Beating up Delinquets (IO)

Spoiler:

It was a cool night in Kirigakure, and Calis was standing on a rooftop awaiting his mission partner for the night. Dusk had ended not long ago and the stars could now be seen across the sky, absent the company of the moon. Or rather, it’s company simply couldn’t be seen. As the shadow of their world blocked it’s view from the eyes of those below. A gust of wind blew across the rooftops, blowing his shihakusho and his haori about in it’s presence. The sound of a garbage can lid falling unto the ground in its wake heralded the success of the jesters within the mischievous wind. ‘Or it could just be a fucking cat or something you overly dramatic moron’ He thought to himself as he stood tall, proud, almost regal in confidence. His attire boasted no weapons to speak of, but he did not need them, not when he fought as he did. The mission was simple. All he and his partner had to do was politely inform some delinquents that their attempts at ‘redecorating’ were not appreciated. ‘And if ‘politely’ segways into breaking bones and shattering organs, that’s not our fault now is it Calis? Go Team Ninja’ He would think dryly as he scanned the area.

Despite his sardonic thoughts, these hoodlums were indeed a problem. They were worrying the local populace of increased gang activity.  Such a thing was not to be tolerated within his home. As such he would handle such vermin with extreme prejudice. They were allowed to beat them an inch from death, or install the fear of god in them in order to get them to stop. Both were options Calis didn’t mind employing to protect his home. ‘I love military dictatorships, they’re just so...absolute’ He would think wryly as he continued to wait for his partner upon the rooftop.

[1]

Kitsuki leapt from rooftop to rooftop just the same as pretty much every ninja did to get to and from places. As she neared the rally point, she couldn't help but reflect on her own time as a juvenile delinquent. Kitsuki wasn't a bad kid she was just easily influenced at that age. She didn't know what she wanted out of life and part of her enjoyed being led about by her older sister. If that got them into trouble occasionally then so be it. However, all of that changed as she matured and got older. She learned that true strength didn't come from doing whatever you felt like and daring others to stop you. It came from uplifting others. She had bought hook, line, and sinker into the WASP School's philosophy of kunocihi that were paragons of skill and grace. She felt that that was who she was at the core of it all. Her earlier days of delinquency were just missteps and cries for help from a little girl that was just trying to find her place in the world.

Kit probably had more in common with these delinquent children than most. It was what drew her to this mission and encouraged her to take part in it. She could use this as an opportunity to set them on the right path just like Headmaster Sukimori did for her. Kit landed on the rooftop next to Calis and gave him a courteous nod and bow. The man was tall and very serious looking.

"Hi there Calis" She was able to put a name to the face. After all, a proper lady always remembered someone's name.

The arrival of his partner came as no surprise to the man, mainly because he was expecting her to begin with. She stood as she did earlier that day, which was no surprise since people don’t usually change their height in only a few hours. ‘Actually, in the shinobi world, I guess that isn’t true is it?’ He would think as he turned and nodded politely as her greeting. “Miss Kurahasa, a pleasure to see you again. I suppose you being here means we’ll be undertaking this mission together then?” ‘Duh, why else would she be standing on a rooftop next to you on a windy night in Kirigakure? A date? And I didn’t even dry clean my haori, oh the travesty.’ He would think to himself “Personally, I would prefer if we attempted to talk these delinquents into stopping without violence before resorting to it ourselves. It sets a bad example, what are your thoughts on it?” He would ask, his tone neutral as he began to consider how he’d handle any combat if it came up.

Did he want to utilize his magnet release here? They were both Kirigakure shinobi, but one never knew who they might be fighting. Besides, they were both genin and the Chuunin exams would be taking place at some point. The less any potential competition knew if his capabilities the better off he’d be. He’d limit himself, which he found mildly irritating. He didn’t have any kunai or shuriken on him. His new duties as a ‘delivery boy’ had left him with little time to purchase any before his mission kicked up. ‘How annoying, I’ll either have to use it discreetly, or stick to hand to hand combat and other ninjutsu’ He would think. It was the best option he had, besides, he wanted to try to surprise everyone in the exams. Even the Mizukage herself if he could manage it.

