Spoiler:

Ashelia sat perched upon the top oft the Kage’s building, smiling as the breeze washed over her and through her long blond hair. There was really nothing on her agenda for the day, nor was there truly any agenda for her lifelong goal of fulfilling the pilgrimage to give back some good to the world in hopes of making it a better place. She hoped she could complete it so she could return to patch things up with her mother, but until then, she would need to remain away from the Land of Wind’s capital, knowing the Daimyo had enough of his men to cover it, and to fix any of his mistakes would do more harm than good.

Moments passed as she sat there undisturbed by anything, with the sun not yet risen and so the heat still bearable on her bare skin. Just as a habit to look after her finances, she checked her pockets, satisfied that she would have enough to live on in the next few weeks without running too short on cash, so long as she avoided being indulgent. She would continue taking missions to help supplement her living, but she didn’t really consider that doing any good, since it was simply doing chores for someone. Small menial tasks, while they counted, would be a sham on her pilgrimage.

Suddenly, a small dove flew overhead, landing on her shoulder. It had a small scroll tied to one leg, which she retrieved before the dove flew away. A message? But from who? It was unlikely for her to receive messages, since most Sunagakure ninja were the ones to receive them from such birds trained to withstand the desert heat. Opening it, though, she realised it was an emergency from one of her contacts in the mission reception, who was the one who managed most of her missions, knowing her need for money and her willingness to push past her limits. This was just one of them.

Apparently there was a prison outbreak. Well, no time to lose then. There was no time to wait for the team like the official description told her to. She leapt off the tower and ran straight to the area, taking no more than two hours to reach the place. While seemingly long, it was already a very quick travel for a ninja of her speed, and considering none of the prisoners were escaped ninja, she wouldn’t have to worry about them travelling too far from the position, though seeing the onsite destruction convinced her that they weren’t escaping at all.

She saw two guards standing outside of the prison entrance, with signs of demolishment already visible along the walls, with cracks running past them. She walked up to the two of them, receiving nothing but blank stares from the two men who simply thought her someone who had lost her way.

“I’m here to help you with your prison break problem,” she announced, handing them the mission pamphlet with Sunagakure’s emblem as confirmation. The two guards parted to let the lone woman in, though they seemed doubtful of her abilities. She continued to walk down the stone corridor, her metallic boots sounding against the floor and echoing down the corridor. Something didn’t feel right…

A roar shocked her, and she turned around in an instant, ducking underneath an oversized fist aimed for her head. Leaping backwards, spotted the thug, huge, scarred, and snarling. His posture, though, suggested that he was favouring one leg, likely having injured the other in his escape attempt. She would have to use that to her advantage. The man charged at her again, this time both fists raised and aiming for Ashelia. She waited until the man launched his punches and concentrated her chakra to her feet, dodging away in almost a blur, appearing behind him in a handspring and taking two quick swipes with her leges, dropping him flat onto his face before following through with her actions by bringing her metal boot down on the man’s face, knocking him out, though far from as unmarred as he was, with a broken nose and teeth.

Getting to her feet, she saw too appear and charge at her, with several fallen guards behind them. They criss-crossed in and out of each other before one of them leapt in the air and the other went for a sliding kick. Undeterred, Ashelia leapt, diving between the two of them and keeping her airborne with a spin, similar to how a ballerina would, only a horizontal rotation rather than vertical, She brought one foot down on the boy’s leg, hearing a loud snap from the hard impact of her boot, with the area soon filled by a blood curdling scream before Ashe brought her other foot up and aimed for the girl’s head, missing only by an inch. A shot of pain shot through her body as the woman’s own leg slammed into her stomach, though the blow was softened somewhat by the metal plating on her stomach. She got to her feet, seeing the person charge once more, her fist drawn back, and Ashe concentrated power to her right hand before punching forward with chakra, dislocating the woman’s shoulder after dodging her hook.

Two loud screams were heard as the remaining prisoners ran up to Ashe, eager to take her out for having done in their friends. The pain in her stomach demanded she no longer tiptoe around the problem; these people were real threats and needed to be put down immediately. Not giving in, her eyes flashed in fury, and the shock in their faces gave her the split second she needed to unleash an unending barrage of blows into both of them, defeating one while incapacitating the other with her blade to his throat. It wasn’t long before the authorities recuperated, helping round up the prisoners and thanking her before sending her away. Thanks or no thanks, this was just another mission that she had been given; her pilgrimage still called.

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