</B>
Eyes opening abruptly to the sound of a knock on his door. It rang throughout the room, waking him from his slumber. Awake where he had fallen asleep the previous night; the bed of an Inn room which he had purchased. Miraku out on a mission which he had been assigned, involving him checking out a possible threat to villages and people of his country. With the rumors spreading enough for Kumogakure to hear about it, they dare not leave it to rest without confirmation on its validity. In only his boxers, Miraku sprang up in his bed, placing his feet on the floor before pushing off and standing up fully in one swift movement. He hastily moved towards the door as a second knock came -- probably to make sure whether he was there or not. Grasping the handle of the door, he turned it pulling inward enough to show his face, trying to conceal the rest of his exposed body from whoever it was.
"<B>This message arrived for you, sir." said the man at the door, reaching out with and envelope in hand, sealed with wax. Taking his free hand, Miraku reached past the edge of the opening, attempting to take the letter, grasping the corner until the man released. "Thank you," Miraku responded in kind, beginning to shut the door immediately, as the man began to turn and leave. As the door latched closed, he turned his back to the door, leaning against it for the moment. He became curious. Why had he received a letter now? Eyeing the seal, he realized who had sent it, and began to peel it open. His eyes gazed over the words as he took them in.
'Be careful. The threat is legitimate. - Okuro<i></i> ' is all it said. This wasn't the first time he had received a letter from his mysterious sensei, and surely it wouldn't be the last, though it baffled him every time. The man wasn't a Cloud shinobi -- at least not to his knowledge. So how was it that the man always knew the exact situation when making contact? Truly it made him curious. That sense of being watched which lingered around during times like these felt real. Inhaling a deep breath, eyes shutting in an attempt to remain calm. Truth be told, it bothered him. Okuro had told him they would be unable to meet for an extended period of time; to wait until he received word they could continue their training, yet all he received were notes similar to this.
Upon calming himself, a smile crept across Miraku's face as thoughts of his plans for the day flooded his mind. Missions were easy for him. It felt incredibly natural to him, out with a purpose. A task which he sought to accomplish for himself and Kumogakure. Removing himself from the doorway, he strode over to the clothing strewn on the floor from the night previous, bending at the knees to pick each article up and place the upon the bed. Starting with his socks, and moving onto his pants, and finally his long sleeved shirt, his aim was to dress casually while out today. With the objective of questioning civilians about the group which had apparently been making threats, he sought to maintain cover as one himself. Possibly he could make himself out to be one who wished to join such a group if the situation called for such.
Leaving behind his serious shinobi gear, Miraku headed out with only a concealed dagger for which to protect himself should an occasion arise where he would need to defend himself. Asking questions wasn't always looked upon highly by some people, especially prying into the business of a group which wasn't exactly on the correct side of the law. The sun shone down, blanketing the town in its warmth and radiance as it slowly heated up the air around them. It was still slightly chilly out as they were up north, but the summer season had increased the temperatures to at least be comfortable enough for Miraku to traverse these streets in just a plain long sleeved shirt instead of his usual jacket. Feeling energetic this morning even though it was still decently early, he observed as the streets were filled with people already. It was Raiden's Eye after all; the capital of the country, north of Kumogakure, and filled with so many people that it was highly likely rumors had spread or even originated here.
From there, Miraku began to wander the streets, approaching vendors and civilians alike, casually leading the conversations towards the topic. Since it was such a new rumor, people were certainly open to discussion as it was either entertaining to them as a likely hoax or worrying to those who believed it was serious. After hours of conversations and questions, which seemingly led nowhere; Miraku was beginning to question whether it was actually a credible threat. Okuro's note had told him otherwise, and he had no reason to doubt it. Upon this realization, he refocused himself returning to the search. He would be glad he did, finding the confirmation he had been looking for a few conversations later.
The bar was the place Miraku would locate the object of his search which had taken his entire morning and afternoon. Seated at the bar counter, a large man, rather burly casually dress with an axe attached to his belt. His dark hair and slight beard stuck out as Miraku approached and offered to buy the man a drink first before starting conversation casually. It quickly led to the topic of this mysterious group to which the man happily answered. "Yeah. I heard of 'em. Tried ta recruit me after overhearing my grievances towards the country I told a friend about at an Inn a town North from here." the man told Miraku. Raising his hand, placing it upon his chin curiously, "What happened next?" Miraku questioned further, expecting it would lead somewhere useful. "Told 'em I wasn't interested, but they told me if I changed my mind to meet them at some cave in the base of the mountain East of the village. That they were going to meet there a week later to discuss their plans." Eye lighting up momentarily, Miraku restrained himself at the man's words. "When was this?" He continued questioning, prying further while attempting to maintain a casual air to the conversation. "Two days ago. a simple response which was enough information to deduce the time and place of the meeting.
After another drink and some further casual conversation, Miraku took his leave, returning to the Inn which he was staying at. Returning immediately to his room, he took a seat and grasped the receiver of the phone in his room placing a call to Kumogakure in order to make his report. He would leave a coded message in order to maintain secrecy even in his privacy. The message would essentially translate as: "Group confirmation. Location found. Proceeding to Scouting Phase."
