A Hunger [No Kill]

Sutoka watched the traffic of his favorite eatery enter and exit as he clung to the familiar shadows. He watched with eyes opened wide and body silently still. The people boasted and laughed, fought and shoved, shoveled food and shuffled feet and did all things openly. Sutoka watched the happenings unfold as he waited for a moment of clarity. The path from himself to the front door was cluttered with nameless people and unknown faces, the likes of which rested uneasy on him. The crowd is to be expected; nothing out of the ordinary. The population… Sutoka counted as quickly as his eyes could dart; Average. There doesn’t appear to be anything special about today, this place, or the patrons. The moment a path opens up… Sutoka watched in unwavering patience. His stomach hurt from the long stretch of time he had gone without eating, but it would make no difference to his resolve. His safety was paramount and comfort a luxury. The shadows of an ever-close building that made up half of the walls of an alleyway concealed him. The smell of rot and of dirt that trickled down said alley, infused into the moisture of Kirigakure’s spring air concealed his scent. He made not a movement, and produced not a sound. As the moments passed and happenings continued, Sutoka watched and suppressed the natural cries of his stomach. Be silent. Be still. We are not safe yet.

Within the minute, a path to the restaurant he had been surveying cleared up. A clean cut through the crowd of careless people and patrons had presented itself to the young genin, and would be seized without hesitation. Sutoka sprang from his hiding and traversed the route at full speed, flying past all those who might see him. In no more than 3 seconds he was safely inside the establishment, concealed now by its closing cloth behind him. Sutoka crouched to remain hidden by the surrounding patrons, only to be detected by those closest to him. He made his way into line and began surveying the restaurant with his other senses. The aroma is normal, mostly. I can attribute the offset to the patrons themselves, though will inspect the food upon purchase. It’s loud enough that any true secrecy would be concealed by the sound, but from what I can tell there is nothing treacherous afoot. Neither hurried nor heavy footsteps trouble this place; it appears that the people are at ease. Everything checks out, for now. Sutoka then waited in line, shifting forward so as to move when it did.

“Man, I’m famished!”,  Maki said with the gusto of someone who wasn’t famished enough to say it with gusto. He wasn’t speaking to anyone in particular, partly because everyone was preoccupied enjoying the company with which they dined. Those in line with Maki were concentrating on the menu that stretched across a fragment of wall. Maki followed suit.

Upon arriving at the counter, Maki greeted the cashier with standard smalltalk and pleasantries. After giving his order, he noticed the person behind him in line was crouching. He turned to face the croucher, hoping to strike up a friendly conversation. It seemed as though the croucher was trying his best to remain unobserved and was refusing eye contact. Maki let out a humble chuckle at the bizarre man and proceeded to step aside, letting him place his order next.

Turning his body to face the man, Maki bluntly asked, “why are you crouching?”

As Sutoka's gaze darted among the crowd, surveying the restaurant for the smallest detail out of place, he noticed that the man in front of him had turned around. He's looking at me. Staring at me. He sees me. What should I do? I can't act rashly, that's how mistakes are made. That's how people die. Does he want me to die? Should I want him to? He's still looking. Remain calm, just dodge and wait it out Sutoka. Just wait it out... Sutoka recalled the numerous times he was under the cover of shadows in hostile territory and had to wait his opponents out. This was unlike them, however, as the opponent was staring directly at him in plain line of sight. Sutoka was uneasy, but he waited.

Soon the man turned away and placed his order. Almost there. As the man finished, he moved to the side and Sutoka progressed. The man then addressed him directly, asking a question as blunt as Sutoka thought he was bold.

Why am I crouching? He's curious- no, he's inquisitive. He's fishing for information. About me. What is his motivation? What's he planning? I can't afford to play into his schemes, not even for a minute. Throw him off Sutoka, do not give him the information he's looking for. And with that, Sutoka immediately stood up straight and tall at the counter. He kept his gaze looking straight ahead but kept the inquisitive man in his peripherals.

"I'm not." Sutoka replied. He then proceeded to place his order and prayed for its haste.

“You're right”, Maki responded while raising an eyebrow. This guy's weird... Maki shrugged it off.

“ORDER NUMBER 101!” yelled one of the cashiers.

Maki looked down at his receipt. Nice, I like fast service. He grabbed his meal from the counter and walked towards the exit of the shop. On his way to the door, he recalled a certain piece of wisdom bestowed by an elder in the village: Don’t trust crouching people.

Maki squinted his eyes, stopped his movement, and turned around, slowly, to face the former croucher with hostility. He dropped his meal on the ground, looked boldly at his new opponent, and with very particular but unspecified body language, indicated he wanted to fight.

Maki now stood confidently. Without moving his gaze from the former croucher's direction, he dashed towards him with one outstretched arm, planning to shove this motherfucker's face into the counter.

As the inquisitive man received his order and began leaving, Sutoka breathed a sigh of relief. He now waited impatiently for his meal to arrive, nervous that another adversary may present themselves at any moment. Time seemed to move slower than Sutoka in hiding; the busy buzzing of the hopping establishment filling him with unease. But wait, something wasn't right. What was that noise? Sounded like something dropped, but it was more than that. Something cut out too. It was... walking I think. Yes, the man who was walking away suddenly stopped. He hadn't exited yet, I'm sure of it. He must have dropped something as well. Did he bump into someone? I don't hear him speaking to anyone; what could be happening?

Suddenly, his question was answered. The footsteps started up again, but this time much faster and harder and heading directly for Sutoka. I knew it. I knew he was after me. Dammit- Sutoka slipped a smoke bomb out of his right sleeve and threw it to the ground as he made the proper hand sign with his left hand. A plume of smoke erupted around him immediately, cutting off the vision of all those looking within it. Sutoka quickly slid to his right and slipped into the crowd, getting as deep as he could within them and concealing himself entirely by obstacles. He shouldn't be able to see me, but I can't attack him from here. Sutoka quickly made several hand signs and in an instant three tendril-like figures emerged from his shadow. The tendrils each grabbed a couple kunai from Sutoka's pockets and began scattering across the restaurant. Alright, those will position themselves behind the opponent, to his left, and to his back-left. Because they're moving throughout the crowd, he may be able to see them, but that's ok. As long as they buy me enough time... As the tendrils took their positions, they would begin throwing shuriken at the target. At the same time, Sutoka would retrieve his bow from his back and prepare the next stage of his assault. Who is this man?

Chakra: 600/750: