Gathering Supplies.(open)

A intimidating figure walked throughout the market, searching for cheap supplies. "........I truly need to find a job....soon...." Either not noticing, or more likely, no caring, the looks he received, Reaper, known in his old life as Yami Seigi, picks up a small box of antipain cream, examining the price."..........." He looks between the food in the basket, and the cream."..........So be it..." His voice even more growly in annoyance, the young Merc puts down the cream, looking around carefully. He haven't noticed any people who looked like they were from the Octopus, but you never knew.Besides, he was counting on that.....

Not all ninja who ventured outside Konoha were on official missions. On this particular day, Tatsuta requested permission to go out and restock her medicine stores with much needed supplies. She wasn't looking for herbs or roots. She cultivated her own garden of medicinal herbs back home and trusted what she grew herself more than anything she would find in a market. However it was her same expertise on plants that told her not all things could be cured by them. For instance, oils and certain other important medicinal substances were only obtainable from animals. Some of them were rare or would have taken much more effort to catch an obtain on her own. Thus she was here where she could find experienced local hunters selling their goods.

As for why she ventured out on her own instead of having lower ranked ninja do the shopping for her, she can be a bit of a perfectionist and preferred to appraise and purchase ingredients in person. Medicine required precision and quality. A single lapse in the quality of ingredients could spell trouble, thus her desire to buy them herself. The town in question was not that far from Konoha anyway and so she could quickly return if needed.

Tatsuta had been to this market many times before, enough to get a decent grasp of prices and know which merchants sold quality goods. If she had to give one complaint, it was the fact that she wasn't the only one who knew this was a good place to make purchases. She preferred to mind her own business as it wasn't a good idea for a ninja of Konoha to be involved in messes outside of work, but that didn't stop her from noticing whenever some unsavory characters were lurking about.

Mercenary groups and criminal rings all have their reasons for not being fond of ninja. As someone wearing the Konoha headband, she would obviously get a few stares and nasty looks from some of them. Well, mean stares never hurt anyone, and for as long as she wasn't suspiciously tailed or followed, she had little reason to be too concerned about them.

As she moved on to the next stall, she noticed a tall masked man decide against buying something while grumbling to himself. A quick look at the item he put down and she was able to identify it as a pain reliever. He was probably a mercenary for hire too. Business had been good for the ninja villages lately so it was predictable that independent mercenaries were having a tougher time getting work. She decided to pretend not to notice him and just continue with her own browsing. If she had a choice, she wasn't about to get involved with someone who obviously looked troublesome.

He notices a Kohona ninja looking at him. Heh...probably decided that he was trouble...Well, that was true, he supposed. He was trouble, to those that had it coming.He respectfully nods at the ninja, then turns around, looking for fish rub. Just cause he couldn't buy a lot of stuff, didn't mean he couldn't fish outside the town...."Hey, boy!!!" He feels a hand jerking his hood down, revealing spiky white hair, though there was something wrong with the side of his head....Reaper spins around, pulling his hood up, and examines the fools. He spotted some form of octopus symbols on all of them...one had a necklace, the other had a arm tatoo...and the third had on a truly horrible shirt that was covered with them.".........Sorry...I won't talk, not even under such terrible torture as that shirt." The other two let out a laugh, quickly ssquelched by a glare from him, then the leader pokes Yamis chest." Boy...I heard you were asking around about the Octopus group....Why?" Yami growls, giving him a rage filled glare, his voice a deep, evil sounding rumble.Cause...I want to dance on the broken bodies of your leaders, criminal scum!!" Shirt laughs, pulling out a hatchet. " I was hoping you would say that...You two, occupy the ninja..we might as well get two birds with one stone." The two start walking towards the woman, and Reaper pulls out a couple of throwing knifes, staring at the two backs.....only to be driven back by a swing at his chest. Pulling out his sword, he Parry's, slicing in response. The man laughs, hopping backwards and ipulling a second axe." Now, that's an interesting sword...think I'll take it!!!"

And trouble did come. She didn't know why, but after the tall masked man was accosted by the brigands, two of them approached her from behind while she was looking through a merchant's wares. The merchant got frightened and stood up, backing away. And so her peaceful shopping trip had come to an abrupt end. Tatsuta stood up straight and addressed the men behind her without turning around.

