Naruto: Black [IC / Not Accepting / Started]

[.:Blu:.]

Inotsu had finished with the treatment of his bruises and continued through the day by paying a visit to the ANBU Chief. Inotsu was actually a bit excited to see the Chief today. He kind of grew fond of the Chief's boisterous nature that seems to have a way of encouraging ANBU members to perform at their best. The same could be said for Captain Uyataka who has led many missions and he served as quite the role model for the other ANBU operatives.

Inotsu had finally arrived at the Chief's office. From inside, the loud laughter of the Chief's voice could be heard. Inotsu knocked on the door and awaited an answer from the Chief. "Huh, come in!" the Chief said. Inotsu entered with a friendly smile on his face. "Good morning Chief, good morning Captain Uyataka." Inotsu said.

Captain Uyataka is a man in his mid-forties. He is rather muscular and was a bit taller than Inotsu by three or four inches. He has short, dark brown hair that bends upwards in front towards the sky. He wore pretty much the same clothing and armor as other ANBU members except his shirt had long sleeves. He always have this confident and encouraging look on his face.

"Oh Inotsu, is good to see you. What brings you here?" Uyataka asked with a smile. "Well I was just going in to check if the Chief had recieved my mission report yet." Inotsu responded. "Oh yeah the mission report. I'll read it later, I'm kinda not in the mood this morning." the Chief explained. Uyataka then moved closer to Inotsu. "He was scolded by his wife." Uyataka whispered to Inotsu.

[Warrior_Tal]

-There was hardly anything to do? Perfecting the new technique seemed to remove most of his chakra; if anything, he could of just spared with Inotsu or Kaemon and practice the new technique later. Instead, he had to use most of his chakra to see how much was needed to pull it off. It did not bother him all that much? In fact, many people always told him to take a breather from training. This seemed to be the result. Lifting his right hand up he glanced at the bandages he secured. Most of his energy was restored, and it felt like his chakra seemed restored, but not all that much. Turning away from the window. Ookami quickly undressed and then dressed in his ANBU gear.... which he had also done some modifications to it.-

-Taking upon his ANBU mask; he looked the front of it over. So little battles concerning A-Rank and S-Rank missions. Well at least it kept him busy aside from staying in the village most of the time. Placing the mask over his face he proceeded out of the room and quickly performed the ram hand seal. In a flash of gray almost white smoke the Hyuga disappeared from sight. His quick reappearance was standing upon one of the Hidden Leaf. His gaze shifted all over the area. Sun shining, clouds moving, and a small cool breeze.-

[i]Beautiful day.[/i]

-His eyes soon fell upon the ANBU headquarters. The building was not as tall as the Hokage mansion, but it did hold into something. It would actually be a little interesting to see what the chief was up to. Ookami placed his hands together and performed another ram hand seal and disappeared through the Body Flicker Technique once more. In a flash of smoke he re-appeared just outside the chief's office. The sound of voices echoed from the door. No doubt the chief was in there with two other individuals. One he recognized as Inotsu, and the other.... sounded like Captain Uyataka.-

-With curiosity in the Hyuga's mind; his right hand lifted up and knocked on the door a good three times and then waited to be addressed to enter into the room.-

[.:Blu:.]

"Huh, come in!" the Chief's boisterous voice bellowed. Inotsu turned around to face the door and then back at Uyataka. "I wonder who that could be?" Inotsu asked himself. "Hey Inotsu, how are have the others been lately? Hopefully, they're doing well. I heard about the group's success recently, it's impressive to see that you kids are growing up. Guess you won't be needing me to guide you and the others along the way huh?" Uyataka joked. "Heh, you can't say it that way Captain. If it weren't for you, I'd probably be the same person with no confidence that I was when I first joined the ANBU." Inotsu said. "Whoa, you don't need to mention things like that. You're giving me goosebumps haha." Uyataka joked.

