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Akaneya almost felt insulted by the need for this mission to have an accompanying superior. It was a simple mission, one of the simplest possible - a sort she had some experience with in the past, even. The kid was rich, but that hardly changed anything. No matter, the mission had been assigned, and she would fulfill it dutifully, as she should. If it was so simple and easy, it didn't matter that her assigned companion was nowhere to be seen; Akaneya could very well handle walking a child to school. So it was, then, that Little Miss Hai set off to a decent education, frolicking in the streets without a care in the world, as her silent bodyguard gloomily trailed along.

Akaneya pulled a bell from her bag, examining it as she walked, wondering when the right time to use her clan's special technique might be. Now, probably not the time. The streets were full and they were in public view, any pinging would return far too many disturbances to provide anything useful. Furthermore, an attempt on the child would never be conducted in such an open, public, well-lit, and absolutely full place. All she had to do was keep the kid on track, this was the easy half of the mission. Looking to the skipping little girl, there was a sort of innocence, a disturbing lack of awareness, that flowed forth plentifully from her. Everything about her behavior, her movements, it all screamed that she knew not of the danger she might be in, nor did she care. She had been coddled and raised with firmness and security, and with that, a paradox arose: would anyone even dare make the attempt given her family's long history of security, or was she absolutely wrong to assume the infallibility of her guard? Akaneya had been trained long, but being delicate and gentle as the mission seemed to require was far beyond her skillset.

All ideas of ease aside, the walk to school was actually an exceptionally uncomfortable experience. Akaneya did all she could to avoid coming into physical contact with any of the numerous people crowding the streets going both ways, but the mass itself was deafening. In short order, she grabbed Little Miss Hai and picked up the pace, if only to get away to somewhere more quiet and lonely. It took no time at all to reach the school, the area around which was mostly empty. Breathing a hefty sigh, she released the girl and went to stand off to the side. Little Miss Hai went to school, and Akaneya would find herself meditating - or perhaps dozing off - as time went on.

It was then that a figure approached from nearby. Opening her eyes and putting her hand to her thigh, ready to reach for a weapon, she calmed when she saw who it was.

"Zhi of the Mist."

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"I have been well enough, I suppose."

What a simple response to the question. So simple, in fact, because it was indeed that simple. It was not as difficult as recounting the Land of Rice, which came with it a mixed bag of memories, emotions, and troubles. How does one even explain a land, and all that goes on there? Akaneya supposed it was her duty, in some minuscule amount, some off-handed way, to actually try to give an honest and genuine response. She paused for but a moment to collect her thoughts, and try to tell as much as she could about that distant land so close to home.

"The Land of Rice is...wet. Very wet. It is characterized by its steep mountains, which catch the southern rain and stop it from reaching the lands of Iron and Lightning. Because of this, the bases of the mountains are filled with marshes and swaps: ideal land for the mass production of rice. The Daimyo is a wise man; he realizes that the great amount of food controlled allows..." she pauses, looking at her relatively small hands, "allows it to gain advantage, to fight well above its weight. Everybody needs food, being denied it will defeat any offenders or resistance before they can even fight back."

Raising her eyes to meet her companion's gaze, she continued: "It is, as one might expect, a very humid place. The summers are some of the strongest in the known world, but the winters will penetrate the thickest coats. No layering, no insulation, can defeat the humid chill native to the land. Mitigate, perhaps, but never truly defeat."

"The Land of Rice doesn't just pull above its weight on a national level. It is a land of survivors. The people of the land know that one must be above themselves to succeed. One must conquer their very beliefs if they are to get anywhere - be it a twisted sense of honor, or a fear of death. One must be willing to do that which others are not willing to do in order to survive."

Feeling that she was sufficiently cryptic and ominous, or perhaps at least having given a fairly accurate report of her experiences in the Land of Rice, she stopped here, and returned her blank gaze to where their mutual project was expected to come out. It wouldn't be for some time, theoretically speaking, but Akaneya simply had nothing more to say about the question initially posed. Simple as that.

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"Do you really want to know, or are you just bored?" Akaneya asked, somewhat aggressively. It seemed that, while her companion liked to dance around with words and show all sorts of courtesy, Akaneya understood the inefficiency and wastefulness of being indirect and flowery. With a great sigh, she began:

"Fine. It begins with my birth. It was some...shithole village. My father trained me day-and-night to master our clan's technique, and to defend myself. When I was ten, bandits who were extorting our village crippled my father. A week later, he sold me off to the Otokage to give us both better lives. That was the last time I saw him. Never even seen the village since."

"My training began in Otogakure. He raised me, gave me strength. He tested my limits, he broke me and rebuilt me." At this, she lifted her tangled mass of hair with one hand, and pulled down the back of her shirt with the other, gesturing with her eyes to take a look. In but a moment or two, she let go of both, and continued her story. "I displeased him. Maybe I didn't. He put me in fights against others in the village. I won, consistently. He sent me out on minor missions between the fights. These two things, all he asked of me, I did. He kept me fed, clothed, and sheltered for my service. On my first major mission, intended to go to the very edges of the Land of Rice, I walked near the border of the Land of Fire along the way. I don't know why I did it, okay?"

She punctuated that last line with a more aggressive tone, once again breaking her otherwise monotone speech. "For all his training and conditioning, for everything he did to me, I just...walked. I don't know why I did it. I can't remember how long I walked, just that I never stopped, not even to sleep. Even though I don't know why I did it, I remember that it was the hardest thing I've done in my life. I fought myself just to take those steps."

"So, what's it to you? Why do you care? Does this give you some sort of...some sort of revelation? It happened, everyone has moved on. Nothing left to say."

