Shadow Village

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She never wanted this...but it had been pushed onto her. She had never want to leave the village, her home...or maybe she did. She could still feel their eyes on her, those cold eyes, eyes of hatred. And then, the eyes that were missing. Those were the ones she couldn't feel, as she'd never been able to feel them. Her father. Endo.

Midori sighed. She had left, and there was no going back for her, just as there never had been. Two years, and she had nothing. No leads, no clues, just a picture of her mother and brother, whom no one seemed to be able to recognize. And without any sort of official sanction from Kagegakure, no Kage or Feudal Lord would hear her out or help her. There was one village left for her to visit though.

Kirigakure. She hadn't tried the Hidden Mist yet, and who knew...they may be willing, or someone may have seen her family.

The gate was lightly guarded, and it was easy to get in, too. Midori wandered around the village keeping her head down. And still she heard the whispers. Perhaps it had been a mistake to bring Kikiyo with her. The white fox trailed along after her, for the most part keeping silent, but occasionally said hello to passersby. Most simply said it back or ignored her, but a few looked at the fox like it was an alien. They weren't used to hearing an animal talk, it would seem.

And then, she was surrounded. By punks. Lowlifes, they seemed to have recognized her, and thought to attack, perhaps? She really wasn't that interested. Kikiyo paced in a circle around her legs, while Midori stood still, her head and eyes still downcast.

"I suggest you all leave me be. I don't want any sort of trouble."

One of them said something. But Midori didn't bother listening. She was already attacking. Within the space of a few seconds, all her assailants were lying on the ground, some foaming at the mouth, but all of them alive, with Midori and Kikyo walking away like nothing had happened. Maybe coming here hadn't been such a good idea.

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"Nicely done Rei." The Mizukage said with a grin on his face as he opened up the box of…pastries? Reina closed her eyes for a moment, the corner of her mouth twitching the slightest bit in annoyance.

She had been called to his office early that morning, an important mission needed to be accomplished and it required the skills of a shinobi of her caliber. So Reina, the ever obedient ninja, left the village at dawn that morning, ran over miles and miles of ocean, and swiftly made it to the boarder of the Fire nation where the package would be waiting. By the time she rived back home at around noon, she was quite disappointed by the lack of action that accompanied this mission. Nevertheless, she delivered the package to the Kage only to find out that it was an apparent snack that went with his lunch. Her father would be so proud.

"I just absolutely love rice cakes from the Fire Nation, no other place makes it quite like they do." Hitori was strange in her opinion, very relaxed in his ruling, a trait that was rare in Mizukage. "Do you want one?" He offered cheerfully, presenting the box to the kunoichi.

"No thank you, sir." Reina replied respectfully, a polite smiling turning her mouth. Bowing to the Mizukage deeply, she turned to leave the office. She reached for the knob but before her fingers could make contact with the cool metal, it flew opened. Reina was soon face to face with an exasperate Chunnin who gave her wide eyes as he realized she was there.

"Oh excuse me Miss Terumi." He spoke quickly as he moved passed her to stand before the Mizukage. Reina couldn't help but stay, turning towards the new arrival with a confused expression on her face. "Mizukage, there is intruder in the village! Five injured at this moment." Hitori's eyes were serious as he watched the younger man before they fell onto Reina's form.

"Reina." Was all he had to say before she nodded and dashed from the room in pursuit of the assailant. Making her way through the village she was soon joined by three other jounin whom she had participated in mission with before. It was easy to spot the woman, she stuck out among the usual Kiri natives. They surrounded her, one on each side and one behind the woman while Reina stood in front of her.

"Trespassin into Kiri without the proper paperwork or advance notice is illegal for every ninja, as is attacking civilians." Reina spoke calmly, her eyes keeping an eye on both the woman and her animal. "Under the orders of the Mizukage, you are under arrest. Come quietly or you leave us no choice but to use force." She place her left hand on the hilt of her sword, as though challenging the other kunoichi to disobey.

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Smells and aroma’s filled a small apartment as the sounds of boiling water echoed lightly in a kitchen. Tsukiyo stirred the pot; occasionally tasting the soup to make sure it was on par to what she was expecting. She glanced around, trying to find the one ingredient she needed to finish the soup up. Shiranui, her wolf companion, nudged her leg before yawing. She smiled and rubbed his ear before returning to her soup. Before she could finish, a paper pushed itself underneath her door. She sighed and picked it up, knowing the contents that it held already.

“Come on boy, we have a mission,” she stated as she poured the soup in a bowel before sticking it in the refrigerator. Shiranui stood, stretching before following in stride with Tsukiyo as she exited her building. She locked the door behind her before making her way down the dirt path that lead to the Hokage. The breeze felt nice as it combed through her hair as she stared up at the sky. She felt a bit upset at having a mission as soon as the last one. Although the last one was a D-rank, she did need the money. Shiranui can only bring home rabbits and squirrels for so long before they begin to lose their taste.

