Meandering About the Streets (Shinobu)

It was a normal, boring day. I decided to blend in today; no mask to hide my identity, no creepy cloak that made me look like a killer. I mean, I was, but nobody else knew that. Instead of my assassin get up, I wore a lose white shirt covered by my brown coat, a pair of black skinny jeans, and a pair of boots. Borei was tucked away in my left boot if I needed it. Ready for the day, I took off.

I'd only lived in this village a short while, about a year, but in that year, I was in hiding or doing research. Today I just wanted to site see, get to know some locals maybe. There are a lot of samurai here, so I thought maybe I'd find one who could help me develop a kenjutsu style fit for my assassination style. Either way, I took to the streets and began walking toward the center of Aerogakure.

In the marketplace near the center of the village I was purchasing a peach for my breakfast, a simple pleasure I indulged myself with every now and then when money would allow. My money handed over I made my way to a bench to start munching on the fruit. My sword hung from m hip at the moment, bouncing every now and then as I took a bite which seemed to bring me much joy each and every time.

The market place of Aerogakure was such a place of hustle and bustle, I always enjoyed going there. Just because I was quiet didn't mean I was shy. I'd become slightly comfortable with this place anyway. I always opened up more when I felt comfortable. As I listened to the surroundings, I noticed my stomach gurgle. I patted my pockets for my money.

"Damnit..." I said out loud as I moved along.

If there was one thing I'd learned in my assassin training was how to pick pocket. I walked into the dense crowd, bumping into a stocky man. I played the part, acted sorry and apologized. The bait had been taken, and my reward, the ryo that was stuffed in the man's back pocket. I purchased an apple then spied myself a bench. I walked over and sat down, then began munching on my apple. It wasn't until then that I noticed a man sitting next to me. I eyed him, then noticed the katana. Samurai, I thought.

I took the final bite from my peach and was left with nothing but the pit which I pocketed to use later today. I then sighed and looked into the crowd as I spoke, "Did you know, that the older some people's eyes get the sharper they are?" I would stop at that point and see if the boy caught on to where I was going with this.

I was still eating my apple when the man sitting next to me asked a question. He asked if I knew about the correlation between the age of a person and the sharpness of their eyes. Inside, I knew what he was asking about. He'd caught me that sly bastard. But instead, I put on my poker face and played bullshit with it. I asked a rhetorical question of my own.

"Do they really?"

I would keep looking forward and nodded my head in response, "Yes indeed, it happens every now and then whenever things are in just the right way. Similar to how an apple will ripen long before it's time to do so." I'd close my eyes and sigh again, my head facing down towards my lap in contemplation.

I took in the man's word. I liked his mystery. It was part of my assassin path, I liked the mystery of it all. I heard his heavy sign and look as his head now looked at his lap.
I usually didn't break the rules of my code, but in this case, I did.

"You saw me didn't you?"

This could be awkward if he was being facetious, but if not, I thought him and I might have some team material.

For the first time I looked at the kid when I spoke, "I guarantee I'm not the only one but that's because you're sloppy. Even if you were hungry you should take pride in your stealth and thats coming from an old bushido blade." I might not look it but I knew what I was talking about, I had grown up on the streets and while it was not my most proud slice of life I had learned to steal and I was quite good at it when I had to be.

I sighed. Fuck. That sly old samurai caught me. But sloppy? Alright, I probably was sloppy. I did train myself. I smirked and said.

"Damn, you're good old man. You have experience. I can tell. You have that stoic mystery to you."

His statement about taking pride in my stealth resonated though. My whole combat strategy was based around stealth. Was all my stealth that bad? I sucked up a small bit of pride before asking.

"How bad was I?"

I chuckled a bit as he asked how badly he had really done, "Looking for a report card eh? You really are new to this, stealth has two grades with those being pass and fail." I would sit back in the bench and shrug as I continued, "Technically you passed since the people that saw you didn't want to or didn't feel the need to report you but things won't always be so easy. Especially if they catch you over and over again, people get paranoid and think eventually they'll be your target so your long term isn't going so well."

I smirked, he was right. If you were good you didn't get noticed or caught. I hadn't been caught by anyone who wanted to do shit about it, but I'd still been noticed. Rule #2: Don't Get Caught. I'd failed myself. I sighed.

"I passed, but not by much. I broke rule #2. Don't get caught."

I sighed.

"So, what's your story, old man?"

I wanted to know what this man had gone through and how he got his skill. Then for whatever reason I said.

"The name's Yuurei, by the way."

My story was not something often asked for, I really wasn't sure where to start or where I should paraphrase based on this world's social policies. I decided to start with my name, "I am Shinobu of the Crane clan and my story takes me from lush palaces to wet alleys long roads and even a city in the sky. Perhaps Ill write a book some day."

"Well, Shinobu of the Crane clan, do you think an old bushido like you would care to mentor a barely passing stealth shinobi?"

In the period of time we'd spent talking, my quietness had seemed to vanish altogether. I felt comfortable, yet he was a complete stranger. Who knew, maybe it was the charm of the old man, but regardless, he clearly had been a place of two, which mean he could probably help me out.

I looked back towards the crowd and shook my head as I spoke, "As a holder of the old ways of my people I hate shinobi, pretty much every one of you regardless of most things... However, you remind me of a kid I used to know and I'm curious about..." I would stop for a moment and move my glance to him again, "well lets just say that many things about your future peak my curiosity. So yes, I can be your mentor."

