---

Yudai could see that Nori, Seijo and the man whom he had assumed to be Anzai had gathered in a table. Well, that was a perfect opportunity to socialize with those who he'd later be with in an important mission. Partly, Yudai wanted to ask for what reason he was chosen for this task, specifically; he wasn't particularly powerful and managed to be likely the only one who got hurt in the last task. There were still bandages wrapped around his left arm... But he couldn't question Seijo's authority neither her choices.

Slowly, he made his way to their table.

Take a seat, and if I may ask, which one are you? Are you Nori-sama or Yudai-sama?"

This was the first thing Yudai heard upon getting close enough to hear their conversation. He cast Nori a quick glance, his expression showing a bit of surprise. Oh, of course! He had heard it already; Anzai was blind, but still an excellent shinobi. That's why he couldn't differ Nori from Yudai, yet, he'd certainly know that Yudai was approaching, wouldn't he? People in the Red Sages often commented that Anzai was blind but could see better than many men. Yudai's lips twisted upwards into a smile.

"Anzai-sama, Seijo-sama, Nori-san." He calmly addressed each of them, bowing his head slightly before taking a step closer to the table. He held a plate and chopsticks in his hands. "May I, hmm, join y'all's table? I suppose it'd be good to get to know my teammates." With that, he just stood awkwardly there, looking between the three. He was unsure if the fact that he addressed Nori was enough to let Anzai know that it was Yudai.

---

---

Each word that came out of the disgusting Yakoul's foul mouth made Kaori wish she had been as powerful as the famed Uchiha Madara or Uchiha Sasuke or whatever Uchiha that had enough power to obliterate the creature. Kaori didn't completely hate Yakoul or wished for it's death, it was just... Thinking back then, it had enough power to stop the red sages but it didn't move a muscle until too late; it allowed for this to happen, just to declare that they were at war. And the attitude it carried, arrogant and superior, was mostly disgusting.

Kaori was about to stand up and leave when a known figure planted himself on the empty seat next to her, kicking his feet up on the table and calling her out - naturally, by the clan's name. She turned her head, looking at him with an average expression of nothingness but utter confusion: Until now, she was pretty sure that the Hyuga hated basically everything and everyone, including Kaori and the Uchiha.

“How'd you like the speech? Must be nice, not having to fight. You were almost dead in that battle, do you know that? You got lucky I was there.”

And now, he was pursuing conversation with her. Strange, but nonetheless, Kaori welcomed him as she'd welcome anyone who wanted to talk. The only thing that bothered her, was his arrogance; what next, he'd ask her to pay 10,000 yen for his life-saving services?

"Well, everything was under control, but I was caught into someone's else genjutsu." She explained herself. Truth be spoken, he was still right and that didn't make things any better. She didn't voice her thoughts about the speech. She was sure Higoho wasn't interested in it too, judging by his expression and manner of speaking, but still found it unnecessary to voice how she utterly despised having to listen to this.

Then, he went ahead and invited her to train with the Hyuga, claiming that perhaps they could teach her how to not fall into easy traps. The nerves of this boy!

"I'd love to test my skills against," A small pause, her smile faltering only but briefly before her eyes lit up, staring intently at him. "You. And by the way, it's Kaori, Hyuga." She knew his name was Higoho because, well, who hasn't heard about Higoho the bastard? Still, she called him by his clan's name just to return the favor.

---

"Naomi. What's going on? You know this man? Also ... Do you still have that red dress while we're here?"

The silent shinobi's green eyes lifted up from the ground, staring directly at Arima. The first two questions, she could easily respond to, but the last one made her slightly confused. What was the importance of asking something like that, right now? Naomi decidedly assumed that he was too nervous due to the next mission and thus couldn't think straight. She shifted her weight from a leg to another, moving both hands down to rest each against each of her hips.

Then, her mind wandered. Off and away from this mess hall, momentarily, she seemed truly distracted. Naomi's thoughts reminded her of her cousin's words; 'I won't kill anyone'. She still didn't know what mission they were to accomplish, but she couldn't help being worried about her cousin. The many what ifs... what if he let an enemy live, and this same enemy resulted in their failure? See, it was worrying. But she'd just need to watch out and if she needed to, kill whatever Aroshima couldn't. There wasn't an easy way; merciful shinobi wouldn't find mercy for themselves.

Then, she began speaking.

"Aroshima-kun, well," She replied shortly, casting a brief glance in her cousin's way, before looking at Arima again. "He's decided to help us and he's trustable. You have my word." Not that her word was particularly important, Naomi had been an active member for only two years - it MIGHT look like a lot of time, but it wasn't in reality. Then, she shrugged visibly, raising both of her hands in a questioning manner. "And yes, I do Arima-kun. Why do you ask?" She had genuine interest in what he'd say.

Tatsuya was brought slightly out of his brooding state by the blue haired girl the Cat had put in charge of patrol and her . . . friend, he assumed, not sure what to make of the age gap between the two. Well, if I end up getting a crap assignment or paired up with the Crown Prince of Douchebags, I'll have someone to blame He thought with a slight chuckle as they went off to eat something, if their conversation was anything to go by. The mention of lunch, however, had made Tatsuya acutely aware of how little he'd eatenmst the festival before things went to hell, his stomach growling like a caged beast.

He would take sometime to ask a few local shinobi were the good eateries were, cause while he knew of several fast food places in the area due to advertising, he liked to avoid that stuff whenever possible. His life expectancy was short enough already as a shinobi, no need to make it any shorter. Once he'd gotten the location of a good diner that was open 24/7, he began walking down the city streets for a little bit as he followed the directions that he'd been given, only to stop and turn around to face his stalker. He'd noticed her following him shortly after he left the area around the Meeting hall, though given the lack of effort, he didn't think she was trying hard to be stealthy.

"So, do I know you or something?" He asked genuinely, as he couldn't remember ever meeting her before. Fucking hell, why do I feel like this is Bishamon's fault

@Blue Demon

---

“Tsk. Keep that arrogance to yourself. If all goes according to plan tomorrow, we won't even be spotted.” she said to Anzai, semi-joking and semi-serious, before leaning on her arm casually and looking towards where Nori was standing. She wouldn't give Nori an answer but simply patted on the chair next to her. She then reacted to Anzai saying that the team seemed capable. “I have seen Yudai- speak of the devil.” Yudai then came along and introduced himself, asking for a seat at the table.

Seijo leaned back in her chair and with her foot kicked back the chair next to Anzai. She seemed more relaxed now than she would be in the field or during the talks. Hell, she seemed more relaxed than most other times. That was largely due to the fact that she was now in a more casual setting, with people she'd be working with tomorrow. It was pretty much her ritual for any mission - beforehand she hung out on her own or with teammates.. or Tarara, when he was still around. Then during the mission she could be serious.

“As I was saying, I've seen Yudai in action myself. Capable, killed an entire staircase of shinobi and then was humble enough to say it was Katsuko. That's what I like about him.” she said, looking at Yudai, staring into his eyes. She waited a moment before looking at Nori. “Now him, I've not seen him in action. That's good, because that meant he was out keeping the confederates off my back while I killed that commander.” She then locked eyes with Nori, trying to get a good look at how he'd respond to her praise. “Aside, he showed me the respect that I as a commander deserve. A solid understanding of hierarchy is how you advance in this world.” As she spoke the last words she'd look at Anzai again. “Isn't that right, Anzai-kun.”

His lack of respect for her command had annoyed her greatly, even if she had made some stupid jokes. She didn't dislike the man, nor like him, as was the same with most people in this base. Hence it'd be no great surprise she could go from enjoying someones company to sassing them out. “Anyway, you kids have a blast. I'm hitting the sack. Tomorrow is a big day. That gunbai will be ours.” she said, grinning at Nori, Yudai and Anzai. She slowly got up and walked away, but before reaching the door way, turned around and looked at the group. “Oh, and all our names have an i in it. Interesting.” Smiling to the two young boys, she turned around again and walked down the hallway towards her room. Atleast morale for the mission would be high. The chance of casualties was much higher, but she decided not to tell them that given their.. young age.

---

---

Higoho didn't look at Kaori as she spoke, simply toying around with his Hamajo Confederation chain that hung around his neck. “Ah. So everything was under control while you were in a genjutsu.” he said, finally letting go of the chain and looking at Kaori. “Interesting.” She continued by saying that she'd like to fight him. He couldn't help but grin, before bursting out in laughter. It wasn't loud enough to upset anyone or something, but seriously, her fighting him? “I just saved your life and now you want to fight me?”

Slowly he let his legs drop down onto the floor and stood up, looking at her from above. His long hair was put behind his shoulders, showcasing his full face. “I'm sure you want to fight me.” he said, looking her directly into her eyes. Not a look of love, or admiration, or even friendship. He was simply looking at her in a serious manner. “And I'm also sure you'll lose. Unlike the Uchiha, the Hyuga don't make a big deal of our dojutsu. But I can say with certainty that the Byakugan is better than any Sharingan.” He looked around for a bit, looking over Tetsuba's head as he was still sitting down, and noticing Setsuko was still there. He pointed at her and then looked at Kaori. “You're likely to find a match in her. She doesn't use the Byakugan.”