[Marked for Training; 1,170 WC]
<i></i>
Expose the Threat: Confirmation
<i></i>Eyes opening abruptly to the sound of a knock on his door. It rang throughout the room, waking him from his slumber. Awake where he had fallen asleep the previous night; the bed of an Inn room which he had purchased. Miraku out on a mission which he had been assigned, involving him checking out a possible threat to villages and people of his country. With the rumors spreading enough for Kumogakure to hear about it, they dare not leave it to rest without confirmation on its validity. In only his boxers, Miraku sprang up in his bed, placing his feet on the floor before pushing off and standing up fully in one swift movement. He hastily moved towards the door as a second knock came -- probably to make sure whether he was there or not. Grasping the handle of the door, he turned it pulling inward enough to show his face, trying to conceal the rest of his exposed body from whoever it was.
"<B>This message arrived for you, sir." said the man at the door, reaching out with and envelope in hand, sealed with wax. Taking his free hand, Miraku reached past the edge of the opening, attempting to take the letter, grasping the corner until the man released. "Thank you," Miraku responded in kind, beginning to shut the door immediately, as the man began to turn and leave. As the door latched closed, he turned his back to the door, leaning against it for the moment. He became curious. Why had he received a letter now? Eyeing the seal, he realized who had sent it, and began to peel it open. His eyes gazed over the words as he took them in.
'Be careful. The threat is legitimate. - Okuro<i></i> ' is all it said. This wasn't the first time he had received a letter from his mysterious sensei, and surely it wouldn't be the last, though it baffled him every time. The man wasn't a Cloud shinobi -- at least not to his knowledge. So how was it that the man always knew the exact situation when making contact? Truly it made him curious. That sense of being watched which lingered around during times like these felt real. Inhaling a deep breath, eyes shutting in an attempt to remain calm. Truth be told, it bothered him. Okuro had told him they would be unable to meet for an extended period of time; to wait until he received word they could continue their training, yet all he received were notes similar to this.
Upon calming himself, a smile crept across Miraku's face as thoughts of his plans for the day flooded his mind. Missions were easy for him. It felt incredibly natural to him, out with a purpose. A task which he sought to accomplish for himself and Kumogakure. Removing himself from the doorway, he strode over to the clothing strewn on the floor from the night previous, bending at the knees to pick each article up and place the upon the bed. Starting with his socks, and moving onto his pants, and finally his long sleeved shirt, his aim was to dress casually while out today. With the objective of questioning civilians about the group which had apparently been making threats, he sought to maintain cover as one himself. Possibly he could make himself out to be one who wished to join such a group if the situation called for such.
Leaving behind his serious shinobi gear, Miraku headed out with only a concealed dagger for which to protect himself should an occasion arise where he would need to defend himself. Asking questions wasn't always looked upon highly by some people, especially prying into the business of a group which wasn't exactly on the correct side of the law. The sun shone down, blanketing the town in its warmth and radiance as it slowly heated up the air around them. It was still slightly chilly out as they were up north, but the summer season had increased the temperatures to at least be comfortable enough for Miraku to traverse these streets in just a plain long sleeved shirt instead of his usual jacket. Feeling energetic this morning even though it was still decently early, he observed as the streets were filled with people already. It was Raiden's Eye after all; the capital of the country, north of Kumogakure, and filled with so many people that it was highly likely rumors had spread or even originated here.
From there, Miraku began to wander the streets, approaching vendors and civilians alike, casually leading the conversations towards the topic. Since it was such a new rumor, people were certainly open to discussion as it was either entertaining to them as a likely hoax or worrying to those who believed it was serious. After hours of conversations and questions, which seemingly led nowhere; Miraku was beginning to question whether it was actually a credible threat. Okuro's note had told him otherwise, and he had no reason to doubt it. Upon this realization, he refocused himself returning to the search. He would be glad he did, finding the confirmation he had been looking for a few conversations later.
The bar was the place Miraku would locate the object of his search which had taken his entire morning and afternoon. Seated at the bar counter, a large man, rather burly casually dress with an axe attached to his belt. His dark hair and slight beard stuck out as Miraku approached and offered to buy the man a drink first before starting conversation casually. It quickly led to the topic of this mysterious group to which the man happily answered. "Yeah. I heard of 'em. Tried ta recruit me after overhearing my grievances towards the country I told a friend about at an Inn a town North from here." the man told Miraku. Raising his hand, placing it upon his chin curiously, "What happened next?" Miraku questioned further, expecting it would lead somewhere useful. "Told 'em I wasn't interested, but they told me if I changed my mind to meet them at some cave in the base of the mountain East of the village. That they were going to meet there a week later to discuss their plans." Eye lighting up momentarily, Miraku restrained himself at the man's words. "When was this?" He continued questioning, prying further while attempting to maintain a casual air to the conversation. "Two days ago. a simple response which was enough information to deduce the time and place of the meeting.
After another drink and some further casual conversation, Miraku took his leave, returning to the Inn which he was staying at. Returning immediately to his room, he took a seat and grasped the receiver of the phone in his room placing a call to Kumogakure in order to make his report. He would leave a coded message in order to maintain secrecy even in his privacy. The message would essentially translate as: "Group confirmation. Location found. Proceeding to Scouting Phase."
[Marked for Training; 1,170 WC]
<i></i>