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Shinken took off toward the tallest building on the east side of the village. It took him a few minutes to get there, but as soon as he did he was already at the top. From there his eyes could see nearly the entire east side of the Village. He activated his sharingan to scan for minute details in the crowds. He couldn’t pick up anything in great detail at a distance of more than three or four hundred feet around the building, but he had a plan for that. He moved from rooftop to rooftop scanning the streets and alleyways below for any sign of these fake headbands. He saw one here or there, but no where in the concentration that the area around the marketplace had. Still every time he saw one he would dart down and steal it right off of poor person who had spent their hard earned ryo on it. He felt bad for them, their new purchase suddenly disappearing in a blur of motion, but these headbands could cause a lot of trouble if they were left to float around the village. If the wrong people got their hands on them it could mean a war, or at the very least a local incident.


Most of the people he spotted wearing the headbands were children. There were a few teenagers, who were probably just trying to be cool, and even an adult or too. It wasn’t until he was almost halfway done his sweep that he heard his teammate’s voice come through his com device. Apparently there were more than just hidden mist headbands. The merchant had made replicas for the Leaf, Mist, Sound and Lightning villages. If you added in the Sand and Stone headbands the Uchiha had in his possession that made a total of 6 villages. That was nearly all of them. That meant that the merchant had to have travelled extensively to familiarize himself with the symbols. Shinken was surprised that the merchant had gone through so much trouble only to make headbands that were obviously fake.


Before he got a chance to reply to Michio his teammate was off and confiscating more headbands. He figured he would just leave the Kaguya to do his own thing. Besides he had just spotted a group of men wearing the fake headbands in an alley below. They were accosting someone, and it looked like a mugging. That would certainly cause an incident if the men were mistakenly identified as real ninja. Shinken couldn’t allow that to happen. If these men were simply just thugs pretending to be ninja then a display of any real kind of skill would probably be enough to frighten them off. If not there were only three of them, and Shinken could always call Michio for backup.


Without giving it another thought the young gennin began to run down the wall toward the men. Just before he would have come into view he jumped so that he would land behind two of them. His landing was graceful and silent leaving the one man who could see him to gasp and point. Before the other two could even react Shinken ripped the headbands off of their arms. The spun to see who had the audacity to assault them, but their faces went pale as they saw the Uchiha’s sharingan.


“I think you lost these. Well you know what they say. Finders keepers.” Shinken said trying to sound intimidating while he heard his teammate talking down some children on the other end of his comm. The idiot had forgotten to turn the device off. The two men whose headbands had been taken gulped and stepped back. Then all three men tried to run, but Shinken was much faster. He appeared in front of them and stopped them in their tracks.


“Impersonating a shinobi? That’s quite a hefty offence, and you were trying to rob this poor woman? I’m afraid I’m going to have to bring you in.” Shinken said with a very serious look on his face. The woman who had been accosted by the men took off running down the alley. The gennin didn’t blame her. It must have looked like things were about to get ugly, but the three men looked at each other and then back to the Uchiha’s sharingan. With terrified expressions on their faces they raised their hands over their heads.


“We give up.” The leader said as he got down onto his knees. Shinken walked over to them and took the last headband. It was a simple enough task to bring the men to an official who then took a statement from Shinken and put the men under arrest. When he was finished with that he turned his headset back on and counted the headbands he had collected.




“You left your comm on you dunce, and by my count I’ve got 13, and a couple of imposters I just arrested for trying to rob someone while pretending to be ninja” Shinken said he ran up the wall of the nearest building. The rest of his sweep proved uneventful, and after one final sweep Shinken was satisfied that they had gotten all of the headbands


“Well I think it’s time we went back to the Kage’s office Michio.” The young Uchiha said into his headset as he changed direction and headed for the center of the village. It didn’t take him long to get there, so he decided he would wait for his teammate to arrive. Then they would be able to present all of the headbands they had collected at the same time.

Shinken looked down that the piece of paper in his hand as the two ninja made their way towards the merchant’s shop. There was a picture of the device on the flyer. It was an odd looking square box, made out of three different kinds of wood. One was a dark brown, almost walnut in coloration. The second wood was light like a Birch or an Ashe, and the last wood puzzled Shinken. He had never seen anything like it before. It was a bright red, and it didn’t seem to be a stain or a dye. Perhaps the merchant would know more about the origin of the woods. It could prove to be important in some way.


Then there was the symbols on the five by five grid. The grid rested on the top of the box, just above the locking mechanism. The symbols seemed to correspond to the elements, but something told Shinken that there was more to it than that. He was so engrossed in the intricacies of the image that he almost walked into a frail old woman. MIchio grabbed him and pulled the gennin back.


“Shinken pay attention!” Michio snapped. The young Uchiha looked up from the flier and quickly bowed his head in apology. He probably would have knocked the old lady to the ground and broken her hip knowing his foul luck. The woman shot him a dirty glare as she passed by, before continuing on her way. The Uchiha felt bad, but it wasn’t long before his face was buried in the flyer again. There was something about this puzzle box that had enthralled his interest. It was unlike anything he had ever seen before. Ninjutsu was clearly involved somehow as it had no visible moving parts. It didn’t even look like it had any seams to open.


It wasn’t long before the two Ninja arrived at the shop. The exterior had seen better days. The paint was chipping and flaking away, and the sandstone was worn down to a smooth rounded edge in places. There were several cracks running along the walls and wooden shutters were starting to splinter. This didn’t seem like the kind of place that could afford to spend so much money on getting a puzzle box opened.


“Are you sure we’re in the right place Michio? This place seems pretty run down.” Shinken said as he turned to his friend. Before Michio could answer a voice called out from inside. It was a higher pitched almost squeaky voice that grated on Shinken’s ears.


“My establishment is a place of great renown! How dare you speak ill of it!” The voice shouted as the sound of shuffling footsteps could be heard from within. Shinken gave Michio a puzzled look and then gazed back at the entrance to the shop. It took several minutes but eventually a short old man with a long white beard and thick glasses hobbled his way out of the shop. With the way he was walking Shinken was surprised the man wasn’t using a cane. He moved at a snail’s pace and the young Uchiha couldn’t fathom how such a man could travel at all, let alone find an old ninja artifact like the puzzle box.


