Pitside Shanty

Spoiler:

Konami would lead Yuki to yet another mission after they would complete the one near the Totsuka Mines. This one was a bit more relevant to her day to day. The Toko family was a "friend" of the Kereko Clan. They had done the clan a few favors here and there and thus had established a working relationship. Unfortunatley a horrible tragedy befell them and now their fortune was at risk due to some degenerate gambler of a son. Konami had spoken with Tori on what Hishi looked like and so she would lead her ward to the scum of hive and villainy known as Pitside Shanty. Pitside Shanty was a crappy town that was near one of the major fighting Pits. It was said that the second Mizukage had fought there at one time and had become quite legendary. Konami had no desire to fight in the pits although she was aware the Kereko derived a substantial amount of its business from the activity.

Konami walked through the entrance and then turned to face Yuki.

"Our mission is to find a young man named Hishi. A degenerate gambler that has made off with the family fortune and threatens to gamble it away. We must arrest the thief and secure the money. We have a basic description of Hishi and knowledge of some of his habits. What's our first move Yuki?"

Konami already knew where to look first but she was curious to see if Yuki Yuki could figure it out on her own.

Yuki scowled. She had spent some time with the Toko family in her youth. She knew the elder clan head very well and thought of him as a grandfather. She was very upset when he had died. She knew the clan heir Tori and his brother Hishi well. Hishi was always a bad egg. Lazy, good for nothing gambler, and now he had done this. Yuki was upset. However, she could easily use her knowledge to find the sonnovabitch.

"I know Hishi, Sensei." She replied quietly. She looked on with disdain at the ugly shanty town. She had never been to such a place, but here she was. She knew exactly how to get started. Yuki began to walk into town, looking for a seedy bar. The first thing Hishi likely did with his ill gains was get drunk. He was a cowardly sort who likely lacked the courage to pawn off his family goods right away. He would use his own cash to get drunk first for the courage to do this fell deed. However, the girl was lost.

The young woman looked left and right, nearly flinching back at the greedy stares she got from some men. She needed directions to the nearest bar, but didn't know who to ask. She could easily defend herself from scum like this, but she didn't want to have to. Still, ninjas did what they must. Yuki walked up to a man with a grease stained shirt and pants that were turning yellow and smelly. "Sir, where is a bar?" She asked. He looked her up and down, taking in her exotic hair, bountiful chest and wide hips past a flat stomach.

"I'll show you if you suck my cock, wench," He replied in a conversational tone, as if he had commented on the weather. Yuki reeled back in shock, stumbling back slightly and promptly tripped. She landed on her butt, her eyes wide at the man;s rude behavior. Pit stained teeth leered at her as he took her position for consent. He began to reach for his pants when the girl swiftly drew out a kunai and tossed it into his left eye. It stuck in there, hitting his brain, but not going much further. Panicking and gasping for breath as she nearly had an episode right then and there, she shuddered once and then calmed down.

The girl then, blank faced, retrieved her kunai, cleaned it on the dirt next to the man which was cleaner than his shirt, then left. She refused to speak or look at anyone else, even her sensei as she looked at store signs until she found a bar. It was named 'The Rotten Clam'. She got ready to enter it.

"Hm?" Konami asked when Yuki said she knew Hishi. It made perfect sense as the Toko Clan was prominent and each of the shinobi clans probably made a point to have contacts with them. Yet Yuki had seemed so timid and shy that she doubted the girl would have had prolonged interaction with him. When Yuki walked forward with the same degree of bold determination from before she found herself liking the girl. This was quickly tempered by Yuki wandering around like a lost child clearly lacking any sense of direction. She drew attention to them by asking for directions to a bar that by the looks of her she had no business being in. If Hishi was connected to the underworld he'd know they were coming in advance given the obvious and brazenly touristy entrance they'd be making. Konami said nothing but made a straight face as Yuki asked a man for direction, received a lewd comment and fell on her ass. Konami would have smacked her and sent her back to Kiri before killing the man herself but Yuki proved her usefulness by killing him on the spot with a kunai to the brain. Konami sighed and followed Yuki as they walked to a bar called the Rotten Clam. Yuki was clearly disturbed at having so casually murdered a man but Konami figured the girl would either get over it or have a breakdown. They were lucky no one had really recognized her.

Unlike the miners who were plugged into village affairs out of necessity (politics and all that), the lumpen-proletariat that infested the pits were shockingly ignorant people. They barely knew who the local feudal lord was let alone the latest political developments in Kirigakure. When the entered into The Rotten Clam a typical scene greeted them. A sea of patrons cursing, yelling, and drinking. There were several tables with card games going, a bar with people slamming drinks and conversing noisily, and a bookie who was taking bets in the far corner. Konami scanned the bar for their man and as she did she said to Yuki.

"Tighten up princess, this is no time to lose your head. You did what you had to do. Bury it in your mind and move on before you get hurt"

In the bar there were gambling tables, the actual bar itself, a dart board, people fighting, singing, and everything possible. A relative introvert these days, Yuki was almost overwhelmed. Then her teacher whispered in her ear. Yuki calmed down and got serious. First, she went up to the bar. Taking a seat, she slipped some small coins to the bartender. "Something watered down." She whispered. She didn't give any more information than she felt she needed to give. He gave her a weird look, but obliged. She received a big mug of beer. It was an ugly yellow and she took a sip. Because of the water in it, she didn't feel the need to gag as much. Now she fit in a little better. She pretended to adopt a little swagger, making her look a bit drunk as she wandered the bar.

Eventually, she let herself settle at a card table. Blackjack. She paid a little money, and got dealt in. Several hands passed. She sipped on her beer playing silently. She made sure she lost several games, always breaking even, if not a little under. She got them used to her presense. She wasn't the only female there anyway, luckily. SO they played cards, and as people cursed their luck and chatted a little at this table, eventually, she said, "I'd be better at this if this asshole didn't rip me off." She waited a few seconds for someone to engage her, which they did.

"Yeah? You too? What asshole would rip off a pretty thing like you, eh?" He was a little sleazy, but Yuki was in the zone.

"Hishi's his name. Some weasel." She then gave a basic description. No one had seen him. She played a few more hands, before eventually folding, having carefully actually lost no money. It seemed perfectly natural. She returned to her sensei and shook her head. Hishi hadn't been to this bar.

She left, hopefully with Konami following her. They tried three more bars before her tactic struck dirt at 'Pink Pearl' a bar next to a whore house. She did her card trick, and someone knew Hishi! "Yeah the bastard was nervous when he came in. Drank a lot and bragged he was old money. He was a fool. He went to the brothel next door."

Well, now she knew her next step. She exited with Konami. "He went to the brothel, sempai." she sighed, looking at the older woman.

Konami approached the bar with Yuki and stared down the bartender who was too intimidated by her height and appearance to even ask what she wanted to drink. If anyone asked she would just say she was Yuki's bodyguard which of course in a sense was completely true. When Yuki took a sip and started to swagger like a drunkard, she grabbed the girl's shoulder and squeezed roughly. "Tone it down" she murmured. Hopefully Yuki wouldn't act stupid for the rest of their mission. It seemed like every time the girl was on the verge of earning the Mizukage's respect she went and did something that embarrassed them both. She would need to review the girl's file to see if there was any mention of autism or delayed social development. Yuki did have a neat idea on the subject of gathering information. The girl played a few hands of poker at several different establishments before they picked up on a lead. Apparently he was in a brothel next to the Pink Pearl. Konami looked down at Yuki and spoke:

"That wasn't bad. Outside of your hilariously transparent attempt to blend in with the scum of this town, you did a good job. Just know that the only reason they humored your presence was because you were pretty, adorable, and a surprising skilled gambler" Konami had read the situation like a book but did not interfere with Yuki's methods as they did not take them completely off base. They walked in front of the brothel before before they went in she asked Yuki.

"Don't show any fear or discomfort in there. If you look like you don't belong there, word will spread quickly and it will draw undue attention to us faster than it normally would"

With that Konami entered the brothel and placed her hands on her hips. The place was well-ran judging from both the exterior and interior. Konami had managed a brothel before or rather she had helped her sister manage one. This brothel had several long poles with strippers dancing on them, an area where whores mingled with guests and negotiated prices, and an upstairs where all the action took place. Konami was extremely disciplined and so she gave no indication that she was turned on. The brothel was hot and bathed in a red glow to create a titillating experience. Konami felt a small nose extend from out of her back and discreetly press against her jumpsuit.

