“A small militia consisting of nukenin: two chuunin and four genin, who are being led by a Special Jounin, have been reported to be seen with a forbidden scroll from Konahagakure. You must retrieve the Scroll at all costs and be sure the enemy does not commit such crimes again. Reports have seen them holding up in the dense forest.”

“Sounds simple enough,” Kyohei mused to himself as he folded the sheet of paper which held his mission debriefing and tucked it into his jacket pocket, “Shouldn’t really be something I need an assigned partner for, but I suppose a little help never hurt anyone.” From atop the village wall, just beside the main gates (which he had been instructed was the rendezvous point for him and the partner he had been assigned for this mission), Kyohei’s attention would turn to the horizon. The setting sun denoted the time in which they were meant to set off on their task, which they would do once his partner arrived. The cover of night fall would prove to be beneficial to their goal, tracking down and eliminating this rogue militia group, giving them the protection of the shadows to move in, and of course the issue of lack of vision in the dark was of no consequence to an Uchiha. With any luck, they would even catch them at a time when they were vulnerable, perhaps stopping to set up camp for the night. He could only hope the mission would be so simple.

Still, Kyohei found himself growing restless as he awaited the arrival of his partner. The person wasn’t late, per se, but Kyohei had long since grown accustomed to working alone and waiting on people was not something he found enjoyable. If it were up to him he would have been on the pursuit from the moment the mission was given to him. Time was of the essence for this particular assignment. Every moment wasted was time that the targets could get further and further out of their reach and time for the secrets written on that scroll to be used incorrectly or sold to even more dangerous targets. If the office in charge of assigning missions wanted him to wait however, there wasn’t much he could do about it. The last thing he needed was a bunch of old men giving him another lecture about teamwork as if he was still an academy student. He just hoped this person he was waiting for was worth the trouble.

---

423~

Arms folded, Kyohei stood vigilant at the main gates of the Hidden Leaf Village, awaiting the partner that had been assigned to him. In truth however, part of him hoped no one would show. It would have been one less thing for him to have to worry about while on assignment. His gaze would remain directed out of the village gates, trained towards the horizon for what seemed like an eternity as his restlessness grew. It was only as his patience was beginning to wear thin and he had begun making plans to leave his assigned partner behind and complete the mission himself that his train of thought would be interrupted by an unfamiliar voice addressing him.

He raised an eyebrow curiously as he turned around to see the face of the woman who had addressed and been assigned this mission with him. Shizuka, was it? To be honest, Kyohei didn’t know what to expect out of the partner that he was supposed to be meeting. The kage’s office was very often hit or miss with mission pairings, which you think they would be more careful of given the importance of some of the missions they have passed on to others. He went in to every assignment assuming that he would have to do all of the work himself. It was just safer that way. They had never sent him someone that was unqualified to him for missions though, which made him all the more curious about the woman standing before him with a blindfold wrapped over her eyes. Did they really send him a blind woman to assist him on a search mission…? He found the idea of it rather humorous, yet at the same time intriguing. Shizuka wouldn’t be standing before him right now as his assigned partner if the kage’s office didn’t see her as capable of completing the assignment. Coming from a clan whose power is derived from their eyes, he was curious to see what means someone without their site would use keep up. It could never hurt to get some ideas in the event he couldn’t use his eyes.

“I am,” he replied bluntly to her assumption as to his identity, turning all the way around to face his partner although never unfolding his arms, “The targets are headed North, towards the border to the Grass Country. We’re going to hunt them down. Between the night and the trees, we should have more than enough cover to have the element of surprise in our favor. I presume that you read… were informed of the situation before hand, so unless you have any questions I will be working under the assumption that you are fully briefed on all critical aspects of the mission. If you’re ready then, let’s move. I’ll take the lead, having more information about the positional travel of the group. We need to move fast. I hope you don’t mind.” And with that the Uchiha would turn and walk right through the village gates, waiting to make sure that Shizuka was able to follow and keep up before accelerating.

---

951~

The grinding shuffle of a pivoted foot. Material gently brushing up against  material. Steady breathing, steady heart beat; barely a sigh out of place. As Shizuka Houkyaku listened to heavy pause and the steely cut words, she couldn't help but paint a picture in her mind of the one whom she was addressing. The stronger Shinobi standing before her. 
Yes, that's right. The female didn't need to see to know that this was a talented individual. Steadily professional, well prepared, calm and disciplined: The way he stood there, waiting for her while keeping track of their target's location when he could have just easily run off on his own told her more than the gasped words of the breathless messenger. To her keen senses, this Kyohei was someone with more potential than some would like to admit,and the higher ups had made a good and educated choice in selecting him for this mission. But had they made the right choice when picking her of all people? The blindfolded woman didn't think so. But then again....

