Mitsuo chuckled at the thought of the mission he was about to undertake, something so simple and that was usually left to lower ranking Shinobi. When he had been asked to help out, though, he was more than happy to do so. The young girl he would be helping was a recent graduate of the academy and Mitsuo was always happy to help new up and coming students. He often had ulterior motives in doing these missions with up and comers as well; testing to see if they may have a glimmer of what it takes to become ANBU agents. He was constantly keeping a watchful eye to see if anyone in the village had the potential to take on a role in the black ops and so far his calls had been rather good. He rested one hand on the handle of his Seijin no Ken, the katana at his hip. He could also feel the weight of the bastard sword, Fumetsu no honōnoken, strapped to his back. He smiled at the familiar weight, moving his finger to push the glasses up his nose back towards his green eyes, one being slightly paler green than the other one, though not quite enough for most people to notice. This was the eye he had taken from Karisuma, Synn on his first ever ANBU mission, and he wore it proudly as a reminder of a lesson he had learned that day.

His long black hair was not tied back as it usually was and he had let his beard grow slightly once again, the chinstrap wrapping around his face but not his upper lip. He twirled some of the hair that sat at the top of his pectoral muscles around his finger, smiling softly as he did so. On his chest he wore his chainmail sleeveless vest that he had been wearing since he had become a chuunin and he moved his hands to his wrists to adjust the gauntlets and bracers that he had similarly worn for all that time. His black pants were flowing in the slight breeze and in favour of his typical sandals he was wearing boots and a black coat to keep him warm on this chilly Konohan night. The moon was above him in the sky and he was prepared to start the guard duty that he had agreed to do on this night, only awaiting the arrival of the young girl who would be accompanying him on this mission. He would await her approach before preparing to enter the building, checking to make sure his weapons were in pristine condition and all of his equipment was there.

(443/1000 C-Rank Mission)

The young head of the Sarutobi clan allowed his gaze to pass over the nearby area, trying to spot the girl that he was looking for. According to his information on her she was blind, though he knew that in the shinobi world, even if you didn’t have access to your eyes, you were never truly blind. Almost all shinobi had some concept of sensing other people’s chakra, and though Mitsuo was usually adorning his ANBU armour which made him undetectable by even the most impressive sensory ninja, he wasn’t currently on duty and therefore was not. He knew that he radiated a particularly powerful chakra signature. She would find him by this, and he counted on it, allowing his chakra to burn brightly. He watched out and saw a young girl clumsily making her way towards him. He imagined she was around his age, which he knew that the young girl he was waiting for also was. This was most likely her, and he waited for her to walk right up to him.

"Sorry....I am supposed to be meeting someone here for a mission? I'm....not sure I am in the right place" He wasn’t sure what it was but she seemed nervous, or shy perhaps. He thought on it for a while and then realised suddenly that she had no way of knowing that he was the person she was looking for. He reached out a hand carefully and placed it on the young girl’s shoulder.

“My name is Mitsuo Sarutobi, I am here to meet a girl named Shizuka. I hope you are this girl.” He smiled softly at her and realised that people like her were things that he would miss most about living in this village. The people here were typically so kind, it was a beautiful and warm place to live, and that was why he needed to leave, in order to preserve that beauty, that warmth. He needed to leave the village that he loved so much so that he could save it. He was the only hope for the village and it killed him every second that he couldn’t tell anyone. He turned his head slightly and heard the door to the store creek open, the old man inside opening the door and stepping out quickly

“Aah Master Sarutobi, you are here, good!” His words were hurried and nervous. He was an older man, perhaps in his sixties, and he looked towards the boy and the young girl. “Oh hello miss, you must be the other I have been expecting...” He smiled warmly towards her and Mitsuo sighed softly as the man’s voice trailed off. He knew that people proably did this quite often but Mitsuo couldn’t help but notice that the man was staring at a black piece of cloth that was covering the girl’s eyes. It bothered him to see that a girl who more than likely had a difficult enough time getting through life was the object of people’s ignorance.

“You can address me, shop keep. My young friend here is not someone to be gawked at. She is a more than capable shinobi who will protect your shop well, I guarantee it.” He shook his head. “Please continue.” The shop keep looked shocked at being addressed like this, but his eyes snapped back up to look at the young Sarutobi, who had fire in his eyes.

“My apologies, Lord Sarutobi, I meant no disrespect. Please, my shop has been attacked every night this past week by vandals, and I don’t know what I can do to stop them. Please. I need you two to take care of my shop and capture the vandals, do not break any of my wares though!” Mitsuo smiled and shook the shop keepers hand, chuckling softly.

“If anyone can get past me, they deserve to ransack your shop. We will take care of your shop.” The shop keep bowed low and walked down the street, Mitsuo turning back to the young girl and smiling once more. He removed his hand from her shoulder and spoke softly. “Well I guess we’d better get to work, Shizuka.” He waited for the girl to respond and would then follow her to the building to wait for the vandals to strike.

(1156/1000 mission WC complete)

Sounds. Feelings.

There was little else the young Genin could go by these days. 
The almost gentle, subtle sound of clothes brushing up against a wooden seat, a foot shifting on the damp grassy ground, a small intake of breath as a chill bitten wind, caressed the skin of any shinobi lucky enough to feel it's air light touch. It helped her to get around sure enough, but it did't help with the directions to the store, or to tell her if the man staring back at her was indeed, the one she was looking for. 
If only she had him there with her. He would have been able to show her the way without so much as whisper of which way to turn.
But he wasn't....and so for the time being she had to use....other methods to keep her safe. Because....after all, you could never be too careful with people that suspected you of cold blooded murder. 


“My name is Mitsuo Sarutobi, I am here to meet a girl named Shizuka. I hope you are this girl."

It happened before he even got within a few steps of her. 
As easy as breathing, Shizuka shed a layer of chakra on to the ground below her feet and it spread itself out in a five meter radius, soaking in to the soil where it lay like a pitfall trap, hidden from predators. The second he stepped in to the area, the genjutsu would activate....and a portion of her mind would slip in to his. Resting beside his thoughts, between his memories, without touching them. It was passive, gentle. He wouldn't feel a thing. Even when she smoothly activated her second jutsu which allowed her to look through his eyes and see the young female with porcelain pale skin, standing right there, in front of him. 
Thankfully....this was the right place and this was the right man. And not too late too.....thankfully. 

"Yes. That's me. Shizuka Houkyaku, it's a pleasure to meet you. I apologise if I have kept you waiting too long"

Very slightly, she bowed her head to him....but only for a second as he turned away from her to look to the store owner, a man whose voice she had heard once before. He had been staring at her that time too...wondering if the rumours was true. Trying desperately to peer through the heavy material to find out and prove them ignorant.As per usual, Shizuka was prepared to ignore it and was about to introduce herself....when something caused her to look up to this man....this stranger who she had been assigned to work with today.

“You can address me, shop keep. My young friend here is not someone to be gawked at. She is a more than capable shinobi who will protect your shop well, I guarantee”

Caught in a stunned silence, Shizuka watched as the two elder members spoke, their words passing over her like the edge of a wave.
While some of her present thoughts caught the concept of what was happening. That they were to catch the clearly rebellious children who were terrorising this man’ store on a regular basis. But the rest of her mind was wondering what this individual had seen in her? Why he would defend her with such blind faith despite only having met her just now. Surely he had heard the rumours. Surely he was lying.
There was only one other person in this entire village that rested that amount of faith on your deceptively small shoulders. But even he had not been around as much as she had hoped.

“I don't mean to sound rude” Shizuka had said once the man had walked inside, leaving the two alone for a brief moment. 
“Why did you say that? You have only just met me, so how could you promise something like that? Did you lie to him?”

Lies. Every body lies.
And when people lie there was always a tell. A small subconscious reaction when saying something that their mind knows to not be true. She had learned a long time ago to read these signs, though some were more obvious than others. The increased heart rate, the raise in temperature,  the light sheen a of sweat that would form in to delicate beads on someone's brow. Even in the way the  eyes turned left when creating something as opposed to right when remembering. Whichever it was, she would know. Shizuka looked where he looked, there was no hiding these things from her. 
Lying to her was useless

And yet.....she left the question hanging as she followed him in it the store and searched his vision for a place where she settle down and keep watch. They would not be able to escape her senses so easily.

Wordcount: 1625

Chakra 135:

“Why did you say that? You have only just met me, so how could you promise something like that? Did you lie to him?” Mitsuo smiled softly and shook his head, chuckling to himself and stroking his chin. He had read her profile; he knew what it was that she was assumed to have done. He kept up on the profiles of all of the shinobi who lived in Konohagakure no Kato, and he knew that there was a rumour that this girl was a murderer. He had kept an eye on her since she had first entered the village, and he had truly believed the words that he had told the shop keep. He imagined that the girl wouldn’t know that he knew so much about her, though, as his ANBU life was a secret and nobody in the village could know of his secret, on punishment of death. He continued walking forward, knowing the girl couldn’t see him and therefore deciding not to look back at her as he spoke, and keep his eyes ahead.