[2]

Kituski was taken aback by his decision to reference her by her first name. It was usually she who was overly formal and stiff in the prescence of others. She figured that because they were partners on the mission they'd be on a first name basis but apparently not. She nodded in response to his question and listened as he continued onward. She tried not to be distracted by the fact that he was so tall. Wow, he's really tall. . Kitsuki gave her thoughts on how they should handle the situation.

"I think that's the right idea honestly. I may not look like it but I used to be something of a delinquent myself. I think I can get through to them."

Kit said it but that didn't make it any easier to beleive. The girl was dressed similar to how she was before albeit with slightly different colors. Her pants were khaki this time, the suit jacket a dark navy, and her boots had a slight tan color to them. Everything looked expensive, refined, exquisite, and on point. A true gentle-lady if ever one such existed. Kit thought this man was a bit old to be a genin but she held her tongue on that subject. He appeared to want to take the lead on this mission and she was content to let him.

The man would nod his head at her words. He wouldn’t have expected her to have been any sort of delinquent when she was younger, but you never really know a person now did you? ‘Not like you knew her before a few hours ago you moron, you know her name, her NAME, which is a matter of public record for anyone with a second neuron firing off upstairs.’ He would think as he took a moment to let the quiet settle over them. The rooftops were the perfect rally point for a mission like this. Because the sounds always carried up to them, and so long as one was quiet enough, they could hear so much more than most, even without the preternatural senses of a trained shinobi. Sure enough, in the street on the other side of the buildings across from them, the sound of boots on pavement could be heard. The telltale sound of an aerosol can being shaken. “Sounds like we have our targets.” He would say before nod once and leaping over to the next building as quietly as he could, moving across it afterwards, his shihakusho and haori flowing in the wind before he stopped.

Looking down upon the group he could see four groups of two people each spread out at different buildings on the street. They youths were busily emptying the contents of spray cans upon the buildings around them. Judging by the pace, they fully intended to hit more than one street tonight. It was luckily, too soon after dark for them to have hit any others so he wasn’t worried about that. They’d only have to clean up one street, how nice. ‘I can scour it off in moments if I can convince Kitsuki to leave first.’ He would think to himself as he looked down at the delinquents. He’d give a moment of thought to how to handle this before looking toward Kitsuki, if she followed and spoke quietly, under his breath. “You’re better suited to talking to them. I’ve never done anything like this, I don’t know what they might be feeling. You do, that’s a weapon in this case, so please, ladies first.” He would say, giving her the lead, he had no issues with following the lead of a woman. ‘You better not, or your Mizukage would have the next delivery boy take bits and pieces of you to people around town as an ‘example’’ He would think.  

[3]

Kitsuki heard it too. The unmistakable sound of aerosol about to be applied to an innocent wall. If she wasn't as well-mannered and well-disciplined as she was she'd start chuckling. It was like old times except she was on the other side of the fence. She followed Calis over to the next building. He mentioned that she had experience in this sector so she was better off taking point on this. It was good that Calis had the sense to turn the reins over to someone else when his inexperience demanded it. This was proper gentlemanly behavior. Kitsuki nodded and thought for a moment before replying.

"Okay. I'm going to leap down in front of them. You should land behind them so that way they will be trapped between us."

Kit remembered that when the fuzz showed up your first and best option was always to run. The inexperienced "cops" would often try to approach from the front without cutting off various escape routes. The experienced ones rarely made that mistake which left her and her sister two bad choices: fight their way out or surrender. There was nothing worse than fighting a trapped street rat so Kit hoped she'd be able to get through to them. If Calis agreed to the plan then she'd start getting ready to put it into practice. She began forming hanseals in prepartion for the ambush.