Maybe they just knew better... 


Maybe...


"We need to move fast. I hope you don’t mind.”

"Of course. Not at all" 


Quietly polite words. Bare feet shuffling.
No sooner had the reply slipped from the pale passive lips, the female had turned around and was following his grass softened footsteps pass through the gate's threshold and in to the cooler dense forest; a place she was growing increasingly familiar with.
But before the pace of their journey could increase... in those few moments before he sped up and disappeared from the extended reach of her senses, Shizuka brought her steady fingers to her chest and felt for the hand signs she had been taught long ago. Then...with an inhale of calm. An exhale of focus. With the slightest breath of chakra; a soft breeze, as delicate as her touch started to slowly come up around her in an almost perfect circle. It would grow and spread, and stretch it's limits until the chakra tainted air was brushing up against the bark of the trees and the emerald leaves. above her. Tousling her clothes, fondling the ends of her hair, the blindfold, whatever the sighing breeze touched she would sense it. 


And that was when she really started to move


Shizuka didn't miss a step.
Racing through the forest, a different wind whipping at her clothes, exposed soles leaving no trace on the mulchy ground, with the tiny bird following soundlessly close behind.  Every time she approached an obstacle, the chunin would feel a tingle in the air around her and sharply dodge out of the way mere seconds before making impact, before correcting and continuing on her path as if the solid wooden tree trunk was never there.  Dodging, weaving, ducking, barely slowling. His words...his steps may have been her direction, but the technique was her guide. 
And so, the Houkyaku continued to follow her partner, blindly sprinting through the forest as best she could... until suddenly... she stopped.


Just. Stopped  


On the edge of a small clearing surrounded by trees, the blindfolded woman abruptly halted, standing statue still and stared straight through the mass of trees with her covered gaze.
Her sensing winds fell away, her chakra receded and for a moment... for just a moment the young female just listened. She listened to the trees creak and the winds reply, the ever light murmur beneath the hum of the forest. There was the musk of an oncoming rain and the acrid tendrils of left over smoke. Iron and steel, warm and damp.
For those few precious moments of pause Shizuka took everything in.
And then... she turned to him. 
With a slight smile softening her pale features, and a bare nod to where she had been looking, she took a cautious step back towards him and away from the tree line. 

"They are just ahead. If you'll allow me a moment I can scout ahead  and find the location of the scroll from here.
Unless... you have other ideas on how you wish for us to proceed?" 

As she spoke, the female reached her hand to her shoulder where robin sat and held it on her finger in front of her, affectionately stroking her fingers across the feathers at it's back. 
Whatever he decided, she would follow his directions. As far as she was concerned; this Kyohei was leader material. She trusted him to make the right decisions... whatever they may be. But whatever he did decide on, Shizuka's next move would be the same. 
So while she waited for the other chunin's answer, the female leaned her back against one of three trees and leaned her head back, resting for a moment. Preparing. Focusing.  

She was ready.

----------

Words: 814
Total: 1887

Chakra 185/200:

Kyohei would continue on his path, listening for the sounds of footsteps behind him from his partner to make sure that she was keeping up, at least until the sound of the woman following behind him completely stopped. He would halt his advance at the next branch he landed on, cautiously taking note of the silence before turning around to see Shizuka behaving rather strangely. What on earth was this woman doing? Even with all of the questions in his mind about her reason for stopping he would remain silent and observe her actions, curious as to what she was doing. He would raise an eyebrow curiously as she spoke, her words taking him by surprise. “Scout on ahead?” he repeated inquisitively, tilting his head a bit in confusion, “Wait, are you a sensory ninja?”

All of the sudden the irony of sending a blind woman on a search mission all made sense, causing Kyohei to let out an amused huff and smirk. He figured that the fact that she was assigned this mission meant that she would prove to be an asset out in the field someway, but these newly shared talents of hers only served to confirm that suspicion. “Alright then,” he spoke calmly, prepared to place a little more trust in his partner, “You were obviously selected to be a part of this mission for a reason. I’ll let you take over from here and scout out our targets. With more information as to what we’re dealing with we’ll be able to go about things in a much safer way. Show me what you can do then Shizuka.” In a demonstrative fashion he would step to the side and swing his arm in the direction of their targets, as if to clear the way and invite her to advance. He would immediately realize that she couldn’t see the gesture and drop his arms back to his sides. All that was left for him to do was wait for her to do what she said she could.

