Ayumu dashed along the rooftops of Kumogakure's less reputable sections of town, keeping his eyes and ears out for trouble. He had already donned his trademark mask because it was a little easier to get someone to listen to you when you were wearing a clear sign of authority. Landing on the corner of a building he slowed to a walk and then paused for a moment, stifling a yawn with his hand. Patrol was usually boring work and tonight was no exception. You didn't normally find anything truly interesting, but at that moment Ayumu was hoping for anything period. With his yawn quieted, he took a moment and held his breath, listening for anything that would warrant his investigation. Of course he didn't really expect to hear anything, so when a scream sounded through the alleys below it surprised him. He took a few steps towards the edge of the building and looked down.
Below, there was a small gathering of people, though not a friendly one. A man and a woman were backed against the alley wall and five very suspect looking men had surrounded them and were laughing menacingly. It couldn't be a clearer textbook case of a mugging. The man fumbled for his wallet and the woman hurriedly took some money out of her purse. Ayumu had seen more than enough. He made a pun about "getting the jump on them" internally as he leapt from the building's edge to the alley below, landing on one of the thugs and bringing him to the ground. "Alright, you're all under arrest! Now I don't suppose you'd consider coming willi-" he started to explain when he got his first glimpse of one of the ne'er-do-well's faces.
"Hold on now, I remember you," he said, recognizing the closest person in the group. He looked down at the man he was standing on and recognized him as well. He recalled the time when he had just gotten done gambling and found his crew harassing a woman. He had intended to take them out then but the woman grabbed his hand ran. They had chased and given them some more trouble, but in the end they all took a beating. "Sheesh, I would think you guys would have learned," Ayumu said.
"Shit, it's that guy! Let's get outta here!" one of them yelled before he started to run. He was caught by the collar by their leader before he got far. "Screw that, we're getting him back for last time! Everyone hit him at once!" said the leader, a man whose nose was a little bit deformed since their last run-in with Ayumu. "Oh, right. Sorry about that," Ayumu said as each member of the group drew a switchblade. The couple that had long since fled, leaving Ayumu with nothing to hold him back. He performed a few handseals and a black barrier sealed off the alley's exits behind and ahead as well as above. He then drew his sheath, not unsheathing the sword. "OK! I'm ready!" he said with a mischievous smile.
All of them rushed him simultaneously, at least learning something from their last fight. All four blade burried themselves in to Ayumu's torso. Things were not as they seemed, however. "Ayumu" turned black like a shadow and split in to two clones of himself, immensely confusing the group. 'Flock of Shadows.... decidedly cooler than Body Switch, in my opinion,' Ayumu thought as the real him approached the group from behind while they stared dumbfounded at the clones. He struck two of them in the back of the head, knocking them out with his sheath before the next closest one could turn around and resume his attack. Including the one he had landed on, three were already down. The remaining two seemed to forget their initial all-at-once strategy at came at him one at a time. Ayumu sidestepped one thrust with a switchblade and then struck the man hard in the stomach with his sheath, causing the man to slump over.
"You're the lucky one," Ayumu said to the last man standing. He simply gave the man a menacing look, causing the man to freeze up and fall backwards against the wall, fully conscious. It was probably moreso the Body Bind jutsu than the menacing look that caused that reaction, but Ayumu liked to think he was just that scary. He reached up to his headset and called in a few extra hands to help cart the lot of them to jail. They would arrive before any of these non-shinobi thugs would be getting up again.
Requirement: [C-Rank] 500 words
Word Count: 767
Below, there was a small gathering of people, though not a friendly one. A man and a woman were backed against the alley wall and five very suspect looking men had surrounded them and were laughing menacingly. It couldn't be a clearer textbook case of a mugging. The man fumbled for his wallet and the woman hurriedly took some money out of her purse. Ayumu had seen more than enough. He made a pun about "getting the jump on them" internally as he leapt from the building's edge to the alley below, landing on one of the thugs and bringing him to the ground. "Alright, you're all under arrest! Now I don't suppose you'd consider coming willi-" he started to explain when he got his first glimpse of one of the ne'er-do-well's faces.
"Hold on now, I remember you," he said, recognizing the closest person in the group. He looked down at the man he was standing on and recognized him as well. He recalled the time when he had just gotten done gambling and found his crew harassing a woman. He had intended to take them out then but the woman grabbed his hand ran. They had chased and given them some more trouble, but in the end they all took a beating. "Sheesh, I would think you guys would have learned," Ayumu said.
"Shit, it's that guy! Let's get outta here!" one of them yelled before he started to run. He was caught by the collar by their leader before he got far. "Screw that, we're getting him back for last time! Everyone hit him at once!" said the leader, a man whose nose was a little bit deformed since their last run-in with Ayumu. "Oh, right. Sorry about that," Ayumu said as each member of the group drew a switchblade. The couple that had long since fled, leaving Ayumu with nothing to hold him back. He performed a few handseals and a black barrier sealed off the alley's exits behind and ahead as well as above. He then drew his sheath, not unsheathing the sword. "OK! I'm ready!" he said with a mischievous smile.
All of them rushed him simultaneously, at least learning something from their last fight. All four blade burried themselves in to Ayumu's torso. Things were not as they seemed, however. "Ayumu" turned black like a shadow and split in to two clones of himself, immensely confusing the group. 'Flock of Shadows.... decidedly cooler than Body Switch, in my opinion,' Ayumu thought as the real him approached the group from behind while they stared dumbfounded at the clones. He struck two of them in the back of the head, knocking them out with his sheath before the next closest one could turn around and resume his attack. Including the one he had landed on, three were already down. The remaining two seemed to forget their initial all-at-once strategy at came at him one at a time. Ayumu sidestepped one thrust with a switchblade and then struck the man hard in the stomach with his sheath, causing the man to slump over.
"You're the lucky one," Ayumu said to the last man standing. He simply gave the man a menacing look, causing the man to freeze up and fall backwards against the wall, fully conscious. It was probably moreso the Body Bind jutsu than the menacing look that caused that reaction, but Ayumu liked to think he was just that scary. He reached up to his headset and called in a few extra hands to help cart the lot of them to jail. They would arrive before any of these non-shinobi thugs would be getting up again.
Requirement: [C-Rank] 500 words
Word Count: 767