the later part of the morning, pushing himself out of bed with a yawn and some rubbing of the eyes. The open window in his room let in the chilled breeze from the outside world. Takeshi walked in front of the mirror, taking a quick look at himself before throwing on his clothes and armor. After making sure he looked tidy and presentable, he slipped his mask over his head. The masks resemblance to a hawk was something Takeshi particularly enjoyed, as hawks were one of his favorite animals. He respected and admired them, really. Their watchful, precise, cautious nature is something Takeshi could relate to.

Pleased with his appearance, Takeshi walked through his flat and left through the front door. As he stepped outside, he couldn't help but smile at the mild nip in the air. Takeshi never really did feel comfortable in the heat, so an onset of autumnal weather was always a very welcome thing to him. Enjoying the weather, he began walking toward the Mizukage's building. Today was his first official day on duty as a member of the Anbu Black Ops, the idea both pleased him and made him slightly nervous. He was no stranger to dangerous missions or the ideas behind this division, but they were elite soldiers, and he knew he had to carry this honor with grace and success.

His mind wandered absently until he came upon the building, walking in through the front entrance. As he entered the building, he heard the chatter of many different people. He saw the usual affairs that went on in these places, people accepting missions, some doing paperwork, some standing by idly, and some placing complaints or their own missions that needed shinobi assistance. Takeshi enjoyed this building, the structured format of everything and the calm environment were somewhat rare in his line of work. He approached the mission desk, run by an older man named Kazuya, and waited for his assignment. Kazuya was busy shuffling through some papers, and took a few moments to notice Takeshi. When he finally looked up, he jumped very slightly.

“Gah, you can't just do that to me, my heart can't take that these days. Okay, so, I'm just gonna guess that I'm speaking with Takeshi. I was told to give you this assignment specifically. So, here ya go, enjoy.” After handing the paper to Takeshi, he went back to muttering and shuffling through the mountain of papers on his desk. Takeshi looked at the paper in his hand and read,

“Takeshi, There has been an increase of suspicious activity throughout the forests of Kirigakure as well as within the districts of the village. While the local criminals are still under operation there has been sightings of non-residential cutthroats, brigands, marauders, and every other disciple of the darker occupations. Their movements however are unrelated to those that would be typical of criminals of this level, giving reason to believe that there could be a higher authority presiding over all of their actions. You are to investigate the reason behind these changes, and remove the looming threat to the village before it comes to fruition. The leader is to be apprehended, dead or alive. You are to take along the Genin, Chikara Shujaro. She is in training to become a member of the Anbu, and the mission experience will be good for her, and the leadership training could prove useful to you as well. Wait for her at the beginning of the forest.”

Takeshi finished reading and put the message in one of his leg holsters. He walked outside of the office, then began dashing towards his location, speeding across the rooftops until he reached the gate. He left through the gate, then found the closest entrance to the forest, which was luckily in eye-shot of the gate. He sat down cross-legged and waited for Chikara to arrive.

Takeshi's mind was in a forced blank whilst he sat underneath the branches of a rather large tree which lead to the beginnings of the forest. His meditation had been quite peaceful, and helped him melt away some of his stress he had acquired earlier this morning. However, his concentration was interrupted by the words,

“Shurajo reporting for duty, sir.” Takeshi then opened his eyes to find a rather small girl standing in front of him, wearing the mask of an Anbu, or in this case, an Anbu in training. His face twitched a little at being called 'sir'. It felt strange, nobody had ever called him sire, as far as he could remember. He wasn't entirely sure he enjoyed it.

Takeshi stood up and brushed himself off, then faced his trainee. He stood silent and motionless as he observed her, looking into her eyes for a few moments. Having gained the information he needed, he gave a small nod and motioned for her to follow. He quickly turned around and jumped into the tree's branches about 10 feet up. Without waiting to make sure he was followed, he sprung forward, dashing from branch to branch at high speed.

I almost feel bad being as hurried as I am, but we have little time to spare, and this could be a good way to gauge her abilities in a small way. Obviously I can expect much from this girl, since it is quite rare for someone to become an Anbu in training like this, especially at so young an age, Takeshi thought to himself, keeping his pace.

After what Takeshi gauged to be almost 15 minutes, he halted suddenly on a branch. He could feel the smallest trickle in his mind, signaling a source of chakra nearby that was not his own, nor Chikara's. Considering the time spent travelling, he estimated himself about a kilometer or two away from one of the higher traveled sections of the forest, which coincidentally had a peculiarly high rate of murders and muggings. If there were a place to start his investigation, this would be it.

Unsure of whether or not this chakra source was a friendly one, lead Takeshi to the decision to stand by and wait for his trainee to catch up to him.

Only moments passed before Chikara reached him, obviously curious to the reason for their stopping. Takeshi let his mind expand, reaching out to the surrounding area, hoping to pinpoint the location of this chakra source. His mind followed the line of chakra, eventually coming to an expanse of the forest where the trail was suddenly mixed with multiple chakra signatures. So he's obviously not alone, which complicates it a little. I would guess that there's at least 3 there, possibly 4. Takeshi thought to himself, assessing the situation.

He then turned to Chikara and said, "I've found a trail of chakra. The trail leads about 100 meters or so to the west, where it then mixes with other chakra. What I've gathered is that there's a group of 3 to 4 people, none of which are fighting. If there's somewhere to start looking to investigate, this would be it. I'm unsure if these are the people we're looking for, so we can't go in until we know for certain. We will approach stealthily, then watch and listen. You are to stay by my side unless stated otherwise. Should a fight break out, stand back unless I call for help. In the face of an ambush, run until I can finish it and regroup." Being the superior, he didn't wait for any acknowledgement, he simply began moving toward the target location.

Upon reaching the destination, he crouched forward. He climbed higher into the tree to gain a good vantage point and to remain unseen. He let a breath leave his body as he willed his chakra to hide itself, on the off-chance that this group had someone trained in sensing. He scanned the meadow far below his space up in the trees. To his annoyance, he saw 4 men sitting and talking. If we do need to fight, this could get slightly difficult. None of them immediately worry me, based on their chakra, but you never know what you might find with people like this. I'll just have to be careful.

Takeshi's mind wandered as he sat and watched the men.