As he lowered his arm he couldn't wonder why she wanted to fight him precisely. “But she's a branch member, like me. There's no honour in defeating her. Same goes for me. So.. why would you want to fight me?”

---

Zay's face sunk into his hand as both of his eyes slid shut. Blah blah blah, what the hell was he even talking about now? How hard was it to point them in a fucking direction, and shout 'kill' at the top of his putrid lungs? That's all they were doing, anyways. The Confederate shinobi were just hounds that kept the order, right? Some order it was. This entire scenario was looking more and more like a corrupt hierarchy. This wasn't the first time that ideologies clashed, and Yakoul was definitely right about one thing, it certainly wouldn't be the last.

Something Yakoul said had finally brought Zay's attention back from the brink, as he briefly covered the morals of his beloved 'confederate' or whatever the fuck you'd like to call this pathetic excuse of a regime. He lowered his bottom two fingers, uncovering his left eye when Madara was off-handedly mentioned. Was he really implying any sort of comparison between that maniac and the confederation? This cat was more idiotic than Zay had thought at first, or maybe he was just too brainwashed to understand the moral upset therein. It wouldn't take much to convince the silver shinobi of the latter, though. Yakoul was a few hairs short of not being a complete fucking psychopath. Regardless, it was unsettling to bare witness to such a bare-bone deconstruction of Hamajo's will. Zay's arm went numb. He'd been resting on it too long. He pulled back and opened both of his eyes, letting out an exasperated breath of air. "Nonsense," he whispered, speaking through his nose. The muscles in his jaw were tighter than ever before, as if somebody was forcefully holding his mouth shut. Zay turned to see Higoho pass by, walking to confront the Uchiha girl sitting at the table in front of him, but he couldn't understand what they were saying. Zay's ears began to ring, and the uncomfortable pressure against his larynx continued to tighten until he was too short of breath to see straight. He lunged forward in a panic and rested on the table with both elbows. Stop. Stop. Stop. He repeated to himself, inaudibly. Several seconds later, his body ceased its trembling. With several deep breaths, he was free to think straight again. It was a tad frightening to deal with, but it was nothing he hadn't been through before. As he regained his composure, he heard Higoho spouting more arrogant drivel, speaking of his superior dojutsu as if it were something to take pride in. As much as Zay enjoyed the premise behind the Byakugan, enough to even desire a set of his own, he'd had enough of Higoho's ramblings, and right now, Zay was anything but rested.

"I could think of one reason," Zay said sternly, leaning into the table, "Shutting the gaping chasm of profound stupidity that you call your mouth." Zay paused for a moment, waiting for the Hyuga to turn and face him. "Have you heard yourself speak? That self-indulgent garbage you spew makes a mockery out of you, and your clan. The Hyuga family would be ashamed of it, I'm sure." Here it came, another mouthful no doubt. But with it, an opportunity would present itself. He had a chance to really piss Higoho off. He did of course risk staining his reputation, insulting a Hyuga with such reckless abandon, and in front of one of Higoho's clan-mates no less. Zay peered over his shoulder at Setsuko briefly, checking to see if the girl'd been offended by his behavior towards her clansmate, though honestly, it probably wouldn't affect his approach. Zay smirked and tilted his head slightly after returning his judgmental gaze to Higoho, looking to lock eyes with the stubborn oaf.

"If the Uchiha girl isn't feeling up to it, though, I'd be happy to step in myself, if it'd grant me ten seconds of relief from your crude musings."

---

While giving Aroshima a good dose of the cold shoulder, Arima couldn't help but feel a little too skeptical about Naomi's visibly anxious state of mind. The long pause she would drop into as they entered the mess hall left Arima suspicious of various things, especially this Aroshima guy she defended with reluctance. According to her he was legit, and he could easily deduce she had brought him in shortly after the invasion took place. The leader's cousin couldn't help but be torn on the matter. On the one hand they were at war and had lost a lot of comrades, as such bringing in some new guy and integrating him in operations felt like a massive risk to their already shrinking numbers. On the other hand, this same argument would defend this guy's cause as they were now running low on workforce and it wouldn't take long for the confederates to utilize their strength in numbers.

"Uh-huh."

Was the only response Arima could muster for now, not wanting to make a scene nor in any position to wave fingers. Naomi would then question the reasoning why the young Tametomo inquired about the red dress. To be fair, she wasn't wrong to ask why as it wasn't often that they had to actually play dress up around here, especially when they could just use transformation to get around in covert.

"Our next mission requires you and I to dress fancy for the B.A Auction near Konoha. With jacked up security and more shinobi committing fraud in this type of events, they've made it too risky to use basic transformation. We're going natural with Chieko and ... Him as our backup."

When mentioning Aroshima, Arima gave him the same, wary glance as before. It was to be expected, they wouldn't trust the Sarutobi from the start, and good reason. But the teen said it in a way that would make anyone feel unwelcome. Arima didn't make an effort to introduce himself either, partially because he was growing paranoid but also because of his need to keep up certain appearances. He couldn't be caught being friendly with a potential threat, no he had to be the douchebag who'd put the new people to the test, even if he'd lack the balls to confront them in case of any resistance. With that look Arima also noticed Aro's fancy choice of clothing, prompting the boy to arc his eyebrow.

"The support can wear the usual gear. We'll go through the plan multiple times. Have you eaten yet, Naomi?"

Although he called Naomi's name, he did have the courtesy to turn his head to Aro, indicating that he was willing to listen if he had also eaten. Once again, he was that douche but also the guy the younger recruits would look up to. He'd take a seat on a table near the one taken by the others, waving at the cook to have his attention as he'd prepare bowls of ramen according to the number of people sitting. Whether they'd eat or not, they were still invited to sit down as there weren't many other comfortable places to discuss at least the basics of the mission. And with that, he'd ask a simple question.

"I suppose you've heard of the Bashōsen?"

---

---

A large and sinister grin formed on Yakoul's expression when Kanata decided to abide to its rather dominating request. The tip of its tail throbbed somewhat while most of it laid limp on the soft sofa, proof of how much it didn't hold back on that last strike. Luckily for either of them, it didn't actually care too much about these things, it simply wanted them to know who was the boss here, who was the alpha to be respected and where was the line drawn. Its jaw cracked once more when Tanji responded to Yakoul's curiosity and raised a few interesting points it would love to engage.

Kanata would be the first to reply, which wasn't an issue as Yakoul more or less left a pause for her to do so. Strangely enough, it was expecting her to be more explosive than a typical support class. Unexpected, that's for sure. It liked that. Plus, since both were more or less backup rather than caretakers in the field, they'd go really well with the general in sure perilous operations within the lion's den. Yawning just a little, this time with its mouth covered, it would respond as well.

"My turn? I guess you can say I kick motherfucking ass. That makes you two pretty good cover when I fuck around a bit with all the dipshits we'll eventually have to handle."

It chuckled at what it said, leaning his body forward so it could rest its elbows on its tights and zoom in closer to the two standing before it, almost as if it was about to whisper some secret. It didn't lower its voice or anything, it just wanted to make this moment look more serious so that the feline could look 'cool'.

"Census on citizen loyalty, huh? Fuck a duck, I'm keeping you for myself. Screw the 11th Corp. But no, I was thinking more of something like ... Legal Engineering. You know, for the goddamn greater good."

It smirked, evidently displaying a rather corrupt idea from the get go. When it spoke of legal engineering, it evidently directed to tweaking the rights of certain individuals and essentially do what it wants. In its defense, it was indeed a state of war and usually these types of things happened anyway under suspicion. It didn't make the idea and the way it conveyed it anymore sinister. Hoping they would at least catch on to most of it, it left a pause for them to ask anything before it'd lift its index finger to indicate it wasn't done.

"But don't piss your panties yet. The fucker we're visiting it Gozoboro Haishu, piece of shit that runs one of my favorite lines of Spas. A little bird told me, and by little bird I mean an asston of ugly shitbirds vomiting in my ears, that some pretty unpatriotic transactions have been going on over there. Are you following? Your ass becomes useful here, Tenjo, as we kind of have to get shit done ASAP. Don't want the guy to become an hero in a cell or bitch ass human rights to some how become relevant again."

It detailed, letting them process all this information for a bit before it finished. It straightened itself, a rather confident look on its face as it expected intriguing results from these two. Tanji was clearly not a random choice in this, after all Yakoul had observed the events during the attack and clearly distinguished Tanji in his specialty. Genjutsu masters, especially efficient ones, were hard to come by. That blue haired girl was its second option, but she was a little too relevant to stuff for Yakoul to bother begging.

"Any pain in the ass questions? Because we're going tomorrow, from here to, bumpier than my dick, Iwagakure."

---

Nori looked over at Anzai for a moment, sitting down at the seat Seijo had offered him. "Nori. Nori Hisakawa, if you wanted a more formal introduction." He waited before continuing, only giving Yudai a nod of greeting while Seijo continued her ranting. It was a bit relieving to listen to; she was sounding less like a glorified commander, and more like a shinobi on their footing. Well, perhaps still slightly above them. There was definitely some arrogance in there, but nowhere near the levels of Mikoto, or as she had just implied, Anzai. She finally topped it off with the simple announcement that she was going to go get some rest, with an offhand comment about how their names had a tinge of similarity.