[Warrior_Tal]

-He really wasn't hoping to make a big scene by entering into the Chief's office? However, knowing him there was always something that needed to be done with the ANBU. After the choice-filled words of the ANBU chief; the Hyuga pushed the door open. There was barley any sound as a rush of cool air hit up against the Hyuga's skin. The brightness of the room dimmed down revealing those who were in the room. He was most right. There was the Chief, Inotsu, and Captain Uyataka? Just as he expected without having to use his kekkei genkai to help out in the struggle. His voice cleared way as he slowly stepped into the room shutting the door behind him quietly.-

[.:Blu:.]

"Huh, Inotsu, hi there, looks who's here." Inotsu said as he pointed towards the Captain. Uyataka smiled as he saw Ookami. "Well if isn't Ookami boy. Long time no see." Uyataka said as he walked over to Ookami and gave him a pat on the back. "Well still Mr. Silent as always huh? Anyways, I'm finally back to the village from my last mission." Uyataka said. "Hey maybe we should go celebrate with a feast." Inotsu suggested.

"Alrigh people, we can have our little reunion later, but now we have something to discuss." the chief said. "Something to discuss?" Inotsu asked. "That's right, a mission has come up and all three of you plus Kaemon is involved." the chief said, giving everybody a moment to take it in.

[Mysterium Tremendum]

Kaemon sat in the medical center with a young nurse holding his left are delicately and examining it closely. The nurse looked closely at the arm before putting it down and speaking up, "The bone is definitely broken, but it seems your chakra is doing everything it can to at least relieve the pain. Under normal circumstanes, this would require a few monthes to heal naturally, but if we accelerate the bone's healing it might be healed in about 30 minutes. The only thing is it will become extremely painful for you. Your bones are a little different from others and you will feel the pain later on once the procedure is over. Your bones are chakra-sensitive and causing them to knit and realign themselves will cause you much agony later on" The news didn't surprise Kaemon, "Fine then, I prefer to have them realigned now. I can't afford to miss several monthes of training and missions, my income won't be able to handle it. I'll take the treatment. " Kaemon finished with a scoff and the nurse bowed and left the room while Kaemon awaited the treatment.

Kaemon walked out the medical center with his left arm feeling a little better. It still felt a little tender around the area where he'd broken it but it would do for forming handsigns. Kaemon turned a bend and quickly walked toward his favorite restaurant to get something to eat.

[BLUR]

Yukan was practicing many of the new taijutsu techniques he had developed over time on a poor, innocent tree when he heard Kaemon ask to spar with Inotsu. They were to only use taijutsu. From time to time, Yukan wouldd look over his shoulder to see how the spar was going. Eventually, he saw Kaemon holding his left arm in pain, but Yukan saw that that didn't stop Kaemon from going right at Inotsu with an attack. Eventually, Inotsu stopped the spar so both of the shinobi could go heal their wounds. Yukan stopped his practice and smiled. [i]"Kaemon showed his strong will, and Inostu once again showed us why he is the most fitting to be the leader of our ANBU squads. Overall, that was a good spar."[/i] As everyone began to leave, Yukan stayed. [i]"I still have more practicing to do before I reach all their levels. Nothing is going to stop me from getting there."[/i] Yukan began performing several hand signs. "Here goes something stupid..." he said aloud. [color="#FF8C00"]"Light Release: Solar Blast!"[/color] He made his hands into a triangle formation and aimed it as far away from anything important as possible. Very bright yellow chakra was emanating from Yukan's hands like smoke. Then suddenly, a bright yellow beam of what looked like fire without any raging flames shot out in a triangular form destroying many trees that were in it's path before exploding at a isolaed place in the training area. "Good, the jutsu has become powerful...and it seems there are no side effects this time," Yukan thought aloud. Upon saying that Yukan felt very weak, and he became dizzy. His head started pounding, and then he fainted.

Close to half an hour later Yukan woke up and realized he was still in the training area. He decided he would not do that jutsu again in the ANBU training area until he had perfected it, as someone could have seen him and thought that he was weak. He began walking, very slowly, to the ANBU headquarters where the chief would be so he could sit and regain his energy, since his apartment was much farther away. When he finally got there, he heard noises on the other side of the door. [i]"I guess some other ANBU are there as well."[/i] He opened the door and saw Ookami, Inotsu, and Captain Uyataka along with the Chief. He tried to stay quiet, hoping no one would notice he wasn't one hundred percent at the moment.

[Mysterium Tremendum]

Kaemon was about to go get something to eat when a thought came to his mind, he hadn't checked in with the chief yet and didn't even bother to check if he had any missions. At that moment, his stomach growled, "[i]Ok, I'll check in with the chief first, than I can go get lunch. If I'm lucky he'll declare it an off day and I won't have to starve through guard duty for some envoy.[/i]." With his stomach aggresively protesting, Kaemon turned in the opposite direction and headed towards ANBU headquarters.

He'd hoped for no missions, but Kaemon suddenly got the feeling that he wouldn't be as lucky as he'd hoped. Some of the regular ANBU that frequented headquarters were a little more frantic than usual. "[i]Looks like its guard duty again[/i]." "Sigh, when will I ever get a break." While he walked down the long hallway, he suddenly came to a complete stop as he clutched his arm to his chest when it suddenly flooded with a searing pain that felt like someone had just set his arm on fire. On top of that, my arm is going to be killing me for the next few hours, "[i]Maybe I can plead injury, my arm isn't exactly in perfect shape at the moment[/i]." With great reluctance, Kaemon reached the chief's office door and carefully slid the door open slowly and walked inside.

[.:Blu:.]

Yukan tried to sneak his way into the Chief's office unnoticed, but his plan failed as Uyataka turned to face him. "No use trying to be sneaky there Yukan. You seem to have forgot who I am huh?" Uyataka joked towards Yukan who just had his cover blown. "Heh, guess you think you were trying to be smooth enough to sneak pass Uyataka here huh?" the Chief joked to Yukan as well. "Anyways, I'm glad that you're here, now we just need one more person." the Chief said.

Suddenly the door opened to reveal Kaemon. "Speaking of the devil." the Chief said as he noticed Kaemon entering the room. "Well, well, Kaemon, long no time no see there. How's your blood techniques coming along?" Uyataka asked.

[Warrior_Tal]

-It actually felt good to be seeing Captain Uyataka again? Out of all the members of the ANBU team, Uyataka was the only one who acknowledged the Hyuga for his act of silence on and off the battle field. He was the only one who helped Ookami boost his confidence about using the Gentle Fist combat style while on missions. He was also the first person who he gave his first internal injuries to. Although it wasn't much Ookami felt all the more relieved to actually seeing Uyataka here. A warming smile came to the Hyuga's face while he stood there. The reactions of each of the teammates were all about the same when seeing Uyataka. Returning the pat of Uyataka's back Ookami stepped forward listening in from the Chief about another mission that consisted of those in the room. Should be something interesting. Ookami was really hoping to actually use his new technique if the time came here on this mission whatever it was.-

[Mysterium Tremendum]

Kaemon didn't anticipate Captain Uyataka being in the middle of the room. He hadn't seen him in quite a while so Kaemon was moderately shocked to see him now, it confirmed that he wouldn't be getting the lunch he'd planned on having as soon as this meeting was over. Kaemon spoke to answer Uyataka's question, "Its never been better, their aren't a lot of scrolls that have a large information on Blood Release but I've improvised and come up with quite a few new techniques." Kaemon paused for a second, "Maybe sometime we can spar and I can show you a couple of them. I happened to see Yukan training with Fire Release and he gave me a good idea for a new technique."

Kaemon turned his attention from Uyataka to stare at the chief, "I assume that since Uyataka is here, we've got a mission that needs to be handled and I don't have time to grab a snack." Kaemon calmly said while gazing at the chief through his mask.

[.:Blu:.]

"Will do Kaemon." Uyataka responded about the sparing question. "Yes, I'm afraid that we won't be able to get something to eat considering the client of this mission payed quite a hefty amount of money for us to make it an urgent S-Rank mission." Uyataka explained as he crossed his arms and leaned against the wall. "Yeah no kidding, the money that paid could power Konohagakure for about two years, but it's no surprise considering our client is of royal blood." the Chief said.

"Royal blood?" Inotsu asked in a surprise. "Yeah, oh here comes the client now." Uyataka said as three individuals entered through the door. The three individuals consists of a large man with short messy, black hair, a man with medium-length, dark blue hair, and a young girl with long, crimson red hair. The three individuals walked towards the front of the room.

"Allow me to introduce your client, Princess Ruri Tasogome. These are her two bodyguards, the large guy is named Sonba and the shorter man is named Kyosuke." the Chief said. "Anyways, your mission is to accompany these three to the Land of Ruins." the Chief explained. "Just plainly accompany these three to the Land of Ruins? Sir, if I may say, there are quite some suspicious factors about this. First off, the Land of Ruins doesn't have an official village. Secondly, if she is in fact royalty, wouldn't she need more than two bodyguards, and finally, even she has two bodyguards then they must be strong enough to take her there themselves, why need the help of ANBU Black Ops?" Inotsu asked.

"You do not need to know much detail. We have paid you to accompany us, not to ask questions." Kyosuke responded plainly. "Inotsu, they're our clients and trust me when I say we can trust them alright?" Uyataka said. "Ugh, yes Captain. Sorry for my suspicion." Inotsu appologized towards the three. "It's fine." Kyosuke responded.

[Mysterium Tremendum]

Kaemon sighed, he'd been waiting the entire time at the medical center for the chance to get something to eat. Now he was wondering when he'd get his next meal.

Kaemon gave the princess a once over, "[i]A royal princess and 2 body guards want ANBU protection? I think there's a whole other story we're not getting[/i]." Kaemon walked over to Ruri and kneeled down to her height before speaking, "Would you at least be willing to tell us what we'll be protecting you from? Your body guards seem very loyal and would make most thieves think twice. If we're going to help you with this, we'll need to at least know what we're fighting so we can prepare adequately." Kaemon looked at Princess Ruri behind his mask, running his mind over her features and the look that was on her face. She looked a bit younger than Kaemon maybe in the late to mid teens, but Kaemon wasn't sure. Kaemon scrutinized the princess heavily, waiting for his answer.

[.:Blu:.]

Ruri was about to talk but was interrupted by Kyosuke. "You don't need to know any details at the moment. Your superiors are already fully aware of the dangers and risks of this mission and have chosen you four to participate in this mission, meaning you are already prepared." Kyosuke answered coldly. Uyataka walked over to Kaemon and placed his hand on Kaemon's shoulder. "It's fine Kaemon, I'll explain the details when it's the right time. Now we need to move, trust me on this. You know I wouldn't any of you in a mission that you couldn't handle." Uyataka reassured Kaemon.

"The full details of this mission can't be explained here." the Chief explained in a rather calm manner. Inotsu was curious on just what kind of mission this was. Inotsu the looked at Ruri, noticing that she was rather depressed and looked as if she was about to cry. "(I guess either way we won't be able to find out now considering this mission is consider urgent....)" Inotsu thought to himself.

[Warrior_Tal]

-The Hyuga was not all in for a mission such as this. His previous mission revolved around being a 'body guard' and all it turned out to be was one of those simple C-Rank missions. He had a feeling that this would be the same? However, considering on how the princess held two body guards as well; there was no mistaking that this could be an S-Rank mission. Being the silent type of the group; Ookami didn't have many words to say. So even if the princess looked over at him or possibly one of her guards. He would not say a word. If it was a protection mission, then that was fine. He had no problems with it. Although more detail should be within it to know exactly what it was they were protecting the princess from.-

[BLUR]

Yukan was glad that even though Inotsu and Captain Uyataka saw him sneak in, that they didn't notice he was a bit tired at the moment. When the Chief told them that this would be an escort mission, Yukan began to cheer in his head. [i]"This is great. This way I don't need to fight anyone while I'm still recovering from using that jutsu."[/i] Yukan didn't like the bodyguards of the princess one bit. They were too suspicious, and they were definitely hiding something. But Yukan didn't care about that as long as it wasn't some S-rank missing-nin trying to kill the princess. Yukan looked once at the bodyguards, and then he looked at the princess, Ruri. She was obviously saddened by something. [i]"Something is wrong here...."[/i]

[.:Blu:.]

"Alright everybody, we'll be departing in an hour. That should give you enough time to pack anything you need, and make sure that you pack well. The journey to the Land of Ruins will take at least five or so days if we move at a moderate speed and get about eight hours of sleep. If we move fast, we should get there in three with five hours of sleep. We'll decide how we'll move once we meet at the village gate. Dismissed." Uyataka explained to everyone. Ruri and her bodyguards stayed at the ANBU Chief's office and so did Uyataka.

Inotsu then left to readied his things. Arriving back at his living quarters, Inotsu began to pack a backpack worth of rations and medical supplies, enough to last them about a week or so. Inotsu also packed his ninja tool pouches to ensure he has the proper tools in case anything were to happen while they were on the road. By the time he was done preparing his things, Inotsu had about thirty minutes left.

Inotsu decided to spent the rest of his free time having lunch. Inotsu was set to depart with a full energy. Before leaving, Inotsu also sharpened his tanto. His tanto, in a way, represented his ANBU pride. Inotsu had his tanto since the very first day he joined the ANBU and it has helped him through countless situations. Inotsu left and locked the door to his living quarters.

[At the Village Gate]

Inotsu arrived at the village gate, well prepared for the mission. Ruri, her bodyguards, and Captain Uyataka had already arrived beforehand, seeing as though they've also prepared beforehand. This was one of those types of mission that came out from the blue so suddenly, but as ANBU Black Ops, you must adapt to any situation. Inotsu was no exception. "Well, glad to see that you're well prepared Inotsu. So you ready to go?" Uyataka asked with a friendly smile.

"Of course. This is an urgent mission afterall." Inotsu responded. "Good. I know this mission has a lot of suspicious parts to it, but the Princess and her bodyguards have their reasons and we should respect that." Uyataka explained. "I understand...." Inotsu responded.

[BLUR]

Yukan nodded after Captain Uyataka was done explaining their instructions. Yukan made it back to his apartment and packed the usual, food. He packed very minimal medical supplies and close to no weapons thinking this would be just an ordinary escort. Since he wasn't in perfect condition, walking to his apartment, packinig, and walking back to the village gate took him the entire hour of free time Captain Uyataka gave the team. [i]"Damn it, if I could only get some rest, then I would be back to normal. I shouldn't have used that jutsu."[/i] Yukan saw Inotsu, Uyataka, the princess, and her two bodyguards at village gate and greeted them. "So now we just wait for Ookami and Kaemon, huh?" he asked Inotsu.

[.:Blu:.]

"Yep, but they shouldn't take too long. You know they're not the types to keep us waiting." Inotsu said. "Kyosuke?" Ruri said in a small voice as she grabbed Kyosuke's arm. "Hmm, what is it Princess Ruri?" Kyosuke asked in a gentle voice, not like how he was to the members of the ANBU squad. "I-I'm afraid to go back...." Ruri said. "Don't worry Princess Ruri, we're here to protect you at all cost, and now with the help of Konoha's ANBU, we'll suceed in taking it back." Kyosuke reassured Ruri.

Inotsu always had a keen sense of hearing. Inotsu could hear the conversation Kyosuke was having with Ruri even though he wasn't close by to them. "(Taking it back? What are they trying to take back?)" Inotsu thought to himself. Inotsu was planning on confronting the matter with Kyosuke but noticed the sadden expression on Ruri's face and decided to let the matter go.

[Warrior_Tal]

-Everything was set in motion; he felt at the top of his game for this escort mission. Although his arm still felt a little weakened from the new technique that really was not going to stop him from going on something like this. Missions were always at top priority for him. Arriving back at his home; the Hyuga took extra precautions by packing kunai, shuriken, exploding tags, some medical supplies, and even a special bladed weapon he had been working on. Instead of his usual ANBU blade; this one was more interesting. It had a holster upon his back for easy access. Checking everything over he finished up by packing some food for the number of days of travel it would take to get to the Land of Ruins. Counting to and from trips.-

[i]That should do it.[/i]

-Looking at the time he noticed it was another twenty minutes before having to meet with the rest of the team. Standing up from his bed he walked over to the window and glanced out it. Lifting his hand up he removed the ANBU mask and glanced out the window watching an older brother teaching his younger brother how to use the clan's kekkei genkai: the Byakugan. His eyes closed for a moment remembering when his own brother was teaching him how to use the Byakugan.-

~Flashback~

[color="purple"]"I don't think I can do it brother?"[/color]

-Came the young voice of Ookami. Standing not far was his older brother who simply smiled at him.-

[color="blue"]"I know you can little brother, you carry the Byakugan just like any other member of the clan."[/color]

[color="purple"]"Yeah but....."[/color]

[color="blue"]"No buts little brother. Close your eyes and perform the hand seals: Horse, Tiger, Boar with nearly straightened fingers, Hare, Rat, Dog, Boar, Dog, Hare, Tiger with lifting just index fingers, Rat, Boar with nearly straightened fingers, Dog and Snake with the right index finger lifted straightly."[/color]

-The younger Ookami nodded and proceeded through each of the hand seals that Hayato his older brother had instructed. His eyes stood close the entire time until he performed the very last hand seal. A few seconds after performing the last hand seal his eyes shot open with the active kekkei genkai. Ookami's vision became more sharp and could see almost everything. After observing around his eyes returned to a normal featureless style. His gaze shifting up at his older brother.-

[color="purple"]"I DID IT!"[/color]

-Hayato nodded.-

[color="blue"]"Good now the more you train in using the Byakugan the less hand seals you will have to perform. Keep that in mind little brother."[/color]

[color="purple"]"I will."[/color]

.......

-Ookami exhaled a breath of air through the memory of his brother teaching him how to use the Byakugan. it was interesting to learn it at such a young age. Stepping away from the window; the Hyuga's gaze looked back over to the clock. Another five minutes. Placing the ANBU mask over his face he picked up the remainder of his stuff and left the room. His quick footsteps moved out of the Hyuga district and placed him en-route to the main gate of Konoha.-

[b]Main Gate[/b]

-Not wanting to be late Ookami had performed the Ram hand seal and used the Body Flicker Technique to get there a little faster. His arrival was just met with Captain Uyataka, Inotsu, Yukan, and the contractors. His calm footsteps approached behind where the princess was standing up to the group to signal that he was finally here. The only person left was one last squad mate that would be arriving any time soon. Ookami's gaze shifted about the people before him; each one were close friends with him, and even they knew about his strong way of silence not during a mission and during a mission. It was his own style in a way.-

[Mysterium Tremendum]

Kaemon waited to hear the answer but Kyosuke beat Ruri to it. He hated having secrets kept from him, he always got the worst end of the backlash from anyone connected to his life keeping secrets. He always questioned why secrets were hazardous to his health, but it just seemed his luck was bad. In his village, he'd once gone on a hunt with a couple people who decided to set a trap for tiger they'd spotted in the area and not tell him. Kaemon jumped right after the tiger when it came into view since he'd assumed that there had been no plan for catching it since it was a common tiger they'd see in the mountains daily and not a very strong one to boot. He fell right into the hole they'd dug for the tiger and scared it off. He berated the rest of group for it, but they just laughed at him!!

Kaemon nodded his head to the princess before standing up, "Very well than, I'll trust your judgement on this. I'm still suspicious of this though, send us on a mission where we don't know the details right away of what we're getting ourselves into. We could be risking our lives on your word that we're good enough to handle it and not know a single detail that could save our very lives. I understand you may have your reasons, but it seems that it would increase our survival chances if we had an idea of what we're dealing with here." Kaemon turned away from the group and faced Inotsu and Uyataka, "I'm even more suspicious that you'd go along with this Uyataka, but those are my suspicions and not of much merit. I'm glad to be following you and I only ask that you lead the way." Kaemon turned about and exited the room.

-----------[At The Gate to Konohagakure]-----------------

Kaemon appeared with his bag of his necessary essentials and stood firm along with Inotsu, Yukan, Ookami, Uyataka, and Ruri and her bodyguards. He'd had enough time to eat and was well prepared for any danger that lied ahead.

[.:Blu:.]

"Well, I'm glad to see that everybody is now present and accounted for. I know the details of this mission are unclear, but I promised you as your platoon leader and even more, your fellow ANBU member and friend, that I would've never brought you four along with me if I didn't think you could handle it. And you can be assured that when we reached the proper destination, I will explain in full the details of this mission. Now, let's get going shall we?" Uyataka explained as he turned to face the road. "Oh, almost forgot," Uyataka said as he turned around to face the group again, "I forgot to assign the order we'll be travelling in." Uyataka said.

"Now let me explained how this'll work. Ookami, you quite possibly have the most important job of this mission, and that is guarding the rear of the platoon. Your Byakugan has an almost 360º field of vision, save the one blind spot. It is the absolute perfect tool for scouting so I give you the important job of watching our backs sort of speak. Yukan, you are an expert mid to long range fighter with your Light Release ability. You have the job of watching out for Ookami. You'll just be one position ahead of him. Kaemon and Inotsu, your combat skills are perfect for guarding Princess Ruri so I leave that job to you and her bodyguards. Lastly, I'll be taking the very front. Now that we have our roles, let's get going." Uyataka explained.

The group then began to head on the route to the Land of Ruins, a place that holds the vast ruins of a cizilization destroyed by warfare. However, Uyataka knows that the place they'll be arriving at is something completely different.

[Five Hours Later]

Two hours into their journey, the group has arrived at a local food shack within the Land of Rivers. Uyataka decided to take a quick stop to get some rest and enjoy some tea and snacks while also getting the chance to take a look of the map he has brought along. "Alright everybody, let's take a quick fifteen minute break before we continue. I'm sure Princess Ruri would like to rest her feet for a bit." Uyataka explained as the group began to take their seats.

Ruri was about to take her place at a table along with the other members of the ANBU squad until her bodyguards took her to another table. "Please Princess Ruri, refrain from bothering the ANBU." Kyosuke pleaded. Ruri didn't oppose to it and just did as she was told. Her face still showed signs of depression though.

Inotsu then looked at the other members at the table with him. "It seems that Kyosuke guy doesn't like us very much doesn't it?" Inotsu asked Ookami, Kaemon, and Yukan. Uyataka wasn't able to join them in the conversation. He was busy studying the route they were taking, hoping to find a faster and more efficient route. It wasn't surprising that he didn't have time to plan it out thoroughly earlier considering that the mission was pretty much out of the blue.

[Warrior_Tal]

-Guarding the rear portion of the group seemed like a pretty important job for perform. Depending on what this mission was really about actually said something. However, since none of them held any of the knowledge of what was really happening it was actually hard to tell what to expect. Ookami's Byakugan was perfect all around in any kind of situation save for the blind-spot. And that was Yukan's job to help him out in case it was targeted. Ookami simply nodded in approval not even ignoring the plan that Uyataka set out for them. Each had their own strengths that backed up someone's weakness. After everything was sent in motion the group set off in the required direction to the Land of Ruins.-

[b]{Five Hours Later}[/b]

-Only two hours into the travel did it seem best to take a break; allow the princess and her guards to rest. Normally, it would be a little easier to travel a little fast, but these people were not shinobi so it would take a little longer. The Hyuga's gaze shifted slightly over to the princess who came over to sit with them, but then was pulled away by one of her guards explaining that she should not bug the ANBU members.-

[i]It's not like we are doing anything wrong?[/i]

-Something inside of Ookami spoke that Kyosuke did not like shinobi of any type to simply pull away someone that wanted to be near the people that were protecting them. Ookami glanced back over to Inotsu who said the exact same thing that the Hyuga was thinking about. No sound came from him. The area that they rested at was a good size with a river that had gently flowing water. The princess seemed to be one of those people who were always alone in the world. It kind of reminded the Hyuga of himself? Before becoming a member of the ANBU team he was always alone and barley any people acknowledged him for his skill. Letting out a sigh; he rose to his feet and stepped away from the table leaving the others to themselves.-

-His footsteps moved quietly over to the river side. The stream was flowing rather smoothly; his eyes shifted down at the crystal like water that held a reflection of himself in it. His breathing remained calm and focused. Lifting his right dominant hand up bandages still covered over it from using the new technique he performed. His ears soon caught onto some footsteps that were approaching from behind. They were footsteps not of any ANBU members but of someone else. Ookami continued looking down at the water waiting.-

[.:Blu:.]

Inotsu watched as Ookami let out a sigh and walked towards the river. "(Hmm, hope nothing is wrong....)" Inotsu thought then turned his attention back to the others. Ruri and her bodyguards sat quietly eating sweet dumplings that they have just ordered moments ago. Ruri wasn't eating however. Kyosuke noticed this and gave her a smile. "Is something the matter Princess? Why aren't you eating anything?" Kyosuke asked. "I-I just don't feel like eating...." Ruri responded in her quiet voice. Like Ookami, Sonba is a rather quiet person. He only gave Ruri a smile instead of saying anything.

Ruri looked up and noticed Ookami had dropped something from his pocket. Ruri then quickly got up and ran towards the object on the ground. "Princess!" Kyosuke exclaimed as he got up and went after her. Ruri stopped and picked up the object off the ground. It was a silver necklace with a rather unique shape. The upper half of it is shaped like a wolf, while its lower half is shaped like a fang. "Princess Ruri." Kyosuke called but was ignored by her.

Ruri simply walked towards Ookami who was by the river. As she reached him, Ruri placed her hand out with the necklace on her palm. "Here, you dropped this necklace." Ruri proclaimed with a slight smile. Kyosuke walked towards Ruri but didn't say anything. Inotsu watched the whole thing from afar and just gave a simple grin. "(I don't think she'll be recieving any verbal thanks from Ookami.)" Inotsu thought to himself.

[Warrior_Tal]

-Ookami's head raised upon hearing the soft voice of Princess Ruri. He turned to the side; his face moving slightly while his eyes shifted down to the princess. In standard height; Ookami was about 5'7" maybe 5'8". Long hair like any male Hyuga member, and tied back only a few inches from the bottom. Like the necklace that he carried Ookami's ANBU mask was that of a wolf. No one knew why? A simple act of fighting alone or other means. His eyes fell down upon the necklace. It had belonged to his older brother who gave it to him when he graduated from the rank of Genin and became a Chunin for the Hidden Leaf. He always carried the necklace with him. It was a sign that his brother was always with him, and another reason why he never spoke out in terms of verbal words. Even Kyosuke's words did not phase the Hyuga. His eyes were completely on the princess.-

-He wanted to open his mouth and speak, but nothing came out. Instead his right bandaged hand moved from his side over to the princesses hand. The necklace in the palm of her hand while she held it out. Before even reaching down to grab it; he closed his eyes and let out a sigh. The memory of his brother was always with him; one of the members of the ANBU black ops and killed in an A-Rank mission just like that. His eyes opened still down upon the princess.-

[i]She's alone in the world, and yet her body guards tell her to stay away from us.[/i]

-The thought moved through his head.-

[i]That doesn't seem to be a way to make friends.[/i]

-His fingers moved into her hand slightly rubbing the necklace. The rough white bandages were a sign of an injury until he finally picked up the necklace with his pointer finger, middle finger, and thumb. Bringing it up to his face he looked it over and then lowered it slightly. Nothing could be seen behind the ANBU mask so a smile was not necessary. Simply he lowered his head down enough to see the back of his head and then raised. A sign of thanks. His gaze shifted across the way noticing Kyosuke standing there with a stern look upon his face. His gaze moved down towards the princess who was showing a smile. Out of the bodyguards she seemed like the only who liked shinobi.-