[center][u][b]Minamoto Yoshitsune[/b][/u]
Level 2 [19/20]
Sandswept Sky-Al Mamoon
1837
[@Lugubrious][@Dr Lovecraft][@Dawnrider][@DracoLunaris][@Archmage MC][@Yankee][@TheDemonHound][@Dark Cloud][@ZAVAZggg][/center]

After discussing bounties and odd jobs, Yoshitsune decided that he'd go to the palace to get more information about those jobs. It seemed most of them still required the use of his swords. The scam artist, though, did not. 

After looking closely at the poster, he headed towards the residential district, using a map he found to keep on track. Finding the residential district wasn't hard. Finding the scam artist, however, took some searching. 

He spent some time on the hunt checking each street, ally, and park, but whoever it was who didn't want to be found was quick to get scarce upon seeing someone so obviously searching for something out of the ordinary. Eventually, however, something out of the ordinary found him. Just as he rounded a street corner that featured a tall, fancy lamp post, a man dressed head to toe in blue denim sprinted right by him, just barely dodging out of the way of the collision. Yoshitsune got just a split second to look at him, but despite the dyed blond hair it was enough to tell not only that [url=https://static.wikia.nocookie.net/yakuza/images/d/d7/Ushio.jpg]the runner[/url] was Japanese, but also that he was absolutely terrified.

"Fraud! [i]Huff![/i] Swindler! [i]Huff![/i] Stop right...[i]huff![/i] ...right there!" Came a bellow from down the street, from the same direction as. The swordman glanced over to see a [url=https://i.imgur.com/ncQDziW.png]huge man[/url] barreling after the blue-clad backpack-wearer as fast as his legs could take him. With a stunning combo of blond whiskers and pompadour plus cow skull and horseshoe accessories he cut quite a figure, but it was easy to see why this pursuer wasn't gaining ground on his quarry. He swept a hairy arm to the side, gesturing for Yoshitsune to move, lest he be squashed by the onrushing one-man stampede. "Gang way!"

Yoshitsune was quick to pursue the swindler, easily passing him on his wheels. "Stop!" he yelled in Japanese, instinctually reaching for his swords that weren't there. He continued speaking his native tongue to the man, hoping he was right about him, "I can catch you anywhere you run, thief, so I'd think twice about taking another step."

At the new voice the runner looked back over his shoulder, and he did not like his chances when it came to being chased by someone with wheels. "Hey, gimme a break! I didn't do anything illegal!" Nevertheless he grit his teeth and swerved to the left. He entered a narrow alley cluttered with rubbish, a bicycle, and other miscellaneous items sure to be trouble for a pair of tires. Although not in good enough shape to climb up anything he hot-footed it over the junk with respectable speed. As the big man rolled up he realized that the alley was a lost cause and continued onward, headed toward where he thought it would let out.

Yoshitsune, using a modified wall-run ability, was able to speed down the alley at a higher speed and altitude than the man he was chasing. With the first chance, the samurai leapt down in front of the man, trying to block his escape.

Just when the runner was about to escape the alley to freedom, the light at the end became blocked by that crazy wall-riding psycho. But he couldn't turn back now, so rather than slow down or run away he tried to go straight through. He tackled Yoshitsune head-on, and the two men blew out of the alleyway to land on the street in a tangle of limbs. The runner pulled himself free and got halfway to his feet, only to get body-splashed by the big man from before. He went straight down, his back to the pavement, and from his backpack spilled a handful of video tapes. His pursuer knelt down and clapped a big hand onto the fallen man's chest to keep him there, huffed for a moment, and then grabbed one of the tapes. "Ushio!" the fellow began with the miscreant's name. "I thought you were pretty smart, but how 'n the hell d'you think this'd work out?"

Ushio tried to look indignant. "Hey, there's no law against selling animal bang videos! It's educational stuff, you know. Biology!"

"Doggone it Ushio, I don't care how educational it is, you were callin' it 'uncensored porn'!" Unfazed by Ushio's excuses, the big man shook his head in admonishment. "We don't need any dumb, hot-to-trot kids buyin' that crap, an' we don't need anyone sellin' it!" He slammed a fist down on the ground to emphasize his point. "Now cough up the gold you tricked off those kids. I gotta hand it back after I turn ya in!"

With an annoyed look, Ushio reached down and produced a bag of coins. When the big man took it, however, he lashed out with a pair of brass knuckles and caught his pursuer in the side of the head. "Gah!" he grunted, instinctively raising his other hand to the wound as he staggered. Ushio hopped to his feet, preparing to flee.