Calis would nod his head in acceptance of her plan. Divide and conquer was a time tested strategy that worked in many situations. One of which being below them, she would drop down first to get their attention, and then he would drop down behind them to cut off escape. He even had a wind technique that would easily allow him to blow them back if they tried. So it would work flawlessly in his eyes.

He would wait patiently as she prepared hand seals, in preparation for something that would allow her to make an entrance he wagered. He had no such preparations to make, and so he would continue to wait until she moved. Once she would fall he would jump as well, aiming for the other side of delinquents from where she would be. With a little luck, she would land first and draw their attention, and then he would land on the other side of them, silent, and implacable. Then she would try to talk to them.

It was a simple plan, but it was the simple ones that had the higher chance of working. When one got too clever with their attempts to work out problems they always left too many openings for things to go very, very wrong.

[4]

Kitsuki finished the technique and then clapped her hands softly. She knew the exact jutsu that she wanted to use against these kids. It was a technique that had actually been used against her in her juvenile delinquent days. It was good for knocking people on their behinds which was precisely what Kitsuki sought to do. The WASP graduate then leap from the rooftop to the bottom of the street, landing on her feet just as a ninja would and releasing a palm of wind towards the kids. They'd all be knocked down by the gust and before them would be standing a short kunoichi wearing an immaculately tailored outfit. The group was a rag tag gaggle of boys. They were a bit shocked when they saw her and when Calis landed behind them they knew the jig was up. The leader of the group of boys had spiked hair and he was still clutching his spray can. Kitsuki eyed him warily and could tell from his demeanor that he was "in charge" so to speak.

"Alright that's enough guys. I know that you're bored. Trust me, I get it. There isn't much to do in this city if you aren't a ninja Bu-"

"Fuck off bitch!" screamed the leader as he hurled the spray can at Kitsuki. She turned to the side and allowed the can to whizz right past her. She gave him a nonchalant look and nodded in Calis's direction

"I'd prefer to do this the easy way, but he likes the hard way. Isn't that right?" she called out to him. Her intention was to do a good cop, bad Cop routine. Kitsuki wanted to talk to them but she could only manage that if they respected her. And if she could get Calis to rough them up a bit then that'd be demonstrating her power and control over the situation. She hoped Calis would pick up on her intentions and make some kind of threatening display so as to keep the boys on their heels and too scared to run or fight.



Wind Release: Gale Palm 347/200 LEARNED

Dropping down as she did was simply timed and the surprise on the kids faces was a memory Calis would cherish for the foreseeable future. The ‘leader’ some spiky haired punk with a spray can, would look toward both of them before turning toward Kitsuki as she spoke. The young man would cut her off halfway through and Calis’ eyes would narrow at such rudeness, especially the language. Calis would already be moving his hands together when his partner spoke next, her words drawing their attention to him as he placed his hands together in the sign of the monkey. Then, he would look up, aiming at a point 70 meters away from him in the air directly above them. Particularly above the leader. Then he’d spit out multiple pebble like bullets from his mouth which would turn into large boulders as they rose up into the air as far as they could go.

As they did he would look back toward the group and give a small shrug. “I’d move now.” He’d say simply, an edge to his tone as he remembered the rudeness they had shown someone that had done nothing wrong to them. At the end of their travel the boulders would stop completely for a second before the pull of gravity began to drag them back down toward the earth. They wouldn’t kill if they landed, but they would damn sure hurt like hell and when it came to enforcing rules, pain was a good detriment in Calis’ eyes.

Whether or not they moved fast enough would be up to them, and Calis would stare at them impassionately as they slowly realized the potential pain those boulders could cause them.