"Well, her presence was short-lived, although I'm guessing that have a blast means more along the lines of, get to know each other while you have the chance. Not necessarily an order, but I agree with Yudai; I wouldn't mind knowing who I'm fighting alongside." Nori looked to Anzai, raising a curious eyebrow, although he figured that his facial expression meant little to the man. "You're blind, then? Between the cane and keeping your eyes closed like that, hopefully I'm not being rude with that assumption. It's really either that, or you are dedicated to giving off some sort of mysterious impression, which would be terribly ridiculous."

Nori took his gaze from Anzai, looking over to Yudai now, a little less intrigued. "I recognize you better, Yudai. You went right in with the Lady Commander on the earlier mission, and were one of the first to catch up with her during the retreat after Mikoto and I. Seems as though she's rather impressed with your performance, and humility. Ah, but forgive me."

Nori spread his arms and nodded his head in a mild apology. "Sorry, I didn't mean to rant like this. Just trailed off while stating my mind. Feel free to speak now." He was genuine about it. He had gone from wanting to start a conversation to throwing out his personal analysis; he wanted to hear what they had to say more than he wanted them to listen to him.

Naomi explained to him who she was - the one in charge, they would be going on a mission, with someone who he had never heard of. And once the mission had been decided, Aro and Naomi were both heading towards the Mess Hall, when someone else headed towards the two, Aro digging into his pocket to get out his last cigarette, lighting it while the new guy - seemingly also someone of stature, might be worth listening, asking Naomi about a dress. He was putting the moves on her. He was talking in the same tone that Aro himself used whenever he was trying to flirt with women, except unlike Aro, this guy lacked any real finesse. He was a newbie in the art of seduction, really.

He began talking about the plan, they would infiltrate an auction in Konoha, which was pretty risky for Aro, people could easily recognize him. Naomi and that guy would infiltrate the base, while Aro and someone else he didn't know would be backup. Shrugging, he spoke dryly, exhaling smoke. Aro would suggest to trade places with the guy - he was known in Konoha, his clan known loyalists, he had a fair amount of pull within the city on those grounds alone, but, he instead refrained. Partly because he wanted to see what this guy's plan was, but also because he figured he was in charge for a reason.

He talked to Naomi, primarily and asked if she had eaten, while also looking at Aro, whom nodded, before asking him about the Bashoshen, and he smirked. "Eh, not really. Artifact from the ancient times, had strong connections to the Tailed Beasts, hasn't seen combat since the fourth shinobi war." He shrugged, before locking eyes with the man. "Not recorded combat, anyway."

"Tell me where to be and when."

---

During his assignment to the 11th corps. the regulars he worked under taught him a very simple but essential acronym that was vital in ensuring that the Confederacy stay as a unified state: R.A.P.E, Reassignment of Patriotic Emotions, a crude term to be sure, but not easily forgotten. Put in simpler terms, as the commander described it, "Legal Engineering," meant a citizen had abused his government issued freedoms and the state just wanted to repair it back to acceptable standards. What a time to be alive, Tanji believed. He would be running support for a great Shinobi, and all the while ensuring the public's safety. As far as Tanji was concerned cutting an artery of the rebellious body was just as important as making sure the populace was compliant. As such, Tanji was far from disappointed at the mission parameters and shook with anticipation. Pumped as he was he even dropped some of his stiff professionalism and whispered to his comrade chunin, "Isn't this great! Expediting the process of law-keeping through action, aren't you glad to be chosen by the commander?" he grinned a beaming grin before resuming his attentive stance.

Oh course this mission meant he must be steel himself, those weak of mind and soft of zeal made poor agents in "convincing" dissidents on the glories of the state. Whatever the commander had in plan he'd need to keep up with it. Tanji was a zealous son of the state, but he knew his limits and hoped that the commander did too. Efficiency was invaluable in this line of work in that stalls and fuck-ups would only lead to possible escape or violent retaliation of the prey, Tanji just hoped his skills would be up to par and not prove to be a disappointment to his commander and comrade as they prepared for their visit to the Village Hidden by Rocks.

"No other questions from me Boss, I hope to serve you well." Admittedly Tanji was curious to ask what exactly the commander was and where it was from, it being a "free-spirited" persona in its own right in addition to its queer form, Tanji opted to just ask it in private once they were dismissed. Of course he'd rather not pry if it didn't want to talk about it. Additionally he thought about asking some questions from his fellow chunin. Mostly friendly questions, where is she from, hobbies, preferred M.O.'s, but one additional question he asks all squad-mates. This one was a bit free-form and arbitrary, but it was quite serious to him, he made sure to always ask with a nuetral and objective gaze, "What does the Confederacy mean to you?"

---

Yakoul asked again if they had any questions, before their oncoming mission for Iwagakure.

"Well, have a blast then, guys.. I need some ice for my cheek too." Kanata said, turning to Yakoul and glaring some at him.

It had hurt really damn much, so yes, she was indeed going to get some ice for her cheek.

She walked outside the room and slammed the door shut behind her. After that, she headed for the cafeteria. Some nice lunch lady might give her a bag with ice.

Yakoul's speech back there was rather loaded for the tiny Aoi, making her cringe with ever over the top additive he'd put to render the ideas he'd convey more 'colorful'. Nonetheless, she noted multiple details regarding his position on this 'war' as well as the various reactions from the new 'Armed Forces'.

The blue haired idol didn't stick around long, she was quite frankly anxious when thinking of delivering a report to the new station in a few hours. At least she wasn't the one to present the breaking news articles. As such, Aoi would be sitting calmly in the cafeteria, devoid of any strong activity as most shinobi seemed to have left for Suna's finer places.

On a table, alone, she was simply writing on that same notebook, this time complimenting the details with her thoughts and what to prioritize later on. She only had a plastic cup with milkshake set next to the piece of scripture and would occasionally take a sip. It would only be when Kanata broke the lingering silence that the young woman's focus would break. Instantly she'd recognize the teen's face from earlier, the kid that went along with Yakoul for God knows what. But this time she had a nasty red mark on her face. Curious now, Aoi kept an awkward glance at her until she'd get the attention she yearned.

Kanata approached one of the lunch ladies. She sure was glad that everything was quieter now. Nobody could see the big red mark on her cheek that way.

She didn't want other people knowing she was just hit by her superior, so she'd have to think up some ridiculous excuse like 'I hit myself with the toothpaste cap'.

After the gentle lady handed over a bag filled with ice, she pressed it against her swelling cheek. However, there was something at the back of her head that was bugging her.

Was someone staring at her? It only grew stronger with each passing second.

Soon, she turned around, trembling a bit with anger and shouted, "What are you staring at, creep?! Take a photo, they last longer!"

As soon as she shouted that, though, she realised who it was.

Aoi Fuegushi.

Crap. She just shouted at one of the kunoichis she admired the most.

"Eh, um, err, I mean-!" She had nothing to say now. She had just made the world's most horrible first impression.

Aoi giggled at the sight of such a personality. The red hair was indeed fitting in such a blazing individual. At least she didn't take the first response so badly, then again Aoi was a bit of a social basket if we were to factor in her past experiences.

She gestured the little, yet taller than the star herself, chuunin to come over to the table and take a seat. The busy woman became fully relaxed and disconnected from her job as she saw this opportunity to make a new friend. Pen dropped and notebook put side, she was already excited to get this started.

Kanata looked at her sides when the blue haired shinobi motioned with her hand for her to approach her.

Was she really asking Kanata to approach her? Regardless, Kanata walked onward to meet her idol, doubt still in her mind. If she had not call for her, then she could still meet Aoi Fuegushi all the same.

"Do you like ice cream?"

She simply asked with a heart warming smile on her expression. She was trying to inviting after all.

"I do, err, ma'am?" Kanata was still doubtful of how to answer, but Aoi, unlike Yakoul, did have her respect.

"Good! Two Sudaes Madame, please~"

She called out at the nice lady at the counter who would go on ahead and do just that. The blue haired woman took a few seconds to scrutinize the teen's appearance with her dazzling blue eyes before looking up at Kanata's.

"You can sit, knucklehead~ Also, you can call me Aoi IF! ... You tell me your name."

She purposely added a little emotion to that set of phrases to both surprise the girl as well as amuse her. Though she was also well aware she could intimidate her followers rather easily by being so casual.

Kanata let out a relieved sigh and sat in front of Aoi.

"It's good to see you are so relaxed, Aoi-san." Kanata nodded, "I am Kanata, so you can call me that too."

She beamed a smile at Aoi too. This was a really good thing to off-balance a really bad day.

"But man, it sure is good to see you don't have a stick up your ass like Yakoul. I thought all of the big wigs were like him." She said as she caressed the back of her head. "Ah..." She quickly brought a single hand to her mouth. "Sorry about that... My tongue tends to move faster than my brain sometimes."

Aoi let out a stronger laugh, visibly amused by how heated this young girl could be and didn't seem to have a single problem with swearing. By then the lady would have come back to serve them some nice sundaes. Aoi didn't waste time and dug into the first scoop covered in chocolate.