---

1294~

The deceptively slight form beneath the well worn blue kimono. Eyes bound tightly with a thickly dark blindfold. The constant yet steady flow of chakra floating about her skin like a breath of steam. It didn't take much to see that the young Shizuka Houkyaku, matched this description perfectly. 
However... it wasn't until early the year before when the young female accepted the fact and started to live up to who she had become. 
  
Once upon a while ago, the idea of feeling the ground shake was terrifying. The way the earth, once stable enough to hold up mountains, turned in to a fragile branch beneath each footstep. Or the way every creature brushed passed from meters away. The idea of hearing, feeling the movements of every person every creature, every distortion of nature that came remotely close was terrifying to the young girl.  But nothing.... nothing scared her more than the idea of going in to another's mind and looking through their eyes. 
The mind was a dangerous place. Full of thoughts, ideas.... memories. It was so easy to get lost in the perceptions of another person. It was so... easy to forget yourself. Shizuka was so completely scared of this feeling... of losing herself; that for the longest time, she refused to use her natural skills. 

Back then, she had not needed much to get around. Confined to a small cottage away from the curious reach of the villages, the female was content with using more... conventional means of getting around. Counting steps, a make shift sweeping staff, a clear map inside the darkness of her mind. Without using a single morsel of chakra she could get around just fine... but soon it wasn't enough. 
The day they burned the house down. It was as if someone had pulled the rug from beneath her feet and sent her tumbling down a bottomless pit. All the numbers of steps she had spent months remembering and the mental image of every bit of furniture. The staff, the trees, the soft grass...gone. Evrything. Gone. The young shinobi was left in darkness with only the things she feared to guide her way.

It would take weeks for her to find the path again. To find a strong enough tether and a stronger reasoning. It would take a month before she was no longer afraid of the feelings. And by the time she reached the village hidden in the leaves the Houkyaku was ready to accept what she had become. 

-------

"A sensory ninja? Yes... I suppose I am"

A light smile fleetingly glanced across the female's pale painted lips as she imagined his expression. The mix of acute surprise when finding out what she was mingled with final understanding of why they had chosen her for this mission. Silent wonder as to what she could do and open curiosity to see if there was more. 
While he spoke and digested this new information Shizuka just sat back, watching him patiently... quietly with her covered gaze, listening to the sounds of his gestures and movements, while her fingers worked subconsciously, caressing the wing feathers of her avian companion. It was only when his words fell away to silence and he had granted her the permission to continue  as she had requested; did the female stop in the mindless motions and focus her remaining senses on the bird at the end of her finger. He wanted to see what she could do... he wanted to see what this blind woman was capable of? Well.. she would show him.

The time for being afraid was over. 


A Slow. Deep. Breath.
The young chunin started to slowly...slowly ease her chakra, her consciousness towards the surface of her skin. Then, like steam from shower stream, it started to ooze and seep from her pores, drifting in to the air before flowing gently in to the tiny bird sitting contentedly tame at the end of her finger. 
One moment to settle, another to refocus. By the end of the next breath, the technique was complete. The remainder of her chakra withdrew back in to her core, she leaned back in to the closest tree.... and with a quiet whisper to the little Niro, Shizuka Houkyaku nudged the robin in to the air. And then... she was still. Perfectly, silently still.

More moments slipped away. With head tilted up looking at the sky, hands lifeless by her side, expression as blank as the pale sky above them. She sat unmoving for what seemed like an age. But then something happened. Something caused her to stir, slowly looked around as if following the movements of something neither could see. 
Or someone....

"There are six of them... no wait. Seven" she had said, frowning slightly as concentration took over.
"They have sent them selves out around a campfire in the center of the area. Three of them are sitting down eating. Another two are sharpening their swords. One just walked in to a large tent. There must be someone else in there. The leader perhaps? It's blocked off so I can't be completely sure" 
Another pause, another sweeping gaze around the empty area and she had fixed her blindfolded eyes on a corner just below the tree where he was standing. 
"I see.. they are all armed but with low quality weapons. Good. I don't....see the scroll. My best guess is it's in the tent with the two I can't...Stop. There. Its in a small wooden box just inside the tent. We can sneak around the side of the tent and pull it out from underneath them. And there... there is a large bush just to the left of the fur tree. It's right behind the two with the swords. That could be useful"

And just like that, she turned her attention back to the Shinobi in the area, focusing her physical senses towards him as best she could while still remaining contact with the little creature somewhere off past the trees. From here, it would be a little more difficult proceed until she got to the clearing and reuniting with Niro who had perched on a tree over looking the enemy camp. Difficult but not impossible. 
Till then, it was all up to him. It was her turn to see what he could do. See exactly what he was capable of. 