Kitsuki watched as Calis launched a jutsu into the air. He appeared so nonchalant and humdrum about it that you'd hardly think he had just done anything of significance. However, when he told them to move Kitsuki noticed the sharpness of his voice increased by a small degree. He was serious. The kids stared at him frightened and dumbfounded until the sound of whizzing projectiles compelled them to move. The leader ran first and his crew quickly followed. They through themselves against the other side of the alley wall just in time to avoid the destructive missiles. The ground was banged up and a series of cracks appeared as the objects came down. Kitsuki didn't express concern but internally she was a bit worried. If they kids hadn't moved Calis would have seriously hurt them. She had intended for him to scare them not actually injure them. Kitsuki decided she'd need to speak with him about that in the future, but for now, it was best to let them think he was a trigger happy cop.

Kitsuki said nothing as the bit of smoke and debris wafted from the spot the kids were standing. Even the leader was pressed up against the wall and afraid to move.

"Looks like I have your attention" she said in a leveled voice. The group nodded, the fear clear in their eyes.

God he must look like such an ass, but what none of them realized was that if they truly had waited too long he could’ve pushed them all of the way with his wind release jutsu. But he couldn’t tell them that without risking blowing the entire deal and making it so that they wouldn’t listen. One had to commit to an act if one was to perform it. So when everyone moved, he smiled internally, no need to intervene. His eyes would stay on them, dispassionate and cold. His black shihakusho and white haori contrasted well and together made him look like some kind of high ranking figure. Combined with the Kenseikan in his hair, a sign of nobility in some places, and he’d appear to think he was better than them. As if he wouldn’t mind crushing them like an insect underneath his boot.

It was of course, almost entirely an act.

Calis was indeed confident, but he was by no means regal. The disowned scion of a merchant family couldn’t afford to be ‘regal’. However if one acted the part, those who looked in tended to believe it. When it came down to it, he cared about everyone in his home. No, not his house, but in Kirigakure. Even thugs like this, who were simply misunderstood kids, probably lonely, and didn’t get enough attention. He cared for them all, from the youngest child to the oldest veteran. It was sad to see such promise wasted. However he couldn’t show that, for people like this. Those who either got no attention, or had no authority figure in their lives, needed two things. Someone who cared enough to talk to them, and someone who cared enough to give them an object lesson. Kitsuki was the one who would talk, but in order for her to play her part, he’d have to play the part of the one willing to hurt them to put them in line. He didn’t personally like such an act, but it was the best way to help them in his eyes.

Kitsuki’s words would echo across the way, the dust and racket of the impact of stone upon the earth now dispersed. The kids were all looking at her now, she had their full undivided attention. Good, now all he had to do was continue to stand here looking like an asshole. ‘That is the plus side of being ‘bad cop’ your job is usually done a lot quicker.’ He thought as he maintained his dispassionate expression.

Kitsuki walked towards the young men and stood directly int front of them. It was as if she were examinng a police lineup. The boys were pressed up against the wall, completely afraid and unable to move forward an inch. Calis had done his job extremely well and now it was her turn. Kitsuki took a deep breath and began to speak:

"I don't know where you come from. Maybe you're all rich and bored, maybe you're poor and don't have money to do anything else. I don't know why you're tagging this area....but I do know that I was a bit like you guys when I was younger. Always getting into trouble, always following bad examples. Doing whatever I felt like because I was naive enough to think that might makes right in the ninja world. As someone who has been where you guys are now, let me tell you. Nothing could be further from the truth. This world isn't about how much you can take and get away with, its about how much you can make and bring to others. You like art? Good. Draw. You like fighting? Good. Join a Dojo. You like stealing? Good. Become a shinobi. There are no evil skills, just evil people. I know you guys aren't bad, you're just mixed up and trying to find your place in the world. Trust me when I say that the strongest and most awesome people you'll ever come across are people who do what they do for others. To uplift them, to protect them, to heal them. I'm not going to arrest you guys for being a public nuisance. I think you're better than that. You don't need that on your record. I'm not going to put my hands on you or hurt you either because I think you're smart enough to learn from today. I think each of you has great potential but it will only blossom if you start thinking for yourselves and acting in service of others. You can do this boys, I know you can. Now get out of here and prove me right"

Kitsuki would gesture with her head at the last sentence. The boys would run off in another direction. They knew better than to question a get out of jail free card. Once they were gone and out of sight, Kitsuki would sigh and turn to Calis.