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An outburst had not exactly been anticipated. Akaneya had revealed some weakness within herself, becoming angered by her partner's constant questioning. She kept prodding, seemingly in a show of politeness if nothing else - and this suspicion would prove entirely accurate when the other's own outburst came pouring out. Akaneya wouldn't dare follow up and point out that, in fact, the Leaf ANBU had interrogated her quite thoroughly, or perhaps that she had purposefully chosen to leave out some details, to spare either sensibility or to cut it short, it did not matter. Little Miss Hai left school and went along her hopping, skipping way, and Zhi of the Mist gave the task her full attention.

Akaneya did not despise Zhi for what she had said. Quite contrarily, she deemed it a perfectly fair response all things considered. Being open about not really caring for the Leaf hit a particular mark - why should she care? Akaneya cared because it was her residence, but news from nearby villages more often than not went in one ear and straight out the other unless she had an explicit reason to care. Each person had their own sphere, their own struggles, and there was no reason to interfere in those of others.

And so, Akaneya kept up. She picked up pace just enough to more-or-less catch up, and followed from behind. Fingering the bells in her bag, she wondered when the most opportune time to active the technique would be. At her relatively low level, her ability to use them was still quite limited, and so she had to pick and choose her fights. All seemed well until Zhi began to fall back, and explained that they were being followed. Seemed as good a time as any to get a lock onto her target.

Taking the small spherical bell, tied by a short string to her kunai, she struck it against the blade. A soft, but consistent, ring began; the ceaseless sound sending out waves in every direction. Stopping for a moment to bring the roof-walker into range of the effect, she knew immediately where to go.

Using the crowd as cover, she ducked into an alleyway. Climbing the wall carefully, softly, she tracked the movement of the target with precision. Once her eyes crested the roof, she turned off her bell - the target was in sight. Gently stepping forward, getting close, she brought out her flute. Taking a deep breath, she played a particularly shrill note - infused with chakra - to disorient the kidnapper.

He held his hands over his ears, beginning to stumble. Turning to look at the source, he saw young Akaneya preparing to throw a punch. Catching her fist with one hand, he reached for a knife with the other. With minimal thought, she pulled out her own and stabbed him in his lower back. Letting go of her hand, she delivered a swift kick to his chest. As he fell, he performed some sort of jutsu to cause a bright flash. A bit dazed, Akaneya tried to regain her sight by blinking several times and rubbing her eyes.

After a few seconds, she saw the blood trail. Following it to the kidnapper running, she gave quick chase. Climbing down to a balcony, and from there leaping onto him, her flying tackle seemed to do the job finely. Punching him across his face, she straddled him and held her kunai high. Her pupils narrowed, as if in trance, she began a downward plunge of the blade.

Stopping just before piercing the man's chest, she looked around at the gathered people watching. Sighing, she pulled her knife away. "Zhi!" she called, doing her best to pin the frightened, but dazed, attacker until her companion might arrive.

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"What are you waiting for?"

The question rung in her head for a second. What had she waited for? She supposed that she had gotten lost in herself in some capacity, hesitating only when she re-awoke to her current situation. There was nothing expressly forbidding the killing of the offender, and in fact the contract had been clear that such an option would be considered equal to capture. Still, though, would he not serve his purpose better if Konoha had the opportunity to interrogate him?

"I was thinking-"

the squish of meat under her blade interrupted her thoughts. Her companion had decided to finish the job. Akaneya quickly climbed off to avoid the spurts coming from his neck; she wasn't really in the mood for an afternoon bath. "We did not know who sent him." she replied coldly to the whole matter, but sighed. To her surprise, this Zhi of the Mist offered her a dinner out after finalizing the mission's completion. It was an intriguing offer, especially as they had just made clear their mutual apathy, but it was for that very reason that Akaneya felt compelled to accept the invitation.

"That'd be...fine. I suppose."

A simple response as always, having retreated back to her monotone. Flicking the kunai free of blood until the blade could shine once more, she then placed it back in her bag, ensuring the bell was still attached. Losing the bell would be no great loss, but checking now saved her the annoying effort of having to buy a brand-jingling-new replacement later. It was near habitual at this point, the habit of checking for all her things before leaving a scene having been instilled in her a long time ago.

She turned to face the direction of Little Miss Hai, "What'd you have in mind?" she asked, starting the walk to get the kid home. It was not a particularly long walk remaining, and the crowded streets began to die down as well. The path ahead was straight and clear, as much as it could be in a metaphorical sense. They made the brief trek, and Little Miss Hai returned home safely.

Passing through the gate of her home, Little Miss Hai was greeted by her parents with a smile and a hug. Akaneya looked in, remembering distantly her own father, but simultaneously feeling so far removed from that time that she couldn't help but notice not a single emotion to be found within herself at those memories. To her, the years with her father were a simple fact of life; they were something that happened, and now something that did not. However fondly he was remembered, the memories failed to stir any warmth inside.

Those distant days, long ago, were often cold. Little Miss Hai likely could not understand how far removed she was from that life, given a rich and happy family in a prosperous village. She had a bright future laid out from her birth, something Akaneya could hardly sympathize with. Were it not for some special quality of youthful innocence, she might've even felt inclined to be spiteful towards the kid. Instead, however, she chose to let it go - to realize that she should not meddle in Little Miss Hai's affairs any more than she necessarily had to, to leave her for the world to teach in its own time. Everybody had their time, and if Little Miss Hai was unprepared when that time came, it was hardly any of Akaneya's concern.

She turned and started walking, the mission complete. There was no reason to stick around, apart from Zhi's recommendations for eating. Akaneya didn't really know where she was going, but it didn't stop her from taking those first few steps to get just about anywhere else.

Exit

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