"Mmm, it's okay, they're almost all like that." She'd say with her mouth half full before swallowing the melted cream. "You haven't seen Yamato, a total downer! You've seen him right? He was down there close to me while kitty cat was talking~"

She'd scoot her working equipment to the side so she'd have her sundae all in the front lines, her spoon being the mighty blade to strike it all down.

"I guess he gave you the tail, huh?"

Aoi casually added as if it were something typical, a mundane event she had seen before.

Another relieved sigh escaped Kanata's lips after Aoi reassured her that she didn't mind the swearing. That was fucking good, since it was 80% of her vocabulary.

"Yeah, friggin' cat lost it after I said we should call him 'Neko-sama' to not get confused with gender specific titles like sir or ma'am... and by the way, what is he anyway?"

Like any other adolescent, Kanata digged into her own ice cream, being careful not to talk with food still in her mouth (thanks to her retarded homo brother), and making a face filled with disbelief as she talked with Aoi.

Aoi nearly spat out the ice cream in her mouth when hearing the brand new nickname, laughing rather uncontrollably for a few seconds before attempting to control herself.

"Oh my, whewww, ooohh, haha! Neko-Sama?! He must've lost it! And I thought Kitty Cat was bad."

She started to really like this kid, good to know that her intuition and judgement of character were still at peak efficiency.

"So why'd he even want to talk to you? He's usually alone taking naps when not dealing with erm, stuff? I don't even know what he does these days really."

"Hell if I know." She took another scoop of ice cream and shoved it into her mouth.

She was now supporting her head against her left hand, and she started staring towards a faraway wall with a pensive look in her face.

"I just know that the dickhead won't let go of me until he is satisfied... with whatever he wants to do. He seems whimsy, so I'd say that if you catch his eye, you're in for some reeeal troublesome missions."

She sighed once again. Today, it seemed that she was just filled with sighs. She should stop doing it, otherwise Aoi might get worried... would she, though? For a simple girl she had just met? She seemed like the soothing type, but it was hard to know.

For a few silent seconds Aoi simply savored the oozing cream on her tiny spoon, slowly pulling out the ustensil from he mouth before swallowing the tasty delight.

"Hmmm, he'll probably let you go after a mission or two. Besides! Look on the bright side, you'll probably live longer with kitty cat!"

Kanata's mouth was made into a frown when she said that.

Yakoul was powerful, yes, but often times, the powerful are the most targeted, and they often go for the lackeys first just to get 'em out of the way.

She did not share her fatalistic thoughts though.

Aoi smiled almost uncomfortably. She had a point, Yakoul was notorious for being, well, efficient and lethal. There was little to no chance Kanata would be in real danger if she'd simply follow its lead.

"Hey, I've worked with kitty. It's better than most things out there, to be honest."

Aoi added with a somewhat more serious tone as she dug the spoon into the already half melted cream of the sundae.

"Oh! Can I ask you something?"

She'd suddenly hop into her more enthusiastic expression again, quickly nabbing her pen to indicate she was going to document the response. This made this pretty exclusive, huh?

"W-Wait, you are going to interview me or something? Like, right here?" Kanata panicked a bit.

She was nowhere ready to being interviewed by her idol, Aoi.

"A-And if not, why are you going to write down what I say? You'll probably have to censor a lot, since, you know, I tend to swear a lot when I get going."

She turned her gaze down. She was really ashamed.

It was one of those few times that Kanata actually felt flustered.

She put her hands between her legs and started squeezing them with her thighs.

"B-But sure... you can ask me anything." Despite what she said, the girl was really eager.

Giggling again, Aoi played with the little switch on the top of her pen while the little teen panicked at the idea of being interviewed.

"I'm going to interview you, but I'll keep it anonymous if you want~ Just between you and me."

With that she'd point at Kanata with her sky-blue nail and then back at herself when designating both. Added to that would be a little wink.

"So! I'll only ask you one question, and you can answer however you want, okay? Okay! My question is ... What did you feel, as a shinobi of the Confederation, when in the heat of today's tragic battle?"

She'd ask with a professional demeanor, only biting the tip of her pen as a small tic while she prepared to take note of what Kanata would say.

Aoi's question hit right on Kanata's least favorite subject of the day.

"I... well, there was a lot of... feelings inside of me at that time." She cleared her throat after that. Aoi took note of every word Kanata uttered "A lot of feelings ..."

"I felt sad because so many people were being killed. There was also some kind of urgency since I had to get my mom outta that big fuckin' mess. I also felt tense when I faced some or other red haired shinobi, just looking at his golden eyes made ever single hair in my body stand on end. Then with Yakoul... I felt safe but not safe safe. It seemed as capable to kill us as he was to help us if we said one wrong thing."

As she went on, there was a clear knot in her throat. It felt so damn uncomfortable to talk about it. She wanted it all to go away, but there was no time for that right now.

"Then I felt I was about to die when the guy with red hair left. I felt safe after hugging Mirai though... and... that's about it, I guess."

She avoided the 'I felt worried for my brother', though.

The uneasiness in Kanata's voice and general posture was more than flagrant to Aoi. Letting her finish, she quickly wrote off most of it before sliding her pen back over the notebook.

"Hey."

Aoi would whisper with a gentle and weak voice before reaching out the best she could, because she'd be pretty damn short, to set her hand on Kanata's shoulder as reassurance.

"You did great, Kanata."

Beaming at the tense teen, Aoi was indeed grateful to have at least documented some fresh feelings from someone out of that chaos.

When she felt Aoi's hand on her shoulder, Kanata jumped a bit from the surprise.

Afterwards, and hearing Aoi's words, though, her heart started beating faster and faster.

"W-What the hell is this?!" Kanata shook her head, without saying anything yet. "Why are you getting so riled up after just THAT?! Get your head out of the gutter, me!"

"T-Thanks a lot, Aoi-san." She was done with her sundae and she felt that her emotions would burst out any minute now.

She promptly stood up and walked over to Aoi's side.

"I, um, I... I'll see you later, I guess." Unsure of what to do, Kanata did the same as her brother did for her everytime he was going to be away. It was odd, but it was the only thing she could think about now.

She leaned forward and planted a single kiss on Aoi's cheek. Aoi simply blinked, both at the sudden departure but also ... This?! There was no blushing, just complete surprise. After all, she was the seductress in conversations, not the other way around. What strange sensation.

It wasn't until after she was done that she realised that what she had done. It was incredibly stupid, it was a simple reflex ingrained on her after years of living alongside homo Mikoto, but most importantly;

It was incredibly gay.

That sole thought made Kanata's face red as a tomato and she stormed out of the cafeteria, both hands covering her face.

"I AM THE BIGGEST FUCKING IDIOT IN EXISTANCE!" She repeated to herself as she escaped.

Lifting an eyebrow, Aoi didn't quite grasp this whole scene, like some action movie with the camera shaking everywhere, she just knew how it started and how it ended, nothing in between. Well she certainly was an interesting girl, quite different from the often too solitary konuichi or the typical bitch in those supposed 'high class' gatherings/parties.

After a moment alone in her thoughts, Aoi smiled at the fact that she'd had managed to slip her card into Kanata's left pocket with the subtle efficiency of any good magician. The kiss on the cheek did make this quite simple, with all that confusion. Aoi would stick around a little more in the cafeteria to finish what she started and pay off the sundaes.

Kanata managed to escape to her assigned dorm.

It was shitty, yeah, but she at least had a bed. Before in missions with Mikoto (she'd avoid calling him homo for a while), she had to sleep on the floor so a bed was for the best.

She threw herself on the bed that let out metallic sounds despite Kanata's small frame and just, kind of stared at the ceiling.

Her heart calmed down after 10-20 minutes, and she felt she could go to sleep, finally.

Then, a single piece of paper, or something, fell from her pocket.

She picked it up and looked at it. Aoi's card.

Her heart started racing again, probably to not let her sleep for the whole night.

"DAMMIIIIIT!" She shouted, without worrying of any other shinobi she might wake up with her cries.

---

(others posts from my characters should come in after j8cob answers)

@l0ck0n@FallenTrinity@Partisan(slightly)

---

Masato was forced out of his vacant staring as he felt the presence of another person next to him. For a moment he was very confused, as all he saw was a large object obscuring his vision, this cleared up quickly however when he tilted his head back and saw the face of the huge man. Masato let out a chuckle at Chokurou’s amusing recollection of the speech, even though he would never have phrased it as such he still found it accurate and humorous. After the Akimichi introduced himself, Masato returned the bow before doing the same. ”Saruwatari Masato, it is nice to make your acquaintance Chokurou.” He paused for a moment as his large comrade spoke again, nodding in agreement with his statement. ”That does indeed appear to be the case, though I doubt that this reprieve will last very long. Given what just happened we are likely to be mobilized sooner rather than later.”

