Shikamaru's eyes snapped open with a knock at his door. A knock could mean so many things in his world. All the way from a visit from a friend, to one memorable mission proved an enemy intent on skewering him. However, the most likely case in this scenario was the maid thinking he had already left and was trying to clean the room. Rolling off the bed still fully dressed from last night and having slept on top of the covers he was more or less ready for anything.
"Yes, can I help you?"
"This is Officer Yui, its eight thirty, do you intend to sleep the day away."
A small grimace crossed the ninja's lips. He had stayed up late thinking after he finished reading the paper and had not been in a rush to get up. A second after that he thought how the man had known where he was sleeping. Had there been two tails? Maybe the first one had been a mere diversion. No, in order to trail him after he had lost the first one they would have needed a team and that seemed unlikely. More likely the innkeeper had informed them that a ninja was spending the night in town. Such an action would seem far more likely than the alternative.
Opening the door he tried not to seem surprised at the now familiar face. Holding up the paper he said, "We need to go to these offices today."
"The Kadouzeki Times," the man looked up at him his expression confused.
Shikamaru folded the paper over to the weather section and pointed at the representation of the moon. "The two sets of fires that happened within days of each other took place when there was the least amount of light provided by the moon. The fire that happened in between those took place on a rainy night, when visibility was severely reduced. They're using their environment."
"And you think this can help us find who is behind it."
The ninja had been prepared for his pronouncement that it was the Mano and it was useless to look in any other direction. This time his words seem to be opened to the possibility. The fact that he used the word "we" did not go past his notice either. "Yes, I'm hoping I'll be able to find something in the newspaper that might point to someone. Preferably someone not too wealthy, but might feel like they have been slighted."
The samurai held out his hand for the newspaper and started to flip through it as he asked, "How would your crest observation work into this?"
Scratching the back of his head the young Jonin said honestly, "I'm not sure. There are several possibilities from, they may just want to hurt the Governor and not the people he's renting to or your theory from yesterday." Shikamaru had added the last part as more of a peace offering, then to give any real credence for the theory.
The samurai nodded, "All right. The offices are not far from here."
"You know where they are," the ninja was impressed by the man's apparent knowledge of the village.
A small smile crossed the older man's face as he pointed to a small line at the bottom of the paper that said, "Address all editorial responses and subscription requests to." Shikamaru remember reading the address, but hadn't thought to use it.
The two men left the inn right after he paid for another night not wanting to go through the trouble of renting the room again. Besides it hardly made a dent in the money he had made last night. There walk was silent and the ninja used the time to ponder Officer Yui's new behavior. He seemed to fluctuate between being reluctantly helpful to antagonistic. It was suspicious, but what it pointed to, he didn't know.
The Kadouzeki Times was based in a large building and from the sounds coming from the open windows it wasn't just the offices but also contained the printers. Stepping into the building a receptionist greeted them and Shikamaru allowed Yui to do the talking as his uniform made things easier. They were told to wait for a minute and the woman returned with an older woman whose nose stuck out like a beck bird of prey. Her eyes were behind thick glasses and they seemed to bulge out of her skull.
"You wish to see the archives," she demanded and even though she was significantly older and shorter than him he found himself straightening as he nodded. "Fine, follow me." Unconsciously both of the men fell in behind her much like schoolchildren.
The three of them descended the stairway and the woman called over her shoulder, "What exactly are you looking for?
"We would like to look at the last three months of your paper if that's possible."
"Of course," she answered reaching the bottom of the stairs and gesturing to a table. "Sit, I will bring it to you." When the woman returned she was carrying three large books easily the size of an open newspaper. They were each an inch thick and bound in leather. Dropping the books on the table was a loud thud she looked over at them, "These are the two months previous. We have not completely compiled this month's volume yet. So, you'll be receiving loose papers in a minute try not to mess them up."
"Yes ma'am," Shikamaru said almost feeling an urge to salute her.
"If you need anything asked the receptionist, she will get me. Do not attempt to put anything back. Do not attempt to get anything for yourself, you will only mess it up in the end." She stared down her nose at them until she felt like her point had been made and then she said almost pleasantly, "I hope you find what you're looking for."
When the woman left, Yui spoke up, "That woman reminds me a lot of my mother-in-law."
"Really, she reminds me a little of my mother."
The two men looked at each other and they almost smiled until the samurai gestured towards the table. "Can I help you in anyway?"
The ninja thought for a minute not wanting to alienate the man, but not sure how he could use him. "Sorry, I'm not sure what I'm looking for." He opened the first volume and added, "I just hope I know it when I see it."
Shikamaru had learned to speed read simply because, he didn't like to read. The assignments at the Academy had bored him and while he would've been happy to skip them his mother made sure he did them. His father had come to his rescue and taught him how to speed read. It was a useful skill, but this would be the first time he was actually using the skill on a mission.
He scanned each page, dismissing most of the articles out of hand. There was a lot of junk in this newspaper and he skipped articles that seem to hold no promise for him. It took him nearly two hours to get through the first volume and when he closed the leather covering his vision was slightly blurry. Rubbing his eyes until they focused he glanced over at Officer Yui who was quietly reading one of the newspapers that had been brought down sometime during his fugue like state.
"Anything," the officer asked folding the paper and putting it on his lap.
"Not really," Shikamaru answered burying his head in his hands.
"You're really not a plant."
That comment caused the ninja to glance over at the man curiously, "What do you mean?"
"No offense, but ninja do what they're paid to do. I thought you were either here to frame the Mano family or look into the police department."
He raised an eyebrow at that not knowing what to ask about first, "You always thought they were innocent?"
"At first they were suspects, but their merchants and they always have a cost-benefit analysis going behind all their actions. For what little they would gain, it would cost them so much if they were caught. Of course the governor has been putting a lot of pressure on us to name them. We thought you were coming to frame them."
"We," he raised an eyebrow in question.
The older man shifted uncomfortable, "The current governor is a little more hands-on in the day-to-day running of things than the previous ones. He doesn't have any problem using his position to pursue his grudge against the Mano family. If you were planning on planting some evidence we would've raided their house and try to limit the damage."
"So, that's why you had me followed?"
The man shifted nervously, "Yeah, but when you roughed up those Yakuza I decided you were legitimate."
"How'd you know about that? I lost the person that was tailing me."
A small smile crossed the man's face, "They complained about it to us."
Shikamaru shook his head thinking how screwed up the situation was and opened the next book. The first week of articles again provided nothing interesting and it wasn't until the middle of the second week that he found something that caught his eye. Apparently a guard had been killed at the warehouses that the governor owned. A suspect was caught and apparently quickly confessed. There was no mention of the incident for the next three days and when it was mentioned again it was a notification of a public execution.
He frowned as he read that, normally with a confession there wasn't a death penalty, except for when it came to treason, "The man who killed the guard at the warehouses, why was he executed?"
"You got to that did you," the older man sighed. "Calling him a man is a bit of a stretch though. If he was a day over nineteen I would be surprised. Since he confessed he should've received twenty years of hard labor, but the governor wanted an example and he was the first person that had committed a capital offense since he took power." The man sighed, "Bad luck on his part."
"Was the governor there?"
"At the execution? Yeah, he has to be."
"Was his family crest there," Shikamaru asked glancing over at him.
"Yep," Yui paused for a second and then quickly added, "No, it is not possible."
The ninja raised an eyebrow, "Why?"
"Listen I didn't arrest him and in fact I only saw him a few times in the cell, but this kid was skin and bones. If he did belong to a gang, they wouldn't be the type that avenges their members if they are executed."
The young Jonin turned back to his reading curious if he would find more. There wasn't much except for an article on the execution itself a few days later and a handful of editorials complaining about it. After a few days though there was nothing more and the articles went back to being nothing of note.
Finishing the volume he did a mental calculation in his head and found that the execution took place about when the moon was half full. If somebody did want revenge for that person, they would've had a good two weeks to do reconnaissance of the targets. Of course, why would anyone bother? Sure, on occasion he had heard of gangs going after members that had betrayed them or even left them, but going after a governor, it would only bring more attention to them.
Shaking his head he started reading the third and last volume. The first fire was only granted one mention, but it was on the front page at the bottom. The next one received a little more attention, but it wasn't until they reached the third that it seemed to dawn on people that something was happening. The restaurant had been well-known and by that time no one could deny that they were dealing with a firebug.
Shikamaru finished reading about thirty minutes later and still the only article that had stuck out in his mind was the execution story. However, he had to admit that Officer Yui was right. Why would anyone go through all that trouble and of course the answer was the same for just about every other suspect he had on this mission, revenge.
"The man that was executed, you said he killed a guard at the warehouse right, how?"
Yui shrugged, "Bashed him in the back of the head," he turned pointing to where the skull met the spine. "The guy was probably dead before he hit the ground," the man added.
Closing his eyes Shikamaru tried to imagine how one could inflict such an injury. A person would have to strike from behind. But why would a thief strike a guard unless they knew they were there and if they knew you were there you wouldn't be behind them, "There were two thieves that broke into those warehouses. The guard saw one of them and the other thief hit the guard in the back of the head."
"Okay but…"
"It explains everything," he said interrupting. "The two were probably close, either related by blood or love, something like that. There partner saw the execution and the governor and his crest. That would explain why they're only attacking those targets since they probably wouldn't know they could check public records for more information like a business owner would."
The two men stared at each other for a minute before the officer spoke up, "We could guard the remaining buildings and catch them when they try to strike again."
"I don't think so. They're very observant if you post your men all around you'll scare them off and they might choose to try to wait you out. Now unless you intend to keep you're force tied down indefinitely."
"We can arrange disguises so they don't look like their officers."
Shikamaru shook his head, "If that guy you had follow me last night is a typical example, they could still notice you."
The samurai slammed his hand on the table, "Then what do you suggest we do. Assuming your correct it doesn't seem like we can do much about it except try to catch them after they strike again!"
Embarrassingly and yet conveniently Shikamaru's stomach rumbled protesting the lack of food since last night's barbecue. "Let's ponder this problem over lunch."
When the two men left the building they were hit by a wave of humidity. It was so thick in the air that it felt like a physical presence. They found a restaurant near the river which didn't do much to help the humidity, but halfway through the meal a wind kicked up which provided a little relief. Even if it meant it was a prelude to a thunderstorm, Shikamaru was grateful.
They ate in silence and afterword walked along the river, both of them lost in their own thoughts. However, as the wind continued to blow Shikamaru eye's drifted towards the Kourigawa River. Yesterday the water had been fairly calm, but now the wind was creating little white caps. The cup of tea he had been sipping at stopped halfway to his lips as a thought occurred to him. The wind was almost blowing parallel to the river or at least as best as it could, given the winding course of the river.
"If this wind keeps up, I know where they're going to hit next."
"What, how?"
"Those warehouses we saw with the big crest on them. If one caught on fire and with a little luck with the right wind like we have now it might spread to the other two. It could grow beyond it even, but I doubt they care about that."
A strong gust of wind kicked up again and the man turned to face him, "Fine, I'll have the patrols increased in the area. With a little luck we should catch them before they set the fire."
Shikamaru grabbed his arm preventing him from leaving, "Wait, this might be our only chance where we know where they will strike, we can't lose this advantage. Before you do anything we should check out the site ourselves and see if we can come up with a better plan." He could see that the officer was conflicted about what to do so, he added, "The more people who know the better chance the governor will know and if he gets involved," he trailed off allowing him to fill in the blanks. The samurai hesitated, but in the end nodded.
Scoping out the warehouses was more complicated than he first thought it would be. The place was a hive of activity and he didn't want to draw any attention to himself. In the end they had to wait for a while before Shikamaru told his plan to Officer Yui, which was deceptively simple. Yui and a few men he trusted would wait inside the little guard shack at the entrance while they would wait for his signal. He intended to hide on the roof by using the Cloak of Invisibility Technique where he could hopefully watch the approaches.
If their little firebug kept to their pattern, they would be very cautious in their approach. They would wait for a strong wind. They would have to jump the wall before they set the first building on fire, probably from the inside if they could. It's how Shikamaru would do it although he might use the option of crossing the river which simply wasn't an option for them. The only problem was the rain. If they waited too long and the rain destroyed any chance of the other buildings catching fire they probably wouldn't show.
When the workers left for the day they moved in, informing the guard that he was not to do his rounds which was easy enough as the weather proved to be nasty. Then the waiting game began. The first hour passed uneventfully, but the second brought in a brief and intense storm. Fortunately, it only lasted a few minutes and the humidity returned almost instantly drying out every puddle. More importantly though, it soaked his cloak, which ruined it for the technique he was using.
The Cloak of Invisibility Technique was not really useful in the field and was only taught to Academy students because it involved several basic ideas that helped students master more complicated techniques. Once the cloth was wet it became impossible to use which was only one of many of its weaknesses. Fortunately, he was able to switch out with a coat from the guard shack, which didn't cover his entire body, but should suffice for the situation.
Time passed and on the horizon, he could see another storm coming. From experience he knew that the one earlier had been just a small one that preceded the larger storm. He was starting to think that the earlier rain might've scared them off when he saw the barest of movements. Something had slipped from the gap between two buildings and had almost immediately been obscured by the wall. Part of his mind realized, that was how they had been avoiding the checkpoints and patrols.
A few more minutes passed and he was starting to wonder if what he had seen was a cat when a small shadowy figure pushed themselves over the wall. As the intruder hit the ground he sprung into motion pushing off of the roof and diving towards the ground a shuriken in one hand and a length of wire in the other.
Landing on the ground he had to immediately reevaluate the target. Before he had thought they were just small, but this person was tiny. Aiming low he threw the shuriken so that it cut in front of their path closing it to wrap around their body three times before he pulled the wire tight. They were so light that he was easily able to yank them off their feet without much trouble.
Two bottles about the size of beer flew out of their hands as they tried to roll free. With a few large steps he put an end to their escape attempt by putting his foot on their chest. It was then he received his first good look at the suspect. The first thing that he noticed was that there were female, but what overrode every other observation was the sudden awareness that they weren't short, the firebug was a kid.
Authors note: I had intended to make this the last chapter, but then it just got too long.
