"…" Going through the logs was taking far longer than Jun expected, but it finally seemed like she'd found something. "This name…is it familiar to you?"
The nin leaned over the desk as she flipped the log around for him to see. "Seiji…Michiba…" he narrowed his eyes. "Yeah, that guy is a trader from outside the village,"
"He was listed as entering with a banned substance," she raised a brow, "Cassia buds…"
"Yeah, I think the Hokage banned them because in high enough doses, they can become toxic. Once we removed the contraband he was allowed entry."
"Hmm," The plant sounded familiar. But why? Jun racked her brain, fully engrossed in finding an answer, not knowing she was staring intently at the nin during her contemplation. "CINNAMON!" She said suddenly, causing the nin to flinch.
"W-Wha-"
Jun knew that the bark when dried was used as a spice and that meant this was the only connection to the evidence found at the crime scene. She checked the log for a departure. There were no signs of Michiba leaving the village in the logs so she calmed a bit. If she were in the perpetrator's position, with this much heat the only option would be to lay low.
"Open this gate," She instructed, hoping to draw the thief out of hiding, "I'm going to check with my team to see what they've found,"
The owner and staff at Curry House were clueless, leaving Susumu and Ayame feeling dejected. With slouched shoulders, they walked away from the restaurant, feeling like they had failed in their investigation. They came to the end of the sidewalk and chose there to sit and lament.
"…What are we supposed to do now?" Susumu pouted in defeat.
"...I can get some papier-mâché. If you don't say anything, I won't either," Ayame suggested half-jokingly.
"We can't lie to the Hokage!" Susumu gaped at Ayame's suggestion, but he warmed up as time passed. "...How much papier-mâché do you think we'd need to recreate a forbidden scroll?"
As more people passed by, a man wheeling a cart of food gave Ayame inspiration. "…Susumu…maybe we need to approach this differently." Ayame sat straighter, "We know the curry powder came from this place, and that everyone here has an alibi,"
"Yeah?" Susumu squinted back, curious about Ayame's train of thought.
"So, who else does that leave?"
"A…customer?" Susumu mumbled back hopefully.
"No, we know that none of the curry restaurants were open that early. But you know who might be around that early? Their supplier," he answered with confidence. "We better go back and ask who delivers their spices!" They circled back to the restaurant and were met with confused looks by the staff.
"Back again?" The waitress asked, puzzled.
"We need to know when your last spice delivery was!" They demanded.
"Oh? W-Well…that's…uh…" she stammered out, "I'm not allowed to answer, I signed an NDA." Her lips were sealed.
"What?" The two nin balked, "Then bring the owner out here!"
"A-Alright," she ducked back behind the counter into the kitchen and came back with the restaurant's owner.
"You two again? I thought I already answered your questions!"
"Who delivers your spices, and when!?" Susumu asked the man, determined to get to the truth.
"W-Who? That's…" The owner grew tense, attempting to deflect the question. "I-I can't just tell you that, it's a trade secret!"
"If you refuse to answer our questions during this investigation you'll be charged with obstruction," Another voice spoke from the entrance.
"Seiji Michiba." Jun shut the door behind her and came up to where her teammates were questioning the owner.
"Sei…ji?" The owner raised a brow, "Michiba?"
"Who is that?" Susumu wrinkled his nose at the unfamiliar name,
"Is it our suspect?" Ayame glanced over to his sister for her response. The three turned their stares to the owner and he gave a nervous gulp.
"Ok! I'll come clean, just…please don't tell my competition!" The owner said quickly and clasped his hands in a pleading gesture. "S-Seiji supplies my spices, but that's all."
"And you met with him this morning?" Jun began her line of questioning.
"Yes!" The owner admitted, sucking in a breath, "P-Please don't arrest me! I didn't know he was a criminal! You have to believe—"
"When he met with you, what exactly occurred?" Jun continued the interrogation.
"Ah, well he was supposed to deliver more of his special blend, but he said something about missing a secret ingredient,"
"Cinnamon..." Jun narrowed her eyes at the realization. It all made sense now.
"Wait…I-I don't get it," Susumu grimaced as he struggled to piece things together. "So…we really are looking for this Seiji guy? Who is he?"
"Let's go," Jun ignored his question and headed out the door, already focused on her next task. Her teammates followed suit.
"S-So am I still in trouble?" The owner asked aloud in the empty room.
"If you hadn't found the curry powder, we might not have learned the identity of the thief, good work Susumu," Jun praised her teammate.
"Yeah?" Positive feedback!? Susumu's face lit up with a wide grin.
"My sister's right, if you hadn't licked the floor we wouldn't even know where to start."
"…You...licked the floor?" Jun raised a brow, finding that readily believable.
"No! Hey, come on man!" Susumu said in defense of his investigative methods.
"So, why are we headed to the gate?" Ayame asked aloud, playfully grinning back at Susumu's glare. "Is our guy planning on running?"
"One gate was reopened." Jun filled them in, "He'll definitely try to flee through there," They reached the gate quickly and to their surprise, found it unguarded.
"Uhm…where are the gate guards?" Susumu looked around at the empty scene.
"…" Jun came around the desk and found a logbook and a half-eaten dish of curry. "Hmm..." she leaned closer to inspect, but the intense smell of chili made her step back. "He's been here," She told her teammates, referring to the tainted food.
"Did he kill the guard?!" Susumu gasped.
"If he's dead, wouldn't there be blood or a body?" Ayame scoffed. "Besides, I thought we were on lockdown,"
"…There's the guard," Jun noticed an approaching figure. The man clutched his stomach uncomfortably as he wobbled over to them.
"Are you nin leaving the village? We're only allowing those on active missions to—"
"Why weren't you at your post?" Jun asked the guard.
"Well," there was a loud gurgle coming from the man's stomach, "Oh no…not again! I-I have to go—" his hands moved back to his belly as he dashed behind some bushes.
"…Eww,"
"Nnh…" Jun frowned. "If we leave now, we may be able to catch up to him," She looked past the gate, calculating how much of a headstart their target had.
"Think you can track him down Ayame?" Susumu turned to him.
"Me? I can give it a try, assuming he's not too far—"
"Then both of you leave, I'll pass on this information to the Hokage,"