Defining the Grey - A Rank Solo

[Raizo]

Within The Grid, the base of operations for the ANBU corp of Suna, a manilla folder sat upon an unoccupied desk. The door to the room was left cracked open, so Roku merely had to give a slight push to open it. The orders came in for him to the exact room at this listed time. The piece of paper that the order came with was a special kind, activating the writing upon it once someone touches it through the running of chakra. Within a few seconds the unique chakra ink would burn up, disposing the information permanently. This was the first indication that his new assignment might be something a little more challenging than others. The folder, left unattended, was another very curious sight. One might start to get the impression that he would be left on his own in this mission, that wasn't all too uncommon but the extreme measures taken made things feel a bit odd. His hunch would soon be solidified as he picked up the folder and began to search through the material within it. The very first page laid out the unique circumstance behind this mission, how this was an unofficial mission to the public but an authorized mission within the corps, work that had to be done but could not look like ANBU had done it.

Everything came to light as his eyes continued to absorb all of the material; this mission had to do with the under-the-table treaty between the village and the scum that hid within the Silver Crystal District. Within their own, outlawed zone, they could unofficially do what they want as long as it stayed within their area. The rest of the districts were classified as restricted to them. It was a shaky truce, which one might suspect when dealing with criminals, but one that delayed prolonged bloodshed. He was going in blind. Should he get caught he would either need to take his own life or claim to be a traitor that acted on his own accord, which would ultimately lead to death anyways. What a fun little game.

[In the Guan Yu District]
The Guan Yu was essentially a zone for food within the SCD. It housed countless restaurants with the most revered serving a variation of a dish called 'Guan Yu's Beard'. It was apparently a spicy dish, Roku was never one to come down this way for the food. Within his debriefing it was noted that signs of drug abuse was spreading into this area, with reports doubling over the past week. A causality to the treaty with the underworld was that the SCD would have its spurts of increased criminal activity, which would spill into the innocent citizens but it was a calculated loss. Right now the calculations were off, the outliers were piling up meaning this was turning into a epidemic.

His first job was observation; he had to find who it was bringing the drugs into this area. It wasn't so much the pusher, as there would be a couple, it was who the pusher was working for. He needed to cut the head off this beast in order to bring about a resolution, and at the same time needed to be done in a way that would send a message to anyone that wished to take their place in violating the treaty.

[Day 1]
I sat in the outer seating of the Dune Bistro enjoying a lovely hot tea beverage. This location was at the border zone between the underworld and the restricted zone, so seemed to be a prime starting point. During periodic points I would get up, walk around the block, perform a transformation jutsu upon myself and return to the outdoor seating. Throughout the day I noticed individuals cross between the two zones freely, each with their own level of suspicion but ultimately with no solid leads. This method will be maintained until further information can be determined.

[Day 4]
Today was the first big break. During my people watching from the Dune Bistro the other day I was able to make a confirmation on a pusher. Seeing him once more cross into this zone I began to tail him, hoping to get something beneficial from him. The scum squirmed his way up and down the alleys. He was observed walking past the same building three times, until finally approaching the door and knocking 4 times. After waiting still for a few moments the door would finally crack open and the individual would enter. Further observation gave way to the following information;

The house was a den for drug usage. Clients would enter using a unique knock, something different per client, and would spend anywhere from a few minutes to several hours in the establishment. Those exiting quickly would be individuals that made a purchase for either resale in another district or for use off the premises. Those that stayed longer would exit the building in various states of intoxication.

This building was the ground zero for the drug epidemic that was springing up within Guan Yu. Action will commence tomorrow.

WC - 850
TBC

 

[Raizo]

[The Operation]
The man, looking over his shoulder, would firmly knock upon the door once. There would be a small pause, his eyes once more glancing backwards. This process continued for three more knocks until the door finally opened. With a slight hesitation the man would make his way into the building, greeted by two large individuals.

"How much?" This was the first words he would hear since entering the location. Nervously the man would prattle off, "I... I have 10,000 yen..." One of the large men would begin to chuckle as he glanced back at the meek figure. "Big spender, huh? I suppose you've been enjoying the product after all. Resale again?"

"No." This would set off a chain of laughter from both men, "Well I'll be damned, finally going to enjoy yourself huh?" The tiny figure behind them would chuckle himself, out of fear would be the assumption. They were making their way through the building, working their way up a winding staircase. This building had seven floors. From the stairwell one could see down the hallways of the various floors. Most of the doors were shut and the hallways were poorly lit, but those doors that happened to be open would show scenes of individuals, alone or in a group, inhaling a strange steam from a capsule. The inhalant was activated by snapping the capsule in half, setting a reaction between the two powdery chemicals within it that would produce an intoxicating vapor. Those on the drug would fall into catatonic states, having lucid, vivid dreams while still being conscious. It was called "Day Dream". Some learned that inhaling the drug with a partner, or a group, would lessen the catatonic state, allowing people to "Day Dream Walk"; in an inebriated state they would perform some functions, miraculously, usually kept to primal instincts such as sex.

Finally they would reach the seventh, and final, floor. Unlike the rest of the floors which had open access from off of the stairwell, this floor had on way to exit the stairs and that way was behind a door. It seemed that the tiny figure would be meeting with the 'head of the house'. The knocks on the door would notify the others that they had a customer. Opening the door there would be seven figures wearing suits sprawled across the giant room. The entire floor seemed to have been converted into one big room. At the center of the room was a grand wooden table, covered in yen, women and capsules. Sitting at this table was an average build man, wearing a suit and tie like the others with an Aquarius symbol tattooed below his right eye. This was the gang symbol of one of the "Zodiacs"; 12 gangs that have taken over power of much of the 'lawless zone' in the SCD. These 12 gangs are controlled by 12 bosses, each possessing the name of a zodiac. Their is not a lot of definitive information on any of the 12 but they are noted as truly fearsome individuals, known for countless acts of murder.

"Boss our errand boy is back, and this time he would like to party." The man at the desk would let out a hearty laugh as he would wave for the three individuals to approach him. "Seems are little mule is growing up? Wanted to join the party... hell I can't blame you." The tiny man, still meekly behind the two large individuals would muster up the fortitude to speak, "Can I ask a question?" The apparent leader of the room would cock his left eyebrow up as the smirk was still open his face. "Sure squirt... what can poppa Keats do for you?"

"Is this actually sanctioned by Aquarius?" The smirk seemed to wear off of Keats' face. "Why the fuck does that matter? No. This is my racket. I needed to expand. Those assholes Saturn and Uranus locked up all of the boss' territory, well fuck that! I am not going to be one of those goons errand boys. I have plans... and once the boss gets a look at my earnings, he would place me as one of his right hand guys. Hell I could be his next Saturn!" Within the Zodiacs it seemed that the main underlings within the organization were given code names as well, based on some fictitious planets out in the darkness of space. It all seemed like a load of rubbish, but who was he to judge.

"Perfect." The voice was different this time as that seemed to dawn on the two burly men a little too late. By the time they realized the voice change, there were already a hand gripping their outside cheeks. With a quick, but smooth, jerk the two men's heads would be pulled back letting loose a loud, yet muffled, popping noise. Without saying a word the two big bodies would drop to the ground as the one known as Keats' expression began to change once more; fear. The tiny man that was once before him was gone, now replaced by a large figure clad in black wearing a fox like white mask with red markings. The six other figures within the room struggled to either get to their feet or get to their weapons. While this was happening, Yōko, utilizing his full speed, something far different than that of a normal human, would approach each guard. With a single jab, knee or chop he would strike the men in a way that would snap their neck or smash their skull into their brain, all killing the individuals as quickly as possible. As the dust settled there would be eight, well dressed, dead men upon the floor and two standing staring at one another.

"Who the fuck... a fucking shinobi!? We have a deal you prick." Keats would scream his discourse, while pilfering through his desk drawer for a small tanto blade that he kept close by. Yōko merely cocked his fox-like head to the side, "I do not know what it is you speak of." "You asshole! Once Aquarius hears of this... no, once the Zodiacs hear about this... it's going to be a blood bath!" Finally finding the blade, Keats would clench it tightly waiting for the right moment.

"No one will know about this. No one will survive this." The words were calm but carried a serious weight to them as Keats watched on dumbfounded. Yōko would raise his right arm up into the air as the muscles within it would begin to increase, the veins would bulge outwards, a strange dark energy would begin to swell within the raised fist. "100 percent..." would be muttered before the ANBU would send his fist slamming down into the floor. A burst of air pressure would explode from the point of impact, sending fissures throughout the structure of the building. The walls would begin to tremble as the floor boards below them would begin to rip apart. Keats would let out a wicked cackle as he tried to make a made dash for Yōko. The masked warrior would simply thrust his right first once more down into the floor, letting loose another monstrous explosion of pressure, causing the floor to implode in on itself. Collapsing the two figures would only meet eyes once more before both were consumed by the falling debris of the building. The destruction of the top floor would cause a weight imbalance that would send the next two floors collapsing down upon themselves as well. The weight of the now three collapsed floors would cause the walls of the fourth floor to explode outwards, like a pressurized can erupting on impact. This would send the remainder of the building to come crackling down around itself. Within the course of an hour the structure would go through this entire process, as loud cracks would offset another series of collapsing or debris sliding out into the streets. Many would watch onwards as the scene would finally come to a close. Mednin would scour the area trying to rescue those caught within the rubble but no one would be found alive.

One man, reportedly suffering from the effects of "Day Dream", would report that he saw a demon fox walking out of the back of the building, covered in blood and carrying another body upon its shoulders, during the collapse. The one known as Keats was never found, word within the underworld is that he decided to head off on his own and this was his way of making a clean break from the organization.


[Back at The Grid]

Yōko would approach the room he had found the original mission document and would slam a black body bag down onto it before leaving without saying a word. Within a few moments specialist would begin the process of cleaning the room of all evidence and stripping the body of any information they could find. While the case had been resolved, this added bonus might provide some further insight into either the drug "Day Dream" or the criminal known as Aquarius.

Case Resolved.

WC - 1,513
Total - 2,363