“I’m sorry sir. I meant no offense.”” Shinken said quickly, making sure to bow his head in apology. The last thing he wanted was A client going back to the Kazekage about their displeasure with him. He had just gotten out of hot water and was making great progress toward being a proper ninja. Not to mention he was making some really good money today. The old man put his hands up to his glasses and took them off to clean them, before putting them back on and taking a closer look at the two ninja standing before him. He hmmed and hawed for a few moments before nodding slowly.


“Well you aren’t the best ninja I’ve ever seen. No. Not even in the top 15, but you’ll do just fine.” The old man said almost sounding as if he was talking to himself rather than Michio or Shinken. The young Uchiha didn’t know whether to be offended or feel like he had been praised just now. Just how many ninja had this merchant seen in his lifetime? Twenty? Thirty? More? He shook the thought from his head as he noticed the merchant slowly turning around and getting ready to shuffle into the store again. Shinken hoped he never got that frail in his old age. He was sure he’d go insane just from the time it took him to get places. Not to mention to horrible eyesight, though to the old man’s credit he seemed to have excellent hearing.


When Shinken stepped inside of the shop he suddenly realized why the man had been so sure of his shop. There were all kinds of old artifacts lying around. From old scrolls and books, to unique looking weapons. There was one thing that caught his eye though. It was a puppet. It looked similar to something the Uchiha had seen in a history book. It took him a moment to search his memories, and when he finally realized what it was a look of disbelief crossed his face. There was no way a merchant would have something like that. The old man noticed the look on Shinken’s face and smiled.


“Ah yes. You’ve got a good eye there friend. That IS infact what you think it is. Kankuro’s Crow puppet. It took a long time and a small fortune to acquire that, but it is the prized piece of my collection.” The old man said as he rummaged around behind a desk. Shinken stood looking at the puppet in awe. This was a piece of history. The joints had degraded and looked like they would no longer move, and the wood was dry and brittle now, but there it was. The puppet of one of the Hidden Sand’s greatest puppet masters.


“Ah! Here it is. This is what I need you for. This puzzle box has me scratching my head. I haven’t been able to make heads or tails of it. I know it opens because there’s something that shifts around inside of the box, and they had to get it in there somehow.” The old man went on as he set the puzzle box on a dusty old tabletop.


Shinken was suddenly shaken from his revery by a gentle nudge from Michio. As the Uchiha snapped to attention his eyes drifted to the puzzle box. It’s craftsmanship was astounding it looked as if it could survive for hundreds of years, and it very well might have. The gennin walked over and picked up the box rotating it around to get a better look at it. The only notable things seemed to be some kind of locking mechanism and the grid of symbols. The box was made of the three different woods banded together but as far as Shinken could tell that was all ornamental. The big question on his mind was why did the box have a locking mechanism when it seemed to be one solid piece?


Not being able to see much of anything else with his normal eyes Shinken decided that he would have a look with his sharingan. As soon as his eyes turned red and the two single tomoe appeared his face took on a look of utter confusion. The grid was glowing, but not in one uniform color. Each symbol seemed to correspond to a different color of chakra. He wasn’t sure if that meant a different person had made each of the five symbols that dotted the grid or if it had something to do with how to open the box. The symbol for fire glowed a bright orange red, so Shinken decided he would try something. Knowing that his own natural affinity was for fire based techniques he channeled a little bit of his chakra into the symbol. It suddenly shifted to the symbol for water, and several symbols that were touching it shifted to the symbol for lightning. The color of the Chakra had changed as well.


“Well I’ve never seen it do THAT before.” The old man said as he leaned in close. Shinken wanted to tell the old man to stay back, but he got the feeling that would have just offended him and accomplished nothing. He touched another fire symbol and this time he was watching more closely. The chakra seemed to change in the first tile and then cascade out into the ones around it. After touching a third fire symbol Shinken was able to see that when the water chakra flowed out into symbols that had fire symbols on them the water chakra was converted to lightning chakra.


“I think I get it. It’s a puzzle within a puzzle. I’ve figured out the first part. WIthout my sharingan this would have been very difficult. When you touch an element symbol with matching chakra it changes to what it is weak against. Then that element cascades out and if that element hits one it’s strong against like water hitting fire for example. Then the symbol changes into the element that is strong against that chakra. Like fire turns into lightning for example.” Shinken explained.


“Here I think there’s a pattern let me just try this sequence.” Shinken said as he pressed several of the tiles. Imitating the elemental chakra with his sharingan as best he could.

Shinken wanted to chuckle as Michio also failed to solve the puzzle but the frustration kept him from doing so. He could almost feel the shopkeeper breathing down their necks as they struggled to figure out what they were doing wrong. Every time they got to the last tile something didn’t add up and all of the tiles randomized again. There was something they were missing, there had to be. Shinken picked up the box again and began to flip it over. He noticed something peculiar on the bottom that had escaped his gaze when he had inspected the box without using his sharingan. There was a small blank tile hidden in the bottom of the box. How was someone supposed to see that without the ability to see chakra? Looking closer still he found thin lines less than a hair’s breadth surrounding the tile.


“Tricky bastards.” Shiken muttered as he began to slowly and carefully input a sequence into the tile grid. It took him almost ten minutes this time but he finally got to the last tile. This was where the box always randomized again. He looked underneath the box as saw that the there was a chakra color on the blank tile, and ever so faintly he could make out a symbol. The last tile was fire, so he should in theory touch it with fire chakra, but the symbol on the underside was water. Taking a guess and hoping he was right Shinken flipped the box back over and touched the fire symbol with water chakra.

Shinken watched his partner work the puzzle in reverse. It was a crazy idea, but it seemed like it was a possible solution. As Michio pressed the last tile the box made a clicking sound and Shinken saw seams forming in the wood. After a few moments a large puff of smoke emerged from the box, and the device opened to reveal a tiny scroll inside. The Uchiha wondered what information could possibly be so damned important that someone would have put so many security precautions in place. The old man moved faster than Shinken thought possible and grabbed the scroll out of the box. Michio looked just as surprised as Shinken felt.


“Well this has been a wonderful experience. Nice meeting you two. You can both go now. Give my regards to the Kazekage will you? I’m sure he’ll be pleased with my report on your performance.” The old man said as he shooed them out of the shop. Shinken was very confused about why the shop owner had changed demeanors so suddenly. It was almost like he didn’t want anyone to see what was on that scroll.


“What the hell was that about?” Shinken Asked his partner.


"I dunno. That was definitely weird though. I think it would be a good idea to bring that up to the Kazekage. Whatever's in that scroll could be dangerous and if it is and it got into the wrong hands, it could be big trouble. Our village is held together by thin binds, and the slightest chaos could bring us down from the inside." Michio replied, looking back at the shop's door with concern. "Let's go. We need to report in that the mission was completed." Michio said as he turned away from the shop. Shinken nodded in agreement. Something about the Old Shop keep was off. He had a valuable artifact of the past in his shop, so he obviously had money, yet he continued to work out of a run down old place that no one would give a second glance. Still it was something he would have to worry about at a later date. For now they needed to report into the Kazekage.


As they arrived at the office of the Kazekage Shinken saw some kind of messenger leaving the building. Curious he watched the mysterious figure until they disappeared from sight. They weren’t wearing a ninja headband but they were carrying a bag of scrolls. It must have been some kind of delivery worker. The young Uchiha wondered who would have reason to have something delivered to the Kage’s office by anyone other than a ninja. He made a note of it in his mind and continued into the building. As always the Kage was there waiting for them.


“Good I take it you’ve completed your mission. I have one last thing for you two to do. The headbands you confiscated earlier today. Take these 14 and bring them to the school on the south side of the village. The students there are going to use them for a play.” The kage said as he handed the headbands to Shinken. The Uchiha took them and gave a knowing look to Michio.


“We’ll get it done right away.” Shinken said as he turned around and started out the door. This wasn’t going to be a difficult mission, and part of him resented being made into a glorified errand boy. He was sure Michio felt the same way, but a mission was a mission and it needed to get done.


The Uchiha decided that there was no need to go running on rooftops to get these headbands delivered. It was their last mission for the day, and he wanted to take it easy for a while. As he walked through the streets he stopped at a food vendor.


“Two kabobs please.” Shinken said as he brought his ryo pouch out. It was probably more full than Michio would have expected. Despite having been banned from taking missions for a month Shinken had found other work being a courier in the village, and he often got tips from his boss for being so efficient with his deliveries. The young uchiha took the charred meat sticks and handed one to Michio.


“We haven’t really eaten anything all day. I figured you would be as hungry as I am.” Shinken before biting into the snack he had just bought.

As the two ninja walked towards the southern school Michio spoke of the dinner Shisara was going to make. The ramen sounded quite good and Shinken was elated when the Kaguya invited him over for dinner.


“I would be happy to come over. Though I don’t know if Sayomi will be there. I suppose Shisara has probably invited her already.” Shinken said as his thoughts drifted to the idea of consuming fresh hot ramen. He was a fan of the spicier foods around the village, but something about fresh hot noodles make his stomach growl. Then the conversation took on a more somber note. Michio spoke of how Shisara was vulnerable to anyone that would seek to hurt the Kaguya, and he requested that their relationship be kept a secret. Shinken knew all to well that your loved ones could be used against you, and nodded in understanding.


“Consider the secret kept.” The young gennin said as the two continued walking down the streets. The mention of making enemies made Shinken wonder if becoming a ninja was the right thing to do. He might actually be putting his family in more danger by putting them on the radar. He quickly shook the thoughts from his mind. The entire reason he was doing all of this was for them. He knew it was best for them. Besides they were protected within the walls of the sand village. There was nowhere safer in all of wind country.


Shinken was surprised at how quickly they had arrived at the school. They hadn’t even taken any shortcuts. Perhaps it was just that time seemed to pass more quickly in the presence of friends. As the walked inside the young Uchiha tried to look as official as possible. Even though these kids would probably never be ninja he wanted to set a good example for them. The change that he wanted to see in the village had to start with him.


Shinken stood silently as Michio returned the headbands to the Receptionist. Just before the young gennin turned to leave a young boy walked into the office. It seemed that he recognized Michio. The young boy thanked the Kaguya for bringing back the headbands. Shinken was fine with not getting any credit for returning the items to the school, but Michio told the boy that the Uchiha had helped anyway. The child bowed to the Shinken and thanked him. The young gennin just gave the kid a courteous smile and nodded back in acknowledgement.


“Well you’re just a big softie aren’t you Michio. That’s your weak spot isn’t it? You can’t say no to a kid.” Shinken said almost mockingly, but he was just poking fun at his friend. It was honestly kind of endearing, He had seen the rage and the fury from Michio before. He had seen the man stand up when he clearly should have stayed down, but this was the first time he had seen this side of Michio. It was nice to see even he had the capability for great kindness.


As the two ninja began to walk back to MIchio’s house the Kaguya posed a question. Why had the Kazekage given them so many missions in the span of one day? Something told Shinken it had something to do with that messenger.


“I’m not sure, but I don’t think it was just to keep us busy. I think he has a reason for all of this. Maybe it had something to do with that messenger that was outside of his office earlier today.” Shinken said as he turned down a street to take a short cut. He was looking forward to the ramen that had been offered to him. He wasn’t sure if Sayomi was going to be there but if she was perhaps the two of them could have a training session after the meal.


It took them about another fifteen minutes to get to Michio’s apartment. The shortcuts he had memorized cut the travel time by over half. When they arrived Shinken could smell the ramen cooking, and his mouth began to water. Not wasting a single minute the young Uchiha pushed his way through the doors and quickly made his way up the stairs. When he arrived in the main living space of his teammate’s apartment he saw that Sayomi was already there and helping Shisara cook up the noodles. His nose also picked up something else. It was unmistakable, the smell of Miso. Sayomi must have let Shisara know that Spicy Pork Miso ramen was Shinken’s favorite noodle dish. As Sayomi noticed the young Uchiha come in she gave him a wide smile.


“Well about time you got here.” She said with mock frustration. Shinken just smirked and gave a little chuckle.


“Well the Kage sent us out on five missions and the last one was across town.” He said as he pulled out a stool and sat down. To be honest it had been a long and exhausting day. Even though there had been no combat involved he had still been on his feet all day.


“Five missions?! What the hell did he have you doing?” Sayomi asked as she began to chop some peppers and onions on the cutting board. The young Uchiha couldn’t help but smile a little. It was so kind of Shisara and Sayomi to make his favorite even though they were already making something else.


“Well there were rumors of a mist ninja running around in the village, we found him and it turns out he was wearing a fake headband, so then there was this merchant we had to shut down. The idiot was selling the headbands. Then we had to go and find all of the headbands and confiscate them. After that he sent us to figure out this puzzle box an old Shopkeeper had found. There was some kind of tiny scroll inside. Actually the guy got really pushy and forced us out of his shop as soon as he saw what was inside the box, and then we had to bring those headbands to the south side school for some kids to use in a play.” Shinken explained. Saying it out loud he realized they really had gotten a lot done today.


“Well it sounds like you’ve earned your ramen tonight.” Shisara said with chuckle. Sayomi laughed too, and without meaning to Shinken broke into a wide smile. They were right. He had really earned his keep in the village today.


As the two female ninja continued to cook Shinken felt obligated to try and help. He reached out and tried to pick up a knife but Sayomi slapped his hand away. Shisara gave him a glare that said step out of my kitchen.


“OUT! Out out out out! You go sit down and have some tea!” Sayomi said as she gave the young Uchiha a firm push. Shinken let out a sigh and walked over to the low table that had a steaming teapot already resting on it. He could smell something sweet and floral coming from the teapot. It took him a moment to place it but when he did he pursed his lips tightly. It was again one of his favorites. A cherry blossom green tea. Something that wasn’t often found in the sand village. In fact it was something that needed to be imported. Shinken wondered exactly how long Sayomi had been planning all of this. Of course it could have been that she was just celebrating the fact that Michio and Shinken had been reinstated, but he felt it was something more than that. He was about to mention it when he thought better of it. Instead he would ask Sayomi personally, and in private
During one of their training sessions.


The young Uchiha poured two cups of tea and turned to face his partner. He wasn’t one to hoard things to himself, and as such felt the need to proffer his favorite drink to his best friend.


“Here Michio. Try this. It’s quite enjoyable, and I find it both stimulating and refreshing. Something we could both benefit from after all of the missions we’ve gone on today.” The young Uchiha sad holding out a cup to the Kaguya.

Shinken shook his head as he watched his friend’s expression turn sour. Michio had no appreciation for the finer things in life. It was always something sickly sweet or something that wasn’t good for you with him. Even if he became the strongest ninja in the world, he’d be lucky to live past 65. The young Uchiha brought his own cup up to his lips and smiled. The sweet grassy scent of the green tea mingled with the floral smell of the cherry blossoms as the steam drifted into his nose. He placed his lips on the cup and let the hot liquid touch his tongue. The flavor of the tea always made him feel relaxed, but it also sharpened his mind.


As he placed his cup down on the table he let himself think over the day’s events. He thought about that man and what he could have possibly been hiding. If it was a threat to the village wasn’t it his duty to steal it back for the Kazekage? At the same time he was already in enough trouble and he had just gotten reinstated as a sand ninja. He decided to let the matter drop. The best course of action he could think of was to bring it to the Kage’s attention later. That way if the Kage did want to see what the scroll contained then he could send whoever he felt could best accomplish the task and Shinken would be absolved of any guilt or responsibility.


His thoughts were interrupted as Sayomi placed a bowl in front of him. He could smell the spicy desert peppers and the salty miso broth. She gave him a smile and sat down next to him with her own bowl. The Uchiha bowed his head to her in thanks and picked up his chopsticks. As he brought the first mouthful of noodles to his lips his nose burned from the smell of the spice. The corner of his mouth upturned into a smile. Usually when someone made spicy ramen for him they didn’t use enough of the peppers. The Uchiha liked his food with an insane amount of spice. Not surprising for someone who regularly spit out fireballs. Sayomi on the other hand wasn’t handling the spice so well. Her face went bright red and she began to sweat.


Shinken had to hold back a laugh as he saw the Chuunin trying to hold in her discomfort, but after about 45 seconds she couldn’t handle it anymore.


“Nyah!!!” She grunted as she reached for the glass of water. Shinken looked at her and tried to reach out for the glass before she could get to it.


“No! Dun drik the watah!” Shinken shouted with a mouthful of ramen. The water would only spread the spice around and make her mouth burn even worse. She didn’t heed his warning though and began to gulp down her drink. After a few moments she looked like she was going to spit out a grand fireball. Shinken ran to the fridge and grabbed the carton of milk before running to Sayomi’s side. He shoved the carton into her hand.


“Drink!” He ordered seeing tears flowing down her cheeks. He couldn’t help but find it ironic that she had made him his favorite dish and was now suffering because of it. He didn’t show that on his face however. Sayomi took the milk and began to chug the milk from the carton. He shook his head. She was drinking it too fast.


“Slow down Sayomi! You need to let it coat the inside of your mouth.” Shinken explained as he sat back down in his spot. She gave him a look that said she didn’t really care what he thought she was going to keep drinking the milk. The young Uchiha sighed and went back to eating his ramen.


By the time they had all finished their meal Sayomi looked like she had just been put through Shinken’s genjutsu again. The young gennin couldn’t help but find it a little bit funny, but he held his tongue. Suddenly there was a gust of wind and a letter slipped under the door. Shinken already knew exactly what that meant. They had ANOTHER mission. He opened it and after reading it handed it to Michio.


“It looks like some thugs robbed that School. They took the headbands. We have to get them back. God damn that stupid merchant and his fake a** headbands! All they’ve done is cause trouble.” Shinken said exasperatedly.

When Sayomi said she was going to join them on their mission shinken felt conflicted. He was sure Sayomi could handle herself, but at the same time he felt like this was his responsibility. In the end Michio said it for him. She wasn’t coming along on this mission. The two gennin were going to find the men responsible for taking those headbands from the school, and bring them in. Shinken had half a mind to break a few bones on the way, just to prove a point, but he figured Michio would have that handled.


Indeed he was right as when he turned to look at his teammate Michio was already out the door and down the steps. Knowing he would quickly be left behind if he didn’t head out now, Shinken gave Shisara a look that said don’t worry I’ll keep him out of trouble, and then he too ran out the door and jumped off the balcony onto the street next to Michio. The Kaguya took off running making his way up to the rooftops and Shinken followed suit. He knew of a faster way to the school but he didn’t dare say anything to his partner when he was in a mood like this. Michio had gotten a lot faster and Shinken was actually having trouble keeping up with him, but he pushed himself harder and managed to mostly keep pace.


When they arrived at the school Shinken saw the writing on the wall of the building and grimaced. Gang signs. So it wasn’t just your average group of thugs that had taken the headbands. That complicated things. To make matters worse he could feel the rage radiating off of his friend. It was like a palpable, living entity hovering over him. It made Shinken uncomfortable. They were supposed to bring these criminals in alive, and somehow he doubted that was even a second thought for his partner right now.


Michio said that the gang members hadn’t been gone long, and then took off in a direction. Puzzled Shinken followed the older gennin. It wasn’t until they stopped that he had time to wonder exactly what the Kaguya was going off of. He didn’t have to wonder for long as someone kicked Michio in the face and then took off running. Shinken cursed loudly as he saw the Kaguya take off running after his attacker. He was going to have to keep him from killing the idiot who kicked him in the face. Indeed that was the case when he saw Michio pop his claws. He cried out and told him to stop. He saw the older gennin lower his claws just in time as his assailant plowed into him. Shinken was forced to step in as Michio started to choke the life from the young man. He placed a hand on Michio’s arm and told him to stop.


The young man seemed to be terrified of Michio and for good reason. He was exuding an aura of malice that almost made Shinken flinch. As the Kaguya uttered his threats the young criminal’s resolve broke and he spilled the location of the Blood Kings’ hideout. Apparently it was some kind of old hospital. Then suddenly Michio slammed his fist into the man’s stomach and knocked him unconscious. Before he could ask what the hell his friend was thinking Shinken heard a sudden noise and turned to see what it was. Sayomi had shown up and she was still insisting that she come on the mission. Again before Shinken could say anything Michio told her that if she wanted to help she should take the man he had just attacked to the hospital. Shinken followed him if only to speak his mind.


“What the hell was that back there?! Are you crazy? You could have killed him! The mission specifically says NO CASUALTIES.” Shinken said almost angry with his friend. He didn’t want to get suspended again on their very first day back on the job. Still he could see why Michio was so angry. These guys had taken the headbands from a group of kids, and not only that they had taken something he had been involved in giving to said kids.


“I need to know you’re not going to do anything we’re going to regret later. Pull yourself together, and lets break a few bones alright? But NO claws!” Shinken said sternly. He was sure his teammate could handle himself without his trademark claws, especially against some two bit thugs.


When they finally arrived at the hospital Shinken stopped a few buildings away, and gestured for Michio to do the same. He analyzed the building looking for entrances and exits. The last thing they needed was for some of these thugs to get away. If they could bring in the gang boss then that would be one less thing for them to worry about in the future. Shinken noted that there was a single front entrance and two side entrances on either side. If he added that to the set of second story windows in the front of the building that made a total of 7 possible points of entry.
“I’m assuming you want to take the front entrance. Direct is more your style than mine, but I have a plan. If I can get in on these second story windows before you assault the front, I can get to the gang boss while you draw his security out front. Once I’ve cleared the inside then I’ll come around to flank them from the inside of the building. Once we’ve taken care of the gang members we can search the place for the headbands. We know there are at least 14 guys in there, but I’m betting there’s a few more than that. Do you think you can hold out long enough for me to do my half of the plan?” Shinken asked as he scanned the area for any security placed outside.


"Sounds like a good plan, Shinken. You do what you feel you need to, and I'll be sure to try not to kill the ones I'm dealing with." he told his partner, extending his claws and focusing. Any ripples in his skin flattened out as Michio created a layer of bone underneath his skin to prevent penetration and therefore unnecessary damage. He scoffed when his partner asked him if he could hold out. "Of course I can handle them and hold out. These guys aren't even shinobi. They don't stand a chance." Michio said as he got ready to leap into the fray. Shinken sighed and shook his head. The Kaguya just didn’t listen. The only thing he could do was hope that those claws were only used for defensive purposes.


With that Shinken made a dash down to the streets and up into the window of the hospital building. He gave Michio a hand signal that told his partner to move in and then headed inside. The first thing he noticed was a distinct lack of security. It was like these guys didn’t expect retaliation for their theft. Either they were over confident, or stupid. Unless of course they had tightened up security around the headbands themselves and the ground entrances. Still it seemed foolish to not have at least one guard at a possible entrance. Did they have less men than the two gennin originally thought? Shinken shook the thought from his mind. The only thing that mattered was getting his job done quickly, more so to save lives than because he was worried about Michio.


As Shinken made his way down the hall he heard two men whispering to each other about their daily haul. These men were parasites feeding off of the fear of innocent people. That struck a chord in the young Uchiha. He gritted his teeth and slowly crept toward the sound. When he was sure they were just around the corner he leapt out from behind the wall and launched a kick aimed at about chest level. His attack connected with a shorter man’s chin sending him flying backward. Shinken let his leg continue toward the wall and used the momentum of his kick to push off of it launching himself into a flying punch that connected squarely with the second thug’s jaw. The thug dropped like a sack of bricks and Shiken turned to face the criminal he had knocked away with his kick.


The man was clutching his jaw with his right hand, and bleeding from his mouth. He gave he gennin a death glare and pulled a blade out of his pocket. It was a short tanto knife, but it was still long enough to be lethal if Shinken got careless. The thug let his bloody hand fall to his side, and he charged the Uchiha. His speed was impressive for an average thug, but nothing compared to a shinobi. Shinken was able to sidestep the blow by pivoting on his back foot and rotating his torso out of the way. While avoiding the attack the gennin reached out and grabbed hold of the man’s wrist, before striking sharply at his fully extended elbow. There was a sickening pop as his arm bent the wrong way and the knife clattered to the floor. The thug’s cry of pain was cut short as Shinken delivered a rising back elbow to his chin knocking him unconscious.


The young Uchiha wasn’t sure if the noise of the scuffle alerted any of the other criminals in the building, but he did he the sounds of combat below. Michio had already started his assault. Knowing that time was of the essence Shinken threw off all pretense of stealth and began to run through the halls. It wasn’t 30 seconds before he ran into another group of thugs. There were three of them this time. Shinken clenched his jaw and cursed internally. He didn’t have time for this. He had to find the Blood Kings’ boss and take him out. Then it occured to him that this might in fact be a blessing. If he only took down two of the three thugs he could interrogate the last one for the information he needed.


As soon as the thugs saw Shinken they drew their weapons. One had a thick iron chain, another had a knife, and the third had some kind of club. The gennin knew that he couldn’t get hit by the knife, but he could afford a few blows from the club. The chain was a wild card. If the man actually knew how to use it as a weapon it could be a particularly hefty threat. If he didn’t then it was something Shinken didn’t really have to worry about. That made his priorities very clear. He would take out the knife wielder first, then the man with the chain, and he would interrogate the man with the club. Having made a plan of action in the blink of an eye Shinken was ready when the thugs got to him.


The first attack came from the chain. The man wielding it swung it down in an overhead blow. He was obviously trying to use it’s range to catch Shinken off guard. He was going to find that tactic sorely lacking as the Uchiha quickly stepped to the side. The follow up came in the form of a lunge from the knife wielder. This one was harder to avoid as he had predicted Shinken’s dodge. The young gennin had to think fast or he was going to be turned into a kabob. He did the only thing he could think of. He struck the man’s arm from the side he was moving toward, throwing it away from his body. The knife narrowly missed, grazing the Uchiha’s cheek. Blood started to drip from the thin cut, but Shinken wasn’t nearly out of the woods yet. The third man followed up his two companions’ attacks with a heavy swing of his club. The young gennin was close enough to a wall now that he was able to kick off of it and change his momentum. He was only able to move enough to bring his shin up to block the blow however. When the club slammed into his leg he felt a sharp wave of pain surge through him. He retaliated my throwing a kick with his other leg that slammed into the man’s neck.


The man with the club stumbled backward, but Shinken wasn’t finished yet. As he fell toward the ground he reached his hand out and used it as a pivot point to rotate. As he did this he swiftly extended both of his legs delivering powerful kicks to the chests of both the chain user and the knife wielder. As they stumbled back the young Uchiha pushed off of the ground and launched himself into the air again. Still spinning he flew forward toward the three thugs. When he got into range he delivered another powerful blow to the knife wielder's jaw knocking him unconscious.


Shinken was caught off guard when the man with the chain recovered his balance and lashed out with his weapon. The iron chain struck shinken in the chest sending him tumbling back down the hall. As he tumbled across the floor the young Uchiha got back to his feet, sliding back down the hall for almost a meter before he stopped.


“Well...That wasn’t half bad.” Shinken said as he wiped the blood from his cheek. Without any warning the young gennin dashed at the chain user, who tried in vain to strike the boy. The young ninja was just too fast for him, sidestepping and rotating around the attacks as if he were water flowing around a rock. When he reached the chain user he delivered an uppercut so strong it knocked the man off of his feet. The thug fell to the ground and went limp. Shinken had knocked him unconscious.


It was then that Shinken turned his attention to the third man, who to his credit was still willing to fight. He came at the Uchiha with big telegraphed movements. Even without the sharingan active he could see these attacks coming from a mile away. As the young ninja stepped forward into a double handed overhead strike he spun around slamming his back into the man’s chest. As the club came down in front of him shinken grabbed hold of the man’s left arm and heaved him over his shoulder, using his attacker’s own momentum against him. The man hit the floor with a heavy thud, and for a moment Shinken was afraid he’d knocked him out. When the man groaned and started to get up Shinken put a boot to his throat.


“Where is your boss?” He demanded as he applied just enough pressure to the man’s throat to make it hard to breath but not impossible to speak. The man gave him a defiant look so the Uchiha briefly applied double the pressure, completely cutting of the man’s oxygen supply and causing him immense pain.


“I’m not going to ask again. Where is your boss.” The gennin demanded in an even sterner voice than before. The man began to cough loudly when Shinken let the pressure off of his throat.


“Go….Go to hell!” He growled. Shinken shook his head and activated his sharingan to pull the man into a genjutsu. Here in this world the Uchiha was wreathed in flames, and there was choking smoke all around. The man found it hard to breathe, and Shinken just smiled.


“Go to hell? I’ll gladly take you there myself!” Shiken roared inside of the genjutsu. In the hallway he was perfectly silent. Back in the world of the genjutsu the young ninja’s skin burned away leaving only living flame and his face took on the visage of a demon. The man screamed utterly terrified of the monster that now stood before him.


“He’s on the third floor! Don’t eat my soul!” The criminal shouted as he cowered, covering himself as best he could with his arms. Shinken dissipated the genjutsu and smirked.


“That wasn’t so hard now was it?” He said darkly, before he kicked the man brutally in the face. A few of the thug’s teeth flew out of his mouth along with a spurt of blood and he went limp. Having rendered five members of the gang unconscious Shinken quickly made his way to the third floor of the hospital. Waiting there at the reception desk were two rather burly looking men, and one smaller, but scarred individual.


“So, you made it past the patrols huh? Well I guess you’re here for these headbands. Too bad. Finders keepers.” The scarred woman said as the two burly men stepped in front of him. One of them pulled out knuckle blades and the other drew a short fat blade that was narrower at the base and slightly wider at the tip. It wasn’t a long blade, but it looked quick and easy handle.


“My boys here will take care of you real good.” The scarred woman said, her voice filled with malice. Shinken didn’t like the look of these thugs. They actually had proper stances and their weight distribution seemed more refined. Not only that but scanning their form he found far fewer openings to attack. The young ninja was also surprised by their speed,. They could almost have matched his speed when he fought Hanako. Though they didn’t have the advantage of the sharingan. The still weren’t fast enough, the young Uchiha had been training his speed heavily over the past month and this was where that training would shine.


As one of the thugs came at him with a jab of his blade Shinken ducked under it and struck a quick counter jab into the soft spot under his arm. Before he could follow up with anything else he was forced to take a step back as the man with the sword took a swing at him. The young gennin could feel the wind coming off of the blade. If he had waited even a second to dodge that attack he wouldn’t have two arms anymore. He couldn’t fool around in this fight.


As the young ninja took several steps back toward the stairs he had come up he assessed his tactics. These two seemed to cover each other’s advances quite well. When one left an opening the other struck. That made these opponents more dangerous than average thugs. They obviously had some kind of combat experience.


Before he could properly formulate a strategy the two man advanced on Shinken again. The young Uchiha still had his sharingan active and was able to predict their attacks, but with them defending each other he couldn’t find an opportunity to strike back. What he needed was to slow them down somehow, to throw off their reaction times. Even if they were protecting each other they still had to have decent reflexes. There were several different ways Shinken could attack them. If only he didn’t have to take them in alive. His fireball jutsu could end this fight in an instant.


While he was busy trying to think of a strategy the man with the knuckle blades advanced on him and started throwing jabs. Shinken could see them coming. A left, then a right, then two lefts. He was able to duck and weave around the attacks but every time he tried to strike back he had to jump back to avoid being cut open by the other thug’s short sword. Right now he was really envious of Michio’s ability to use his bones as weapons. There had to be a way to get in there he just wasn’t seeing it yet.


It always seemed that the man with the knuckleblades was on the offensive, and the man with the sword was protecting him. If he could take out the man with the sword first he would have a much easier time dispatching the other thug. If there was only one opponent he could easily win with his genjutsu, but against two people with no back up he had no techniques that wouldn’t leave him open. The only thing he could think of was his boiling touch genjutsu, but that required him to get close enough to touch one of the men which wasn’t going to happen anytime soon.
Just when Shinken thought he had their fighting style figured out they switched patterns. Now it was the man with the blade attacking. The change made no sense to the Young Uchiha. The blade had been so good at defense because of it’s length. Comparatively the knuckleblades were far too small to provide an effective defense. When the sword wielder attacked with a quick thrust Shinken made his move. He stepped around the attack putting the blade between him and the knuckleblade user. He used his momentum to deliver a lariat to the neck of the man using the short sword, and then used his neck as a pole to swing around and deliver a kick to the face of the other thug. The move was fancy but it caught the two criminals off guard. At least for a few precious moments he had the ability to go on the offensive. As Shinken’s feet touched the ground he made the handsign required for his boiling touch jutsu and advance on the sword wielder. With his friend temporarily unable to defend him the young Uchiha was able to duck and sidestep his blows while returning fire with his genjutsu. After two successful hits Shinken came in with a flying knee off of a nearby wall. The unexpected direction of the attack caught the swordsman off guard and the blow connected quite solidly with his skull.


The man stumbled backward back into range of his friend. The two of them seemed so switch to more defensive stances, and Shinken cursed. If they were both on the defensive there was no way he was going to land any hits. Something in the corner of his vision caught his eye. There was the glint of steel. One of the men had dropped a kunai. That was exactly what the young Uchiha needed. Now he could attack and defend at the same time. The blades of their weapons just became a lot less dangerous. Shinken crouched down and quickly picked up the weapon. A grin crossed his face as he brandished it to the two men standing between him and the gang boss.


“Oops. Looks like you dropped this. Oh well. Finders Keepers right?” He said mockingly. The Scarred woman who had been watching the fight with some level of interest cursed and glared at the two burly men.


“You IDIOTS!” She yelled as she started to look for a way out. Shinken knew he had to finish this fast. If the gang boss got away with the headbands this whole mission would be a failure. He quickly advanced on the two men, catching them by surprise with his sudden direct approach. The Uchiha decided he would go after the man with the knuckleblades first. It would be easier to block a single sword and dodge the twin blades, and that meant his main focus had to be on the man with two weapons.


The knuckleblade wielder struck out at Shinken with a quick jab and an uppercut. This left him open to a quick but powerful punch to his underarm. The man stumbled back in pain even as his companion struck out with his sword. The young Uchiha was able to bring the kunai up to block the strike, and countered with a swift kick to the side of the knee toppling the giant of a man.


Not wanting to give up the momentum he had gained in this fight Shinken followed up with an uppercut to the man’s jaw as he fell. There was a sick crunch as his jaw gave way under the force of the blow and he went limp. That only left one thug to deal with. The man with the knuckleblades looked nervous and desperate now. He charged Shinken, who easily stepped to the side and delivered a powerful knee to his midsection. The criminal doubled over and began to cough violently. The uchiha used this opportunity to deliver a hard chop to the back of the neck and the man collapsed.


“Looks like it’s just you and me now Boss.” Shinken said as the scarred woman made a break for the exit. He stepped in front of her and extended his leg in a low front kick. It made contact with her shin and took out her left leg causing her to tumble into Shinken. What the Uchiha wasn’t expecting was for her to turn her fall into a punch that slammed into his chin knocking him off balance. His teeth slammed together with loud snap, and he took a step backward slightly stunned. As he regained his balance the young gennin rubbed his aching jaw.


“Not bad.” He said as he threw another kick this time aimed at the woman’s ribs. The woman was unexpectedly proficient in her hand to hand skills. She caught the kick softening the blow to her side and then charged shoulder first into Shinken sending him tumbling down the stairs. The young ninja felt a sharp pain each time his bones collided with the hard stone edges of the stairs, and he was only barely able to land on his feet at the bottom.


“God damnit!” He shouted as he saw her going for a window. They were on the third floor was she seriously going to jump? She had to be crazy. Either that or she had something Shinken didn’t know about. Either way it was bad news.The gennin ran up the stairs as fast as he could and he barely arrived in time to grab a hold of the scarred woman by the back of her clothes and haul her back into the hospital.


