It was early afternoon in Boufuugakure, a pleasant weathered atmosphere and yet that did nothing to help uplift the lavender haired Special Jounin leaning on a tree just outside Boufuu's outer wall. She had her arms crossed and her right index finger was tapping rhythmically in agitation as she stared into space. Kazuma had requested her help with a B-rank mission that he had gotten and at first she hadn't thought anything of it since they often helped each other with higher rank missions. But this one was different.

The missing-nin they were being sent to take down had run to Regnsky to hide and possibly meet up with allies. She understood that the main objective was to eliminate the target and any accomplices, but she didn't want any harm to come of the village's inhabitants, whether by their hands or the rogue ninjas. The kunoichi started chewing on her lip and was thankful that Kazuma had requested her assistance and hoped that he would arrive soon. She had been waiting here since she had read over the mission details and gathered her supplies and weapons.

The medic-nin mainly hoped that her little brother would know to stay inside and keep their mother safe. And that Kazuma would arrive soon... She was anxious to get going.

{Word Count: 215}

Kazuma was feeling good as he headed to meet up with Chiharu. He had been able to rest pretty peacefully after an early morning wake up call. He also got the chance to get his friend a bag of sweets after had finished getting his gear together for the mission. Kazuma made a few last minute checks to make sure that he had everything that he needed as he came up on the tree that he and Chiharu had decided to meet at.

He looked up and saw her standing under the tree, sensing her tension. He wasn't sure if it was because of the mission itself or because it would be taking place in her home village. Kazuma gave her a smile as he walked up. "Hey Haru. Thanks for agreeing to go on this mission with me." he said trying to see if he can lighten her mood. He knew that the village was very important to her, even though her mother had made Chiharu unwelcome at home. He knew that she would want to go on this mission to make sure that her family was safe and well. "Anything that you want to go over before we head out?" he asked

Chiharu looked up just before Kazuma spoke and she nodded, her expression serious. But upon seeing the slight worry in her teammate's signature eyes, the kunoichi forced a small smile. "As if I'd ever let you go out on a mission without me Kazu-kun." She couldn't stop being anxious, but she could at least try and stop putting her partner on edge because of it. The last thing the medic-nin wanted to do was affect their performance. At his inquiry of if she needed before they departed, she shook her head, eager to start. "Let's get going." And with that she disappeared into the trees, leaping limb to limb as fast as she could to hurry to Regnsky. It may only be half a mile but a lot could happen in the time it took to traverse that half a mile.

"How do you want to do this?" She asked of the Hyuuga as they traveled. She usually deferred to Kazuma's judgement in missions, minus any casualties, in which case she took charge. The ideal situation would be for the rogue ninja to suddenly gain a conscience and surrender himself to their custody. But that was as likely to happen as it would be for her to become a sadist. Chiharu was of the idea that he would either be keeping hidden or already fighting in the open, most likely with a hostage or several. Neither was pleasant to think about, but they would likely be able to do more if he had already revealed his location.

(Word Count: 260)

Kazuma followed after Chiharu, jumping up into the trees as she lead the way to Regnsky. She was moving with a lot of urgency, which Kazuma understood. But if she wasn't careful she could endanger the mission and herself. She called back to him, asking about the mission and he decided to say something.

"Haru. We are going to have to handle this very carefully. I know that you are worried, but we have to keep the perimeters of the mission in mind. We just have to eliminate the target and any of his accomplices. Hopefully, we'll be able to do this discreetly. But in the event of a public fight, let me handle the hostiles. I want you to try to make sure that civilians won't interfere." His voice carried the authority that he had adopted from his sensei, trying to make sure that his partner understand to not let any personal feelings get in the way.

Chiharu pursed her lips, trying to steady her breathing. "I know you're right Kazu... I'll stick to the plan." Then she smiled and glanced over her shoulder at her teammate and stated, "You know you sounded like sensei just now. It made you seem cooler than usual hehe." With that, she leapt away, further gaining on him. It didn't take them long to reach the outskirts of Regnsky, though it was harder to remain hidden with the dwindling brush.

From her viewpoint inside a bush, the kunoichi could see the village spread out, with nothing seeming out of place. There were farmers out, toiling the soil as well as doing other odd chores such as feeding chickens or milking cows. Everything seemed normal...but something didn't fit right with the medic-nin. Their movements seemed off, awkward somehow. And then upon closer inspection, the Special Jounin noticed something that made her inhale sharply before whispering, "Kazu...I don't recognize any of those people. They're not from Regnsky. I think they might be Akasake's accomplices."

This was bad. That meant that they had done something to the townsfolk. At worst they just killed them, but there was still the chance that they were simply being kept out of the way in case they needed some bargaining chips.

(Word Count: 214)

Chiharu seemed to accept his cautions and Kazuma was glad but decided to keep his eye on her to make sure that she didn't take any unnecessary risks. Then she brought up their sensei and he smiled fondly, remembering their old mentor. He picked up his pace as they raced across the branches heading towards the small village. It didn't take them long to reach a point where the trees gave way to buildings and Kazuma brought them to a halt in the brush right at the edge of the forest.

He sat in the foliage as his partner peered out at the inhabitants of where she had grown up. Kazuma wasn't sure what she expected to see but figured that she was just worried. He had just started thinking of how exactly they were going to locate their target when Chiharu demanded his attention. She brought up that she didn't know anybody and Kazuma looked out at the people in the town. At a glance, everything seemed normal, but upon closer inspection he noticed that they seemed to merely be going through the motions of everyday life. If Chiharu was right and these were just associates of Akasake's, then things became a lot more complicated.

"Alright. Let's get a closer look. Stick to the shadows and lets make sure that we stay quiet. We don't want to endanger any possible hostages." he said looking at her. He could still see the worry in her eyes and grabbed her hand and gave it a reassuring squeeze. "Don't worry Haru. I promise everything is going to be fine." the young ninja said with a small smile. Now he just had to make himself believe it. He took a deep breath, looked to make sure that nobody would see their entrance and darted into the shadow of a building.

(Word count:307)

Chiharu nodded at Kazuma's advice/orders, yet didn't take her eyes off of the farmer impostors until she felt warmth around her hand and looked up at her teammate. His words were reassuring warmed more than just her hand as she nodded with a bit more strength now. She hadn't meant to make him worry about her, but hearing his promise made her much more relieved. It was a rare thing to see Kazuma Hyuga fail. "Thank you Kazu. What would I do without you?" She half joked with a soft chuckle, finally taking back her hand with mild regret after letting their touch linger for a moment or two too long.

Watching as the Special Jounin sprinted to a shadowy niche next to a nearby building, the medic-nin glanced around her before following suit. It was cloudy and windy like always, but it was still just bright enough to cast shadows. Around the corner of the house was a small plot of soil where two men were attempting to turn the soil or...something. The skinnier of the two spat and stopped his motions to stand up straight and look around. "Why's the boss got us doin' this stupid crap still?" His fellow glared and replied, "The boss doesn't want any passer through's or whatever to get suspicious. He doesn't want to attract the attention of any busy bodies from Boufuu. Soon as the elder council leader pays up, we're outta here." "And how long's that gonna take?" The skinny one whined. "You go an tell that to Judo yourself then. I won't be around to clean ya up when you're all in pieces." The rogue sulked for a moment before spitting again and swaggering off. "I need to take a leak." To which his fellow grunted in acknowledgement.

Pressing herself closer to her teammate, the kunoichi whispered in his ear, "If Akasake is trying to get the village leader to pay a ransom, he's likely at council hall. I know the w-" But her hushed sentence was cut off by a small exclamation of surprise from behind them. Whipping around, the Special Jounin saw the man that had gone off to relieve himself and that he was reaching for his kunai before it was knocked out of his hand by a quickly thrown shuriken from Chiharu. She hissed to Kazuma, "Quickly and quietly!"

(Word Count: 381)

Kazuma lead Chiharu along the length of the building, taking care to remain in the shadows. He made sure that Chiharu was close to him as they reached the edge and peered around to get a better look at the impostors. He listened to the two bicker and filed away as much information as he could from their brief exchange. He watched as the smaller of the two walked off to use the bathroom and kept his eyes on the larger one. Then he felt Chiharu press up against him and begin whispering in his ear. The young ninja listened, a bit distracted by the kunoichi's proximity.

Chiharu was relaying her own opinion on their next move when he heard the call from behind them. Kazuma whipped around to see that it was the man who had gone to use the bathroom. Chiharu had already disarmed the enemy and Kazuma quickly charged him down, drawing a kunai as he did. He clamped a hand over the man's mouth with his free hand and used the other to drive the kunai into his chest. Kazuma looked around quickly to make sure that nobody had been witness but nobody else was in sight. He helped the dying body to the ground, making sure that the man had been properly dispatched before removing his kunai and dragging the corpse back into the shadows. he hurried back over to Chiharu and whispered, "We need to move from this position. But I want to be thorough and take out the other one first to make sure our presence isn't discovered yet."

Word count: 267