“I want some Ramen,” she stated as Shiranui glanced up at her, head cocked to the side as if to agree. She smiled and waved at the people passing by. She knew a majority of the village. Some of them she grew up with while the others were her patients. She was a medic-nin so she needed to be on a personal level with everyone. Or at least in her thoughts she did. There were still others she didn’t know, but she thought nothing of it. She’d meet everyone regardless one day thanks to her job.

“Ah, welcome Tsukiyo,” a voice called out as she snapped her eyes to the man. She wasn’t even aware she’d made it to the Hokage’s office as she’d been lost in thought. Guess I should pay more attention, she thought while acknowledging the man. “As you are aware, we have a mission for you, however; due to the rank and your status as a Jounin, we are going to send another Jounin with you. This mission is to escort an official from Kirigakure safely back to his country,” Yoruhiro stated as Tsukiyo nodded.

“Wait, I need a partner to do this mission? It’s only one man,” Tsukiyo stated as Yoruhiro sighed.

“It was his request otherwise you don’t get paid,” he replied. Tsukiyo sighed in defeat. She didn’t have a problem splitting the reward money, but she didn’t exactly want another person to look after. Sure she’d have the official, but two people? Hopefully the Hokage before her had enough sense to send someone more competent with her this mission unlike the last.

“He should be arriving soon.”

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Midori stopped, seeing as she was surrounded again. This time by jonin and some ANBU.

"Trespassing into Kiri without the proper paperwork or advance notice is illegal for every ninja, as is attacking civilians. Under the orders of the Mizukage, you are under arrest. Come quietly or you leave us no choice but to use force."

Midori gazed at the woman who had spoken with bright, crimson eyes. However, her expression was...naught. Nothing flickered to her face. "You should know, they attacked me first, I was merely deflecting their advances. I'd hardly call it defending myself, as their power is nothing compared to Kikiyo's, let alone mine." The fox wraped her tail around Midori's leg affectionately. "Even so...I can hardly agree--" She was cut short, however, by a male voice. He was young, but well experienced, and Midori found herself wondering how she'd missed him. After all, his hair was green, of all things.

"Midori-sensei? Kikiyo?" The white fox cocked her head, and then smiled. "Genma~chibi. You're lots bigger than the little twat you used to be. And you're a jonin now, eh? I'm impressed."

"Enough, Kikiyo." She raised her crimson eyes up to the boy who had come to stand before her. Well, boy was no longer the word, she supposed. the young hot-headed boy whom she had once taken on as an apprentice was now a strong young man, and a jonin, the same rank she was. "It seems you've grown up while I was away, haven't you, Genma? And how has Hiroku been?"

The two of them spoke as old friends, all the while the other shinobi around them simply stared. It was obvious that the woman who had spoken previously was annoyed, and didn't seem to take kindly at being ignored, when Genma turned to her. "Reina-sama, please...this is a misunderstanding. Besides that, I doubt any of us aside from you would stand much of a chance against Midori-sensei. After all, they don't call her the Crimson-Eyed Fox Sage for just any reason." He grinned broadly, as the others began to murmur, and some of them even took some steps away from her. It was amazing how only her name could spark fear in even the most stalwart ninja. The thought made her smile slightly.

"Reina Terumi, also known as the Silent Dragon, and decended from Mei Terumi, one of the Mizukage. Tell me...how is Hitori-sama doing these days, anyway? And has he any new from Kagegakure? I'm sure my father is still asking after me. I haven't been in touch with any of them fro a while now."

There was a reason she hadn't tried Kirigakure before, mainly because the Mizukage and the Ryukage were close, as were the families of each respected Kage. Hitori would recognize her instantly, and probably send word to her father. But if she could convince him to not send word...she sighed inwardly. It was a sketchy chance, at best, but it was the only chance she had at the moment. So she had to take it.

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"Shit" Kagime's eyes opened as fast as lighting. He could hear the loud bang on his door clear and sharp. "Kagime wake up!". Kagime rolled over on his bed, rubbed his eyes and stood. The bangs wouldn't stop until Kagime was at the door. Kagime sighed and opened the door, "Damn it Karusa can't I have one day of peace?" Karusa was a newly appointed jonin, he was strong but... annoying nonetheless. Karusa looked at Kagime and a few other Jonin including Midori, he never even like to put himself on the same rank as them. "Not today, the Ryukage need to see you."

With a quick grin Kagime was off. When and if Kagime was taken out of his so called lazy- state he was on the move constantly. He wasn't called the Lazy Death for nothing. Within a few minutes Kagime was at the Ryukage office, there are three leaders in his village. Endo, the main Ryukage and the two lower ones, his father included. He brushed his clothes off rapidly and entered the office. The Ryukage seemed to be in some-sort of peril, mostly Endo seemed to be pissed off, or upset. Kagime bowed. "Kagime... there's something I need you to do."