"Think they got the point?"

The taller of the two would continue to stand there, tall, brooding, and looking like he was willing to kill them all if they gave his partner any trouble. Her speech would take a few moments, nothing drastic, but eventually she would motion for them to be off and she would turn toward him and he would only be able to shrug at her question. “Perhaps, but it’s too difficult to say. Lord only knows how many similar speeches they’ve heard and ignored. Sometimes the hardest lessons have to be taught with a more firm hand. I would like to hope that they’ll take the opportunity to heart and turn over a new leaf. However one has to keep in mind that human nature tends to lead one down darker paths once one has started. I wouldn’t be surprised if someone has to drag them out of their mind sets kicking and screaming and show them how the world can be.” He would say, his words quiet, with all that much inflection to them.

He would turn toward the boulders he had made and raise an eyebrow at them. He would need to get rid of those, but he could do that after his partner left. He didn’t want her to see his magnet release capabilities if he could help it. “I hope you know that if they didn’t move I could’ve stopped those stones..” He would say, as a thought occurred to him. It was entirely possible that she thought he would willingly let those kids die for something as stupid as tagging up a wall or two. That was a notion he wasn’t particularly fond of. He wasn’t cruel or careless. He just believed in a firm hand when it came to such things. “On that note though, think that’ll do it or do you think we should patrol more? See if there are any more uh, would be artists? Out there tonight?” He would ask, his tone taking on a questioning tone as he chose his choice of words.

Calis didn't have an optimistic read on the situation. He correctly stated that children like them often needed to receive severe disciplinary action before turning from their ways. In a way, Kitsuki knew he was right. She had only become a proper lady after her parents had forced her and her sister to leave the Country and attend an ultra-strict reformatory which doubled as a finishing school. Having to leave her friends and home for 4 years was tough, but looking back she was glad that she went to the WASP School. Kit sighed knowing that to the best of her knowledge no such school existed for young men. It was a true shame.

Calis mentioned that if push came to shove, he could stopped the stones. Kit nodded. She had been meaning to talk to him about that. He didn't seem like a cruel man, but the cold indifference on his face was really scary. She decided to believe that he was telling the truth as the alternative was that her mission partner was a casual sociopath.

"No, I think that will do it for now. Thanks for your help Calis...your ninjutsu is impressive. I hope to have you by my side on a more serious mission someday."

She gave him a respectful bow and walked in the opposite direction. She thought the Kazehana to be polite and strict in his approach to things. She respected and admired those traits, but underneath it there was a coldness that frightened her. She tried not to judge him as she was aware that she could come off the same way sometimes too. Maybe as they worked together more frequently she'd see a different side of him.

Exit

Calis would nod his head in agreement with her decision to call it for the night. Even if that hadn't been the only group, they would probably spread word of what had occurred and the news that there were 'shinobi' about would prompt them all to scurry away. They wouldn't have much more luck finding taggers tonight after this group then. "Thank you Miss Kitsuki, I hope you have you as my mission partner in the future as well. Good luck to you." He would say, bowing in return before leaving in the other directions.

As he traveled home he discovered that even though he hadn't shown his strongest talents by far, his partner had shown even less than he had. 'Did I just get one upped at my own game?' He thought to himself as he traveled. Had she manipulated him into showing ninjutsu, anything at all, that she could use against him in the upcoming exams without showing anything she herself could do? The knowledge of one being able to use earth jutsu was useful information. Countermeasures could be made and learned to guard against them. He didn't think he'd have any issues dealing with his potential competition, but underestimating opponents rarely went in ones favor. He would have a lot to think about as he trained over the course of the next few weeks.

Exit