Before their conversation could continue any further another individual made their way over to them. Unlike the previous stranger, Chokurou, this one was a great deal smaller as they were a similar size as Masato and they were also a female. He had seen her around, he had also seen Chokurou before since they all happened to be shinobi out of the same village, but he didn’t know her name. Well her given name at least, it was apparent that she belonged to the Hyuga. At her question Masato smiled pleasantly before gesturing to both Chokurou and his own side. ”You are more than welcome to join us, though I am afraid we aren’t doing anything particularly exciting at the moment. Just discussing the meeting and the one conducting it. I am Saruwatari Masato by the way, I will let my new acquaintance introduce himself.”

It would appear that their little section of the wall was quite popular as yet another person approached them shortly after leaving the lecture hall. Unlike the previous two this newest visitor was one that Masato knew of, though he doubted that the identification went both ways. Yamato Minamoru was the name of the approaching individual. Not only was his family widely known, but his exploits as a shinobi had caused his name to reach a level of fame all of its own. Despite the stories he had overheard involving Yamato’s personality, Masato respected him immensely. They were on opposite ends of the spectrum, but Yamato had done the one thing that Masato dreamed of doing for his whole life. Making a name for himself and improving the name of his family.

He missed the first few words that Yamato spoke, caught up in his own thoughts, but caught up towards the middle. While he didn’t respond to the jounin, even if he respected him he still did know the rumours of his anger and wasn’t keen on invoking it, he did bow deeper than he would for most before Yamato left his little group to inspect others. With the high level shinobi gone he turned his attention back to the other two. ”Well now that we seem to have ceased gathering interest, what would you two suggest we do with the remainder of our downtime?”

---

As Yamato stared into her eyes Setsuko wondered why there were so many people fascinated with glaring. It should be expected now that people stare into her eyes with either the intent to kill, or with the curiosity needed to ask questions. Are our eyes really that strange?

What came after that was no less confusing than him demanding her to take off some earrings that she actually enjoyed wearing. They weren't the latest fashion, but they still looked good on her even with them being out of season. Setsuko stared back at him for a second or three before actually taking them off only to put them back on after he had walked away from the group. "What was that all about..." she'd mutter to herself before going back to the conversation with the other two. "Hey, the name's Setsuko Hyuga." she gave the other two a simple smile before continuing on. "Well, we should grab a bite to eat because I'm starving," she chuckled as she pat her stomach. Suddenly Setsuko began overhearing what was happening behind her. Because of this she turned her head right when Zay, whom of course she had yet to know the name of, had turned around to say something to the Uchiha girl she had seen earlier. Right by the Uchiha girl she noticed Higoho, and figured that Zay wasn't actually saying something to the Uchiha girl but instead was talking to Higoho. Whatever the reason being she didn't care for since it didn't involve her, so she turned back to the two others she was talking to. Higoho can handle his own against practically anyone. He doesn't need me being his mommy, and if he did then it'd mean the world was truly ending. Setsuko did hesitate though because she was quite curious about the Uchiha, and its people, but decided that was for another day at another time when her fellow clansman wouldn't be up her ass trying to either get compliments, or scare her.

"Unless you guys have something else to do?" She then said to the two males in front of her. "Like practice in case we have another mission? or look for weapon shops, Or maybe find some unique clothing since it IS Sunagakure??" These suggestions were more for her personally, but if they were interested too then she'd be more than glad to lead the way even if she had no idea where was what.

"Romance, huh?" Katsuko mumbled to himself when Mikoto reflected on the brief story. Of course Katsuko would disagree with that label. He didn't find his tale romantic in the least. He wasn't here to avenge his father, certainly. He wasn't even here because he was expected to be. Though, since it was now on his mind, Katsuko briefly wondered why he really joined the Red Sages. But that was something to ponder at another time. He had to focus most of his attention on Mikoto so as to memorize his story. "Amatsurahashi," he repeated, nailing the boy's surname on the first try. "Got it."

He continued to eat as Mikoto explained how his life was boring because of the Confederation and that was why he wanted to bring them down. Simple enough reason. Very simple. Katsuko was too distracted to hear his exact words when he mumbled under his breath, but he heard something and gave Mikoto a skeptical glare in return. After a moment of silence, broken by the younger lad bringing up strategy, Katsuko took one last bite and finally finished off his tray of food. "It's not that complicated to work with me, really," he began, leaning back in his chair and relaxing. "You've just gotta look at the battlefield like it has certain zones, and we should be sure to never be in the same zone unless there is an emergency. Something like that. It's mostly instinct, you'll understand when the situation comes up."

"But as for what we're doing... Let's just say we got the short stick, yeah. We have two objectives. Firstly we're going to nick some old blueprints for the sewer system under Old Amegakure. I've got a good idea of where they'll be, but that doesn't mean it's gonna be easy. The plans themselves aren't super valuable to the Confederation, but they are located in a vault that is full of stuff they do find some importance in. So there will be guards. Probably a dozen or so enemies, as an early estimate." At this point Katsuko grabbed his empty tray and stood from his seat. "I'll explain the rest to you during the mission. Our objectives don't require as much planning as they require swift action, you know what I'm saying?" With his brief mission synopsis complete, the captain turned away to return the empty and surprisingly clean tray. If Mikoto is like me then I understand why Seijo figured the two of us would be enough. Still, he might cause some problems in the end if he can't handle his share. I should conserve energy on the chance that he gets taken down and I have to carry out the rest by myself. With a sigh he returned to the table Mikoto was at but didn't sit down. "My only advice for when we fight together is to avoid looking at me. Not that I'm particularly distracting, but I don't want to accidentally knock you out. Any tricks up your sleeve I should be worried about?"

---

Chieko reentered the tunnel system view the metal door. This time there was no one waiting for her. She didn't mind at all. She instead set off to where she thought Arima might be. He'd tell her what she missed without getting on her case. If not, she could always beat it out of him. That's why she tolerated him after all. Right?

Chieko first checked his room, where he wasn't. Then she sighed and slunk off to the meeting room, hoping that the Lady Commander wasn't around anymore. Because then she'd really get chewed out. Being rivals with the cousin of the Leader tends to get you noticed far more often than it should. And Chieko wasn't exactly not a trouble maker.

Chieko slowly poked her head into the room. Her heart pounded until she realized the Commander was nowhere to be seen. She exhaled loudly and stepped into the room. There were still quite a few shinobi there. Apparently she didn't spend as long away as she had thought. Which was good. She wasn't that weak.

Decidedly unhappy at that thought she stomped over to Arima. She lifted her shoe and aimed a kick for his butt.

"Yo. What's everyone so excited about?" Chieko asked, ignoring the other two next to Arima. One she recognized, the other she didn't.

---

"So, do I know you or something?"

There was a resounding snort from the fiery haired woman. She blinked her green eyes before smiling wolfishly. She wasn't upset at all at being noticed. In fact, she couldn't have been more obvious while following him. What surprised her was the length of time it took for him to notice her. Some people were just oblivious. Those people usually ended up dead.

"I do hope so." She flicked a strag hair out of her face as she eyed the younger man up and down, before deciding that yes, this was the proper person she was stalking.

"Earlier you gave me some," She paused, mouth twisting. "Some help." The way she said the word made it sound like the exact opposite. Then she beamed brightly. "And I promised myself I'd return the favor." Though her eyes did linger on the blooming bruise on his face. "Shall I made you symmetrical?"

---

Sunagakure, Some random street on the way to the diner

---

"Ugh, what a drag. . ."Tatsuya muttered under his breath let out a tired sigh as the woman spoke, remembering her and taking a guess at what she was mad about:Bishamon's attempt at 'helping' a few other shinobi with lava and explosions. This was one of them, and she decided that she didn't care for its reckless use of ninjutsu, or so he assumed. That he could understand and appreciate. What he couldn't understand was the fact that she felt the need to fucking punch him for it.

If I ever met Kami, I'm going to take Ketsui and shove it up his ass for this kind of bullshit.

When she finished speaking, he realized he had 3 options: Try and explain the situation(Yeah, that'll work great), just take it like a man(More like 'bitch', I already got punched once today over Bishamon's shit, I'm not letting it happen again without damn good reason), or make like a banana and split. While the final one was tempting to start with, he decided to try the first, just in the off chance that he was believed. Unlike Higoho, this person wasn't completely enraged and didn't 't look like a complete and total bitch, so hopefully she wouldn't try and attack before he had a chance to try and explain himself. That being said, he was ready to book it at a moment's notice if need be.

"I remember you now, you were the one my idiotic shadow clone tried to assist while I was stuck in fighting some guy in the mist earlier today. Just so you know, I have a unique problem with my shadow clones in that they have a different personality than I do. It's a fuckin' weird problem and makes it hard to control and coordinate with it sometimes, or keep an eye on it when the damn thing decides to up and abandon me in the middle of a fight. So, while I'm sorry for any trouble it might've caused, I won't be letting you punch me again, simply do to the fact that I'm not in the mood for it, neither you not anyone else was hurt by it, and there's no need for it."

With that, Tatsuya would give a slight wave before turning around and making to walk away. He would casual make a few hand seals once his back was to the girl, reading his escape if need be, but he could use some company now, so he figured that he might as well offer some recompense for dealing with his obnoxious clone. "If you really want to make me suffer, you can clean out my wallet at this diner some locals told me about, though since you started stalking me around that time, you probably knew that. It's a better punishment then just decking some person you just met. Who knows, maybe we can have civilized conversation instead of trying to beat each other into submission."

