Naruto: Shadow of the Beast

Ritsuko hopped off of the desk, saying her goodbyes to the two ninja as she walked over to her two students. "I'm glad you're both here on ti--Maiko? Are you okay?" Ritsuko asked her girl, frowning. She didn't look like she had gone for a run. She looked hurried, fearful. Almost like she was going to cry. Ritsuko didn't have enough time to press forward as Hyosuke came running towards them, skidding to a halt and panting heavily. "What the hell is wrong with you kids. We'll get there when we do. Why are you all running and jittery?" Ritsuko scratched her head, frowning. Hyosuke panted, looking behind him and frowning.

"Dammit." He cursed lowly. "Okay, um, just act natural or something." Hyosuke told them. Confused, Ritsuko looked back the way Hyosuke came, an eyebrow raised as she heard a loud woman calling Hyosuke's name. "I didn't want her to come but..." Hyosuke was embarrassed. Maiko didn't have parents and Marako's didn't come either. He was the only one whose mom decided to show up. The woman was fast for her age. She quickly caught up, placing a hand on Hyosuke's shoulder and shaking her head.

"Honestly, Hyosuke." She shook her head, "You thought you could ditch me at the flower stall?" The woman crossed her arms, frowning at her son. Her gaze then moved over to Ritsuko, Maiko and Marako. "Oh! Hello!" She greeted cheerily. "You're Hyosuke's teammates and sensei, yes? You're so young! So pretty!"

"Yeah," Ritsuko replied, blushing at the woman's comments. "Ritsuko Akera, I'm the sensei." Ritsuko pointed at herself with a smile. "And you?"

"Oh!" Seika laughed, waving a hand, "Forgive me, I'm Hyosuke's mother! Seika Yamanoue." She smiled at them. To say that Hyosuke was the splitting image of his mother was an understatement. He looked almost exactly like her. The same purple eyes and dark hair. Same skin complexion, even the same ear piercings. "It's nice to finally meet you all! Hyosuke talks about you guys all the time, haha!"

Hyosuke blushed, his cheeks darkening. "Mom..." He groaned.

"Oh, Hyosuke, hush!" The woman reprimanded him. "Maiko is much prettier than you said she was, Hyosuke. His words just didn't do you justice! Oh, you're so cute! You too, Marako-kun! Konoha's young hero." Ritsuko laughed and Hyosuke felt that he might just die of embarrassment.
 
Maiko froze when Ritsuko sensei asked if she was alright, her lip quivered slightly and tears almost seeped out her eyes until Hyosuke showed up. She was very thankful he showed up when he did, or she would've spilled the beans on what happened back at the Orphanage. Marako furrowed his eyebrows, confused as to what the panicked boy was talking about. He threw the last piece of bread into his mouth and almost broke into laughter when he saw why exactly the boy was so petrified. "I-Is that your mom?" He mumbled before the lady rushed over besides Hyosuke, he quickly held his laughter, a mischievous smirk staining his lips.

Maiko quickly blushed at the comment and crossed her arms, she wasn't trying to be rude so she gave her a simple reply with a friendly smile that wasn't usual for her. Then She turned her attention to Hyosuke, did that boy really talk about her behind her back but in a good way? She wanted to get mad, but instead of her markings glowing she found herself blushing harder than she ever did before. Marako smiled charismatically and scratched the back of his head awkwardly when she complimented him.

"Please, don't call me hero. Just Marako," He told her politely, looks like Ritsuko's words actually did affect him. Then he noticed the camera in her hands and remembered the photo they took when they first met. 'Not again!' He thought then looked over Maiko, noticing the blush. He smirked,"Someone has a crush," He whispered over at Ritsuko Sensei.
 
Ritsuko looked over at Maiko, suspicious for a moment before she let it go. There would be time during the mission to ask the girl what the problem was. Hyosuke sighed. Great, this isn't how he wanted them to meet his family--actually, he didn't want them meeting his family at all if he could help it. The Yamanoue clan made it a point to embarrass Hyosuke when they could. And the main contender was right there in front of them. Beaming widely at the team. "You'll get frown lines if you keep doing that, Hyosuke." Seika frowned herself, pulling at Hyosuke's cheeks, "Then you'll lose out on all the cute girls, like Maiko." This woman needed to be stopped. Hyosuke needed her to stop. Like right now. Maiko was already staring at him. And he really didn't want o end up on her bad side. He didn't even want her to know that he talked about them at home!

"Right, of course," Seika waved her hand at Marako's words, "So modest, this one." She then turned to look at Hyosuke, smiling, "Well, let's all get together and take this picture. Oh," The woman fanned her eyes, trying to stop the oncoming tears, "My little boy's first mission!" Hyosuke groaned, frowning, "C'mon now, Hyosuke. Don't dally. You don't want to be late!" He sighed, moving over to stand next to Maiko and Marako as Ritsuko joined them. Being one of the shortest, Ritsuko was naturally in the front while Hyosuke stood near the back.

At Marako's comment, Ritsuko nearly bust out laughing. Maiko acting embarrassed? That was something to relish in. Especially when she was acting so docile with her embarrassment. She snickered at Marako's comment. "Okay, guys!" Ritsuko clapped her hands, as usual. "Hyosuke's mom wants us to take a picture and afterwards, we're heading out. Hopefully you all have everything you need."
 
Chiko sheepishly stumbled against Hyosuke's shoulder, the poor lemur was still tired and his eyes betrayed him when he asked them to stay open. In the group photo they took Maiko stood there, not smiling, just looking away as she had her arms crossed. Hyosuke stood in the center between Marako and Maiko, and bent down in front of them all was Ritsuko, her short figure easily fitting in front of them without covering any faces. The photo came out a lot better than the photos Ritsuko took around a week ago, at least they could all be thankful for that.

Marako was teasing Hyosuke on what his mother told him when he frowned in the photo, "Do you really wanna get frown lines?" He whispered and couldn't hold back his laughter. Finally after their goodbyes and a kiss on the forehead from Seiko to Hyosuke they were off on their "Super Secret Mission". The start of it was nothing new, just a whole bunch of walking down a road that Marako and Maiko have never been on, but Hyosuke knew it all too well. "So what exactly are we going to do over there Ritsuko Sensei? Something cool right?" He had a wide smile on his face, as he looked at their surroundings.

There were the usual oak trees, shadowing over them as they walked down the path. The path was covered in weeds and vines that haven't been trimmed in a long time. It got worse the farther away from Konohana they got considering Marako tripped quite a few times. Marako hopped this mission was worth it, little did he know it was going to be the most simplest task he will ever have to do. Finally, after going over a small bridge that oversaw a small stream there was an open field. He gasped at the wonderful flowers that stained the field, but there was something a little off about the meadow. There was a huge blight, a huge mountain right on the center of it all. "A mountain? We're going around that right?"

Maiko didn't even pay the meadow any mind, she was far too lost in her thoughts to even focus on where they were going. She didn't hear a thing they said and it was almost as if she was in a whole world of her own. She was whispering something to herself, as she bit down on her nails. Something was obviously on her mind and it was only after someone called her name that she would snap out of it. She was wondering the whole time after that incident, maybe she was truly a monster. The idea of that scared her, she didn't know if she should appreciate that part of her or not.
 
"Sh-Shut up..." Hyosuke grumbled. 'Thanks mom, really...' Hyosuke thought. He didn't frown this time, not wanting his mom to say anything about it. He didn't protest the forehead kiss, mostly because the woman would make a big deal about it and they'd be there for another twenty minutes. Ritsuko looked back at Marako, smiling. Hyosuke smirked. Oh yeah, he'd almost forgotten that they were going to do some training on the way. It was the perfect way for him to get back at Marako. As the boy busied himself with bothering Risuko-sensei, Hyosuke looked over at Maiko. "Maiko?" He quietly said, debating on whether or not he should tap her on the shoulder.

