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Shifting against the tree that he sat at, Sai opened his eyes to regard the monk with a cold stare that he held before letting a sigh out softly moments later. "Is that so?" Gingerly he raised himself to a stand, pulling his body this way and that until audible pops could be heard from his joints. "Whatever it is, save it for the morning when the boy is awake. No need to have you repeating yourself, but next time you want to put yourself in a predicament that could have your throat sliced open, just let me know, I'll do it happily."

Shuffling past the monk, he sat himself at his post to watch the dark street ahead. It would be a few more hours before it would require the drunk to break his slumber and take his shift. With a sigh, he searched the darkness for movement but the street was as silent as the night itself and that was both a blessing and an unnerving conundrum. Through all the decades of war, missions and bloody nights, Sai had learned that there was a calm within all the carnage, a peacefulness in knowing what was to be the midst of all that chaos... it was when it was done and all was quiet that the nightmare of his actions caught up, the unease that in the so called peace that had been bought at a bloody price that it would be his turn, that when his guard was finally down it would be the time that he would pay for all his sins.

Clenching his jaw, Sai pushed a heavy breath through his teeth and let his eyes wonder to the dark sky above. The monk had done a dangerous thing this night and had put all three of their lives in peril. There was reason why he had wanted the two of them together when they went in there, at least they wouldn't be alone and with him outside to make sure no surprises were in store there would be some level of security. But for all they knew, Hajime could have set the criminals on alert... whatever it was that the monk had set in motion, Sai only hoped it wouldn't lead the two to an early grave, or worst... the grave that beckoned him.

Hajime slept light that night- a habit he'd picked up traveling on the roads with his masters. Rest was necessary, but letting one's guard down was not. And then there was the whole issue of Sai. Hajime was far less comfortable around him now than he was before. It was the way he'd looked at him, and the thing he said. The tail-end reverberated in his head like a far off echo, I'll do it happily.

He awoke to Kaito's yawn, and opened his eyes slightly, then sat up from his reclined position at a tree. He dug into his pocket and withdrew his sample of Kudzu. He looked at the green vine and leaf thoughtfully, then handed it to Kaito, "I bought this for you. Next time you feel the urge to drink, chew this instead. It will help you curb those urges, and you'll be a better ninja and a better person without that vice. I should warn you of two things, though. Firstly, don't drop it or throw it out. It was expensive. Secondly, don't get caught with it- it's contraband in Fire Country."

"That brings me to what you missed. While you slept, I decided to probe the black market on my own. It appeared to me that it would be more efficient to do it then, as well as safer- considering that I haven't been on any ninja registry before in any location prior to yesterday."

"Those shops near the shrine there are receiving a large shipment of the processed ore today. As I see it- we have two options. Either we hijack the shipment ourselves, or we go help from some higher-ranked ninja at the shinobi registry to do it. After sleeping on it, it would seem that reporting this find would be better. Inside of that shop that I had pointed out- the shopkeeper had two bodyguards that looked like they might be rogue ninja mercenaries."

"Considering our status, and the rank of the mission, concluding our report here may be satisfactory."

Though feeling much more rested from his slumber, Kaito couldn't help but to keep yawning. "Sounds like I missed quite a bit while I was out, eh?" Over the course of the night the monk had took it upon himself to weasel his way into the black market and pry some information one way or another. Although it probably wasn't the safest call, seemed like he'd made it without any bumps or bruises. Hajime was right though, becoming a citizen of the village just yesterday worked out as the perfect disguise. His name was known to nobody besides Sai and himself, and anyone who actually recognized his face would have only remembered him purchasing other illegal substances from the market before. "Thanks for the uh, leaf or whatever. Don't really have any real intentions of quitting though, drinking is one of my favorite hobbies ya know." Kaito disregarded Sai's comment. He was good at taking the high road, but Sai was really starting to irk him.Something was off with that guy, it was like he got off by being a d**k. Being teamed up with the guy wasn't exactly ideal and trusting him was far from easy, but that was the hand he was dealt so he'd have to play it for now.