"I smell cunt...Is my dear sister trying to get laid?"
"Not the time or the place"

The nose receded as did the voice. Konami decided she would let Yuki continue leading the investigation and so she stood there as people looked at her fearfully assuming she was an authority. A few people recognized her and at least one Land of Water politician scurried out of his seat and made his way towards the back exit. This illicited a chuckle from Konami.

Oh. She breathed softly, taking in the rebuke for what it actually was- a learning experience. She didn't know she stood out, this was her first time ever trying anything like this. She would learn, and move on. The Yuki Yuki of the Yuki Clan had to be perfect.And she, particularly, had to be even more perfect. Her other half had perished, so she had to be the strength and the brains. So she would do better next time.

They entered the brothel, and she completely missed the nose come out. This time, she read the mood better. They were afraid of her sensei. And she did understand why- the woman was huge. Yuki found her fascinating. Looking up at someone made her feel safe. So, she knew how to play this one. She slipped forward and offered her arm to the matron watching them. Yuki knew a little about brothels because of her mother's fascination with proper geisha. Yuki didn't care as much, but she studied what her mother told her to do before dying in a blaze of glory protecting her home.

She took the matron to the side and gently explained, "Madam, I'm sorry to intrude, but I'm here on behalf of Kirigakure no Sato. We're searching for a criminal named Hishi, and any information leading to his arrest would be appreciated by your country. Perhaps word would spread about how helpful you are, and tax season might be further away. All I need is where he stays," this was whispered so only the matron and Konami would likely hear. Of course, she never actually promised anything, but implied many good things to come. She didn't like to talk, but had always been good with words. Yuki was a natural manipulator.

Konami opened her mouth to stop Yuki from blowing their cover and explaining why they were there but she stopped when the strategy was fully made apparent. It was a bold strategy and one that could potentially get them in trouble. Not in a physical sense, Konami doubted anyone there would be dumb enough to attack someone as imposing as her. But the flow of information which had been steadily dripping since they arrived would clam up. Hishi would get wind of what they were doing there and it would only be a matter of time before he slipped from their fingers. Luckily the matron's greed coupled with the fact that she recognized Konami to be someone of importance caused her to be much more pliable than one would expect.

"Anything for my friends in the Mist Village! He was on the third floor. VIP suite. He wanted the Twins, our most premium courtesans! I bet h-"

"The what?!" Konami said aloud with an amount of venom and irritation in her voice that caused the matron to flinch. "I-I-I, he huh, I-I was going to say I'm not sure where he is currently but the Twins would know they would get anyone to talk pleas-"

"Your done here. Leave this town by tomorrow or I'll kill you personally. You tell anyone who asks that you got run out of Pitside Shanty because you hired a pair of Twins. There are only one pair of Twins in this entire country and they aren't fucking whores" Konami spat.

The matron began to cry, Konami slapped her, and she fell. The woman looked up in horror and began to scurry away. Konami spat on the ground in disgust and looked at the other people there. It was very unlike her to be so openly hostile and to cause such a commotion but she was already in a foul mood and hearing about the existence of a pair of Twins in her vicinity had drove her over the edge. The blonde looked around and nobody made eye contact or tried to stop her. "Kirigakure village business" she said simply. Security remained where they were and looked away from her. Good. I want this whole town to know how I feel about Twins. Konami's normally reserved and calculating nature had slipped but she readily composed herself and started up the stairs to the VIP suite. She expected Yuki to follow. "Let's interrogate some 'Twins'" Konami put airquotes around the word.

The girl was in shock. She had no clue other twins were such a trigger to her leader. She went quiet and observed and listened. She wondered how Konami would treat her if her brother was alive. She wondered if she knew. And there was really only the two sisters left!? No other twins? Yuki tried to think if she knew any other twins... She remembered something with the Kaguya, but that was it. No one else. How strange. She wasn't an absolute idiot, so she had a bit of a clue. For a split moment, she wondered if they were part of the assault on her clan, but pushed that aside. It was before she had even heard of them.

She followed Konami up the stairs to the third floor. She kept her thoughts to herself, and waited to follow the Mizukage's lead. She hoped the matron would be okay, but then again, she was controlling a whore house. Yuki didn't really like the idea of prostitution. They reached the correct room, and she could hear sexualized moans on the other side of the door. She gulped.