"I'll let you know if there is anything else. So please, go ahead. I will catch up as soon as I can" 

-----

Words: 1120
Total: 3007

Chakra 170/200:

Kyohei stood silently and looked on as the kunoichi that accompanied him did… whatever it was that she did. After letting her bird fly off she seemed to enter almost a trance like state for a time, not so much as moving a muscle until finally she began turning her head back and forth as if looking for something. Kyohei raised an eyebrow curiously at the woman who surely was cognizant of the fact that she was blind while she appeared to “search”. The only reasonable conclusion he could reach was that whatever she was doing it was part of her sensory technique. The way she moved her head made no sense even if her body had temporarily gained site given the wooded area they were positioned in and furthermore she was blindfolded. It definitely appeared as though she was looking, but it must not have been through her own eyes.

Turning his eyes skyward he searched for the bird that she had released, now soaring above the camp they were staking out. He could only surmise that the connection lied with the bird, but of course that was nothing more than deduction and speculation. Still, it was the best explanation he could come up with, and Kyohei did take great pride in his ability to analyze and decipher unfamiliar abilities. Something he was not likely to be renowned for however, was his capacity for trust, especially when on an assignment. And so as she gave him a report on what she claimed to see in the camp, Kyohei would activate his Sharingan in order to scout out the number of enemies she was claiming there to be for himself. At the very least, the numbers part of her story seemed to check out, leaving him free to approach the situation however he felt best.

“That won’t be necessary,” Kyohei would state calmly, stepping up beside her before continuing, “I just needed to know how many of them I would have to deal with. I can take care of the rest from here. I’ll be back with the scroll in a bit.” Without another word the Uchiha would leap down to ground level, marching straight towards the camp making no effort to conceal his presence in the slightest as he entered the clearing to see five men sitting about a campfire. All of their eyes quickly became trained on him, with the two men previously sharpening their blades taking the weapons in hand and standing to face Kyohei.

“You must be lost. This isn’t a place for children. It’s dangerous out in these woods at night. Go on and run home before you get yourself hurt,” spoke one of the armed men in a grizzly voice as he stepped towards Kyohei.

“You all have something that does not belong to you,” Kyohei hissed in a callous tone, “I’ve been sent to take it back.”

“You’re from the village, aren’t you?” another of the men asked, this time all of them rising and reaching for weapons, “You don’t really think we’re going to simply hand over the scroll and let you drag us quietly to prison, do you?”

The Uchiha said nothing as he stared the man dead in the eye, reactivated his sharingan and with one swift movement drew a kunai into his left hand, swinging it horizontally across the man’s throat, slashing it open and leaving a slick splattered trail of blood on a nearby tree. “You misunderstand,” Kyohei replied in as emotionless a tone as before, “My assignment was to return with the scroll. Only the scroll.” The men’s faces would change into enraged contortions of themselves as the realization that the village had ordered their execution, leaving what was to come next inevitable.

---

1931~

The way it would shine brightly inwards and illuminate from the outside. Both dazzling rays reaching tentatively... carefully out towards the flimsy pane of glass. Desperately trying to show the other their unique radiance and warmth despite the barrier standing between them.
And just how sometimes.. sometimes the light didn't quite push through. Because of the cold, because the dark. Or maybe because someone had left something in the way, to cover it all up. Whatever it may be, Shizuka had always imagined that even if you couldn't see it all the time; there was still light from either side trying to make that connection through it's heavily obstructing shroud. Still trying to embrace the other's glow....still hoping... still reaching.. still...


What a lovely idea that had been.

He didn't trust her at all. 


While her eyes were with the little robin who had found a perch on a tree overlooking the camp, the rest of her senses had remained with him. Feeling the unsteady tension before a battle, breathing in the acrid traces of smoke and iron. Listening to him instruct her to remain where she was while he pushed on to deal with the mission at hand. For a moment there, the girl could have sworn she heard him counting under his breath.
It didn't matter. None of it really mattered. From the moment they met, the chunin had made it clear that he would take the lead. That she would be putting her weaker radiating trust in him, even if the feeling would never be mutual.
So with a short nod and faded smile, Shizuka leaned back in to the tree and simply focused her attention on the pin point gaze of the minute avian. Waiting, ready, watching what her partner would do. What capabilities he had that made him perfect for this mission. 


It wouldn't be long now. 

But it would be forever before she would get used to this feeling.
The way she could see them right in front of her but have to strain to hear them. It was like looking through binoculars while listening in in on a secret. But still, she heard every word. 
The predictable warning when they first laid their eyes on the younger intruder. His equally biting taunt in reply. The cowardly self reassurances masked in bravado. She couldn't help but wonder what they could see in him that made them so scared of her mysterious accomplice. What was it like through his eyes? What was he...
The string of thoughts ended with a jolting halt as something snatched at her attention. Something that forcibly shifted her focus from the target intended to her stronger partner.  Something... that made her will the little bird to fly by his shoulder, warning him against finishing that sentence.... she was too late. It was too late.  