Yoshitsune climbed back to his feet beside the scam artist, only to jump back in surprise as the huge man knocked him back over. After taking note of Ushio's name and why the other man, who Yoshitsune thought was built much like Benkei, had been chasing him, he sighed and grabbed the dazed Ushio. "You take care of the kids. I'll take him to the guards. Less for you to deal with." Turning back to Ushio, he spoke in Japanese again, "Make one wrong move and I won't hesitate to slam your head to the ground, understand me?" The low growl in his voice showed just how serious the swordsman was.

Instead, Ushio lashed out at Yoshitsune's grasping hand with his brass knuckles. The metal weapon dealt a painful blow to the swordsman's fingers, not breaking anything but still demonstrating that it would take more than words to convince him. "Go soak your head!" he spat.

Using all his speed, he reached for Ushio's head. For the criminal, it would pass in a fraction of a second. The samurai was not only fast but strong enough to deliver on his warning. The next thing Ushio would know is he's laying on the ground and the back of his head is in extreme pain from the impact. Yoshitsune knelt above Ushio, his hand still on the swindler's face. "You were warned," he growled as he stood. "On your feet."

"Guh!" the runner groaned, unable to fully respond thanks to being mildly concussed by his surprise rendezvous with the ground. When Yoshitsune pulled him, however, he did not resist, but stumbled into a standing position.

The big man stepped up at that time, holding the part of his forehead that Ushio's brass knuckle bloodied. "You're a fast one," he complimented Yoshitsune. "Good job. Wasn't thinkin' he'd go for knucks." He crossed his arms as he looked the miscreant up and down. "This guy's Hirotaka Ushio. It's true he didn't break the law, technically, but it's still shady as hell, and someone's itchin' to give 'im a stern talkin'-to." He then faced the swordsman, appraising him. "I'm Goldlewis Dickinson. You can hand 'im in to the Grimleal as long as ya save me a piece of the pie. I went through all the trouble of findin' 'im after all, even if you're the one that bugged 'im. Meet ya there in thirty?"

"Minamoto Yoshitsune," he nodded with a small but friendly smile. "I'll wait for you. Just one question. Where is the Grimleal?"

With his wheels locked, Yoshitsune began walking Ushio to the Grimleal and waited there for his new ally.

A half hour later, Yoshitsune's wait at the temple of Al Mamoon's unloved peacekeepers came to an end. Owing to his new acquaintance's larger-than-life presence he spotted Goldlewis well before the big man trudged up the temple stairs, and with a nod he followed the swordsman inside. It took only a couple minutes for the acolytes on duty to sort the two bounty hunters out and furnish them with their reward: four hundred glittering coins.

Goldlewis was handed the sack, but as he and Yoshitsune turned to leave he immediately began to split it. When he divided the proceeds into two lots, the shares were uneven. He set aside three hundred for himself, and offered his accomplice one hundred coins even. "Here," he said, holding out the pouch containing the portion he felt he owed. "For the help."

Yoshitsune took the coins as he spoke, "Would it not be more fair to split the coins evenly?" While he wasn't really needing the coins, thanks to his own currency, he felt it was dishonorable for the man to short-change him. "Or is there a particular reason you need more coins than I?"

"Not a question of need," Goldlewis explained, eyebrows furrowed. "Question of what's fair. I did all the work of trackin' 'im down, then 'ad to go and find all the kids 'e sold that crap to to give 'em back their money. I appreciate your help, but in the end ya punched 'im once, then dragged 'im over here. So I figure I deserve a li'l more of the reward."

Yoshitsune nodded softly. "I see your point. I just happened to be in the right place at the right time to help catch him. Are you staying in town?" He glanced in the direction of where he'd last seen the group gathered, hoping some of them had been successful with their jobs as well.

With an appreciative smile for his cohort's understanding, Goldlewis completed the split and pocketed the lion's share. "Yeah. Was in Midgar for a hot minute, but with the upcomin' election things got a little too fiery for my tastes, so I hightailed it out here. I've been on the Grimleal's payroll since I came, helpin' 'em 'round town."

"Anything you can tell me about the Grimleal?" he asked, the lack of knowledge being very apparent.

"Grimleal? Well, uh..." Goldlewis stroked his whiskers. He stared off into the middle ground, giving Yoshitsune a good look at his glasses. The left eye was blocked by a black plate, and it bore a red kiss mark. All in all, a stylish substitute for an eyepatch. "They pay me to fix stuff that needs fixin' anyway. Plenty of folks complain 'bout 'em, but I've got nothin' bad to say. Like 'em or not, they'll scratch your back if you scratch theirs."

With a nod and a glance back at the temple, he began heading for the spot where the yellow team split up. "If you want to join the team, we're open"

Although Goldlewis didn't have the foggiest about Yoshitsune's team or who he meant by 'we', he waved the samurai off. "Take care!"

With a wave and a nod, he sped off with his coins back towards the others.