A mission.. This early? he thought nothing of it, he simply had to follow the command's of his leader and all will be well. He was tired though, tired and hungry, he realized he had left his home wihtout eating. This wasn't normal, Kagime would not perform until his stomachs filled. Insanely enough, even though Kagime eats like a pig, he gains no weight and his abilities as a shinobi were never effected. Endo seemed to have a different tone about him, less commanding and more desperate. "I'm afraid.. Midori, has gone rouge." Kagime's eyes laid opened as he took the intial shock in. Midori was his cousin, and also Endo's daughter. As children Midori and Kagime were close, they went on countless missions together and trained together restlessly. Not to mention that Midori was one of the strongest Kunoichi he had ever laid his eyes on. Where could she have gone? It wasnt like her to just disappear unless of-course... No it couldn't be. Kagime's voice seemed to be distraught a bit as well "Do you know where she might have gone?" Endo shook his head. "You know her well, perhaps better then anyone else, I need you to find her.. For the sake of our family."

Kagime bowed and turned towards the door. "I will not return empty handed.". Just like that he was gone. Some matters were so dire that the lower Ryukage had no say in the matter, but knowing Kagime's father, he was all for finding Midori. He ran back to his home, Royo was probably still sleeping, Lazy as he. "Royo! Wake up its time to go." the sloth woke up and lazily walked out of the room, yawning in the process. "Where are we going exactly?" Kagime loaded up his Kunai and grabbed some rice in a bowl. "To find Midori." Royo was the same as Kagime, once in pace he wont stop until its time to rest, although a sloth seemed weak and pathetic Royo was different, he was sharp and quick, razor sharp claws and great hearing. The both of them ran out of the village. "Where too boss?" The sloth asked, " I think i know where to look."

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"You should know, they attacked me first, I was merely deflecting their advances. I'd hardly call it defending myself, as their power is nothing compared to Kikiyo's, let alone mine." Reina politely listened to the other woman's reasoning, no matter how futile it actually was to the situation. She had orders to bring in the intruder and that was what she was going do. "Even so...I can hardly agree--" The Mist ninja's grip tightened a bit on the hilt of her sword, if a fight was going to be started from lack of cooperation, then Reina would make sure it was the other woman who lost.

She was quite surprised when one of her team stepped forward though. Genma. She thought, recognizing the young man's green hair. Her blue eyes narrowed at his form. He had stepped out of line, potentially putting the entire squad in danger if this Midori was a real threat, regardless of whether or not he appeared to know her.

Apparently the jounin finally noticed the annoyance that was radiating off her form, ever bit of it directed right at him. Genma's eyes were downcast as he began to talk to her. "Reina-sama, please...this is a misunderstanding. Besides that, I doubt any of us aside from you would stand much of a chance against Midori-sensei. After all, they don't call her the Crimson-Eyed Fox Sage for just any reason." He was grinning by the end of it though, admiration had filled his voice as he talked about the woman from Kage. Reina didn't care or trust anything he had said.

"Reina Terumi, also known as the Silent Dragon, and decended from Mei Terumi, one of the Mizukage. Tell me...how is Hitori-sama doing these days, anyway? And has he any new from Kagegakure? I'm sure my father is still asking after me. I haven't been in touch with any of them for a while now." Reina finally stepped forward, her face blank as she blatantly stared at the other woman.

"Genma." She spoke calmly and with authority. She noticed from the corner of her eye how the teen in question tensed up in nervousness as she addressed him. "I believe you're in need of an intense training session about protocol, one that I will instruct you in personally." She tilted her chin up in a gesture, causing the other two ninja with her to take a few steps towards Midori. "I couldn't care less who you are or what happened previously, but I have been given orders to bring you in by Hitori-sama himself. Now, once again, come quietly or you leave us no choice but to use force."

Reina's body immediately tensed up the moment she sensed two very recognizably chakra sources approaching them. She turned her head to the side to look behind her and taking in the sudden appearance of not only her father, but also Hitori. The Mizukage's loud and deep laugh filled the air around them as he darted past her and to the side of Midori. He enveloped the younger woman in a tight bear hug, all but lifting her off the ground in his greeting. Her father moved to stand beside her, his hand placing itself beneath her black hair at the base of her neck.

"It would seem that she is a guest of the Mizukage." Her father spoke from her side. Akihiko often came off as quiet the intimidating man, with his stern features, sharp eyes, and his pitch black hair cut short. He wore a navy blue kimono and grey hakama, his usual attire while in the village but even in that he appeared imposing.

"…Of course Tou-san…" She responded politely, her hand slipping away from her weapon as she watched the Mizukage interact with Midori. Reina had definitely not expected Hitori to appear, not after he had sent her to take care of the situation. Her father was also a big surprise, but she would obey nonetheless, just as she always had.