After a short conversation, and the popular vote being to report the findings of the black market to headquarters, they'd split two separate ways and head towards their destination. Sai had shoved something in his pocket, some sort of carving or something. His eyes were still blurry-ish while Sai was crafting whatever he was working on, but it would spark interest.

Hajime the monk and Kaito took a more direct path through town, passing several shops, food carts, and restaurants for that matter. There was one in particular he was interested in, the boy could only hope after all these years the place was still open for business. They had a few minutes for small talk so Kaito would open the conversation. "Yeah so, not really sure why Sai didn't just come back this way with us." The genin shrugged, turning his head towards the monk. "He's always so secretive, and kind of a d**k too. Usually I don't have problems with people I really don't know, but man he's not a very likable fellow." Kaito wasn't one to talk behind one's back, but was more interested in knowing the monks thoughts on him. "I mean maybe I'm off here but.. I get the feeling you have similar thoughts?" The drunk sighed, turning his attention ahead. "I guess what I'm saying is we should just keep an eye on him. I just have a good feeling." Hajime was most definitely more easy to speak with, and felt much more trustworthy at that.

The duo followed their route, and Kaito's face lit up with joy upon their first rest stop. "Yes!!" The boy did a celebratory fist pump, the food cart he was searching for stood tall right where it always had stood. "I don't care what Sai does, I'm not missing breakfast!" A dirty, slightly smelly Kaito approached the sand. He looked like a child in a candy store. "I'll take an order of Youtiao!" Kaito basically tossed the money at the owner of the cart, as he began to deep fry the dough. "You should get something Hajime, they make the best doughnuts in town!" Several seconds later his sugar coated donuts would be finished and the boys on their way. Their next stop, headquarters.

Taking the scroll, he read over the contents carefully, frowning at the description of the uniforms. "I'm... not sure I'm familiar with that uniform either." He grunted, passing the scroll back to the monk. "I would assume the land of snow, however I couldn't be for sure." The description was vaguely familiar to him but the more he tried to remember it the more distant it became to him. With an inward shrug, he let it go, unless ordered to do so it would bring no value for him to dwell on it more. Crossing his arms over his chest he allowed his eyes to close and slowly drifted off into a day dream of memories.

The sound of a door roused him a hour later when Ebiru beckoned the trio into the next room.

It was a scarcely furnished but large conference room. The room was filled with three rows of seven desks, each wide enough to seat three people. At the front of the room was a semi-oval desk that had five seats, two of which were filled and a third soon filled by Ebiru.

Coming to the front set of desks, Sai noted that the middle and far right set was occupied by two other teams. Taking his own seat by the inner isle he observed the two others that sat on either side of Ebiru. One was a dark-skin man, his head shaved clean, he carried an amused grin and his bright green eyes flickered from one shinobi to the next. Before Ebiru had joined them, he had been in a whispered discussion with a young woman that had drawn frowns from the other member of the front desk. With the young woman returned to her team, the other member continued to watch her keenly. This man was round with the thickness that was apparent of the Akimichi clan, his hair hung neatly on his left shoulder in a tight braid.

It was this man that spoke when trio finally took their seats. "This is an emergency mission that must be executed quickly and successfully. From recent reports we have gathered that a group of unidentified individuals have been smuggling in illegal and dangerous goods into the village. Over the last three years we have successfully been reducing and eliminating black market dealings in our country, with the completion of this mission we will hopefully deal a large blow to the few organizations that have continued to thrive.

Each of us: Ebiru Hyuga, Yu Watase and myself, Yoshihiro Togashi, shall accompany each team and form three separate task forces. Our objective is to intercept an incoming shipment of illegal goods and take it into custody as well as arrest all who are found at the scene. Are there any questions?" Yoshihiro had become red in the face from speaking for so long but his stare was stern as he looked over the nine shinobi before him, as he awaiting any inquiries.

