Was this really going to happen? She was about to go on a mission... like a kunoichi? It seemed almost too good to be true.
Misoka drew her hood closer, tucking any loose strands of hair out of sight. Even if her bodyguard Taku had strangely enough allowed her to do missions despite the leader's disapproval, she still had to avoid any prying eyes lingering on her. If Akihiko was to be informed of her disobedience, she would receive one of the hardest punishments he could think of and on a side-note, Taku's head would probably be chopped off.
Not the most convenient possibilities there were.
She kept a steady pace, eyes downcast, knowing they would be the first thing she could be recognized by, just in case any villager had heard about the rumor of the "ghost princess" for the lack of anything better to do.
When she reached Suna's sand dune slums, which served as meeting point for that mission, she tried her hardest not to be reminded of her former teammate. Jezzi who had died during a supposed C-rank mission that had turned out to be an S-rank in the end.
Shaking her head slightly, Misoka pushed these thoughts aside, and refocused on the path ahead of her.
Upon turning around the corner, she caught sight of a boy sitting on the ground, obviously waiting for someone. Was this her partner for the mission?
She'd been a bit nervous from the moment she'd found out another shinobi would be accompanying her. Not because she was anti-social, but out of fear that the boy might give her away and tell someone about her who would go tell another person and so on. And then the rumor of a kunoichi with glowing eyes would spread in town, making it only a matter of time until Akihiko knew.
The boy's head whipped around when she approached him. At a closer look, she was surprised by how young he looked, certainly not older than twelve. Could it be that he had just recently graduated from academy? As she felt his eyes on her, she realized that she hadn't taken off her hood yet. The young boy must probably feel uncomfortable without seeing his partner's face. This might very well be his first mission ever. She didn't want to scare him somehow.
"Good morning," Misoka greeted him friendly, sliding the hood off her head and letting her light blonde hair fall over her shoulders. Other than the two of them, no-one was up so early, it seemed, or perhaps the slums weren't the most popular place to be at.
"I take it we get to do this mission together?" She took the scroll out of one of her flak jacket's many pockets and showed it to him with a smile.
Then a soft noise, almost inaudible to someone who didn't pay attention, reached her ears, apparently coming from one of the rooftops. Misoka cast a short glance upwards, but couldn't make out any person. She didn't need to, though. It had to be Taku, following her around as "promised". How much she hated to be supervised.
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Mission 543/1000