"I have no quarrel with you and it's not really very wise to pick a fight with a ninja. Or do you think I would be easy prey because I'm a woman? I assure you, that would be quite a grave lapse of judgment."

She wished they would just walk away. She really did. Picking on common people, even if they were scum, was not something she liked doing.

The men grin." Pretty lady...hejeheh...you don't scar us. What ninja but a low ranking one would be out here?" They pull knives, stepping toward....meanwhile, Reapers dueling Axman, parrying skillfully as the man swings rapidly. He steps inside the mans reach, reversing his sword and slamming the pommel into the Octopus members nose, crushing it. Letting out a gargled scream, he staggers back. Reaper points his weapon at him." You will tell me what you know, or you will die. Its that simple..." From inside the crowd, a man curses, grabbing someone beside him." Those idiots....go, send a message to our brothers in Leaf Village, tell them about this, warn them."

Tatsuta sighed. She wasn't confident she could her pull her punches if she engaged them with taijutsu, so she decided to go for a quick ninjutsu instead. Performing hand seals faster than the eye can see, she uttered.

"Earth Release: Moving Earth Core"

Suddenly, the ground beneath the two men's feet dropped several meters, like a high-speed elevator. Before they knew it, they would be in a hole over 20 meters deep, caused by the jutsu.

The crooks blink, then comically scream as they plummet, desperately leaping for the lip....too late, as the floor, and them, descends...Right after that, groans drift out as they lose their balance, slamminto into the wall in the narrow space.." Ugh.....buddy...I don't think she's low rank..." " Shut up, you idiot!!! Erg..." Meanwhile, the leader of the trio was duelingb with Reaper, dancing bawards, rapidly parrying as he pants in fear.'W-what is thisnkid?! Its as if....its as if he wants not just my death, but my very soul!No, that's just his getup talking to you! He's human, he is!!" Reaper grins behind his mask. Figures...the bully's were always the quickest to succumb. He lashes out with a armored boot, sending the thug flying backwards and landing near the female Kohana.

Tatsuta stared at the grunt that was sent flying and landed close to her. Was he going to attack her too now? Judging from how things played out so far, even the masked man they picked a fight with was too much for them. She decided to "save" him, quickly sweeping his legs and causing him to fall into the hole where the rest of his comrades were. Better to have a broken bone or two than get killed. The question was, would the masked man back off after all of this?

Reaper blinks as his prey is sent falling into a hole." Lovely........" He walks up to Tatsuta, sheathing his sword." I mean no disrespect, ma'am, but I was going to.....interrogate....that octopus scum. As the leader of these monkeys, he would have known something useful..." He sighs,adjusting his mask." And I don't wish to stick around while he recovers....Damn it...just this close to getting more info on these bastards...." He bows to Tatsua." I'm called Reaper."

The masked man approached her but was surprisingly not that inclined to finishing off the thugs. In a way that was a relief. Tatsuta was not about to become an accomplice in murder.

"Normally, street brawls between criminals are none of our concern, but they made the mistake of involving a Konoha ninja in this. I hope you don't believe you're off the hook just because they were after you, Reaper. We take anti-ninja sentiments seriously, and you clearly have something to do with this. Disrespect is the least of your concerns."

Tatsuta wondered if he was getting the message. Innocent or not, in the eyes of Konoha, he along with the criminals in the hole were in the same boat. What that meant was that they would all be taken into the village for questioning.

"I'm going to have to ask you to return with me to the village. Resistance is not advised."

He tenses up in annoyance as the ninja speaks about him being in the same boat as the octopus scum, and a pain flare shoots through the injured side of his face. His hand jerks up to the mask, and he breathes out, forcing himself to relax."......Ma'am, I am no criminal, but a professional, such as yourself. I hire myself out to those who need help dealing with scum like these.I risk my life often to protect others, and punish those who have it coming.And not because that isva fast way to make money, but because it is my duty, as the last of my clan, my village..." He blinks. Blast it, he'd said too much!!"....Never less...I have no problem coming with you. Your leader needs to know of the Octopus, anyway."He chuckles." Besides, i be never been inside a ninja village.I'm curious." He follows the woman outside the market.....


END