"A mountain!" Ritsuko threw her hands up wide, adopting an open stance. "A beautiful mountain. The best mountain! Aoi Arashi!" Hyosuke shook his head at their sensei's antics. "And now, let the training begin!" Hyosuke cast a glance over at Marako, wondering if the boy would catch on. Chiko hopped off of Hyosuke's shoulder, landing softly in the meadow and began gathering up flowers he deemed the prettiest. Squeaking at Hyosuke, the lemur demanded he be picked up once he gathered a sufficient amount. Hyosuke bent down, holding out his hand as Chiko chattered once more.

"What are you going to do with these, hm?" Hyosuke asked. Chiko disregarded the question in favor of tucking the flowers into Hyosuke's backpack. The boy sighed, shaking his head. Ritsuko had already broke the news to Marako and was currently goading the boy into heading up the mountain. Without waiting, Hyosuke ran, jumping and landing on the mountain's side.

"Good! See, Shijima can do it, so can you!" Ritsuko encouraged the boy, a bright smile on her face. "Maiko, too! Maiko, too!" She urged the unusually quiet girl to do the same.
 
"Training...Training?!" Marako gasped and crossed his arms quickly turning to face the other way. "NOOOOO WAY! I didn't think we would be doing this!" He exhaled a bunch of air, taking a glance at the mountain. He blushed and his face went completely pale, almost ghost like. He froze when he looked up at the peak of the mountain that was exerting some beautifully bright blue water. The day they ran up it before, it wasn't raining the exotic water, but today was different. It was pouring, but that's what made this area so strange, it only rained on the peek of that mountain. "Look, Ritsuko sensei, when we ran up the mountain it wasn't a problem. But walking up the side?! Are you crazy?" He complained.

Maiko snapped out of it and looked over at her Sensei, she looked around blandly and it took her a second to take in what Ritsuko sensei had said. She nodded and rushed over to the mountain, swiftly jumping up besides Hyosuke. She focused her chakra down to her feet and stood up, "Come on Marako!" She called, sounding almost annoyed.

Chiko tucked himself into Hyosuke's shirt as he climbed up the mountain and held on tight. Chiko may have been a Ninja animal, but most Ninja animals don't have chakra like humans do. They can at times learn tricks, but can never use it to climb things. But it was obvious the little lemur was just being lazy because he could climb it using his small nails that gives him an advantage on ascending up tall things.

Marako sighed after Ritsuko sensei wouldn't stop asking him to do it, she was definitely tedious and tenacious when it comes to getting what she wants. He walked over towards it, dragging his feet over the leaves, ruining a patch of the scenery before placing his feet against the mountain. It was alright at first since they were still near ground level, "Hey...this isn't so bad." Then they started going higher and about half way they couldn't handle Marako's voice anymore. "Oh god help me, help me, help me, don't look down. No, no, no, shit why am I doing this," He continued to mumble jitterish as Maiko's eyebrow twitched in annoyance.

"Shut the fuck up," Maiko growled and finally started acting more like herself with the nonsense of Marako helping. "Ritsuko Sensei, get him to calm down before I throw him down this mountain," Maiko's threat sounded serious, but she wouldn't do it after the events that took place earlier that morning. It was obvious that her anger issues still needed some work on.
 
"You don't mean that," Hyosuke said, trying to reassure Marako. The boy was freaking out. Ritsuko shook her head. Marako was acting worse than she'd thought. "Marako, she doesn't mean that." And Hyosuke was playing peacemaker. Someone needed to because Ritsuko sure as hell wasn't going to. But she needed to have a talk with Maiko. The girl seemed on edge and that wouldn't do for what they were going to do in the village they were heading to. They knew of Maiko, but they didn't know her name nor that it was her, so luckily, they wouldn't have to put up with that.

"Marako, c'mon," Ritsuko grabbed his hand, pulling him closer to her. "You'll only fall if you let yourself fall. Look, Shijima and Maiko are just fine." She pointed towards the other two who were walking without much of a problem aside from small slips and missteps when they didn't apply enough chakra. "Look, we're close to the summit. There's a lake up there and we're gonna cross it, yup."

Once they reached the summit, Ritsuko sighed. The sun was starting to show itself over the mountain. True to her word, a nice and clear lake was waiting for them. Animals went about their business, taking care to sniff over Hyosuke as they went, the boy reaching down to pet a small fox. "They're friendly up here." Ritsuko commented, watching the animals. They seemed to know there was nothing to fear.

"I come up here alot." Hyosuke answers, "This is the best water anywhere near the village. Really pure." Hyosuke walks towards the lake. "The animals watch over the water and make sure it stays that way, but there's another, smaller lake down the path there. It's just as deep." Ritsuko nodded, getting the meaning of Hyosuke's words.

"Don't wanna anger the animals." Ritsuko held her hands up, "Shijima, Marako, you guys go to that lake. Maiko, walk with me." Hyosuke watched his sensei for a moment before heading down the small path with Marako. He knew Maiko was acting strange, but what did Ritsuko-sensei have to say to her?
 
Marako blushed as he held onto Ritsuko's hand, almost melting away from holding it. When they reached the top and she let go of his hands he dropped down onto his knees so he could kiss the ground happily. He almost cried at the fact they were finally walking on something that wasn't the side of a mountain. After his tears of joy he looked around, noticing the very tranquil scene. Deers scurried through foliage, scavenging for berries to feast on. Fishes flopped out of the water before diving back under, the water wasn't clear, it was a pure blue color. That's probably what Hyosuke meant when he said it was the purest water anywhere near the village.

When Ritsuko sent Hyosuke and Marako off, he noticed the rain from earlier seemed to come to a halt and the animals were all just starting to come out. Marako smiled happily as he bent over to pet the fox with Hyosuke, grinning at how the fox enjoyed being caressed. Chiko jumped out of Hyosuke's shirt and sniffed at the fox, chittering something that the fox seemed to understand because he brushed his tail against the lemur. Looks like Chiko was a pretty good smooth talker when it came to animals, he looked up at Hyosuke while walking besides him and Marako.

"This place is amazing," Marako looked around happily, "But it wasn't worth that climb."

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Maiko walked alongside Ritsuko sensei, not really making any eye contact with her. She held onto her arm with her hand and mumbled something under her breath before sighing. She was scared that Ritsuko would end up noticing, but it was almost obvious now that she knew now. "What's wrong Sensei?" She asked, hoping that she could play it off as if nothing was wrong.
 
"Says you." Hyosuke replies. He glances back at where they left Maiko and Ritsuko. Was there something wrong with Maiko? She was mostly quiet and when she did talk, it was to utter that threat at Marako. To be honest, she seemed a little bit more harsher. Hyosuke shrugged. He couldn't take it personally, since it wasn't directed at him, but it wasn't helpful. Especially when they found out what their mission was.

The lake came up not too far from the path's ending. It was just as clean as the other one, but this one had more animals frolicking around. Hyosuke set down his bag, cracking his knuckles. "Why are you so afraid of heights?" He asked, curious. Marako had yet to tell anyone why he was afraid , all they knew was that the boy was almost deathly afraid of them. And that he had a small crush on their sensei. He could tell by the way Marako calmed down when Ritsuko took his hand. Hyosuke approached the lake, tentatively taking a first step. A few steps in, he was walking across the water until he slipped, falling into the lake completely.

--

"I should be asking you that." Ritsuko replied. "You seem a little off today. You usually don't make such threats." Ritsuko ran a hand through her hair, watching the bang flop back into place. This wasn't the Maiko she'd come to know. Maiko looked jittery and mean-spirited where she would normally be self-confident and snarky. Ritsuko needed to nip this problem in the bud right now.

"Did something happen before you came?"
 
(To anybody who may be reading, our replies will be shorter for a period of time due to personal issues)

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"I don't really have a reason," He answered, keeping his bookbag with him so he wouldn't have to come back for it. He walked towards the water and placed his first foot over the clear lake, after he felt comfortable with his chakra he started to walk over to the other side, stumbling once or twice. But when he saw Hyosuke fall in the water he bursts into laughter and he followed after him, falling into the clear water. He splashed around for a second and took in a deep breath when he finally came back to the surface.

"Honestly, I just...I don't know, I'd rather not die from falling from a high place. Know what I mean Hyo?" He asked as he swimmed back to the other side of the lake. He sat there, breathing heavily as he watched Maiko and Ritsuko talk on the other side. "I wonder what they're talking about..."

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Maiko blushed deeply as to how her sensei figured it all out, there's no way she could tell. She sighed and ran her fingers through her own hair, stopping to look away. "Sensei, do you think I'm a monster?" She asked and took a second after she answered, there was an awkward silence for almost a couple of minutes before she told her the story. "This boy at the orphanage, he would always bother me and well, I couldn't take it anymore."

She told her exactly what she had done earlier that morning. The way she choked him, almost to the point that his neck snapped and everyone was watching. The look of fear in their eyes, it was no longer words of hatred towards her, but the look of fear. She couldn't handle that thought, people actually feared her, and she could see it in their eyes. Even in the eyes of caretakers, there was fear.

"Maybe...I am a monster." She said while looking away, holding onto herself.
 
Hyosuke sputtered out water, splashing around for a moment as he glared at Marako. The glare soon softened as the boy burst into full-on laughter. "That's what you get!" Hyosuke managed to say through his laughter. He swam backwards. Well, if he was already wet, he might as well enjoy the cool water. He could always try again when Ritsuko came over. Chill watched Hyosuke. He hated water and would not go anywhere near it unless he had to. Hyosuke spewed out more water, swimming until he was on the other side opposite Marako. "You're a ninja now," Hyosuke finally said, "You could die from pretty much anything."

It was true. Hyosuke wasn't saying it to scare the boy, but he was just stating the truth. "But we all have that one fear that we just can't get over no matter what, so." Hyosuke wasn't about to divulge his fear. It was embarrassing, to be honest. He just really didn't want anyone to know. Not even his family.

--

"To answer your question, no." Ritsuko sighed. She thought it might've been something like that. "The people who make you out to be are. Just because you're different doesn't mean you're a monster." She shook her head, "You can't let them get to you, Maiko." The orphanage wasn't exactly the best place for Maiko to live, but it was the only place. All of the apartments in Konoha were much more expensive than they had been. "I know it's hard, but you just have to power through it."

It wasn't like Maiko could get an apartment on the money they were going to get from this mission. "Have you thought about moving out? You're old enough now."
 
Chiko hopped over to Hyosuke's head and squeaked as a sprinkle of water landed on him. He quickly jumped over to Marako's head before leaping over to the other side of the lake. He licked at his fur and promptly turned around to swipe at the water, a hiss escaping his lips. Marako felt just as angry knowing that everything in his bag was getting devoured by frigid water, he quickly swam over to the other side and threw his book bag to the side. "Ugh, my book! The pages are soaked!" He groaned and reached into his bag for anything he could save from the water.

Chiko's noise jiggled as he started to sniff at the air, then his wide spacious eyes looked about between Marako and his bag. His hazel eyes hastily turned to Hyosuke, it was obvious the lemur smelled food. It was too late, before Hyosuke could make any attempt to stop the Lemur he sprinted towards the bookbag. "Heeeey! What're you doing?!" Marako shouted, he tried reaching for Chiko who evaded his grasp rather agilely. He squeaked as he took a hold of an extra sandwich he packed for later, he pounced out of the book bag and ran up a tree where he proceeded to eat the tasty peanut butter and jelly sandwich.