“My assignment was to return with the scroll. Only the scroll.” 


Shizuka Houkyaku didn't have as much experience as a lot of the other shinobi her age. She didn't claim to be smart, or wise, and the girl was happy to admit she was a terrible  fighter. But one thing she did know was human nature and their insatiable need to survive. 
The desperate, clawing, bone deep want to be one up on the other.  
Even if the odds were against them and they knew there was no way out. Even if they knew that hope had abandoned them to the crueler hands of fate, they would do all they could to make sure the other didn't get what they want so . 
He had told them what he was after. So when she saw what was happening; how while the whole camp full of people started to creep closer to him with bared fangs and raised swords, one cowardly individual crept like a yellow bellied snake back to the tent where the scroll was being kept and attempted to make away with it; Shizuka was also feeling her way around, counting the steps around to ambush him. To stop him in that last desperate act. 



She could hear his foot steps


He was catching up


So close.


So...


High pitched, startled, the scream that echoed around the hollow trees like a playful ghost. Before the girl could turn around someone was right there, a fistful of her sapphire black hair in hand and slamming her temple in to the tree that had been her stability only moments ago. Before brutally casting her backwards on to the ground. Silenced, stunned and dangerously off balance.
However, it wasn't the nausea churning in her gut that caused her concern not was it the throbbing above her eyes. Behind the infinite light headed spinning inside her darkness, there was something she was even more concerned about. A chilling factor that focused the disorientation and made her heart race a new rhythm. 
Shizuka's blindfold was gone. The thick piece of cloth which she used to hide her real self from the rest of the world. Binding her secrets and keeping her together. It was gone. Ripped off when he had grabbed her and discarded away from her reach. 
With no trees around her and the cowardly individual standing before her. There was no use in running and no where where to hide. 



He was looking right at her.

And she was glad not to be looking back


 
"What... what sort of freak are you? You're a monster. Get away from me? Stop.... Stop looking at me" 

Twisted. Horrified. Disgusting. Distasteful.
The detestable words he slung at her over and over and over again, cut deeper than the blade he held wielded.

"Stop looking at me you disgusting creature" 

But this time, the Houkyaku didn't run. She didn't so much as budge. Shaking like a leaf in Autumn time, with the sting of welling tears starting to prick the back off her sockets, she stood there resolutely, with her empty gaze staring directly in to his. Taking every blow with every rib shuddering breath. Until.... until suddenly, she decided that enough was enough. Using only her intuition the girl went for his wrist, and twisted it hard. It didn't matter that the blade sliced deep in to her arm on the way through. It didn't matter that the force of the blow cut her concentration and she lost track of her sight. 
Shizuka grabbed the sword and sliced it deep in to the man's gut. Never looking away from the sound of his surprised gasps. 

He was silent in seconds

-------

A moment later everything changed. 

She was still shaking... the tears still threatened to spill down her cheeks. But instead of playing pretend with the strength she wished she had, Shizuka found herself crouched over the ground, her hair curtaining around her pale tired complexion, blood dripping down her arm; as she continued to feel hopelessly along the leaf littered forest floor for the missing strip of material. 
She must have looked so pathetic down there. Weak. Worthless. Blindly reaching around the bloody mess like a child without their toy. But that didn't even begin to reflect what she had been feeling. With no more abilities to help her to return to camp and no easy way of finding the bindings. The most she could hope for now: is that when he came back for her... if he came back. He would not look to see her secrets just as the other had. 

She couldn't handle it again.

Before letting the first body hit the floor, Kyohei would kick the hilt of his falling sword skyward, grabbing it in his right hand on its way up. Twirling the blade in his fingers he would watch as all of the remaining men fanned out around him. Well, almost all of them. One of the men, who judging by his more kempt and polished appearance when he came out of the tent was the brains behind this whole scheme, decided to use the opportunity presented by his men surrounding Kyohei to flee the scene. “There’s always a runner,” he thought to himself as he prepared to deal with the remaining five men around him, “I guess I’ll have to get rid of this lot fast so that he doesn’t get too much of a head start.”

