The sun was now set in the late afternoon, with the last rays of warm sunshine casting long shadows on buildings and tree lines. A particular, magenta haired ninja sat in an empty booth in a respectable restaurant in Konoha, sipping his favorite drink. A clear, small bag lay in one hand, holding a tuft of chestnut fur. To the side of his cup lay an assortment of evidence he had gathered, and slowly, and methodically, he would study them.
"Hm." Was all he said to himself. Looking down to his sakura tea, he swirled the cup and watched the pickled cherries dance in their whirlpool. With a sigh, he set it aside and propped his chin in his palm. "Neh eh, what a mess I got in."
Aio, maybe we missed something? His inner voice offered, to which he scratched his head and snorted in frustration. Again.
Obeying his own command, Satoshi picked up the photograph of the missing girls, and held the bags of hair he had collected. On had strands of long, brown hair, while the other, held silky strands of dark blue. Those had been a pain in the ass to find.
Nope, not these. He concluded for the fifth time. But that means someone else was there as well…
Laying the photos down, and the bags aside, he reached for the shards of a broken sake bottle he had found on the second story, behind the bar counter. A lone cup had been its mate. Doesn't really tell me much, there could be a hundred different stories behind that.
The next bag laid on the table in front of him. Okay, this is where it gets weird. The only thanks he could ever give to the wretched woman he called a mother was her inane obsession with the undead, their spirits, and demons. Growing up with such a kook had left Satoshi with a wide knowledge of such things spiritual, and so when the ashes of a Gaki was found in the kitchen, well, he was left confused.
Actually, not so much as confused as just plain fucking bewildered. Sure, they weren't necessarily your common spirit, but enough so that they could be found in children stories, old wives tales, and the like. But to come across one itself? Not your typical day.
Aside from that, Satoshi had combed the place thoroughly, finding the two men he had wished to question strewn about the place like confetti. Whomever was there before, certainly knew their traps. If he wasn't the man he was, he could have suffered the same fate.
"Satoshi." A rough voice came from his side. Turning to look to the owner, Satoshi gave a small smile and waved.
"Eh, Nori!" Satoshi offered the seat across, from which the fellow shinobi took. "Sakura tea?"
The man sighed. "You always were too cheery for your own good. I'm here about the men you found, we've identified them."
Satoshi nodded in understanding, leaning lazily against his seat as he listened.
Nori continued. "It appears as though you've stumbled upon something, and by something, I mean this." Laying out an open folder, pictures and documents of a certain group came before Satoshi's eyes. "They call themselves The Copper Gang."
"Eh o!" Satoshi drank his tea and placed the cup back down excitedly. "I thought something was familiar, they're run by The Golden King."
Nori blinked, grunting in agreement. "Used to be a small group, petty thefts, causing chaos in certain towns and villages. They've been around for years now, and no one really knows how big they've become, or who this supposed 'King' of theirs is."
Satoshi picked up the photo of the man he found in one piece, twirling it around to Nori. "This man, I found already dead in the bathhouse. He was dressed as the host. Is he a part of this gang as well?"
Nori guffawed a yes, leaning forward and lowering his voice. "This bathhouse was apparently managed by an elderly couple about a year ago, but according to the local files they disappeared and he showed up, claimed to have bought the place."
A year ago…could there be? Satoshi scratched the stubble on his chin. -three girls, ages ten through fourteen, all missing within a span of a few days.
"How did no one recognize this man?" Satoshi mused, looking down to the photo. The man was balding, with a fat face and teeth protruding from under his lip. He was ugly, to say in the least.
"We actually had to dig a little to find any correlation. There was a report with his description and photograph taken six years ago, off the coast of Kirigakure."
"Kiri? And why would we have a file of that?"
"Because apparently," Nori tapped a finger against the photo. "It was an involvement of human trafficking, with some of the girls being from the Land of Fire."
Satoshi stared at the photo of the man, and he struggled not to tear it in half.
"We finally 'ere." Benji came to stand at the outside of a door, reaching only a foot at full height and knocking with his paws. "Ai! Open up!"
Thank God! Evelyn crossed her arms and looked around her, uneasy with the unfamiliar surroundings. When they had finally spied the tall structures of buildings, the only thing that kept one foot in front of the other was the thought of a hot meal and a hot bath. The sheer willpower it took to pick up the dead-weights she called legs was enough excuse to sleep for five days.
Kisame, on the other hand, grew warier and observed how much they stuck out like a sore thumb. For one, they had a weasel as a guide, two, he was chained to a young female, and three…well, not many people gave the same appearance as him.
When they finally joined the crowd before disappearing into the back alleyways, the judgmental stares and curt whispers was enough excuse to make him collapse the city in a single jutsu.
With a sniff in the air as they waited for the door to open, the shark frowned and peered around for unwanted eyes. "Tanzaku still has that same smell."
Subconsciously, Evelyn sniffed the air herself.
"Eh, so ya know this place?" Benji pounded again. "Open up, I said!"
As though on command, the door burst open with such intensity it sent the small mammal flying. Evelyn jumped in place, while Kisame crossed his arms and narrowed his eyes.
A young woman, perhaps a bit younger than Evelyn, was standing at the door in a beautiful peach kimono, her face pinched in fury. "I said, don't come-oh!" Staring at the two strangers, (and hearing the string of curses from a certain weasel) the young girl placed her delicate hands on her dress and bowed in apology.
"Gomen'nasai! I thought you were someone else!" Straightening herself just as quickly, a huge smile was plastered on her face as she reached forward and grabbed Kisame's arm. "Nara-sama told us you would be arriving!"
"'ey now! Ya can't just go grabbing people willy nil, Momo!" Benji strode forward as he shook the dirt from his coat. "Besides, he's dangerous, that one!"
Kisame, at the moment, was completely perplexed at the smaller girl holding onto him, trying with all her might to drag him inside. Evelyn struggled internally with whether she should laugh at the look on his face, or scream for someone to give her a bed already.
"Oh shush, Benji." One moment she was smiling brilliantly at the shark, and the next, a dark, murderous glare had overtaken her cute features. Her eyes sparkled with insanity. "Mess this up for me and I'll kill you!" She whispered vehemently.
"Oh, frit frat with that!" Benji spat at her. "He's here for Nara-sama, not another lover yer keep thinking yer gonna get-"
The girl called Momo, highly embarrassed her secret plan was revealed, removed her touch from Kisame's and punted the rodent as far as she could. Evelyn put her hands over her mouth at the abuse, watching her furry friend flying high across the sky.
With a soft pant, Momo lightly dusted imaginary debris from her kimono, turning back around and resuming her hold on the shinobi. "So, what was your name? Just come right this way."
Is this really happening? Evelyn stared at the speck that was growing smaller in the distance, and suddenly felt a tug on her wrist.
"Hurry up, girl! We haven't got all day!" Momo's voice had suddenly changed from its cute demeanor to that of a nasally brat. She then pulled again on the chain.
For the first time since she had been tangled in this spider web, Evelyn truly felt anger. Oh, no she didn't.