An Alternate Leaf Village! » Places

         Corita considered leaving right then and there, leaving a message so the others could catch up. But technically, they had to wait for the tunnel differ. So he returned to the final one with him. "Originally, I said it as a joke, but given the reactions of both of them, I have to say I think they might actually have feelings for one another, even if they don't know it...".

Corita thought back to their answers though. Mito holds hatred, mostly for the Nine Tailed Fox. If she focused it, she could be a potentially great shinobi, if she learned how to control that anger, as well as her other emotions. I suppose I should count myself lucky. Had the Third Hokage not decided to alter the team makeups to ensure optimal safety for the Nine Tailed Fox's development, the original team listing had Mazaro and Mito on the same team. This is best...because if Mito ever learns what really happened to the Nine Tailed Fox, I am pretty sure she would kill it no matter what, as well as anyone who got in her way...

That was when the tunnel digger arrived, before Mito and Bato. "Oh well, I guess I probably wont seem them red faced anytime soon. Still, we should start our way. The tunnel digger is not as fast as us, and Mito and Bato could take the run as additional punishment for not being ready, when I specifically told all of you ahead of time to be fully prepared before you got here. I will leave my note for them with this kunai, so that they don't get too lost".

He tied his note to a kunai, threw it into the tree where they had been practicing before, and then departed. "Coming Kazuki?"

         If Shinji wasn't a veteran Ninja, accustomed to conceal his inner-thoughts behind various facades, his students may have noted him sweat dropping at Mazarro's blatant and quite obvious attempt at evasion from his own account regarding the ambush.

'Kami... I have my work cut out for me with this kid" Thought the Jonin, Mazarro may be a talented fighter for a Genin; but the ability to fight was only one of many skills a Shinobi needed to acquire in order to survive. Shinji would have to teach all of his students, but Mazarro specifically the essence of intrigue or at least some subtleness!

Looking at Kabuto, Shinji noted that the other ninja didn't buy Mazarro's explanation ether, but knew best to leave it alone. Ninja of the same village where discouraged from inquiring after their comrade's missions, least they be captured by an enemy and divulge information they are not supposed to know. It was less an attempt to keep things secret and more a damaged control policy; if a specific Ninja was captured, his superiors could immediately change and reform whatever tasks or operations that Ninja was familiar with. If a Ninja knew about missions outside his own, the village would be hard pressed to guess what else such a Ninja could know.

Shinji was thankful to his white haired student, between the two of them Mazarro and Kabuto had distracted him form their mission.

"You are quite right Shiki-chan, our clients work by a tight schedule; we do not want all of Konoha blaming us for a failure in Sake shipments this week after all". Said Shinji, deciding to spill the beans on their mission's objective; his students would find out the moment they arrived at the brewery anyway.

Shinji had noted Shiki's relative detachment from the team. It had been a similar issue with her brother back then. Shinji didn't pretend to understand the way that family worked but he inwardly decided he would try to get Shiki more involved in the team.

"Our clients live in the village's outskirts, they are a very wealthy civilian family which produces most of the local sake in this part of the Country of Fire. The clients have relations inside Konoha, so we will probably be expected to stay the night and join the family for dinner. I understand if some of you just want to get home, but it would be rude to refuse the hospitality and I think we could all do with some rest".

Shinji looked over the mission scroll for directions and directed his team to the correct path, bidding Kabuto farewell.

When the party arrived at the brewery, they where greeted by the site of spacious rice fields as far as the eye could see and a few villagers tending to the soaked crop. Th brewery itself was an old establishment, traditionally built with wooden planks and a silver pointed roof. The clients where much the same as Shinji remembered from his own genin day's.

The Hashiwa's had been old when Shinji had been a kid, and now they appeared exactly the same as back then as if they could not age further. The bald and bearded elder accepted Shinji's vague explanation regarding an ambush without complaint, the civilian was used to working with Ninja and knew not to ask for details.

Meanwhile, a similarly old grey haired lady fussed over Shinji's little genin, insisting that they come into the house and stay over almost immediately upon noticing the cuts, bruises and fatigue the young ninja had been dealt by the bandits. Shinji was particularly gratified that nether elder showed Mazzaro any animosity, Shinji knew the kid was unpopular in the village for some reason but maybe he could enjoy the Hashiwa's famed hospitality and put his mind off assassination attempts for one night.