He didn't turn around or stop walking as he made the offer, but he still kept his senses open, in case she decided to attack him anyway. If she decided to follow him for lunch, then that was awesome. If she didn't, then that was even better. He currently just wanted to get something in his stomach, cause the hunger was getting annoyingly unbearable.

@Blue Demon

---

"I do believe I get what you are saying, yes. Zones... well, in short, you just want us to stay out of each other's way, yes~?" He sung. "I can do that, yes. And don't worry, I usually just stare at myself or at me enemies in battle. I tend to forget about those I'm working with so that they too can do their part~"

As always, he spoke with great confidence of his skills, even if the man before him was a rank above him.

He took yet another sip out of his milk, only to discover that there was no more milk in his cup. Shame.

"I've never been one for an stealthy approach anyway~, but I can indeed say that I am indeed a swift shinobi. Quick action is kind of my specialty." He said with a small smile. A dozen or so of enemies shouldn't be much of a problem with you and me together." He nodded again.

"Some advice for when you are fighting alongside me? Well, if you start seeing water sprout out of either my hands or staff, don't try to touch it. It usually ends up in severed fingers~" He said with the same smile as always.

He was done with his dinner as well, so he stood back up and sang, "Gochisou-sama~"

He too returned the tray to its rightful place.

"Well, that was certainly informative. Thank you very much, Kat." He bows down. For now, I shall retire to my own quarters and get some sleep. A tired shinobi is no good at all~ Sweet dreams~" He turned on his heel and left for his excuse of a dorm, while waving goodbye at Katsuro.

Well, it was time to get some sleep, or he wouldn't be able to fight at his best tomorrow.

---

@j8cob

---

---

With the addition of another voice who identified the other one as Nori, Anzai now knew the names and faces of his teammates. Good.

He simply nodded after Seijo invited all of them to their table, of course, taking note of what Seijo said before about his arrogance. His eyebrows perked upwards.

"It is not arrogance, milady. Merely confidence. Arrogance would've gotten me killed in no time, and I apologize for my disrespectful comment a bit ago. I wish not to be cross with someone such as you." He was quick to apologize, bowing down and everything as Seijo left his zone.

He turned to Yudai after what Nori said.

"Then again, being humble can prove as disastrous as being arrogant, Yudai-sama." He directed his gaze to Yudai. "Understimating one's own skills is never wise, neither is it holding them in high regard. I hope you will at least remember these words."

He nodded with the ghost of a smile in his face, and then turned to Nori to answer his question.

"I was born blind, indeed. My abilities, however, have permitted me to see beyond the range of what eyes would permit me to." He smiles, this time a lot more noticeable than any other time. It made him proud to be able to talk about his ability and let others know about it.

"I can see you, and I don't need a cane to walk." He pulls his cane up and then unsheaths the sword concealed in there. "As you can see, this is my weapon. I call it the Silent Death. You'll be seeing much of it in the oncoming mission."

"Now, would you like to discuss strategy?" The man picked up some more meat with his fork and brought it to his mouth. That was the last of his meal and his tray was now clean. "Or would you prefer to get some rest just like Tametomo-sama?"

---

@Partisan@Hatman1801@Nero

---

Seijo entered her room and locked the door behind her, sighing deeply at the thought of possibly having sent those three into a deathtrap. At least she could say she didn't send them into a deathtrap willingly.. and she was going to enter it herself as well. “Perhaps I'm getting suicidal, chasing some legendary weapon as if it's going to help us win the war..” she said as she placed her hand on her forehead, leaning back against the door. Slowly she got up again and looked around the room, her eye falling on a picture of Tarara by her nightstand.

Her feet carried her over to the nightstand, where her hand softly pressed against the glass frame of the picture. A single tear fell from her eye onto the concrete floor of the room, before Seijo's eyes tensed up in anger. Her teeth flashed as she felt anger well up inside of her, taking the place of the sadness she felt before.

Suddenly her other hand moved rapidly towards the frame, descending towards the nightstand. Tchk. A kunai stuck out from the place in front of the picture. She sniffed once in an attempt to stop the crying, before her voice rung out loudly. “BAKAYARO! Why did you have to die and leave me to do this!? I can't do this!” Her hands moved again to lean on the nightstand, to help herself stay upright. It didn't take long for her hand to shoot out towards the picture frame again, grabbing it tightly.

Her fingers were tense with strain as she held the wooden frame, so tense that she began to shake. Her eyes were filled with anger and sadness at the same time, producing an awful effect. Truly, she looked like she was capable of murdering even Yakoul at this stage. “BAKA!” she yelled as she turned around and threw the wooden frame against the wall, smashing the glass and sending it flying everywhere.

The picture slowly fell down to the ground, swaying side to side lightly, almost as if it was mocking Seijo's pathetic attempt at destroying it. It was characteristic, typical. Even in death, Tarara found ways to be Seijo's hero and at the same time her worst enemy. Defeated, she laid herself down on her bed, and fell asleep.

---

Seijo's authoritative footsteps echoed through the hallway as she approached the living quarters of those in her group. She first arrived at Nori's room, which was evidently closest to her on the right hand side. She knocked twice and then immediately entered the room, looking around to see if he was in there. “We're moving. Get ready.” She'd then walk out and not bother closing the door, leaving to go find Yudai. At his room she'd repeat the process, and the same went for Anzai. She'd meet them at the intersection of the hallways, standing there with a look that said that the guys should've been ready ages ago.

As soon as they were all ready she'd head out, not saying much as they walked out the main entrance of the small facility. She'd immediately head off in the direction of Amegakure, jumping through the trees, going branch to branch. “Approximated time of arrival will be within an hour. Move at average pacing. We don't wanna be tired when we arrive.” she said, looking sternly ahead. The casual demeanor of the woman she'd shown the night before was gone now, making way for the 'leader' figure that she was in reality. These were two chunin and a jonin, they should be able to keep up with her she thought. Little did she know she was pushing them hard - this mission was more of a task for 4 jonin. She was just gambling with their lives at this point, and was gambling on the idea that they'd not be seen or detected until it was too late for the Confederation to respond.

They would arrive at the Amegakure city border a little bit earlier than expected, allowing them to catch a slight breather before entering the city. The city was massive - there were large skyscrapers, in the style of old Amegakure but obviously heavily modernized. The old sewage system had been slightly reworked - there were now 'off limits' systems that were for sewage and drainage, and there were reworked sewage pipes that now functioned as improvised streets - mostly to gather attention from tourists.

But that's not why they were here. It was probably now that the three other companions of Seijo would notice the extra satchel on Seijo's hip, which hadn't been there the day before when they attacked the compound.

---

Atop the warehouse sat the four shinobi, having gone undetected easily due to the large amounts of people, traffic and above all, shinobi, in the capital city of the Hamajo Confederation. It would require incredible, godlike skill, or a healthy dose of luck, would any of the Confederate shinobi have caught them slipping in between the mazes of the net. The four of them were now surveying the inside of the Warehouse, where several low rank shinobi were keeping guard. They had increased the amount of guards since the attack, but nothing incredible. It seemed that the Confederates were more wary of a strike on political head quarters, than a weaponry procurement operation. Or 'theft' as normal people might call it.

“I count eleven inside. One by the door, seven spread out in between the door and the vault, three at the vault itself. Between the door and the vault, there's aproximately 30 meters. We need to go in fast, kill or disable the guards and get in the vault.” By now the obvious question 'how are we going to get into the vault' might've arisen. Seijo's eyes locked with the vault for a long time before she looked up and let her gaze circle around the group of shinobi. “Nori. You'll be the important one in all this - I've not seen your capabilities yet so I can't put you in battle right away. That means you're on explosive duty.” Her eyes now went down to her side, where she grabbed the extra pouch she was wearing and tossed it to him. The toss was light, easy for him to catch, and for good reason too. One bad move and she might've just killed everyone on the rooftop.

“Careful with that. It's residue Senju-chakra, from the first Hokage himself. I stole it from the 11th corps when I made my exit out of Amegakure a long time ago. This is the last pouch we have left. And I guess you know that we can't make any more of it, since he's, well, dead. It has a special construct inside of the pouch, forcing the Senju chakra towards the back end of the pouch. This causes the pouch to explode in a similar fashion to, say, a hundred explosive tags, and the best part is it concentrates it all into one specific area. It's enough to break the vault door... twice. Just place it on the door, activate it and run.”

After instructing Nori on the usage of that pouch, she looked at Anzai and Yudai, trying to think of a battle plan. She was a fast thinker when it came to that, and a pretty good tactician if you gave her a few seconds to think of all the possible options. Thinking ahead was usually not one of her strengths in the grand scheme of things, but on a smaller scale like this, it was as easy as 1-2-3. “Okay, Yudai, we need to get rid of the guy by the door if we want a smooth entrance. So you're going to go underground and take that guy out from right under his nose. After that, me and Anzai come inside, with Nori right behind us. We can take out the guys in the middle, but we have to leave the three by the vault door to you, Yudai. Nori, you need to support Yudai if he can't handle it.”

“Anzai, you take the right half of the center of the warehouse. I'll take the left. Ready? Okay.. let's go.” she said, standing up straight now and walking to the end of the warehouse that had the exit below it. Once there, she'd let herself drop down, looking at the door and waiting for Yudai to work his magic.

---

Yakoul gestured to Kanata that she had the OK to leave and get herself patched up after that little smack she had received. Tanji on the other hand had found a great solution to pass the time and further the feline's fantasy of imitating some typical dystopian nation. Of course, without Ryuu's approval, this kind of stuff wouldn't go really far if Yakoul actually asked others to do it. But it remained humoring and interesting to keep such a zealot around. It was official, Tanji would be Yakoul's Yes Man from now on, quite an honor for dedicated 11th corp warrior who would have a chance to display his talents in the field, right in front of his commander.

They were both dismissed and Yakoul was left with the lounge all to itself. Now lying down in total silence on the couch it appropriated for itself, it slowly closed its eyes and entered a state of calmness rarely seen by any of its subordinates. It didn't sleep, it simply drifted into its innermost thoughts, reliving multiple events in its life. Because of the adrenaline rush it was getting simply by thinking of what this war would entail as well as the upcoming operation, the memories passing by were in accordance to such graphic anticipations.

More precisely, it recalled the events of Konoha, the final stronghold before the world would succumb to Hamajo's will and lick his feet. Just a few months before, Yakoul had ordered to simply annihilate Kirigakure upon realizing just how inefficient it would have been to run in such an unstable land and lose even more resources for a simple island. They had an entire continent, they didn't need a maintained Kirigakure. Today, the island remains off limits to even higher ups, but few actually know what happened there and the true reasons behind the complete destruction of the province. This secret was one of the first things that brought general terror to the world. They were not afraid to lay waste to massive territories to get what they want.

Slowly but surely, these violent thoughts would guide the beast to sleep. Because of its nature, it had a tendency to sleep for a rather extended period of time, waking up in the middle of the day the next day even though is slept barely as the evening started.

---

As hot as it was in Sunagakure, they had to give credit for its many advancements since the 4th Shinobi War. The architecture was nothing like it was back in the day, a lot more modern, even futuristic, with many skyscrapers and sources of water keeping the most tropical of plants alive. Think the Dubai of the Naruto world. Yakoul sure got a nice dose of the rejuvenated Suna which had suffered the least amount of casualties during the Hamajo war. It almost remembered how it was a little less than a century ago, when the big shots were still extremely confident as to what they would transform this Oasis into.

The general wasn't waiting outside however, but rather in a Limousine used usually by civilians rather than Shinobi who could probably move faster than said vehicle. But that didn't matter too much, Yakoul wanted to appear civilized and not have to actually run around to reach Iwagakure. Plus the roads were much easier to travel on once in the Iwagakure Province. Both Tanji and Kanata were expected around that time and enter the vehicle. There they'd find Yakoul sitting comfortably on one of the large seats next to the minibar for the most luxurious of limos only. They were going to leave soon and hopefully arrive in the evening at the Spa ran by Gozoboro.

"Mmmmeeeee-fucking-ooowwwww, today is going to be a goooood day. I can just fucking feel it."

---

Every little flourishing agent was dismissed and they all went on their merry way to explore Sunagakure a bit as they were devoid of any duty until the following day. They'd be made aware of that via their personal phones, which the Government knew entirely about because shut up. As such, they would all be warned in advance that they were to meet at the nearby Amegakure Province at the outpost they had marked into their digital maps. Once there, they'd be greeted by the staff whom show them around the area.

The establishment itself wasn't too big on the outside, looked as big as a normal highschool and looked more administrative than anything upon entering it. However as they would all take the stars/elevator, they'd soon realize that what they saw was quite literally the tip of the iceberg. The underground facility was huge, holding multiple gymnasiums capable of hosting different sports, weight rooms, common rooms, and a special area dedicated in dorms they could all live in individually if they were inclined to stay out or practicality. They had access to practically the entire area, including the control room where most of the information is received from troops on the field and other outposts.

It seemed clear that this would be their main workplace during this crisis, like an anti-terrorist unit, as it was fully equipped to respond to the needs of every type of fighter. There were in fact battle fields deeper into the facility that were the copies of the simulation technologies used by the old 11th Corps, allowing the most potent of fighters to engage without holding back in an environment typical of what they'd encounter in the field. In short, they had everything to train, sleep, eat, piss, shit, watch TV, Wi-fi, a working phone line. They'd also all be attributed an earphone to ease communication during squad interventions.

Finally, they would visit the hangar. Rows of VTOL airships would be presented and at their disposal. Though rarely seen as they remain expensive to manufacture, they were specifically made for the Armed Forces when confronted to guerrilla war tactics by such belligerent opposition. Despite the speed of a shinobi, the limits of ground travel made the migration from Province to Province, even with the improved road systems, a matter of hours. Here, with the exceptional speed and capacity to transport multiple troopers, could get the potent Armed Forces into the terrain in a matter of minutes.

As of now, not much has happened during the day. Most who were dispatched to investigate often unrelated cases were lower level shinobi. The higher levels (characters) would be doing their own thing, whether it'd be training, working on certain leads/taking over a non-combative job or simply nothing. It could also be an opportunity to discover each other's capabilities too.

---

---

At least Aro took the initiative to respond, and immediately Arima would point at the guy with his index finger, indicating the guy was mostly right. Though of course a lot more could be said, but the necessary was exposed. In truth, it didn't matter too much whether or not they knew what it was, he'd have a picture of it for them in case they wouldn't bother to simply look it up. The issue of how it would be organized however came up, and Arima took a second to recount in his mind the various steps they had to take.

"Alright. Naomi and I will be dressed as the typical rich couple of the area. Good thing is, they have this anonymity fetish with masks that cover the eyes. Only the bouncer will have a look at us. You and Chieko will supervise outside activity from afar as we take the tool."

He detailed, giving at least the skeleton of the plan he had elaborated so they'd know where they'd stand in this whole mess. Arima would then go on when he noticed they were following without a problem.

"We have a guy inside, the Janitor to be precise, and all we'll need is to g- Wait, whaaaOwwww Shit! You crazy Tsundere ... Arg!"

He barely had time to react as Chieko's swift kick made the boy propel out of his seat and hurt when he'd attempt to sit back down. Annoyed but also softened by the girl he had a rather dumb attraction to, he'd just giver her a glare and a half-assed comeback.

"H-hey, what was that for?! I was going to fill you in. Crazy nut."

Shaking his head, he'd begrudgingly attempted to sit back down, adopting a position somewhat silly. Some would think he had developed a hemorrhoid. Sighing to recompose himself, he'd finally pick up from where he was cut off.

"Okay. So Naomi's going to be the one sneaking around from the vents of the women's bathroom. You'll have approx five minutes to reach the sealed room without being noticed and nab the target. If your raiton doesn't break through and the stationed guards don't have a good keycard ... Then you'll bust through with the bomb left by our contact in the Janitor's closet in the same floor. I'll await with the auction guests and warn you if suspicious activity occurs. You two outside do the same and immediately react if you see one of those airships arrive. Alright? We'll go through this again a few times with plans. All good?"

Arima was a bit clumsy with planning, but luckily this was established with his cousin beforehand. And as much as Aro would have been a better choice regardless, he was a new guy, and trust was a luxury to have in this time of war. By then the chef had served them each a bowl of ramen they could enjoy, even for Chieko.

"Good. Now dig in."

---

Arima barely slept the night beforehand, anxious that he'd have to lay his life on the line again for the same thing. Sure, he believed deeply in the cause of the Red Sages, and even more in the cause of the Tametomo, but he couldn't perish the thought of succumbing before he could honor his clan as his cousin Arara did. Even if he had a silly name. The day passed by with the squad establishing battle tactics in case those Armed Forces came along and actually brought a life risking challenge. After all, even though the numbers of private shinobi were dangerous, they lacked the skills of reacting properly to such a stealthy approach.

Dusk took over the land and Arima was sitting alongside Naomi, both dressed in the typical fancy attire one would find in such events, plus an eye mask. Fancy black suit, red tie, the usual. Naomi was given a handbag containing the necessary equipment to unseal their weapons, including his boots, and seal the Bashosen for easy transport. All they had to do now is execute the plan.

Once arrived, their driver would stop where a servant greeted them and guided them to the Auction house's entrance. Arima would present his arm with a whole lot of gallantry so Naomi could take it as they'd walk toward the house.

"How are you feeling?"

He'd murmur to the girl as they would try to remain in character until it was time. They'd only have to remove their masks once confronted to the bouncer to validate their (fake) ID's and invitations. Once it was clear, they were allowed in the massive lobby filled with people wearing almost the same clothes a them. With such a crowd, it would be easy to get around unnoticed. They just needed the right opportunity to do so.

"Whenever you feel like it. I'll try to take to some old farts. Five minutes, not a second more."

He told her as he anticipated the worst in this scenario. Aro and Chieko on the other hand, they'd be stationed in a hotel about a block away with access to a balcony where they could easily overwatch the Auction House and was was going on around it. They could even use their shadow clones to cover more terrain by placing them in roofs of nearby appartement complexes.

---

Higoho was rudely interupted by this.. weird kid that had been sitting close to where Kaori and Higoho were standing. He spouted some nonsense, most likely to rile up Higoho. Higoho clenched his fists together - clearly showing that the annoying guys' plan was working. “Tsk..” Higoho let some air slip out past his teeth, as he looked at the guy. He was clearly unimpressed and seemed more bothered by the fact that someone was annoying him than the actual words that were spoken. “Who are you again?” Higoho then said after a moment of silence after Tetsuba had finished his ranting. The comment, though genuine, was also a slight, an insult in the eyes of anyone that felt themselves to be worthy of acknowledgement. Higoho knew this - he was approached like this many times by head branch members, and knew the weight these words could carry.

“As for Kaori.. she carries a name. Uchiha.. you haven't even offered me your family name, so I could atleast know whose honor I was stepping on. If you want to fight me, atleast have the decency to tell me your name, runt.” he then said, bitingly and his words filled with venom. Higoho straightened his fists into flat hands by now, calming himself down slightly, and also preparing himself in case the boy tried to show off for Kaori. You see, while Higoho could pack a punch as he'd shown Tatsuya earlier that day, this kid was much more aggressive than Tatsuya..

And that meant if he tried anything remarkably stupid, that Higoho wouldn't hold back in putting the kid down where he belonged. “Now, I suggest you approach me another time if you're serious about fighting me. Maybe approach me in a more respectable way, and tell me your family name so I can disgrace you with a shred of decency. Because I'm not impressed with you right now, and I'm sure that the girl you're trying to impress isn't either.” He would inch closer to the boy and lean in with his face, getting close to Tetsuba's face as he did so. His eyebrows were furrowed inwards and he looked visibly angry at this point, or atleast, not to the point of becoming red. “Unless you wanna throw down, right here, right now, in the middle of the crowd, shithead. I'll kick your ass to the curb in front of everyone.”

He left it at that, leaning back again and leaving the row of seats. As he did, he reached the end and then turned around, facing Kaori. “I'll ask Genji Hyuga, the clan leader, if I can invite you over for a match. No promises. But I accept your challenge, for whatever it's worth.” While the essence of the words he spoke could be perceived as friendly, the way he said the words definitely made it sound more like he was not being friendly at all. Before leaving he looked at Tetsuba one more time but didn't bother giving him the pleasure of responding to whatever he had to say.

---

The very next day Higoho had arrived at the outpost he was now assigned to. Guess he wasn't returning home to Konoha anytime soon now that he was drafted into Yakoul's control. After a small tour of the premises, Higoho decided to retire to his room for a bit. The room was rather hightech, which was a nice change from the tatami-mat beds that he slept on in the Hyuga estate. For a while he simply hung around, laying in bed reading the latest issue of Naruto and Sasuke - Stories Untold. It wasn't a productive past-time but it was whatever at this point, since there wasn't much to do. But as soon as he finished that - for the second time - he finally decided he was fed up with this crap. “Fucking Yakoul.. dragging me out here into god fucking knows where.” He threw the comic book, no, excuse me.. manga onto his bed end and got up, taking off his somewhat dirty wifebeater and grabbing an all black shirt out of the wardrobe.

After throwing that on swiftly, he walked out of the room and looked left and right into the hallway. “And for all this money they can't mobilize some god forsaken reinforcements when we get attacked.” he mumbled before heading down right side into the hallway. He was looking for a specific someone, Setsuko to be precise. After looking at the sparkling new nameplates on some of the rooms, he finally found hers. It wasn't too far off of his room. He knocked twice on the door before opening it. “Yo, baka.” he opened, friendly as always. “I'm bored shitless here and I want to practice. Seeing as there's no other Hyuga around here, you'll have to suffice. Maybe you can open those Byakugan of yours for the first time in a year.” he said, leaning on the doorframe with one arm while the other hung loosely at his side.

“Unless you're actually doing something.” he said, laughing to himself. As if she was doing something. “Great, thanks. I'll wait at the practice fields.” His answer came without waiting for her to as much as say a word - he simply guessed she'd agree and all in all his leading personality would probably make it so she wouldn't dare deny.. unless she was strong enough to withstand it now.

He walked over to the training fields, passing by lots of shinobi. As he approached the training yard, he noticed large glass 'cages'. It was almost like large aquariums for humans to fight in. Some of them were occupied by shinobi that were duking it out, and there was one which was being used to test a new weapon of sorts. All of these seemed to be fighting because they had to - regular tests, or testing new tactics with a squad. It seemed Higoho was the only one that was going in for fun. The fact that they were glass was probably to allow spectators. In some of the cages, most notably that of the weapon testing one, there were quite a few spectators watching them. That only added to the spectacle for Higoho, however.

Approaching one of these glass aquariums, he stepped inside and took a quick look around. It seemed they were capable of taking on specific environments too, but that'd be unnecessary now. Higoho was just looking for a fight and not a specific scenario. He would wait there for Setsuko, in case she did decide to follow him. Of that fact, however, he wasn't sure entirely.

Ninko had his hopes rise when it looked like Arima seemed to believe his story and this made him unprepared for what came next. Before he could react, the Red Sage knocked him into a state of unconsciousness. shit! he thought himself as his world went black and his became full of images of the terrible things would happen to him once he awoke from his unconsciousness. He didn't know how long he was out, but when he awoke he found himself in a shed of some sort and Ninko looked around quickly. Where was he now? Ninko wasn't sure if his plan was a good and now he was probably a prisoner.

His eyes caught sight of some Red Sages who were keeping guard of the building and Ninko wondered if they were his jailers. He couldn't believe how different his plan had gone and he began to think about what his situation had become. One part of him thought that he was captured and would face torture to get information, while the other part was still hopeful that his ruse to get into the Red Sages was successful. If Arima had thought that he was a confederation shinobi trying to fool them then he would have just killed him and be done with it. Maybe they were just wanting to be sure that he wasn't going to betray them.

This meant that they would probably test him in his loyalty to their cause and that would probably mean that he would be forced to kill or partake on a mission against the confederation. Ninko would just have to accept it and he thought of an old saying,'sometimes a person has to make sacrifices to be successful' Ninko would have to do things that he would not like in order to have his plan be successful. He just hoped that he would at least get the chance to join the Red Sages and not just tortured and killed.

---

Its not uncommon for Tanji to be in a new town or city due to the nature of his work, constantly being thrown between posts and duties he had taken into stride the myriad of people and places. In his mind, as long as the Confederacy came first in their minds it didn't really matter where you came from, whether you be some nobody from a politcically insignificant fishing town or an Elder of a core Village. So that said Tanji arrived in the great village before dawn at their main port of entry (or, airport rather) eager to begin the mission, and like his other posts, he spent the precious few hours prior to the intended meeting time in familiarizing himself with local customs and traditions. It didn't usually take him too long to fade into the background and begin his impromptu observations at a nearby market, mall or park. Knowledge of small details and the preparation to effectively use that information is paramount to his craft. Tiny inflections of words, local slang, habits of greetings and dress, as well as local accents are just as vital to a foreign sleuth, as to the whereabouts of their targets.

However, a few hours in observation and casual practice didn't instantly garner him the knowledge to pass off as a native-born villager, far from it in-fact, but it was a step in the right direction and would hopefully aid his squad in the whole process, and may even be a godsend if they needed to spend more time in-village for more subtle work. As the sun rose higher into the sky, Tanji believed it was as good a time as any to make his way to the embassy.

What he found there was not what he expected. His time spent doing the grunt work of the 11th corps. conditioned him to squalid conditions in his posts, so he was colored surprised when the gate guards directed him to an ostentatious limousine. Not one to look the gift horse in the mouth he quietly slipped to the waiting vehicle as a door was held open to him. Nice.

He found his commander already there, whom made itself well comfortable in the luxurious interior. It was nothing to sneeze at, spacious and rich in choice of adult beverages (the drink of champions), Tanji believed this must have been some sort of sick mind trick that the Master Genjutsu users at the 11th corp. would play on him. He even flared his mind's walls just to be sure. So shocked was Tanji that it didn't all just fade away, he found himself having to pick his chin off the ground before snapping a hasty salute to the Boss, "Reporting for duty Boss!... Um, say, if I may inquire, is that a Otogakure Fire Brandy Vintage?" nodding towards a tall bright red bottle sitting at the mini-bar by the commander's outstretched feet. God bless the Confederacy.

Though a connoisseur of fine blessed spirits, Tanji nonetheless would understand if the commander didn't permit a drink during a mission, but wouldn't be remiss if Tanji be allowed a "small sip" at the devil's water. In any case, Tanji -checking to make sure the privacy glass of the driver was shut and the doors well closed- believed it to be as good a time as any to ask some questions concerning his commander.

"Boss. If I would be permitted to ask -don't answer if you don't want to- Um... exactly where are you from, and, uh- as rude as it might be, may I also ask what you are?" as timid as his questioning was, with a few stutters along the way, Tanji was nonetheless very solemn, taking care that he didn't come off as a prying annoyance or tactless fool.