It had been a few weeks since Rei had captured the Hoshigaki Genin who had been attempting to defect from Kirigakure, the ANBU had ordered the young Aisu to report to the Mizukage for debriefing. However, when Rei arrived at her office he found it to be desolate, the Chunnin Exams had called her away to watch over the Genin of Kirigakure engage in combat to prove themselves. It was for this reason Rei had left the office and returned to his training and completing of missions. Since then Rei had attempted to discover the identity and assassinate the leaders of a small insurrectionist group, had completed an additional B ranked mission and cleaned up after Hinode Abel in their “joint” apartment at least half a dozen times. But today Rei would report to Mizukage Aisu Ayakashi’s office to be debriefed on his actions and possibly answer to his use of deadly force.

Rei exhaled slightly as he stood before the massive ten story building that was considered the Mizukage’s Office, his eyes traced each floor from the outside knowing that on the tenth floor of the building is where he would meet with not only the Mizukage but the leader of his Clan. Reitou slowly entered the building, his green eyes meeting the lively Inuzuka receptionist’s own almost feral yellow eyes. Her canine companion laid in front of her desk snoring loudly as he slept peacefully, blissfully unaware of the interactions around him.

“Good morning!” The receptionist greeted warmly. “What business do you have today?” She asked continuing her salutation.

“Hello, I am Aisu Reitou. I was told to meet with the Mizukage for my debriefing on the Hoshigaki capture outside Kirigakure along the border to Stone Country.” Rei responded in a rather flat and calm voice.

“Oh, right. Hang on one moment.” The receptionist replied before furiously typing on a small computer in front of her. “I have you right here, you are to meet with the Mizukage on the tenth floor. Her office is the last door on the right…” The Inuzuka said warmly before pausing for a moment in confusion. “…or was it the first door on the left?” She asked herself aloud. “Either way it is on the Tenth Floor, you really can’t miss it!” She finished before continuing with her work.

Rei stood in shock for a moment, how could someone who worked FOR the Mizukage not know where her office was? His shocked green eyes bore down on the Inuzuka who seemingly paid him no attention; he blinked a few times in rapid succession as he gathered his composure. Rei then headed for the staircase, he glanced up at the ten stories worth of stairs and felt his heart sink slightly, it was five am and he had to climb those? Rei let out an audible sigh as he began his ascent to the top of the silent staircase; the only audible noise was his wooden sandals clicking against the hard wooden floor.

After what felt like hours of climbing in utter silence Rei had arrived at the tenth story of the building but upon opening the door to the floor a new challenge presented itself. A hallway lined with doors, each with no title or nameplate to denote whom the office or room belonged to. Reitou began to wander the hallway his head moving from side to side as he passed doorways, until finally he stumbled across a single open door with what seemed to be the form of the Mizukage sitting behind a desk.

“Mizukage-sama.” Rei said as a formal greeting before bowing before his superior as tradition usually required. “I have come for my debriefing just as the ANBU operative requested of me.” Rei said finishing his greeting as he remained in a bowing position.

Solstice sat at her desk with a pile of papers in front of her surrounded by two jounin rank level sensory ninja who helped her with her tasks, each of them for the last 24 hours had been relaying to her matters of the state as well as what needed to be done around the place. As solstice looked though the paperwork which unlike every other Kage was now sorted and done thanks to the help of two other employees as well as her own dedicated paperwork skills, it seemed that everything was in order and that finally she was open for meetings with the general population. The first was an Aisu, who had tracked down and apprehended another child genin, though she did not know the details, but they would see what would happen in the mean time.

Looking at the boy as he entered the room, Aya asked the twins to leave, and they did so with tired but happy looks on their faces, Solstice's cold eyes looked at the boy, levelling her stare at him as she put her mask on and hid her expression, the Steel mask clanking down as her eyes behind the sealed unit watched him. She did not want the genin to see or distinguish her facial expressions, and the cold steel would hopefully work to unsettle him on the matter and allow her to be a little more foreboding.

Aisu Reitou, I believe you have a debrief for me about a missing ninja who had attempted to make an escape... I did not think we were allowing Genin to pursue other ninja in our country, though, it seems while i have been absent a couple of things have gone astray. You're here to give me your full report, so, start talking, and tell me everything...

She did not like the fact it was another genin who had decided to take it into his own hands to attempt to hunt down a missing ninja, where hundreds of things could have gone wrong and ended this child's life, though she was thankful that this was not the case the act in of itself, could not be excused. The potential for harm was too great the defecting ninja could have had contacts in bigger or more dangerous groups or even villages. So a scolding was going to be in order here, and hopefully one this Genin was going to remember. Though bravery, action and loyalty to kiri were shown as counter measuring virtues, those too could not be ignored.

The Mizukage leaned forward and awaited the boy's speech, if he did not give it in detail, she would ask him to explain it, as well as how he knew where to find the Defecting ninja and what part he had to play in this matter if a part at all. Reitou would have to talk but guard his words, as this all seemed like it could be something simple to solstice, but it could also be something more sinister, and as Kage she had to act as the judge on these merits. She had already wounded one Genin in training due to their insolence and insubordinate, she didn't like doing it, but it had made her feel better. She hoped she would not need to do it again, yet alone to one of the members of her own clan.

“Aisu Reitou, I believe you have a debrief for me about a missing ninja who had attempted to make an escape... I did not think we were allowing Genin to pursue other ninja in our country, though; it seems while i have been absent a couple of things have gone astray. You're here to give me your full report, so, start talking, and tell me everything...” The Lady Mizukage stated in a slightly hostile and demanding tone.

Reitou raised his head as the Mizukage addressed him; his eyes met the cold steely mask that adorned her face obscuring her visage completely from his sight. This action sparked a hint of curiosity within Rei, his left eyebrow involuntarily arched to express his interest in this action. While undoubtedly most Genin, or ninja in that fact would have a cold chill run down their spine at the sight that Rei’s eyes took in and the vocal tone of the order given but they were not Rei. In fact the young Genin assessed the situation before speaking; while he was young he had passed the Ninja Academy with rather high marks on assessment and combat related techniques but had suffered in written exams. The act of the mask told Rei one thing immediately about the Mizukage, she was withdrawn or at least she was in this situation, she didn’t want him to know her inner most thoughts or how she felt based upon his report. Rei had no doubt that punishment would be doled out for haughtiness or over confidence in this situation but both of those qualities were things that he lacked entirely. Instead he simply shifted his weight and found himself in a traditional Japanese sitting position on the cold floor in front of the Mizukage, his hands were placed on his kneecaps.

“Very well, Mizukage-sama I will report the details of the capture.” Rei replied in a calm and monotone voice as he closed his eyes to help return even the smallest of details to his memory.

“I had been eating my Supper on top the small apartment complex that both Abel and I live atop, watching the crowds as the moved back towards their dwellings from the day’s work. Families being reunited, tired villagers seeking a place to lay their head, so on and so forth. However, movement in the alleyway caught my eye; the Hoshigaki in question was moving ‘stealthily’ through them, double checking his rear before slipping into the crowd. This suspicious behavior drew my curiosity, with no Jonin in my sight to report this strange activity to I decided to investigate his actions further.

I stalked him from the rooftops as he made his way to the village gates, ensuring that he remained in my sight, while I was visually obscured in his. As he slipped from the Village I feared the worst, I know full well that we Genin are rarely given missions that require us to leave after dark, and if we are it is almost always with a Chunnin at the very least, and so I continued my pursuit from the treetops naturally. As he strayed further from the Village I began to catch onto his plans, he double checked his blind spots and rear constantly but never seemed to check the tree line, he seem…nervous. However, after a few more hours of silence the target began to settle in, he calmed himself, even casually devoured a pre-prepared supper as he lounged beneath a tree.

I made my move at midnight, when his guard was at its lowest point, he was drawing nearer to the Land of Stone’s border and I knew at that point I had to intercept him before he made a grievous mistake. I found that I was much faster than the target so I was able to cut him off as he went around a lake shore. I did not engage directly at that moment Mizukage, from the top of my perch and hidden within the brush I demanded he returned to the Village as Genin are not permitted to travel from the Land of Water alone and informed him if he denied this request I would return him to Kirigakure either unconscious or dead.

He then engaged using Hidden Mist Jutsu and conjuring some form of Suiton based Sharks. I dispelled the mist using a Fuuton based technique and countered his sharks using Hyoton Shuriken I had prepared while I was addressing him then I left my cover as he was waiting at the base of the tree for me. It was at this point Chunin Hinode Abel arrived at the scene but did nothing to interfere in that battle at my request.  As I leapt I formed the hand signs for a personalized Hyoton technique that is designed to break the legs of the target, in hopes I would end the battle quickly. However, he used his Substitution technique and appeared to my left, I responded in a similar fashion as he brought his Great Sword down in an attempt to crush my head. From here I brought the target to the ground and sat upon his back, I took control of his head through jerking his hair back and placed my Katana to his throat, I demanded his surrender or I would use extreme physical force…he denied this request.

Instead of doing the sensible course of action and surrendering, he used some strange jutsu that caused a massive Vortex or Waterspout around him. However, I felt his arms moving from my position on his shoulder blades, and replied by slicing open his throat. After this I was thrown from his back by this Vortex of Suiton and the Hoshigaki proceeded to utilize his Suiton Sharks again. I will not lie to you Mizukage…I grew overconfident at this point and suffered a wound because of it.” Rei said pausing in his report for a moment to pull aside his robe and allowed the Mizukage to analyze the scars that had formed on his left shoulder and place it in her report.

“I destroyed all but one of the sharks, the final one found its mark and bit into my shoulder, rendering it useless for the most part. I demanded my opponent surrender, or he would die as a Rogue Ninja as Abel would be unable to heal his wounds, he obliged before losing consciousness. After Abel tended the Hoshigaki’s wounds an ANBU agent made his presence known and took the Hoshigaki back to Kiri ordering that I report to you for debriefing…and now I am here Mizukage-sama.” Reitou said finishing his report in his typical calm voice.

After finishing this tale Rei would reopen his green eyes and stare at the Mizukage with his calm and almost emotionless gaze. He slowly fixed his robes as he awaited the Mizukage’s response, whether he was punished or rewarded would be at her hands as it should be. After a few seconds Reitou lowered his head in reverence as he awaited the Mizukage’s decision.

Solstice felt a little disturbed, not by his story, but by his expression, the boy seemed unrepentant, and though he had probably done what he deemed as best for the village, he had wounded himself, were it not for the presence of the ANBU and the Chuunin he may have been in more trouble than simply having a bite mark on his shoulder. But it was the boy's tone that was beginning to make Solstice a little touchy, there was no apology really, there was little remorse, the boy before her was as emotionless as stone, not the kind of approach a person or a judge would smile upon were it bought before them in court. Even should he feel justified, there was no remorse in his action, knowing that what he did was dangerous, so, Solstice managed to reign in her anger in order to continue the meeting.

You are aware that pursuing a ninja like that would have been exceedingly dangerous, without a Jounin in sight the best thing you could have done was come to the Mizukage office and the twins would have dispatched ANBU to find and bring the boy back... What if the boy had, had contacts amongst a rival group of missing ninja? What if it had been Iwa looking to start a war, or a spy? You would be dead, before anyone had gotten there to help you... though this isn't what worries me the most, what worries me the most is that you don't really seem to care about your actions. She spoke calmly as heated daggers. Promising herself that she was not going to throw him head first out the window.

So now her mind moved to punishment, she could have offered a fine, though, that seemed a little too easy, and so she needed to think of a better way to punish this boy, closing her eyes behind her mask as she bought one of her hands up to her head to run fingers slightly stressfully across her mask. She had thought of drilling him into the ground, but a training session from the Mizukage would not be the best punishment in the world. A point needed to be addressed... it was about then in a flash that the idea came to her mind. The boy didn't seem to flinch at the idea of taking life, it was only natural in the land of the mist the remnants of their bloody ancestry would still be around in this day and age.

If you're so keen on hunting down missing ninja I'm assigning you to lookout duty, there you'll be placed under two separate Chuunin squads for a week, which you will be expected to keep up with, hopefully, you'll find that there are people far more suited to the hunting down of missing ninja than you are... The shift was a nightmare shift, usually the squads exchanged, but, he would be required to do two back to back lookout shifts of a generally higher ranking than he was meant to be. The shifts would be graveyard, little more than lookout jobs which would shock what he was used to and perhaps give him an idea of what people do on the border of the village.

While at the same time boring him out of his mind.

Giving him time to reflect on where he went wrong and what he could have done to ensure his safety, as well as the safety of others, a report about someone leaving suspiciously given to the right people could mean that the Chuunin who had shown up may not have walked into a potential trap. Which would be in essence something that Solsticce as Kage would like to avoid. Though, then came the second act, reward.

However, for the apprehension of the potentially missing Genin, the Genin will be placed under strict supervision and be allowed to continue their studies for now... and you for bringing him in will be rewarded as if they were a missing ninja in addition to your sentenced punishment... Get stronger and learn more before you attempt to tackle matters like this... If you do it again, I wont be so light on you... are we understood? And do you have any last comments you would like to make? She said in a clear and aggravated but still low and alpha voice.

“You are aware that pursuing a ninja like that would have been exceedingly dangerous, without a Jounin in sight the best thing you could have done was come to the Mizukage office and the twins would have dispatched ANBU to find and bring the boy back... What if the boy had, had contacts amongst a rival group of missing ninja? What if it had been Iwa looking to start a war, or a spy? You would be dead, before anyone had gotten there to help you... though this isn't what worries me the most, what worries me the most is that you don't really seem to care about your actions.” The Mizukage said in a chillingly calm voice.

Rei’s external expression didn’t change however internally he was a bit shocked, he had expected chastisement but to question things that crossed his mind…it was insulting. But Rei listened to the Mizukage’s words in silence, perhaps there were some hints of truth to her words, he leaned in to hear what she had in store for him, his green eyes expecting to receive a challenge to truly test his abilities as a Shinobi and test how Kiri Shinobi stood against that of Yuki’s remnants.

“If you're so keen on hunting down missing ninja I'm assigning you to lookout duty, there you'll be placed under two separate Chuunin squads for a week, which you will be expected to keep up with, hopefully, you'll find that there are people far more suited to the hunting down of missing ninja than you are...” The Mizukage declared after a moment of silence.

Rei’s barely contained a small grin of excitement, his green eyes showed a shift from their normal placid gaze into one with kindling behind it. The Mizukage presented him with a challenge to test his mettle, a rare opportunity to truly present her with evidence of his raw power. His green eyes darted away as he formulated a list of items that would be required to maximize his effectiveness on the field as well as what would be needed for basic survival. After a few moments his eyes returned to the Mizukage’s mask, his eyes spoke the words his face was incapable of showing, they would tell the Mizukage he accepted what in his mind was a challenge.

After a few more moments of silence between the pair the Mizukage would address Rei one final time.

“However, for the apprehension of the potentially missing Genin, the Genin will be placed under strict supervision and be allowed to continue their studies for now... and you for bringing him in will be rewarded as if they were a missing ninja in addition to your sentenced punishment... Get stronger and learn more before you attempt to tackle matters like this... If you do it again, I won’t be so light on you... are we understood? And do you have any last comments you would like to make?” She said ending her statement with a question.

“I do Mizukage-sama, earlier when you spoke of a spy or Iwa shinobi coming to take our defector…the Shinobi Academy teaches most asset recovery missions in enemy territory occur roughly three to five miles outside the walls of the opposing village, correct? Although I understand the risk I partook in, I was confident in the fact he was taking on a solo endeavor by his bodily language, he was checking over his shoulders, watching his back almost nervously. If he was meeting with a convoy to escort him into enemy territory wouldn’t he have just made a B-line with confidence as they would likely have a B or an A rank Shinobi with eyes on him at all times? On top of this when I engaged the target he was already over half way to the border, which is roughly ten miles from the present location, he was extremely far out almost too far to be meeting with a convoy. Finally, if Iwa or a rival Village wanted a spy or information, why a Genin? Genin rank shinobi have minimal if any informational strategic value to an enemy, at best he would have been dissected to learn more about his Kekkei Genkai.” Rei replied, asking as many questions as possible to glean the maximum amount of knowledge as possible from his superior.

three to five miles outside an opposing village?The Mizukage thought to herself as he continued to talk, asking more questions on more of an informal level, she could not help but think to herself if the ninja academy was a credible source of information now. It would not take her more than a few minutes to clear that distance should she put any effort in her moving, to get out of an area, or even to claim something. But she could not help but be puzzled at those words which repeated in her mind again... three to five miles... But, there was a point to be made here, so, Solstice sent out an thought for one of the two twins who were synced with her mental patterns to bring one of the ANBU black ops into the room.

Without a second of delay a bull masked ANBU member landed in the room from the open balcony, looking around and at the Genin who was standing in the room. The ANBU had landed bowed before the Kage as if you receive orders, but with the presence of the Genin he was more than certain that was not going to be the case, standing up and folding his arms more casually as Solstice looked to him and began to speak.

I have a question to ask you... iff someone were expecting pickup of a spy who was escaping the village, how far would you normally expect to intercept them? Also, how far into Kirigakure territory would you expect a ninja or small task force or team to be able to get unnoticed for collection of a target, say personnel recovery, spy or defect in the ranks? She spoke lightly, intending the information to not simply come from herself, the guy didn't seem taken back by the information, and processed quickly that he was not giving out any information in the presence of a Genin which was particularly volatile.

"Most pickups would want to be out of hostile territory for the purposes of disassociation, especially if the forces came from another country, but if they were actually invading to get into the country, it is highly unlikely that they would get very far without the detection of scouts or black ops in one way or another." he spoke lightly and with a slight accent, looking over the two, and awaiting any more questions, though there was one of which that was coming.

Okay, so, could another ninja often get within five miles of a rival Village without detection?

"Not even close... we'd have caught or engaged them by then."

Solstice dismissed the ANBU and he disappeared using the standard body flicker technique, turning her eyes back to him and removing her cold mask to reveal her face and its features, consisting mostly of a concerned look on her face and a furrowing of her brow as she simply wanted to set this Genin back on the right track, the odds were not in his favour, and with a lot of academy students who become Genin there is a stage where their power often goes to their head.

There could have been many, many reasons why a Genin who is funnelling, ferrying or leaking and even stealing information under employ of another village, they're in a position of underestimation which is a powerful position to be in. A fist timer would have been nervous, its also a long way to go without getting caught, and he would not have been safe until he was out of the village, and as you said, he did become more comfortable the further he got away. So, that's in line with most people and informants. Though not a practised one. The point I'm trying to make is it was needlessly dangerous, and there were other, safer options you could have explored, and 'should' have explored. That's all... ok?