Holding the sword lowered and at his side, Kyohei would stand still as the first of the men charged his way, swinging his blade downward from overhead in an attempt to slash the Uchiha. At the same time, one of the men that had fanned out and positioned himself behind Kyohei would charge at him as well, raising his sword to perform a straight thrust. Curling his wrist Kyohei would raise his sword to his waist, holding the blade flat and parallel to the ground before using it to parry the man’s downward slash. With a single motion, his left arm would extend outward as well, launching the kunai he had previously been holding into the center of one of his targets’ throats. His left hand now freed Kyohei could use it to immediately grab the collar of the man before him, whose balance was still disrupted by the parry, pulling the man around and pushing him into the charging assailant that was behind him.

The other man would stop after accidentally impaling his own associate with the thrust meant for Kyohei, unable to look away as the life left the stabbed man’s eyes… but Kyohei would allow no time for grief or remorse. Taking the sword in his right hand, the Uchiha would thrust it through the back of the middle man’s neck, forcing it all the way through until the pointed blade reached the chest of the second man and driving it into the man’s heart. Three down, two to go. Looking up to locate his final two targets he would see them with blades drawn, standing backs against the campfire, but they were not ready to fight. No, what Kyohei saw in their eyes was fear. It was a look that he had seen all too many times before, and a look he would never again allow to enter his eyes.

“I don’t have time for this,” he would say calmly, staring them in the eyes with no hint of remorse or sympathy, “We all know how this has to end. The longer you resist, the longer it will take. If you just surrender and drop your weapons I’ll make it quick and painless.” With that being said he would begin to slowly walk towards the two remaining men, fallen leaves and dead branches cracking beneath the weight of each footstep.

“Go fuck yourself!” one of the men shouted at the top of his lungs, letting out a desperate roar as he charged at the Uchiha, “You expect me to just lay down and die for you?” Kyohei would say nothing as he side stepped the man’s advance, raising his right knee high and kicking the man in the back as he passed by, sending him tumbling forward. The second remaining man would grip his weapon with both hands and raise it high above his head, aiming to strike Kyohei down as he turned to deal with his comrade. A fool’s effort.  Without so much as a second thought Kyohei would kick in his knee and his leg out from underneath him, causing him to fall to the ground.

Tired of wasting his time here Kyohei would walk over to the campfire and pull the long sharpened stick the men were using for a spit. “Well gentlemen, this was fun but…” he began as the stepped over to the first man that he had kicked away, “I have someone waiting for my return.” Without another word he would point the sharpened end of the wooden skewer down and drive it into the back of the man’s head, leaving only one distraction left to rid himself of. When he turned around however, he would see the man with the broken knee crawling over towards the fire, no doubt aiming to retrieve his weapon that had fallen halfway into the flames, with only the rag covered handle still protruding. “You just couldn’t make this easy for the both of us, could you?” Kyohei announced with a tinge of annoyance in his voice, “Your friend made it easy. That’s why he isn’t in pain anymore. Look at him, don’t you want this to end. I said look!”

With his boot Kyohei would push the man’s face to turn in the direction of the man he had just killed. While his face was turned Kyohei would pull the blade from the fire, examine the steel blade, reddened by the heat of the flames, and place it down before the man’s face. “That’s what you wanted wasn’t it?” Kyohei continued, “Go ahead and take it. It won’t save you now.” Seeing the man not even attempt to reach for the sword that was right in front of him, Kyohei knew that his opponent had finally been broken. Raising his boot over the man’s head he would bring it down slowly, pressing the man’s face against the red hot blade. As the man began to scream and struggle Kyohei would only apply more pressure and after a moment the camp would fall silent once more. Now he needed to go retrieve the scroll from the straggler.

The Uchiha would not have to go far to find what he was searching for, but what he found was not what he expected. Instead of finding one more target to eliminate he would find his target dead, but the girl that was sent to accompany him on the mission frantically crawling around the ground as if she was searching for something. What’s more was that her blindfold had been removed, revealing the scarring around her eyes and the black holes that remained where her eyes used to be, but more importantly she had an incredibly deep gash on her arm that was bleeding profusely.

“Were my instruction unclear, Shizuka,” Kyohei growled angrily and he stomped towards her location, “I told you I’d take care of it. Look at what you’ve done.” Kneeling onto the ground in front of her he would grab her wounded arm and pull it towards him to examine it. “What would you have done if I went back to look for you where I told you to wait?” he continued to reprimand her as he reached for his canteen and used the water he had brought along with him to clean the wound, “Bleed out and die out here in the middle of the woods? I didn’t tell you to engage the enemy.” Seeing the piece of cloth she had previously used to cover her eyes laying on the ground before him he would grab it, dust any debris off of it and tie it tightly around her arm to cover the cut. “You’ll have to keep applying pressure to it until we get you medical attention back at the village,” he scolded her as his attention then moved to her head injury, “And listen to me this time.”

Kyohei did not so much as flinch as he looked up at her face, instead grabbing her chin in one hand and turning her head to get a look at the side of her face that had clearly sustained an injury. The skin on her cheek had scraped and was bleeding a bit, but the bruises told him that any major damage that this injury would have done would be concussive. “It looks like you took quite the hit to the head,” he spoke, the anger in his voice giving way to a more authoritative tone, “We need to get back to the village as quickly as possible to get your injuries looked at. I need to know if you can sustain full speed with that head injury. If not we have to think about our options. Don’t lie to me. Pushing yourself while you have a head injury will only make it worse. Now show me, try to stand.”

---

1472 | 3403~

She barely heard him. 

Feet slowly treading across the littered undergrowth, kicking through the leaves, the unsuspecting insects as he slowly, purposefully drew closer. The ice bitten reprimand, cutting through the iron tainted air. Slamming in to her chest so hard that it caused a pause in her movements. The deafeningly loud sounds of someone kneeling down to get within touching reach. She could barely hear him but she could feel the anger. His frustration. Annoyance. Disappointment. Shame resting so heavy on her shoulders the Houkyaku dare not move.
When the Uchiha roughly wrapped his blood tainted fingers around her pale bleeding arm, the female simply turned away, the tangled curtain of sapphire black hair falling to mask the empty scars that had once been her eyes and the damp dried lines highlighting her mistakes. No. She couldn't stop him from witnessing the seeping failure tattooed red on her porcelain pale skin. But maybe... maybe she could stop him from seeing just how true her words had been. Maybe he didn't need to see...


Please. Don't look at me. 


Please


He was right though. What was she thinking? 
Did she really think that her sensory skills were developed enough to be able to hear him coming without the use of a jutsu to aid her? That she would be able to track him down and lead her companion right to him? Did the young chunin really have that much  to prove that she would cast aside the limitations she had got to know over the years and be the fragile obstacle standing in his way? Maybe. Maybe it was just because she was frightened. Scared that after seeking justice against the bandits and stealing off with their treasure; he would head straight back and leave her behind to find her own way. That he would find her too much of a hindrance and leave... like they had. 
It didn't matter now. It was done. Finished. Over. It was not like she could go back and rewrite her mistakes. It wasn't like she could throw away the paper and start again. Fate wouldn't allow it.
No. Instead Shizuka allowed her free hand to creep to her side and feel for the scroll she had tied there. Then, with trembling hands she unfastened it and placed it on the ground between them before returning her fingers to the fist beside her once more. 


"I'm sorry..." 

She somehow managed to say. 


"I just...." 

Don't look at me 


She tried to resist. Tried pulling away, looking down. Turning the other direction. Grabbing at his wrist with her lightly shaking fingers. The young female would try anything to make it so he didn't look at her as the other had. So he didn't see the pitch holes and snow white scars or the dried damp lines that trailed down. But it was no use. Of course it was no use. Her mission partner was superior in speed and strength. She had lost a lot of blood. She was tired hungry, dehydrated. Trying and waiting and bracing herself for the bitterly venomous claws further tearing her apart; was all she was capable of against him. It was all she could do against anyone. Useless. Hopeless. Pathetic...  But there was nothing. He said... nothing. 
Nothing but a gentler lecture and a firmer concern. And another question if she was going to be capable of following him back to the village or would she be a further hindrance to this mission. 


"He... he said I was a freak. A monster. I cant go back and let them see me like this" she had said in an almost whisper. 
"He couldn't even... he couldn't even look at me" 


Although a little shaky, Shizuka pressed both hands firmly against the ground, shifted her weight and pushed herself back on to her feet. Getting her balance after only a moment. It seemed that she was okay for the time being, but the woman had exhausted all the jutsu she could use to effectively get around. If she wanted to run it would have to be using her hearing only and that had already failed her once before today. So this time she was going to listen to him.
Keeping her head down so her hair still obscured the vision of where her eyes used to be; Shizuka turned to his direction, her free hand absently brushing the wound on her arm. 

"I can move... but without my jutsu I can't move too fast.
Kyohei...I'm sorry"


Please... don't hate me

------
Words: 774

Kyohei sighed deeply as the girl before him struggled to explain her actions, getting caught up in whatever insecurities she felt surrounding the state of her eyes. Even when Shizuka rose from the ground she still seemed to refuse to look at the Uchiha directly, keeping her head low so that her hair might cover her face. Even more than the way she behaved in regards to her eyes, he found the fact that she had admittedly put herself into a position where she would her mobility would be inhibited. He wasn’t particularly interested in apologies, words meant little to Kyohei. What was more important was getting this girl and the scroll back to the village as soon as possible.