“I say that because I truly believe in you. I have seen the true colours of our village, and it pains me, but I know that our new generation brings hope. You are one of that new generation.” He smiled once more and looked towards the back of the store, noting a stairway that would lead to the upper level of the shop, where he would end up going to guard. “My ancestor believed that nothing was more important than protecting our youth. I was named after him, Mitsuo Hiruzen Sarutobi, and I have done my best to keep his ideals, and I believe you will do so as well.” He paused for a second until they were in a spot where it would be safe for the young girl to stay. “I am going up the stairs to guard up there, you stay down here, that way we can cover more ground. If you need help, feel free to yell.” He made his way towards the spiral staircase, and ascended towards his destination.

The upstairs of the store was mostly empty, save for some old selves, but he could hear a rustling noise around and what sounded like laboured breathing. He followed the sound, moving as silently as he could, and heard young voices speaking to one another, one of them distinctly saying that there was another person downstairs. Mitsuo wasn’t sure how he could have missed the presence of this second person, but he didn’t really care right now, activating one of his ANBU training jutsus and reaching out to sense the chakra of those around him. There were three of them on the upper level, and two downstairs, which is much more than Mitsuo was expecting to run into. The three were around the corner from where he was currently standing and, if he was quick enough, he suspected he could capture them with minimum damage to the property.

The first one he didn’t waste a second, swinging out from around the corner and clenching his hand in a fist, using his superior strength to knock the boy out cold. He caught the body as quickly as he possibly could so that it couldn’t hit the ground or the wall and make a noise, and he carefully set it down before looking around the corner. The other two had noticed their first friend had gone missing, not good. He noticed one of them had pulled out a small knife and the second seemed to have some form of bludgeoning weapon, which Mitsuo had expected he may run into on this mission. He needed to do this in a way that he wouldn’t damage any of the goods, and he needed to act fast. He turned the corner and yelled out “Kanashibari no Jutsu” while forming a quick hand sign, invisible chains coiling themselves around the more dangerous of the two, the one with the bludgeoning weapon, causing him to hit the ground with a loud thud as Mitsuo ran forward at his top speed and caught the weapon before it could smash anything. He ran up to the second one as he was swinging the knife at Mitsuo, though Mitsuo was faster. He was already pulling his wire out and running in circles around the man, binding his arms and legs, and tying him up with the others, ensuring none of them would be able to move.

He dragged the three of them out of the door, hoping that the young girl would be able to take care of herself, but imagining she would have no trouble doing so. As he left the building he summoned one of the ANBU who worked under them and had him watch over the criminals who he had brought outside. Another ANBU agent walked up to him and bowed low.

“Master Sarutobi, we have an urgent change of assignment that needs your immediate attention. You have told us to watch out for Okahura Hatake, the man who murdered his squad and fled for the sand. We have found him, Lord Sarutobi, and we need you to travel to Sunagakure no Sato immediately.” Mitsuo looked back to the building and shook his head at the timing of this news. He couldn’t pass up the opportunity though, this is exactly what he had been waiting for ever since the death of his lover, and his confession to Ukiyo. He would gather his things and leave as soon as he possibly could, entrusting the rest of the mission to the young girl inside, whom he had put his trust in completely.

“Please, stay posted here Tora,” Saying the name hurt him deeply, his dead lover having been the former Tora, but he kept his resolve. “The young girl inside may need your assistance. Kitsune, you’re with me. I will need you on this mission, we must make for Suna with all haste.” With those words he made his way towards the Sarutobi Compound quickly, moving to grab his ANBU Gear so he could make his way to the land of sand, also being sure to grab the documents he had been copying over the past several months, and he made way to leave the Village Hidden in the Leaves for the last time as a Konoha Shinobi. Mitsuo Sarutobi was resolved in his mission, and he knew that in order to save the village, it would need to be destroyed…

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EXIT THREAD
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(1239/4000 Bukijutsu A>S)

Jutsus Used:

Chakra:

 
but I know that our new generation brings hope. You are one of that new generation.”

Hope. What a...strange concept.

From the moment the two stepped stepped inside the store, Shizuka could clearly see that this place was far from impressive. 
Aisles barely wide enough for two people to stand shoulder to shoulder, items thrown together in a chaotic organised mess on the several shelves that filled the middle of the cramped shop. There was dust between items in the sections of less importance, stains just visible on the floor where someone had only made half an attempt to clear it up. With those wide, open windows and little no security measures, it was no wonder why this place had been robbed on a regular basis. It was a shame the owner didn't learn. 

