Something Sinister This Way Comes

The breaking of day ushers in a canopy of noises, the liveliness of early risers infectious as the village bursts with a new vigour. Paul wandered through the morning crowd, getting the occasional glimpse from individuals as his features stuck out like a sore thumb, even before he went to bed last night he noticed there were the occasional figures hidden in the shadows.

A simple skim of their thoughts and he knew who and what they were, 'bloodline hunters' or for the others Dojutsu hunters and the occasional bandits. A village high in tourism is one to attract all sorts of people and on his first day he already garnered the attention of a few unsavoury sorts.

In a none nondescript room four men sat as they spoke in low whispers, "what have you found out about him" a gruff looking man said as he scanned his compatriot sat opposite him, "he's a merchant and he's going to be here for six more days, I tried asking him some more details about himself and where he's from but he dodged those questions".

"Smart man" a curvaceous woman said as she observed the bustling crowds, turning around as she focused on the other three men she continued "if he freely gave such information away he'd be a fool, the fact that he's survived so long with no reports of anyone with features similar to his shows a certain level of skill".

The other men in the room contemplated her words, "my only question is why now?", another of the men said, he had a lanky frame with slits for eyes reminiscent of vipers. "If he'd been able to remain hidden for so long, why expose himself".

The viper-like man continued, "from what I could sense he's got Jonin level reserved" this cause the woman to frown.

Sinking into his seat the gruff man let out a sigh, "we have a complete unknown, his level of skill debatable, bloodline debatable but with obvious training", sitting down the woman addressed the three men "remain on observation, Jin try a build a rapport with him, if we can ascertain the statues of his bloodline we'll see if we could invite him to Kiri. A new bloodline would definitely be welcome."

Sounds of confirmation rang through the room, Jin chuckled as he left with the gruff man "who knew an assassination mission would turn out so interesting", the viper-like man smiled as he walked behind them "it's a good thing we took a break here, such an interesting find indeed".

"The break In the hot springs are an added bonus" the final man who mostly remained silent piqued. "If we fail to secure him, it's a shame what would happen", Jin shrugged and replied "hope for the best, prepare for the worst".

Conversations similar to this happened with different groups, reasons ranging from recruitment to theft. Paul already having a lock on their auras continued his day with the same relaxed gait he had, humming a rhythm from his childhood and greeting the occasional gawking civilian he mumbles "careful careful, something sinister this way comes; murderers flock, saints prevail, something sinister this way comes."

Eventually he reaches his stall, he burst out in laughter startling those around him knowing full well there were those that tried to break into his caravan during his absence. Imagining their expressions upon discovering they couldn't put a scratch on it brought him joy, a few of such people lingered in the background as their ashy expressions testified of their failure.

Seeing him easily opening his caravan easily made their expressions stormy, they left in a huff of annoyance.

Not really paying attention he chose to indulge in one of his favourite pass times - people watching. "I wonder what it would have been like if I actually woke up in the Wormverse. Speaking of Worm, I remember Lisa's power was the ability to extrapolate an incredible wealth of inference from the smallest trace of data. How she could guess the password to your computer and bank details from simple observations was amazing", leaning back he stared into the morning skies.

"Hated her personality though but never really read the original work. Still should I invest a spark of Power Manipulation (PM) into it or should I use the abilities I already have to the same effect?"

The toughest decision to date was going through his mind, "it won't be same though, hmm I guess I could also use it to examine the limitations of a charge." Focusing on the effects he wanted - aspect of short ranged clairvoyant, cold reading and hyper deduction.

With each aspect he included he could feel the single charge 'fill', eventually reaching the point in which he couldn't add any other effect. Happy with his choice he absorbed the charge. Augmented with the other abilities he muted in the background the plethora of information he revived would have caused a normal mind to aneurysm. Adding another two charges he was impressed, "if this is what Lisa sees on a daily basis no wonder she turned out like that".

Observing a seemingly loving couple he couldn't help but laugh out loud. 'Blackmailing him. He works for her family. Obsessive over him. Caught him stealing from her family. He's thinking of ways to steal as much as possible from her family. Wants to run away...'

Focusing on another person to see what he gets, 'thief. Targeting you. Very new to being a thief. Never taken a life. Thinking of raping you. Lives in the brown house by the ramen shop.'

The stream of information he received was phenomenal, "This has got to be annoying after a while though, it's a good thing I can toggle off and on all my abilities."

He kept this ability active, the occasional disguised shinobi and thief coming to discreetly interrogate him came but being able to read a person like an open book made it a moot point.

His amusement ever present as he was aware of information even they didn't know they were giving him, all their plans laid bare to him.

"Oh my this is lovely!", a ladies voice came from the front, dressed in lavish kimono with jewellery decorating her chest, bodyguards in her vicinity, 'a woman of stature huh' Paul thought.

"Why than you very much, I take pride in offering only the best", with his best suave smile he approached her, "I can tell, these fabrics are beautiful, I've never seen them before". Chuckling he replied "I'd be surprised if you did, these were created by myself. You may call me Itsuki, what should I address you by?"

Letting out a small laugh she replied, "you can call me Ren Itsuki-san, I love the feel of your products and I can only imagine what could be made with them". There was a glint in her eyes as she observed his attire. Recognising an honest customer he brought out the best he had to bare, "for you I'll show you even better".

Pretending to open up a deeper compartment while conjuring up some of the most expensive fabrics in his previous life he brought them forward.

"Oh my they feel amazing! How much for 5 yards of each?", in total there were 4 different fabrics and patterns, Paul's immediately replied "in total they 278,000 Ryo", he broke down the prices of each material and Ren didn't seem phased by it, motioning to one of her guards he brought out a scroll, with a puff of smoke stacks appeared, Subtracting a few stacks the guard handed the rest over to Paul. Not bothering to check the amount he carries it off into his caravan.

Ren smiles at this but chose not to comment, "the ladies back in the capital would love your fabrics, perhaps you'll visit sometime soon?" Paul feigned a touch of surprise which Ren saw before he schooled his expression. "I'm here for another six days including today, I'll be heading to the capital eventually so if fate allows we'll meet."

"When you do reach the capital, drop by the Ichihara Inn and ask for me, if I'm around I should be able to see you.", nodding Paul replies "I will when I arrive". Ren turned away with one of her guards storing the fabrics, she paused as if remembering something, "in a months time the Daimyō is hosting a celebration for his heir, I know a lot of people that would love to have your fabrics".

Watching her leave he returned to his stall, the occasional inquiry about his products followed by the shocked looks and hasty retreats. As the afternoon rolled through he decided to visit the hot springs.