ICHI 02: Tag, You're It

[Shu]

It had been a couple of days since the meeting with his siblings and Shu was now residing in the festival town, Crater City. The meeting had not turned out how he had hoped, but there was little time to sulk. He was a very busy tanuki and this hiccup would not impede his plans in the slightest. Unfortunately, it would mean that he would need to rely on humans, but such was the price for freedom.

Sitting in one of the private rooms of an underground club in the city the Ichibi poured himself some sake. He had come to really enjoy the stuff. It was strange. The alcohol had no affect on him, but for whatever reason he liked to drink it. He also found himself having odd cravings for food from time to time, despite not needing such forms of sustenance. Clearly, it was a side effect of the Tanukitsuki. An issue he would need to deal with when further refining the technique.

However, Shu had more important issues to worry about than these strange new cravings. No, he had heard word of a tracker in these parts that could locate just about anyone. Such an individual could prove to be dangerous. But Shu intended on dealing with this particular issue in a more diplomatic and less overt way.

Though he wouldn't be heart broken if he needed to revert to Plan B. It would just mean he would need to skip town a little sooner. Maybe. The man he was meeting didn't seem the type to have too many people that would miss him.

[Cezerny]

And such a tracker was already in the hiz-ouse. Tracking the ultimate prey: the best sake this shindig had to offer. Cezerny was a regular here back when he lived in Hi no Kuni. He inhaled deeply, singling the sweet, biting scent of the rice liquor out of the sweat, lesser alcohols and perfumes that littered the property.

He was between jobs now...his last one left him with a rather sizeable sum which was currently burning a hole through the satchel in his pocket. And from the smell of things, he would have a buddy to celebrate with. In the door, down the stairs, down the hall...follow your nose! Past the first door, past the second door, past the thir...no...no. It was in the third door. With a joyous crow, Cezerny raised his steel-plated shinobi sandal and let fly a fantastic kick to the door to the room Shu was currently inhabiting.
Perhaps it was fate that would bring them together. Or maybe it was Cezerny's most excellent olfactory. Regardless, here they occupied the same space at the same time for the first time ever. Cezerny regarded the disguised tanuki only momentarily before bouncing over and melting into the couch on which he sat.

"Hey there, guy!" he said joyously, nabbing one of the sake cups off Shu's tray and helping himself to a cup. Sipping it, the mercenary sighed, throwing an arm around Shu's shoulder. "I see you got taste here, brah! Drinkin' the good shit! Hope you got another in ya, my treat, yeah?"
Without even waiting for an answer, Cezerny leaned toward the door and hollered.
"Aye ladies! Another bottle for me and my guy, here! We're gonna party the fuckin' panties off this place, so keep 'em coming!"
Turning back to Shu, he grinned, punching him lightly in the shoulder.

"I'm Cezerny! Pleased to meet ya! What's your handle, brah?"

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[Shu]

Whether by fate or by design, these two had crossed paths. Truthfully, Shu had not even really started his search. That's a lie. He asked like two people that frequented the area. So, he was sure that the underworld was doing its job in setting out the bait. Shu was sure that this tracker would show up at some point, and lo' and behold here he was, being as loud and brash as humanly possible. God..., the tanuki groaned internally as the man bounced over to him, drank his sake, and otherwise made himself at home.

Any normal person would have been murdered the moment they reached the couch. Most likely impaled in various parts of their body. A limb would more than likely have been ripped off. Cezerny was fortunate enough that the people Shu asked had mentioned a few distinct details about him.

Blond hair. Check.
Boisterous personality. Check.
The innate desire to strangle on sight. An understatement.

"Shu," the tanuki answered, a grin forming as he held back his annoyance. Diplomacy. That's what the situation called for, right? "But Cezerny, eh?" he questioned before taking a sip of the sake. Maybe it wasn't such a good thing that it had no effect. "Strange ass name you got there."

[Cezerny]

Cezerny grinned back as Shu answered, smiling also. It wasn't often that he came across someone who didn't take a swing at him within five minutes of meeting him. Or try to throw him. Or try to stab him.
This fella seems nice. he thought to himself, pushing off and making himself comfortable at the other end of the couch so that he wasn't practically sitting on Shu's shoulder. I've got a good feeling about this cat.
But there was something off about Shu. Cezerny couldn't quite put his finger on it, but he smelled funny. Not bad-funny, like something that you couldn't quite tell if it was spoiled yet or not. But his chakra and energy smelled...interesting. Kind of peppery...with a hint of floral and earth.

"Yuh." he said with a handwave. "My parents picked it out...it means 'Black' in Cyrillic. Some folks call me Kuro. Though I forget sometimes to answer to it. Cezerny works for me. It's even more of a bitch to spell."
He downed his own cup of sake, savoring the warm burn all the way down to his belly.
"Say, brah. You don't smell like a reg'lar person. What's your novel, eh? Why you smell like that? Not sayin' you stink or nothin'. Nah, guy. But there's people smell, and there's animal smell, and you don't smell like neither one, son."
Cezerny filled his cup again, inquisitive hazel eyes locked on Shu, hopeful and eager for a good story.