Now with a clear idea of the layout in her mind, Shizuka followed her supervisor to the back corner of the store, a spot conveniently hidden by an over packed shelf and dried out plant. It was here that she dragged over an old milk crate and a sack of flour, making herself a somewhat comfortable seat to perch herself on for the night.
She may be here a while before they attacked and when they do, the young Genin needed to be ready. Prepared. Especially when her eyes just walked up stairs and left here there to fend for herself, blind and vulnerable....well. Nearly anyway. 

While her vision was upstairs, keeping an eye on what he was doing, she allowed her other senses to focus on what was going on around her. Usually, it was an odd experience, hearing sounds that didn't quite match what she was seeing. It was like, someone had put the world on mute and switched on a radio with pre-recorded sounds.
But Shizuka had been living like this for quite some time now and splitting her focus became as easy as breathing. 

Still...just seeing and hearing wasn't enough. 
While maintaining the connection with Mitsuo upstairs, Shizuka split her chakra once more and allowed it to fall from her body like an unwanted skin on a hot day. It hit the raw, sanded wood and spread out until a perfect circle formed around her, disappearing beyond the eyes of the average Shinobi. Now....now she could feel it. Every rodent that scurried under the shelves, avoiding the murderous shop keeper, every time the wind blew past and knocked some random item off it's shelf. Every single thing that hit the ground below her feet would send soft messages up through her bare feet. 

She was ready

-----

It had been barely an hour. 

She saw the scene unfold before his very eyes and almost instantly, her slight form tensed up. They were here. They were upstairs... attacking with all the skill of a freshly graduated thug.
Shizuka tried to focus on them all at once, see what they were doing and learn...but even though she was seeing through his well trained eyes, the young girl was not used to his experienced concentration.
All she could do was sit there and watch. Watch as he alone, took them out one by one, stopping them in their mischievous ways without causing them any injury....
Needless to say, the younger girl was in awe. He worked like something she only heard about in story books and history lessons, while all she could do was sit there and watch him in this stunned silence. 

And then it changed...

He was focused on something else. No....someone else.
The room was quiet, the air was still....and out of the shadows came a face which she had never seen before. At first....the young Genin thought it was a ghost. The way it hovered there in the shadows of the bare empty top floor among the dust and unpacked boxes. But as it drew closer she could see what was going on. This person was an ANBU. A part of the villages most elite fighting force...and they knew who her supervisor was. They knew and trusted him.
It took a moment but the facts were piecing together. She knew who he was now....but did they know when they assigned him to go on this seemingly harmless mission with her?

“The young girl inside may need your assistance. Kitsune, you’re with me. I will need you on this mission, we must make for Suna with all haste.”

He was leaving?

The thought barely lasted the breath as something forced her mind back with such ferocity, that the young girl stumbled back in to the pot plant beside her, covering the floor with the soft soil, temporarily confusing her Earth Pulse...
By the time she had regained her balance it  was too late. She felt the cold still slice through her side as if it were nothing, cutting through the muscles just above her hip, drawing forth a scream that would reach his ears even as the ANBU made for his escape. 
But despite the pain now shooting up to her shoulder blade, the Genin was far from being down and out. Rolling on to her back, she clapped her hands together loudly, sending a blinding white light that would light up every hiding shadow in the room, and render her attacker sightless.

And for the first few moments it worked

Shizuka backed out of the way and felt around for the edge of the shelf closest to her, her slim form easily getting in behind it, and in to the narrow aisle. Then....with what little strength she had, Shizuka pushed against the fully packed structure, tilting and rocking it until the shelf collapsed on the boy who struggled to be free.
It was too late. It was no use. The items came crashing down, just as dragged the knife down her thigh, leaving a bleeding tear through the flimsy material of her black tights. 

She felt him too late.....

The blade came from behind and dug deep in to her shoulder, slicing through flesh, muscles, right down to the thick bone of her scapular. 
He twisted....waited....then yanked it out with a vengeance, feeling pleasure as the young girl screamed. That would be his last mistake.
Ignoring the pain, the aches and tremors that infected her slight form like a virus, Shizuka grabbed the boy's knife hand, twisted, spun, and buried it, handle deep in to the boy's arm. Damaging the nerves to the point where his hand would never be the same again.
And then...as a last effort to stop them, Shizuka, stepped one foot around his and pushed....hard, sending hip toppling, bleeding over the collapsed shelf.

It was done.

She was done.

The last thing Shizuka remembered was the other Anbu, rushing over to her side, and the feeling of her legs giving away from underneath her....Then....

Everything went black
Wordcount: 2788

Chakra 105: