The moonlight village of Tsukigakure, a place of bustling streets with merchants selling nicknacks and trinkets; mostly bearing the crest of the moon. Semasu's village prided itself in commerce, its wares ranged greatly from silverware, weaponry, armor, household items, utensils and less common stuff such as old historical scrolls and documents. The air was almost always stifling in this busy village due to the mass number of bodies roaming the streets and the shops cooking food to sate their customer's hunger.

Of all the shops in the streets of Tsukigakure, none got more business than the food shops; people would spend hours browsing wares and then suddenly realize they were hungry. It was an effective method for upping sales and increasing revenue into the village; almost no one left the streets without buying something to eat for themselves or someone else. A lot of people still bought trinkets and other things, but food was above all else, the most "treasured.

Tsukigakure's food shops ranged from ramen shops, meat vendors and sweet stores selling small candies to large pastries. The shops usually receiving the highest customer traffic was likely the meat vendors: Tsukigakure had a reputation for cooking and selling some of the best meat in the land- the village used a special blend of herbs as a secret recipe only known by shop managers.

Next would be the ramen shops, they had incorporated the special recipe blend into their stews, soups and bowls of ramen as well- while also adding the specially seasoned meats. The ramen was divine, any avid ramen fan or lifestyle ramen eater would know of these shops and visited them at least once, maybe twice in their lives- no matter where they had come from. It was known to most ramen vendors that people from small island villages near Shippuugakure even would come just to taste their ramen dishes. Their less frequent customers were those from Kazangakure, most of those villagers considered Tsukigakure's food to be too refined or not spicy enough. Those volcanoes people surely enjoyed a good spicy and violent taste in food, something most people couldn't handle; thus why the busy merchant village of Tsukigalure had become a common place for shinobi and people of nearly all villages.

Lastly was the sweet shops; above all, pastries were the leading sweet in the village- mostly thanks to a Semasu Rankujo herself. Daily she would visit these shops, "sample" a dozen or so of their donuts and offer important suggestions and feedback. Donuts were a specialty of hers and she intended to use and exploit this to every advantage. The pastry merchants were always eager to share their donuts with her, because she could pinpoint what was missing in their "near perfect" food. Almost every pastry vendor merchant and manager knew her personally on a name basis- she had made it a priority to remember their names, faces and shop affiliations. Heaven forbid that she should run out of donuts one day.... what a bad day that would be indeed.

She recalled the last time she had run out of donuts, it was a challenging day for her... and a bad day for everyone else. Normally, Semasu is extremely cheerful in her own way when she has an over abundance of donuts; without them though, she is cranky and snaps easily. On a few occasions, she had blacked out and severely beaten people who ruined her donuts, or destroyed shops who refused to sell to her. She never understood why a shop would refuse to sell to any one person, especially when they provided the shop with such a large increase of ryo... on a weekly basis even.
The last shop that had refused to sell to her, had become a prime example to the rest as to why they shouldn't refuse her purchases. She had blacked out and her volatile blood had gotten the best of her; she destroyed the shop in a wild explosion and chased the merchants out of the village before she ever came to, and realized what she had done. Ever since then, all the shop owners had been super cheerful when they saw her and always brought her whatever she ordered. "Cheer" might not have been the right word, but rather fear or extremely high respect- this point was proven to her when she stumbled into a meat shop one evening and was famished.

Her senses were thinking straight because she hadn't eaten for so long, immediately she ordered donuts; the startled shop manager ran across the street and paid for donuts at a pastry shop and brought it back to her- he didn't even ask for a refund or tip from her.

This was one of those days, just like any other day; except with the aspect of her meeting a certain someone at their "usual spot" Nempo. Tsukigakure's very own information broker was an intelligent and shrewd single man, most people considered him a hermit; his reasons for staying single for so long was much deeper though. Indeed he was an information broker, he had started out in the business as a very young ago- it started with his passing along messages to people at the age of six. As he grew older, he began to carry verbal messagers and even began to take note of potential customers and "sales"

His knowloege about people, important or insignificant; it mattered not, had given him a tactical advantage against them and potential customers seeking information. While it was immensely useful, it also came with a heavy price, anyone selfconscious about their dealings, whether shady or honest dealings- didn't like to know that their business was seen by someone and available to anyone... for the right price of course. As such, Nempo's reputation soared even more... and not in the good way, soon he became the target of assassins and thugs. Many a merchant had hired gangsters and loners to either beat the information broker into silent submission or kill him; just so that their "goods" could remain at top dollar or gain advantage over other merchants.

Nempo had adapted aptly to these sudden increases in aggression, he had long since knew this would happen and had prepared well. He was not a fighter, rather he was a runner- he ran away from every fight so well, that his opponents were sometimes not even sure if he had even left their presence yet. He had honed his skills at concealing his chakra and enhancing his physical attributes to allow him better dexterity and speed. His motto was "A fighting man, is a dying man. But a slippery man, is untouchable"
This was his nindo, his ninja way. Semasu had even witnessed Nempo running from weak thugs, even though his strength and speed alone would be enough to defeat them. His biggest concern was women, he knew things about them and their relationships with their husbands and secret lovers. They dispised him for such desired information; women are naturally cunning and manipulaive, add despise for a specific man into the boiling pot and the man would have serious trouble in staying sane, or alive for that matter. Suspicious husbands would go to Nempo and pay his rediculous amounts of ryo, for a simple "yes or no"

Nempo was the cause of many heartbreak and divorces in Tsukigakure, naturally women would see him as their common enemy. He feared the house wives more than he feared the drug lords and assassins. While he could predict the drug lords actions and manipulte them through their personal information; women were less than predictable. They were often irrational creatures who did crazy things for no real reason at all, Nempo had told himself that he would not do business with any women alone.
His only exception to this rule was Semasu, she was an understanding but dangerous soul; she met with him in public places where he could easily disappear or appear into crowds. The game they had developed had always become more intense with each passing "visit" Recently they had had a festival, with candle lights, lanterns and dancers; Nempo had used one of these dancer costumes with a giant head to sneak up on Semasu and "surprise" her. The surprise was on him though, scaring a Nintaijutsu fighter with an explosive element was never a good thing... part of his head had exploded as soon as he touched her shoulder from behind. Part of his giant head costume, anyways.

That night, he added another bit of information to the weird girl's information data card- it simply read, "Do not surprise this woman... at all" He had laughed to himself when he gave information to others about her, for he knew that all of them would try to surprise her. Business was business though, and whoever paid the highest price would get the best information. He likes the girl, but he preferred his ryo over friendships; or so he had assumed. It was true that Semasu could make a awesome donut and was a honest but violent person; Nempo preferred his life of silence though, and Semasu Rankujo constantly upset this balance. Why did he continue to make dealings with her?

Today was no different, he was on his way to meet this girl and give her valuable information regarding her next target; this one was a nasty foe, shrewd and careful- just like Nempo himself... except Nempo despised how this man accomplished his goals. Semasu was sitting in their usual spot- the donut shop where they had first met; where she had first exposed his weakness for tasty pastries, one she took advantage of and abused quite too often: he didn't mind too much though. Truthfully, he had never been disatisfied with their dealings; Ryu wasn;t her "payment" but pastries she had created especially for him. The girl was a genius when it came to sweet foods, there were so many flavors she had introduced to him that he had never even imagined before. Financial compensation hardly seemed worth the information compared to the treats he recieved for divulging what he had learned on her targets.

Still, he felt a little sorry for the targets: every ingle one of her intended targets had been assassinated somehow. If any struggle had happened, it was hard to tell- either they died too quickly from a kunai or like weapon, or their small "conflicts" had been a total one-sides slaughter. It was always a challenge to see who used what jutsu during the brief struggles, everything was always destroyed by explosions; obtaining useful data on the fights was almost completely pointless. He knew who the killer had been every single time, but very few if any but the Oujoukage and select members of the council. They were the ones who ordered the assassinations after all; Nempo wondered if she could easily kill him if she was ordered to.

Surely his presence was known to the council, very few people could escape their noses; especially someone who held valuable information even on them! Sometimes he regretted knowing tidbits of those "important" people's lives: mostly for the fact that any information he obtained, was grounds enough for an ANBU squad to be sent after him for interrogation, torture and memory wiping. The other side of his regret of their information, was the fact of some of the council's personal "desires" Some of which were bizarre or quite illegal. Thus why he had remained safe up to the day, they feared the knowlege he held on them as much as they hated him just for knowing.

So, do you have my information?

She had snuck up on him... he had been so deep in thought while sitting in the shop, that he forgot to be on the watchout for her: this meant the worst possible outcome. Since she found him first, her "payment" would only be half the usual. He sighed in exasperation and motioned for her to sit across him at the table.

]Yes, this is the man you are looking for. Personally, I don't mind if this one is missing permanetly from the village. He is a clever rat, but dangerous and poisons the very village itself with his lies and "businesses"[/color]

Semasu took a small photo from Nempo and looked at it, surely this man was befitting of the name "rat" He was a skinny old man who was very short and had wild hair, he wore large black sunglasses and smiled throug his very few teeth. He was a slave trader, often selling women for sex slaves; going as far as to hire bandits to attack caravans and lone travellers for "merchanidse" Many of the slaves would die before they had been bought by their masters for two weeks; the buyers always came back to him, and he was always in a "fresh supply" of more slaves.

Tsukigakure had finally cracked down on him and decided it was nice to get rid of the plague he made on their beautiful city. They didnt want their valued business dealers and guests to become slaves to a notorious man who didn't care for life. It was his time to die, and Semasu Rankujo would be the one to end his miserable life. Nempo nodded his head in silent agreement as they both understood what each other was thinking; now his half-payment felt trivial compared to the enormous relief his death would provide the city.

A request if you would... make it painful.

Semasu nodded and smiled somberly, Nempo had suffered a great loss because of this particular man- the one woman Nempo had loved, had been captured and killed through this man's slave trade. Nempo hadn't loved again since then and wouldn't let his interactions go past business. To his knowlege, the man "Goketsu" would be staying in the lower district of the village; the less happier side where the poverty was apparant. Law was difficult to maintain there and Goketsu often abused that difficulty.

Semasu got up from her seat and handed Nempo a full bag of pasties: no half-payment today, today was a celebration. The death of Goketsu! Nempo took the "payment" graciously and chewed on a soft morsel tenderly as he envisioned the agonizing death Semasu would soon inflict on the terrible missing-nin Goketsu- today justice would prevail.

Semasu chewed on a long pink donut as she trudged through the busy streets, she was eager to strike down Goketsu- but she had to be patient, he had guards and spies. His foothold in the village was strong and she wanted as little direct conflict with his followers as possible. She intended to crush the head of the organization, this would cuase the organization to fall apart. "Cut off the head and the body will flounder" A wise and fitting proverb in this situation.

She would wait till later int he evening, when night was beginning to descend- she would use the darkness as a covering shadow to aid her stealth. Until then, she would enjoy Tsukigakure's beautiful sights, arts and smells- she envisioned how much better these senses would be once the missing nin was dead and known publically. the increase to their village would be greater, no longer would people fear being captures and sold as slaves. She ate several donuts in eager anticipation as she waited for the night to descend and darkness to fall over Goketsu's housing complex.

She bit the head off of a gingerbread man donut viciously as she suddenly lurched forwards into motion. Her facial expression and action of biting the head off a gingerbread man, made a nearby child cry in terror as they felt her killing intent. A wild cat ran away hissing and a flock of birds on the rooftop above her suddenly took into desparate flight and eager caws of escape.

It didn't take her long to reach the building where Goketsu was, whether it had really been a short distance or she had travelled quickly; Semasu wasn't sure. All she knew was that the night had finally come, and with it- Goketsu's departure from the world.

He lived in a large mansion with many guards, by far- it was the wealthiest section of land in the lower section of Tsukigakure; poverty was raging here, but this missning nin lived like a king! She grinned to herself as she thought how the poor would tear this place apart as they scavenged everything in sight. His land was large and well fortified against a direct assault; his guards were numerous; mostly just thugs and bandits, but a few skilled shinobi as well.

Tonight, surprise would be her biggest ally- she leapt from her high perch in a tree and dashed across the shadowy open grass. She paused and lowered her form into the dirt several times to avoid being detected by guards, luckily this "rat" hadn't thought of dogs for guards; smelling all the food she carried would make her a dead give away. Normally a sane person would throw their food down to slow dogs down, but she would rather take on the whole complex than to drop her beloved donuts. Just think, when this man was dead; more donut shops would open up around the village- that brought a wide smile to her face that she couldn't control.

For donuts!!

She screamed from her advantageous position in the midst of Goketsu's foes, the group had huddled to wrm at a fire tonight: their surprise was complete when a kunoichi had appeared from the grass at their feet and yelled something about donuts? Confusion was small at first, but grew more intense as two raging waves of explosions rocked outwards from his fists. The first wave of explosions had hit the group of guards head-on and sent them flying many feet. They had fallen on the ground, disoriented and in a great deal of pain; the ramainder of guards had ran towards the explosions to inspect what had caused it.