Yoshihiro huffed and puffed, overexerted from all this talking. He righted himself in his chair, and mouthed the answer to Kaito's question at least twice before saying it out loud, "We have theories and valuable sources of information that connect it to several nations to the north east of the Land of Fire. Until we can be certain, it is best..." He took a deep, slow breath, his face red. His brow was dotted with sweat, and he returned, "...it is best... not to name specifics at this time. It's on a need to know basis." The rotund man licked perspiration from his lips. "Do we have any other questions?" Despite how bad-off this fellow seemed to be, the other two ninja of his rank did not seem concerned. Perhaps this was normal for this ninja?

To Hajime, it seemed like this man might explode... though he wasn't sure if it was due to stress or simply from overconsumption. This man's apparent gluttony made Kaito look like the very picture of moderation. The monk rubbed his chin. He asked himself, Do I have a question? He witheld a smile- a part of him wanted to chide the shinobi in front of him. Were he not of genin rank, he might have. However, that time had come, and it would be some time until he would be safe to do so again.

Instead, he tossed in something a bit more informational and practical, "So, we have three seperate ninja task forces, and our goal is to stop the shipment before it arrives in town. What is the plan that we'll be taking, and do the seperate groups each have a goal, or are we just looking for strength in numbers here?"

"Another question: I've submitted a report on what I witnessed myself in a black market location- there appeared to be ninja involved with guarding the shop. Will there be ninja from other nations smuggling the contraband, or normal criminal actors?"

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Hajime went ahead and asked all the questions that surely everyone was thinking, which seemed to nearly kill Yoshihiro. While the large sweaty man was answering questions, Kaito spaced out staring at Yoshihiro's body. "Man it was suck being that fat... He's all sweaty and winded now, I couldn't imagine this guy trying to run or walk up a set of stairs. What a sweaty mess that'd be." Some things were better left to oneself.

Yu took it upon himself to finish the conversation, probably to save Yoshihiro's life. It sounded as though they were to help secure the goods. Quietly, Kaito would mumble to his team. "Guess we'll get to see what's in the cargo this way. Must be something important to go through the trouble of bringing all these people, eh?" Upon finishing his sentence Yu chimed in asking for their names. "Kaito Arata!" Kaito yelped loud and proud. He was really looking forward to this mission. Shortly after, Yu gave the group the okay to go and get themselves ready. Sai pulled his usual stunt, slipping out without saying a word. Kaito shrugged, turning to the monk again. "We'll I guess I'm gonna use this time to say a quick hey to my family before we hit the road. Guess I'll see ya back in a couple of hours?" The genin chuckled, and left with a smile snagging a com on his way out. "Man I haven't saw the family in years! I bet they're gonna be excited to see me!" Surprise visits we're always the best, especially after four years or so. They'd kept in touch through letters, but some quality family time was well needed.

The short three hours of free time went well for the drunk, as he went shopping for new clothing, was able to finally shower, and most important of all spend time with his mother and father. But he'd ran out of free time and now was off to meet the others at the rally point. His headband swung back and forth as it hung from his neck, His new fresh clothing felt so good, and best of all neither him or his comrades had to smell him any longer. His home wasn't too far from the front gate of the village, though he left slightly early to make sure he wasn't going to be late. Upon arrival he'd scan the area, seeing he was the first of his group. Just seconds after Yu would arrive. Kaito was unsure of how to greet this man, so he'd just went with a simple "Hey." and leaned against the gate. "Guess we got here a few minutes early, I'm sure the others aren't too far behind."

"Missed me." Sai grunted. The man had been in a quiet conversation with their current team leader, Yu Watase, and whatever had been the result of that discussion had left the bald man with a sour look on his face as he strode off to talk to the shinobi that stood guard at the gate. "Seems as though there is a slight delay with one of the other groups. We'll be leaving in twenty minutes." Fiddling with the ear piece and mic, Sai watched the monk with a frown marking his features. "You stink of dust, monk." Shrugging, he turned to look at the other boy before facing the monk again, "Also, word of advice, we're here to back him up not him back us up, don't try to be the hero."

After they had turned from Grunnard to give chase to the thieves, Haikyo suggested that Juugou should release his insects to track the thieves down, which caused the younger genin to smile. "Already calling the shots, eh Haikyo?" he said with a chuckle. and shook his head. "I managed to get an insect on each of the thieves so it's just a matter of having the insects track their fellows down and we are good to go." As he spoke, Juugou began to let his insects emerge from his clothes and form up in a growing trailing cloud above him. Haikyo then told him to have the insects form an infinity symbol when they spotted the targets which was easy enough to do. Juugou nodded and the Yomi ran up a nearby wall. "The tracers should be releasing pheromones that these guys here can pick up on and trace until they find the source." he called after the older genin before he was out of earshot. So straightforward... thought Juugou with an exasperated sigh. Then he got to work sending mental commands to the insects in small bits to avoid overloading them. After finishing this task, the young Aburame then split the cloud in three and sent them off. Go with all haste and find your kin! he commanded and something peculiar happened. The green markings on the the insects began to glow brightly and they shot off into the night like lasers, which began to form into compact tendrils once they were locked onto the pheromones.

Wow... thought Juugou in awe. Having been exposed to Haikyo's energies seemed to have unleashed more of the insects' physical capabilities than he had previously thought. They had lost their edge in night time stealth but gained the ability to move at faster rates, which would both be useful for his future endeavors. Juugou almost tripped over a rock he had failed to notice due to his attention being gripped by his newly evolved insects. He lost his balance for the next few uneven strides, but managed to recover without crashing into anything. When Juugou next looked up he couldn't see his insects anymore. so he focused his chakra to the bottom of his feet and dashed up the wall of the house on his left. He jumped up, caught the edge of the roof and pulled himself up. Juugou noted how much sloppier he was at this than Haikyo was and made a not to remain close to the ground as much as possible. He scanned the sky again and saw three infinity signs: one by itself and two together. The solitary one and the the duo were moving apart from each other and were already dangerously close to the village limits.

Juugou looked around at the surrounding rooftops and was relieved to see that Haikyo had stopped about three houses down. He dashed over the roofs of the houses on his side of the street until he was across from his partner before calling over to him. "It looks like they split up. One is travelling alone while the other two are still together. Normally i would suggest that we go at it together, but they are really close to the edges of the village in either direction so our best bet is to split up." Juugou looked from Haikyo to the still moving insect markers, closed his eyes and took a deep breath. "I'll take on the solo thief. You take on the duo. My insects will stall them for you so hurry up, glow stick!" The young Aburame turned to go. To be honest he was scared to death about having to face an unknown opponent, but he was also not going to give up and disappoint both his teacher and his team mate. "I intend on coming back alive, so make sure you focus on your fight!" With that said, Juugou dashed across the roof toward the solo target, taking a third of his bugs with him and commanding the rest to harass the thieves that Haikyo was supposed to handle.

Adrenaline was pumping through Juugou's veins at this point, heightening awareness to his surroundings and lending speed to his legs. When he was approximately thirty yards from the infinity symbol in the air he sent his contingent of insects to attack whoever it was that had stolen the scroll. The insects shot off like thunderbolts, diving into the street below at sharp angles and creating a laser light show as they did. When Juugou arrived above the scene he witnessed an individual in a black shinobi shozoku dodging most of the insect strikes while lashing out with a jet-black katana. The blade didn't reflect the light of the street lamp or the glowing insects harrying its wielder, but was sharp enough to cut through them if the edge found them. Juugou thought quickly. An ornate scroll dangled securely from his belt, fitting the description Grunnard had provided. The individual was still apparently unaware of his presence, but was making progress in decreasing the number of insects at an increasing rate. It didn't matter if it was a few or dozens at a time, the swordsmanship of the thief was impeccable. I will have to seal his chakra stores and deplete the rest... he thought bringing an insect out of his sleeve to his fingertip. The young Aburame began to channel chakra up his finger and into the insect. In one of the scrolls that Grunnard had lent him in the past there was a medical jutsu that was able to seal an opponent's chakra flow. He had been planning on using that technique on Haikyo earlier, but the soul energies the Yomi had exhibited were able to counteract the siphoning effects of the insects before he had a chance to apply the seal. A few seconds later the preparations were done. All he had to do now was to get the insect to bite the individual and the seal would be applied.

Juugou called on the insects creating the infinity symbol to aid the ones below and sent the one on his fingertip down last, commanding it to remain unlit. The thief was so fixed on the insects it was fighting off that they didn't see the second volley of insect tackles coming in from behind. The impact was enough to let a masculine "Ooof!!" be audible and causing the thief to arc his back in pain. It was at that time that the insect he had infused with the seal landed on the thief's hand and bit down. At that moment a small round glyph appeared on the skin of the thief's hand and he looked down at it in surprise. A second later the rest of the insects were on top of the thief again, this time siphoning the chakra from him now that he couldn't call up anymore to replace what he was losing. Juugou took that opportunity to hop down from the roof into an alleyway before walking carefully into the street some distance away from the thief in the shinobi shozoku. The man looked up at Juugou, the sword in his hand losing its form and dissipating as the chakra required to sustain it was drained. Then his head tilted to the side and and his eyes widened, then narrowed. "You... You were one of the kids we passed a few minutes ago..." he said, realization seeping into his voice. It was surprisingly youthful, albeit deep and muffled due to the face mask which revealed only his eyes. "To think that old Grunnard would send kids to do his dirty work." the thief scoffed. Juugou could feel his temper rising due to the man badmouthing his teacher, but for the sake of his task he focused on the task at hand. And he was also curious about Grunnard's ties to these shady individuals.
"What business do you have with that scroll?" asked the young Aburame. How long was it going to take the insects to drain him completely, he wondered. Some were glowing more brightly than others, but those were the ones near the thief's hands and face. It appeared as if they couldn't penetrate the shozoku's material. The thief snickered. Then laughed uncontrollably. Seconds later he was catching his breath as if recovering from some untold joke. "Hey! Answer my question!"
"I have to give it to you. I never expected to be stopped by a brat. An Aburame no less..." he said, standing up shakily. "Kid, if i were you i would go home to mommy!" he said, suddenly reaching into his jacket, drawing three six-pointed shuriken and throwing them in one fluid motion. Juugou reflexively crossed his arms in front of him, hiding his face behind them. Two shuriken embedded themselves in his right forearm, the third sliced past his left ear, nicking it. Juugou drew in a sharp breath as the pain from the shuriken wounds began to register.
ENCROACH!! he commanded his insects, and the ones that didn't have access to the thief's hands began to fly in a bullet shape around him, restricting any further movement. The thief made to raise his arm to reach his jacket again, but when his elbow hit the insect cage it sparked,causing him to return to his former position.
"Tch. Looks like i won't be able to leave with the scroll after all." said the trapped man. "Listen, kid. You don't know what you're getting yourself into, but since Grunnard trusted you enough to fetch the scroll back for him take this message back to him: 'The fall of the Archives is close at hand. The Great Purge is coming,,,'" as he spoke, the thief began to sink into the ground until nothing but a heap of clothes was left, the scroll peeking out from where it was tied to the belt. A shadow then slithered across the pavement and disappeared towards the village gate. Juugou slumped to the ground, numb from the shock of the experience and didn't move for quite some time.

[ooc: sorry for the wait sweatdrop to make up for it i doubled my usual word count xP]

Pre-Mission Word Count: 13,582 Words
Mission: Scroll Retrieval: 1165 + 1686 = 2851 / 2000 Words