Konami could see Yuki was disturbed at her outburst. She wasn't surprised given that she had only shown a reserved and calm nature up until that point. Konami didn't like flying off the handle but the circumstances of the situation had pissed her off. She would channel this rage into a constructive and meaningful interrogation of these Twins. When they reached the VIP Suite, loud moans could be heard on the other side. Konami's disgust reached a fever pitch and she lifted her leg and kicked down the leg in one savage move. The woman entered into the room and saw a young woman with blue braids and sitting on a man's face. She was accompanied by another young girl with blonde braids who was riding the man's crotch fiercely. Konami spied the situation for a moment and then it became all to clear. The two women were not identical twins but rather whores who had thought of a lucrative idea. They had no doubt heard of the Kereko Twins that had ascended to the top of Kiri military society and being whores of the highest caliber that catered to wealthy and knowledgeable clients, they leveraged this "simulation" to make more money. They were in effect pretending to be Toonami and Konami so as to make some extra cash. Konami strode over to the blonde twin with a calm rage and yanked the woman off the john by her braids.

The braids were pitifully small compared to her own. She pulled with all her might and literally ripped the twin braids out of the woman's head. There was lots of screaming and her other partner-whore jumped off the man's face and made a beeline for the door. Many of the other prostitutes on the third floor began spilling out of their rooms as they realized that a fight was breaking out. It was bad business but the security in the whorehouse knew better than to interfere with Kirigakure village business. Konami held the girl down and made a fist. She then proceeded to pummel the woman's face with her steel gauntlet. Not a single question was asked, just pure ruthless and cold aggression. Part of it was to scare the other into talking immediately another part of it was punishment for using her image and likeness without permission. When Konami was done her steel gauntlet was stained with blood and the whore was totally unrecognizable. A mass of flesh and blood with missing teeth and eyes swollen totally shut. The Twin was breathing heavily but her appearance was calm. She looked towards Yuki and hoped that the genin had brought the lone prostitute under her control. She turned to look at the john who was huddled in a corner praying silently. She'd deal with him later but for now they needed to find Hishi.

Yuki saw sex happen for the first time in her life. She saw another woman's body parts and even... She even saw a man's thingie! She blushed a right red with her entire face, but didn't let it distract her from her mission. While Konami savagely beat the living fuck out of the first girl. She could understand that. They were using her and her twin sister's likeness to sleep with men for money. If she found someone using her face to besmirch the Yuki Yuki name, she wasn't sure what she would do. So she decided to be a good girl and loyal ninja of Kiri and do what needed to be done.

She whipped her hand out and knife-jabbed the blue-haired witch in the troat. She tried to claim a troat was a musical instrument, but was denied choked and gagged, collapsing to the floor. Yuki grabbed her by the braid, yanking on it to hold her head in a position to watch her friend get pulped by a real ninja- the one who's likeness this one tried to steal. When she tried to close her eyes, Yuki peeled them back open, maintaining a bruising grip on her head. It was hard, being so weak, but the woman was just a civilian and was terrified to boot. [color=teal]"Watch your last folly,[color] she commanded, whispering her words into the lady's ear.

It was brutal, but Yuki understood how angry the Mizukage had to be. Plus, she likely never got to relieve stress anymore. Yuki felt sorry for Konami, and promised herself she'd try to help relieve her stress personally- by being an upstanding ninja and not being a pain in her ass. She had innocent intentions you sickos. I promise.

"Tell me where Hishi went, before she ruins your career too." She added when Konami was done. Yuki didn't like this kind of work, but shinobi must endure. She would learn to at least tolerate it, no matter how distasteful it was. She didn't mind blood, and she was getting used to killing, and sometimes people just had to be tortured, right?

The woman screamed and blubbered as she tried to talk her way out of what Konami had done to her fellow whore. The Mizukage breathed heavily and with a degree of agitation that expressed pure malice. She stared at the woman who had dyed her hair blue to take on the appearance of Toonami. It was a good thing Toonami was sleeping inside her body because if she saw what Konami saw then the entire establishment would have been razed. Toonami would have likely done far worse than merely beat her half to death. She'd possibly rape and sodomize the woman as well. There was no telling with her sister and so she knew the girl was lucky to be dealing with her and not her worse half.

The woman confessed that Hishi was staying at the Low Top inn and would be heading to the fighting pits to place a massive wager on a fighter. The man had a "hot tip" as his sort usually did in order to justify the irrational placing of a huge bet on a single relatively unlikely outcome. It was an excuse to experience the high of playing with exorbitant amounts of cash. They would need to catch him before he ruined what was left of the Toko Clan. Konami nodded and signaled for Yuki to release the woman. Konami stepped forward and gave her a swift backhand, hard enough to knock her out and leave a single nasty bruise. She grabbed the john by the neck and hauled him out of the room. She took a final look at him to ensure he was not anybody too important. Once she confirmed that his face didn't belong to someone she could not harm she tossed him over the railing to the ground. He fell three stories and landed on a table. He didn't move.

Konami then walked down the stairs and out of the establishment assuming Yuki would follow. Before she left she looked to the stunned and frightened johns and prostitutes.

"No fucking twins. No fucking twin wannabes." she cursed. Konami then stormed out of the building and headed towards the Low Top inn.

Yuki was saddened by what had happened. She wished it wasn't necessary, though she couldn't even think to rebuke the Mizukage. The lady was scary strong, especially compared to Yuki. Still, they had the exact information Yuki was looking for. She knew where Hishi was staying and where he had gone. The Low Top Inn sounded like a place of ill repute. Still, the betting den was the more pressing place. She could always investigate his hotel later. She silently watched the powerful Jounin take care of her leftovers as they left the place.

Konami didn't seem to be heading to the pit. That meant they were headed to that crappy hotel first. Well, that was fine. There were hundreds of gambling places in the Pit itself, and it would take forever to find the right place. If there were any clues at the hotel, that would be amazing. It was more likely than finding the right entrance Hishi had used to enter the Pit.

Soon, they would find the hotel. Yuki decided to try to this more like a ninja. She went down an empty side ally next to the hotel. From there she would wall-walk up the hotel to the second floor. Making sure the room she was near was empty, she picked the lock on the window with a senbon and entered the empty hotel room. She escaped into the lobby after picking the lock and using a mirror in the room to check the hallways to make sure it was empty. From there, she leaped to the ceiling, wall walking upside down because honestly, no one hardly ever looks up. She would carefully make her way downstairs.

At the bottom floor, she waited until the coast was clear, and used her ninja wire to lasso the guestbook in the lobby. It had records of who was staying at the hotel, and what rooms they rented. The staff were bus and no one was looking up to see her. She swiftly read the book, discovering a Hishi Toko had rented room 306. The idiot hadn't even tried to use a fake name. She replaced the book with ninja-like precision the same way she took it, leaving it exactly where she got it with no one the wiser.

She crept back upstairs, staying unseen on the ceiling. On the second floor, she escaped again out the window, and walk-walked outside to the third floor. She went to the 6th room on the third floor, and noticed the room was empty of people. She picked the lock on it again and entered. After careful searching the room, she hit the jackpot. She found receipts! There were 4 different pawn shops Hishi had used as well as the place he had gone to make his bets in the pit. It was the 4th East Entrance and Kira had taken his ticket number. He had bet on a man named Kye.

At this point, Yuki was ready to collect this man. She just wanted to get out of this awful town. She had no clue that things were going to get worse before they got better.

Konami stayed outside the inn and waited for Yuki to do her stealthy ninja stuff. Konami stayed far enough away that she wouldn't attract attention to Yuki's infiltration. The woman crossed her arms with an annoyed expression her face and patiently waited. Eventually a little boy would come by and ask for her autograph as he was an inspiring shinobi and apparently he knew who she was due to him following recent events. The woman gave him a scowl and he beat it. Konami normally wasn't cruel or spiteful but the false twins had left a bad impression in her mouth. When Yuki came out, Konami followed the girl and she could tell from Yuki's demeanor that she had found something useful. The pair headed towards the 4th East Entrance and began scanning for the scoundrel who had stolen his family's money. She used her superior height to get a lay of the land looking around for him. Konami shared Yuki's sentiments in that she wanted to get out of this godforsaken town and get back to real shinobi work. She was quite pleased that Yuki was honing her ninja skills though.

"Do you see him?" the woman muttered in a low voice as they walked through the crowded. street. She could see further than Yuki but she wanted Yuki to rely on her own eyes and not that of a higher ranking shinobi.

Konami got tired of waiting for a reply so she eventually tracked down this bastard and beat the crap out of him. She then forced him to demand as much of a refund as he could from various establishments. Konami explained the situation and what would happen to them if they refused and so all of the money was returned and accounted for. Konami placed the target under arrest and gave the family back their lost money. She then made her way back to Kirigakure.

Exit