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[Shu]

The little bit about his name went in one ear and out of the other. He really didn't care. The mercenary had already announced that he was in fact the guy Shu was looking for. However, he would offer up so much more information. And so freely too. As his grin faded an eyebrow rose. His scent was different? That didn't make sense. The whole purpose of the Tanukitsuki was for him to be undetectable to humans. Even the best tracking animals would struggle greatly to identify him. Yet this...moron was able to do it in no time at all, seemingly without any effort. Golden eyes narrowed on Cezerny. Perhaps he was a lot more dangerous than Shu had originally anticipated.

Dangerous, but still useful.

"Classified," Shu answered as a woman walked in carrying a small tray with the sake. She took the opportunity to pour each of them a drink and swiftly left, recognizing Cezerny almost immediately. She didn't get paid nearly enough to deal with customers like him. "But tell you what," he said as he downed a drink. "You do a job for me and I'll let you in on the big secret. Sound good?"

[Cezerny]

It was faint. So faint, but the amount of chakra being used in order to upkeep the jutsu that masked the chakra was there, like the subtle scent of thyme in a fragrant dish. It was hard for Cezerny to describe.
But this was why he was one of the most renowned trackers in the shinobi world.

This guy was getting more and more interesting by the minute. Pouring himself another cup of sake, he glanced out the door as another one of the women were passing by. Grinning and waving wildly, he managed to get her attention.
"Oh! Ooh....nuh-uh....." the woman muttered, shaking her head and speeding up her transit to her destination. Cezerny continued to grin and settled back into his chair. That was the reaction he got from the ladies most of the time. Though it didn't always stay that way. He got his, after all.

Cezerny only nodded as Shu spoke. He understood not wanting to talk about it. There were things about him that were classified as well. Like his lineage, and the particular reason he did not carry a surname. But now Shu was talking. He said the magic word, and Cezerny's heightened hearing wasn't even necessary to pick this up and pique his interest.
"Ooh...you got a deal, brah! Well, I guess I should ask what the job is, first? Eh, fuck dat noise... I like surprises. When we startin'?"

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[Shu]

Shu laughed a little at Cezerny's enthusiasm. This was turning out to be too easy. Honestly, he was expecting to have to bribe the guy a little bit. It was a piece of cake to get money. There was no such thing as a bank he could not get into or any defense he could not infiltrate. The time would have been a small price to pay really. In theory, it could have even been fun. Maybe he would do that later. Nobody would certainly expect a tailed beast to be knocking over banks. Unless he blew it up. Along with the entire village. That might put people on his trail again. Maybe.

Humans were stupid.

"This job is all you," he said as he stood up from the couch. "All you need to do is find me. Wait three days and then do whatever it is that you need to do." Shu started to make his way towards the door before stopping. "Your deadline is a week after you start. Until then, enjoy yourself. That last chick seemed into you."

With that he took his leave. Three days wasn't a lot of time and he had things to do.

[Cezerny]

Cezerny was practically vibrating with excitement at the prospect of a job. Especially with this guy. Whatever it was, Cezerny was up for it. Shu wanted somebody knocked off? Consider their soul eaten. Shu wanted a guy's kicks? Cezerny would bring them with the feet still in them. Shu wanted 'cock' spray painted on the side of a building? Cezerny would make sure to outline and shade it.

The guy was a working dog. Plain and simple. He lived for the work.

But the game that the tanuki would propose would be his favorite of all. A tracking mission. Cezerny had to resist the urge to squeal like a schoolgirl and clap.
"I can do that, brah! All day! Don't you worry none...You're gonna be so found."
With that, Cezerny leaned in toawrd Shu, inhaling deeply. His scent infiltrated his nostrils, making its way into that section of his brain that had over time evolved to store such scents along with a visual imprint of the form that it belonged to. But even more than that, the subtle trickle of chakra that kept Shu's disguise in play...that drop of blood in the ocean was being stored. Cezerny closed his eyes, taking in that sampling of chakra. It was nearly nonexistent, but still there.

And it was all he needed.

"Later, guy!" he shouted as Shu departed, melting back into the couch and finishing off the bottle of sake.

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[Shu]

Opting to waste no time, once Shu stepped out of the club he began his search for suitable fleshbags, or decoys as they were more commonly referred. It didn't require much effort. A simple pat on the shoulder, an "accidental" bump on the streets, the slightest of touch was all Shu required to put them in his thrall. There were five in total, he decided that would be enough to keep Cezerny entertained. Plus, since he slipped each of them varying amounts of his own chakra someone from the villages or Bijūtsukai were bound to catch the scent, so to speak.

So they could have fun dealing with their little goose chase.

Within the hour, all five of his minions were out of the city and headed to who knows where. The only thing Shu could be sure of was that they would not be in Hi no Kuni by the end of the week. Then again, neither would he.

In the sky, Shu stood upon a small mound of sand and looked over the village. With arms extended he would grant Cezerny one final gift. Small, barely visible grains of sand sprinkled down on the city, essentially, blanketing the whole place in his chakra. With that done, he left.