Semasu was already gone though, she had followed the second wave of explosions that hat hit the mansion- she followed through the gaping hole in the wall and quickly made her dash to the top floor- through using the missing wall on several floors. Few guards were inside the mansion, Goketsu was so certain of his influence in the village, that he had become arrogant and carelss; a mistake most villains made, especially in manga.

Her ruthless and quick strikes had rendered her foes helpless and useless on the floor, a few of them wet themselves as they could no longer control their bodies after she delievered dicisive blows to their vital organs. Even for guards, these bandits were weak- the only way they could win against a skilled shinobi was by their mass numbers... and the majority of them were outside, searching for a missing assailant and putting out fires that sprung up in dry grass areas. A few of them stood with gaping mouths at the destruction to the fortified building and the trenches of dirt that had been blasted away in a mere second.

Several of them fled after realizing the destructive forces the attacker could rain down on them, especially when they didnt even know where she was! The remainder stayed and was too confused to think strategically; where would the assailant be after all, if they wern't in the field? Any misconceived thoughts were corrected moments later, another portion of the house exploded and a large burst of flames, wood and concrete came flying out of the side of the house.

All of the stopped running about to see two figures standing in the opening of the nex explosion... well, one standing and another dangling. A woman was holding Goketsu by his throat out over the edge of the highest floor of the mansion; she struggled to breathe and curse her at the same time as he attempted to free himself from her iron grasp. She did just that, she released him- and he fell, hitting several structures on the way down as he tumbled through the debris of his ruined mansion.

After several bumps and crunshes on the way down, he stopped: flat on his back, he lay for several moments before he found the strength to stand. His guards rushed to him and checked on his status; one leg was crushed and both arms were limp at his sides, his shoulders protruded at odd angles. His shoulders were dislodged, both arms broken and unable to stand on his one uncrushed leg, Goketsu still managed to laugh at Semasu.

Foolish girl! I'll have your head now!

That was as far as he got though, a crimson handprint became visible around his neck and it glowed brightly in the darkness of night. He reached for his neck as if trying to separate the glow from his body in some hystarical maneuver, but it was vanity. Suddenly his neck exploded and a fist made of red chakra reached out and punched his nearest guard. The explosion snapped Goketsu's neck and the punch dissolved at thoughts of further retaliation: Semasu used that split second to disappear from sight and vanish into the shadows once again.

Nempo watched from a treetop, he sat there comfortably: he would have sat there in any uncomfortable position, for the price was worth it. He had witnessed Semasu's assault on the fortified compound of the slave trader and applauded her brash violent strategy to disorganize the guards while she dealt with their boss. His joy was complete when she dropped the slave lord off the building and broke many of his bones on the way down as his guards watched helplessly. He laughed aloud as the slave lord taunted her and was interrupted by a small explosion which snapped his neck- then Semasu was gone, as quickly as an explosion- brief but intensely beautiful beyond any other art.

Six ANBU appeared on tree tops around Nempo, at first he was alarmed- but he no longer had any regrets; if the council had finally decided to deal with him in this critical moment, he no longer cared.

Fine, do whatever you want eith me; I don't care at this point- Ive seen what Ive desired for so long.

One of the ANBU, presumably the leader; cocked his mask sideways as he regarded Nempo. Two of the other members laughed aloud and the other three remained stationary, not even bothering to make a sound. These were stone cold killers who didn't hesitate; why were they now?

It seems you are mistaken, sir. The council values your life highly, they seem to see some unknown...worth in your existance, we have been instructed to avoid conflict with you.

Nempo laughed loudly now as he realized the setup, Semasu would be used to cripple the defenses of Goketsu's mansion and cause confusion; after she would kill Goketsu, the ANBU would appear, slaughtering his followers and setting the slaves free. The council never wasted a second, but still- he was glad he had chosen to witness this moment... a historical moment for himself, a small vistory made possible by his friend.

He didn't bother to respond to the ANBU, he just continued to laugh and cry out of relief and joy. The ANBU disappeared in the blink of an eye and reappeared the short distance away, slicing away at the jumbled and confused thugs, bandits and ninjas. A sword slash here, a fire blast there; even a wave of wind cut through a large building and toppled it as the ANBU continued their slaughter. Nempo remained there and laughed as he watched until the ANBU had freed all of the slaves and village guards escorted them to shelters for safety and reintegration into the village and their lives. Nempo thanked Semasu silently, he had hoped for this day for a long time.

Semasu stopped and looked up at the full moon suddenly, she smiled happily as she bit into another pink donut and continued her trudge back towards her small house.

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