Contrary to popular belief, Lamenolai was a town the young man was very familiar with. While he typically spent his time plucking herbs and bugs for his purposes, he often visited the towns for their hotels, attractions, food, and whatever it was that they could offer. He'd come here many times, and with the ninja families of the forest slowly mingling more and more with the neighboring towns, his all-black suit didn't earn him all that many stares. The coat got a few curious stares, however, probably because of the bright, toxic green markings etched into it. Some shop and innkeepers probably knew him, as well, considering how often he visited these towns.
"Right," he said as he stopped a few steps short after the entrance of the city, pushing his glasses back a notch, "let's get searching." He turned around to face his companion, who had lost something while out on a particular mission.
The young man who was following him looked positively distressed, even if he was doing his best not to let it show. Although he was also a ninja, his lighter clothes were misleading, wearing strange white robes complimented with fabrics of copper and gold. His short pitch-black hair stood out against the white robes, as did his blue eyes — although they were currently filled with panic and worry. "Takumi," he spoke out with a soft voice, one that strangers wouldn't expect from someone his age, "are you sure this is where they would've brought the book?"
"Positive, Neo," the toxic ninja answered without a hint of hesitation. "This is one of the biggest towns around: if you want big money for stuff, you go to big cities," Takumi explained, using his hands to show a visual of what he was trying to say. "They're probably going to pawn it off or some such. All we gotta do is ask around until someone can tell us if they've seen a book like yours."
To make a long story short, Tsuneo — affectionately called Neo by everyone he knew — had been out on duty when an important item was lost to him. His particular family of ninjas, the Archivists, were a secretive clan who kept records of every single ninja out there: almost. While their records didn't include every ninja alive — although they came very, very close to that — those who were recorded in their unique books could literally be tracked down, no matter where they were. In order to do so, the ninjas created and used special books that listed different ninjas depending on the Archivist's specific tasks. Among other things, Tsuneo's family focused on taking care of the death, helping injured ninjas, keeping the history of families past and present, and they also helped expecting mothers deliver. There was more to it, but that was the gist of the whole story.
Tsuneo had recently been promoted, earning him new duties to learn and to accomplish. He'd been out helping an expecting mother in a small ninja family when it happened: and the Archivist hadn't caught on to the theft at all. Radiant at having helped deliver a newborn, he'd been too trusting and friendly to pay much attention to any ninja there. One in particular seemed very friendly, patting Tsuneo on the back for a job well done. He'd thought nothing of it, but upon returning home, Tsuneo had been horrified to realize that his newest book had been swindled right under his nose.
Of course, he'd been tasked to go out and to retrieve it at all costs. Who knows what could happen if the wrong hands got the mystic book? Fortunately, Takumi was familiar with the shadier part of town, as well as the most well-known book stores, being an avid reader himself.
Tsuneo gave a shaky sigh as he looked around nervously. "Oh, I hope you're right," he said quietly, his voice getting slightly high-pitched from the stress. "I can't lose this book, Takumi." Keeping their book safe was literally one of the very first lesson an Archivist learned. The fact Tsuneo, an established Archivist who'd recently been promoted to a better title, had failed to remember one of the most basic lessons was positively embarrassing. His appointment mentor had been furious to learn he'd lost the book, and it was the first time in over a decade that Tsuneo had legitimately felt inadequate.
Takumi rolled his eyes at his friend's panic. "I get it, Neo, I get it. We'll find your book. Calm down." Although he could understand the feeling over losing a good book, Takumi couldn't go past mild disappointment or anger. He knew what the book meant to Tsuneo — the kid checked the thing compulsively every chance he got — but he couldn't bring himself to care to that extent. Couldn't they just make another one?
He was trying to keep Tsuneo on the task at hand when he felt something tugging at his coat.
He looked down to see a little blond-haired girl tugging at his coat, her bright green eyes shining with excitement. "Daddy," she asked the toxic ninja, and despite her enthusiasm, her voice was steady, "are we going to get books?"
"Ugh," Takumi grumbled as he rolled his eyes at the child. Not only did he have Tsuneo to watch over, with the Archivist freaking out over the book, but he also had to make sure his child didn't get kidnapped or something equally bothersome. "I don't know, twerp," he answered the child before turning back to Tsuneo. "Neo, can I know why we had to drag her along for this?" Ever since he'd learned that he had a child — an illegitimate one to a now dead mother, mind you — he'd been forced to take care of the girl. While he knew that was the right thing to do, the fact remained he always had to bring her with him everywhere he went.
"Aya could use some books to learn," Tsuneo explained, and while answering the other's question helped distract him slightly, the problem of his stolen book was still on his mind. "If we can find my book quickly, we could take some time to see the other books they have in the stores here." He always did like reading a nice book, and the eight-year-old girl could certainly use some distraction while her father worked all day.
"Do I look like I'm made of money?" Takumi replied sarcastically, not at all enjoying the idea of spending his hard-earned money on books for the child. Fine, maybe the one book wouldn't lighten his pockets too much, but children weren't known for being moderate. "Whatever. Let's just get going so we can find your thing as soon as possible," he suggested, putting his hands in his pockets and turning back towards the massive city. "I have a few spots in mind that we can start with."