“Oh no you don’t! You’re not going anywhere!” He growled as he threw a haymaker at her. He must have telegraphed his movement because the woman ducked his blow and retaliated with one of her own. This time she struck Shinken in the throat. The young Uchiha stumbled back and into a desk as he clutched at his throat. He couldn’t get enough air now. He was going to have to take her out fast, before he wasn’t able to fight anymore. As he proceeded to cough violently Shinken did his best to lead with a more refined assault. Even though the coughing was throwing off his form and his timing he managed to get in a solid kick to her midsection. She let out a grunt of pain and also seemed short of breath. Knowing that he had knocked the wind out of the woman and evened the playing field certainly made Shinken feel a lot better about the situation, but he still had to take her down.


The scarred woman gave the young ninja a death glare as she pulled out a kunai of her own. Shinken cursed the fact that his had fallen out of his hand when he fell down the stairs. The two fighters circled each other even as they gasped for breath. Each looking for a weakness in the other. The young Uchiha was done underestimating this gang boss. She had landed three very substantial blows on him already. He couldn’t afford to be sloppy his in execution of the hand to hand arts, especially now that she had a bladed weapon. If she hit him in the throat with that it was all over for him.


She must have seen a gap in his defenses because she charged him with all of the speed she could muster. Shinken’s first reaction was to take a backstep, and he was glad he did when she swiped across his chest with her kunai, but that had just been a feint as she rotated on one foot and planted a powerful kick to his sternum. Shinken started falling backwards and it was all he could to to flip back onto his feet. This gang boss was really dangerous. For a moment the Uchiha wondered how his teammate was doing down on the main floor, but he shook the thought from his head. He didn’t have the luxury of worrying about anyone else right now.


When the scarred woman advanced again Shinken was ready for her. He pivoted around her charge and using her own momentum threw her into the wall directly bisecting her movement. She crashed against the stone with a dull thud, but quickly got up. However it didn’t take the sharingan to see she was unstable on her feet. Knowing that her lower body was compromised the young Uchiha moved in for the finisher. She tried to defend against his advance with a slash from her kunai, but he blocked the attack by closing in past her weapon’s effective range and grabbing her wrist. WIth the woman’s attack no longer a threat Shinken delivered a brutal diagonal stomp to the side of her knee. There was a sickening crunch as her bone gave way and she screamed in pain. She screamed so loudly in fact that Shinken was sure that Michio had heard it outside.


Having neutralized the gang boss’ ability to flee, fight, or even stand shinken delivered one final strike. An efficient and powerful knee to her chin. Her head slammed into the wall behind her and she was knocked into unconsciousness just like the rest of her thugs.


Now that Shinken had taken care of everyone inside he took the few headbands that the scarred woman had managed to grab before she tried to run, and the ones piled up on the desk, before heading down the stairs to see if his friend needed any help dispatching the criminals that had gone to defend the front entrance.

Shinken saw the broken bodies of men who had obviously had a run in with his partner. The mission had been a rousing success as far as he could tell, but he was missing a few headbands. He hoped that Michio had the rest of them or the two gennin might be in trouble. As he stepped out of the front entrance he saw his teammate. Michio was in pretty rough shape. The Uchiha only had the bruises from being thrown down the stairs and a single cut on his face. He shook his head at his friends lame attempt at what must have been humor and gave him the fist bump he was looking for.


“You look like hell, were the thugs too much for you?” Shinken asked with a cheeky smirk. The Kaguya scoffed before he answered


“You said no claws.” Michio said pompously. Shinken’s smirk turned into a full fledged grin.


“I didn’t think you needed them.” He chided. Michio looked almost offended.


“Try not using your eyes you a**.” The Kaguya retorted.


“Oh yeah you can totally teach me to fight blind.” Shinken laughed as he turned to face the direction of the Kage’s office.


“Wha-you-UUUUGH!” Michio growled and stomped off towards the Kage’s office. Shinken followed him, and when his back was turned the Uchiha made a one with his left hand and a zero with his right. That was one point for him and zero for the Kaguya, who he was glad did not have access to the same technique used to blind him.


When they arrived at the Kage’s office the first thing Shinken did was notify ANBU of the location of the criminals’ base of operations. The village police force quickly moved out to apprehend the already subdued gang members. It wasn’t long before the Kage greeted them in the waiting room to his office.


“I trust you are here with good news.” The Kazekage said with undertones of annoyance in his voice. To be fair giving the headbands back had been Michio’s idea, and it had made the Kage look like a fool. Something Shinken was sure the Kaguya was relishing right now.


“Not just news.” The Uchiha said as he produced the headbands. He hadn’t asked if Michio had found the rest of them and was incredibly relieved when his partner presented the rest of the stolen headbands.


“I also took the liberty of neutralizing the boss of the gang who took these. A large majority of her crew, if not all of them are also on site. I took the liberty of informing ANBU before you arrived. They should be in custody shortly.” The young gennin said giving his head an affirmative nod.


“Well I can’t say I approve of you involving ANBU without my say so, but It is what I would have done anyway, and you have the headbands back. I suppose you can consider this mission a success.” The Kage said as he placed the headbands down on his desk.


“Oh and by the way Michio, you look like hell. I guess those thugs were a little bit much for you. Go get some rest, and I’ll see what kind of mission I can put you on in the near future.” The Kage said with obvious displeasure in his thinly veiled insult.


“I’ve arranged for you two to have another Jounin. This time I don’t want to see you fighting with them or you two are finished as ninja do you hear me?” The Kazekage said sternly. Shinken bit his tongue not wanting to get himself in trouble again. He bowed his head respectfully and waited for the leader of their village to continue,


“He’ll meet you here tomorrow.” The Kage finished with a note of final authority in his voice. Shinken simply nodded affirmatively and grabbed Michio by the arm, before leading his teammate outside. He knew what would happen if he let the Kaguya have words with the Kage. The fact that he hadn’t told them to bring the headbands back to the school didn’t help matters at all.


“Well I guess it’s time for us to head home and get some sleep. I know I sure as hell need it.” Shinken said as he considered going back to his own house to sleep in his own bed instead of on a couch at Michio’s place.