He would say nothing in response to her at first, instead reaching down to the ground and retrieving the scroll she had placed on the ground in front of him, wasting no time in sliding it safely into a pouch at his waist. It wasn’t difficult to recognize the complex Shizuka seemed to have about her eyes and Kyohei had no interest in dealing with whatever distraction that would cause. Unfortunately, he had used her blindfold to wrap the wound on her arm, leaving him few options as far as what to do about her exposed face. With his right hand he would tear off the left sleeve of his shirt, using the edge of a kunai to cut the piece of cloth into almost a ribbon-like shape to be used as a substitute for her blindfold.

After returning the kunai to its proper place he would step towards her and raise his right hand, pointing his index finger directly at her. “Don’t move,” he ordered as he pressed his finger into her forehead, tilting her head upwards and forcing her to look up at him. He would then carefully tie the strip of cloth around her face, covering the eyes that the blindfold once concealed. Once he finished he would tug at the cloth lightly to make sure it was fastened securely before speaking once more. “We don’t have the luxury of slowing our pace because you’re too exhausted,” he said as he turned his back to her and knelt down before her, “Get on.”

---

382~

When Shizuka  first met the young Uchiha, she could picture him as clearly as if she was looking at him through her own eyes.  
She imagined that he was this... strong, straight forward, direct type of shinobi who knew how to get the job done and have it done well. The kind that always thought three steps ahead and could step over or squash any obstacles that was unfortunate enough to get in his way. Then, even as the mission progressed and she physically saw him fight through the masses of targets and eliminate them with ease, her gentle perceptions remained firmly the same.... 
But then he walked in to the clearing.. addressed her... touched her and caused every preconception of this unique individual to fall apart.

It was so utterly confusing. The manner in which he spoke, the words he chose to use. The complete lack of reaction to the hideous mess across the empty sockets and the even messier persona as she tried to stammer our her apology; Every part of it pointed to the fact that he didn't care about her or how she was feeling. All that mattered was the mission and getting it done as quickly as possible. And yet... he took the time to grab her blindfold and tie it around her arm to stop the bleeding. He thought to ask if she could move and when he saw that she was distressed, his anger seemed to lessen. 
It was just like before, maybe she couldn't see as well as she liked.


“Don’t move,”


She froze

This time around, the chuunin offered no resistance as he directed her empty gaze up with a finger to her forehead. She barely even flinched when the sharp sound of ripping material broke through the uneasy silence. Only when he tied that material about her eyes did she look away slightly and let out a small whimper of discomfort as the coarse material pulled on the sensitive scarred area. Even when he added to her confusion and ordered the female to get on his back so he could take them back to the village faster, Shizuka remained perfectly calm, steady..... almost completely settled to normal.
No, this time things were different. There would be no more emotionally motivated reactions. No judgement free decisions. Instead of weighing him down with further problems, she started channeling her chakra in to a soft breeze that slowly picked up around her. 

"No. You have the scroll now. I can track you with this...." She said, just as the breeze suddenly rushed out from her centers and brushed over everything around her. Including the male standing before her right now. "...You have the scroll. If I am too slow then just go on ahead without me. The mission.... the mission comes first" 

Taking a deep breath, the girl stood back focused to see if her technique had worked. The technique that allowed her to somewhat temporarily stain a person or object with her chakra which allowed her to follow them for as far as the jutsu could reach. So as long as Kyohei didn't move too far ahead she could essentially follow every footstep until they were safely back in the village.
Her head injury, the cut on her arm, scratches, bruises, aches and other pains; she could ignore them for now. What she couldn't ignore was one more person looking down while carrying all her problems. So Shizuka Houkyaku would make her way on her own strength and hope that she didn't get lost or run out of blood on the way there.  

"Thanks... though. For everything. Shall we go?"

-----
Words: 620

jutsu:

Taking the scroll in hand, Kyohei would do nothing more than nod in agreement. His personal questions about whether or not she was really fine to continue on her own aside, there are times when one has to put rationality aside in order to show respect for another’s convictions. He knew that if he had been forced to sit back and watch somebody else complete a mission, covering up for the mistakes he had made and then showing pity towards him about it, he would feel ashamed. As such he would not interfere with her attempt to reclaim some independence in the course of the mission.

“Understood,” he replied bluntly, taking off into the darkness of the forest without saying so much as another word. Part of him felt a sense of responsibility to make sure the girl returned to the village safely, but it was more important to respect her autonomy for the time being. Now all that was left for him to do was return the stolen scroll to the administration office in Konoha.

---

Exit thread