I grinned. I'd got myself a nice mentor. A samurai at that, which was a statement. But what did he mean about my future. His curiosity left me pondering my own future, but I shrugged it off.

"Thanks, Old Man. When do we start?"

Old Man, the nickname I'd given him already, despite his age being forty at most. But with age came experience. I was eager for him to share this with me. I also didn't want to jump right into it feet first, but it might not have been an option either.

I would look away for a moment, "Get lost..." I would not say anything for a few seconds and then suddenly decide to continue. "If you manage to keep me from detecting you for an hour then you pass today and who knows, maybe I'll even treat you to dinner, maybe ramen or steak or something. Bonus points if you stay undetected and managed to take this from me." I would pull the core from my peach from my pocket and show it to him before closing my hand and placing it back in my pocket. "Good luck, now get lost."

I was a bit taken back at first, then the Old Man announced the challenge. I didn't waste my time at getting to it. I causally got up and walked into the mass of people, charging chakra into my feet and into my body. I was walking with the flow of the crowd, looking to blend it. I also flicked on my chakra sensory to get a lock on the Old Man's location. This challenge was going to be a good one. I just needed to figure out how to get that peach core.

95/100

I would chuckle as he darted off, I had a plan to catch him though it would be one of mental action more than anything else. I sat on the bench and closed my eyes, my arms folded across my chest and only moving by breathing. I had no doubt I would win this challenge but it never hurt to gauge students before the real exams.

My charge charge completed and wind formed at the bottom of my feet, cushioning each step, which was now silent. I made my way through the crowd and took a left down a dark alleyway. The Old Man hadn't moved last I checked, but my chakra sensory was now out of range. I moved down the alley, and made another left, but kept a close watch on my back and front, making sure he wasn't going to surprise me. I kept charging chakra through my body, but waited and watched for that old bastard to move.

85/100

Chakra sensory: inactivated

Name: Fuuton: Silent Stepping
Rank of Jutsu: D
Element Affinity: Fuuton
Type: Ninjutu
Distance: Self
Description: Charge required. The user focuses fuuton chakra into their feet, forming a coat is wind around them. This lifts the user from the ground by an inch, silencing their steps by allowing them to never actually step foot on the ground. The air prevents the user from crunching leaves, breaking sticks, and anything else that they could step on and make noise is silenced. A small speed increase of 5% is granted as well. Lasts for 5 posts. Cool down of 4 posts.

I continued to sit there and listen around me, this plan would most likely work unless the skill level of the kid was much higher than what had been show. Yes indeed, things would work out quite nicely for me soon enough.

I completed my charge and a kanji formed on my chest. As this happened, I blended into the shadows of the alleyway. My phase one of my waiting was over. I smirked and nodded to myself.

I dashed across the open street, just spaced enough that I fit between two people. I looked and the Old Man hadn't moved yes. Though it was bright, I managed to cross in just the right amount of time that I was re-concealed by the shadows of the new alley. He was in range again. I flicked on my sensory again and locked his position.

I wandered down the back alley and made a final left, then walked to the corner of the building. I stood in the shadows and watched for a moment. Silent steps and clothed in shadows, the peach core was as good as mine.

I darted as fast as I could to a nearby tree that put me within eight feet of the samurai. The shadow extended perfectly enough that I could get to the park bench, then his shadow cast and the shadow of the bench would continue to hide me. I proceeded. The final trick was to get that core that rested in his pocket. I could literally smell it I was so close. I slowly reached my arm through the slit in the bench and reached into Shinobu's pocket. I clenched the peach core and slowly removed my hand. I'd done it slowly, but with precision. The next phase was just going to be hiding, but I needed to be sure that he hadn't caught me.

60/100

Name: Shadow Morphing Seal
Rank of Jutsu: C
Element Affinity: -
Type: Fuuinjutsu
Distance: Self
Description: Charge required. After a charge, the user focuses chakra to the center of their chest, forming a seal of the kanji for "Shadow." This seal morphs the user, along with anything he is wearing, into the shadows, blending them with the environment. It makes it seem as if they'd disappeared from thin air. Shadows are required for the jutsu to work, though they can move short distances between shadows before they become visible. Lasts for 4 posts. Cool down of 5 posts.

I smirked as his hand reached up, I waited until he had his hand in my pocket before reaching down quickly and snatching his wrist. "Nice try but your fancy tricks don't fool me, still had I been a lesser person this may have worked. Time for dinner." I would release him, allowing him to keep hold of the core and rise to my feet. Walking slowly to make my way through the crowd so as to let him catch up and decide on where we would have our meal.

245/250

Spoiler:

"Fuck! How did you do that?"

I was pissed. He caught me, but I wanted to know how. Maybe he was like me and could sense chakra. I looked at my hand and the peach core. I stuffed it into my pocket then began following Shinobu through the crowd, catching up to him quickly. I didn't say anything, just pondered. How could I have done this differently? What went wrong? Was my plan flawed? All I knew was I had work to do, and that's all that mattered. More pressing through, was the growling in my stomach.

As he caught up to me I answered his question, "At times things can become more clear when you are unable to see. This is the case for me. So, what shall be our meal?" The district with all sorts of restaurants and food carts was coming up so there would be plenty to choose from.

I chuckled. He was always so metaphoric. I thought about the food offer. I wasn't picky.

"Well, after that trial, I vote we go steak. I could probably eat an entire cow."

I reached my hand into my pocket and felt the peach core. Felt every ridge and divot in the core. It was more than a peach core to me. It was a lesson in itself.