"That was for Ritsuko sensei..." He mumbled watching the lemur eat it up in the tree. Chiko burped and a paper came out of his mouth that gently fell to the ground. Marako promptly snatched it off of the ground, looking around, noticing Hyosuke was looking right at him. There was a piece of paper that read, "For the best Sensei in the world, love Marako <3". When asked by Hyosuke as to what was that he just denied anything, "What was what? I don't know what you're talking about."

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Maiko nodded, and began to brood over what her sensei had just said. It was obvious she was right, but it didn't justify her actions. She took a deep breath, "Sensei," They both stepped onto the water, Ritsuko not making a mistake while Maiko almost tripped inside but kept her balance. "I almost killed somebody. They probably won't let me back in after today." She mumbled it, Ritsuko asked her to repeat herself and she finally spat it out. There was a look of disgust on her face, but she stopped herself from crying seeing the boys over to their left having so much fun.

They would be dubious over what was wrong if she walked over with dry tears on her cheek and bloodshot eyes. She ran her fingers through her purple hair, she expected to get scolded and looked away trying not to make any eye contact. "Look I'm sorry, he touched me, and I reacted too quickly. I almost snapped his neck and...everyone saw me Ritsuko Sensei." She told her the full story, holding behind her tears.

"What if I get in trouble for this? What if they won't allow me to be a genin anymore. Sensei, I made a terrible mistake."

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Little did the group know they were being eyeballed by a group of shady farmers that walked up the mountain to get fresh water. They were whispering things to one another, and looked away when Ritsuko looked over. "What are they coming for, don't tell me they're going to interfere with the-"

"Hush Sophia, if you speak about that they will hear you. Maybe they just came around to help the old man and his daughter with the farm," It was an older lady speaking to a younger woman. They shared the same features, it appeared that the older lady was the mother and that was her young daughter. She was probably around the same age as Marako, maybe a year or two older.

Maiko was distracted due to her feelings getting the hold of her, Marako and Hyosuke were distracted trying to stop Chiko from eating a sandwich, but Ritsuko saw them there all along. They spoke in hushed whispers, every time Ritsuko sensei would glance over they would act as if nothing was happening. Finally after getting enough water, they tried rushing down the mountain. They were planning on warning the others.
 
"Obviously it's something if you're trying to hide it." Hyosuke made it seem as if he didn't care, but in fact, he was really curious. "And next time, don't bring peanut butter. Chiko loves peanut butter and he's sure to steal it if you have it." The lemur was known for stealing anything that had peanuts in it at any time. It was part of the reason his mother stopped using peanut butter in things unless she made twice as much as she normally would. A whole batch for the lemur and one for the family. That's just how it went nowadays.

"You don't need to worry though." Hyosuke said as he picked up his own bag, "My mom made more than enough lunch for all of us. Though she's not a miracle worker who can know what kind of books you read..." Hyosuke really didn't want his mom to know that Marako read porn in broad daylight. She'd have said something or would have scolded the boy about it. And Hyosuke would've felt the second hand embarrassment, like he hadn't gotten enough earlier when she showed up.

--

"Believe me, Maiko," Ritsuko put a hand on the girl's shoulder. "You have nothing to worry about. The woman shook her head, there's no way in hell that they'll stop you from being a genin because you almost snapped the neck of some pathetic little kid. I've done much worse and I know people who have done worse than me, and yet here I am. And they're still ninja too." Ritsuko sighed, shaking her head, "Let's just focus on the mission for now, hm?"

Ritsuko looked over to where the boys were, talking amongst themselves as Marako looked distressed. "And when we get back to the village, we can figure out what we're gonna do about where you're gonna live." The housing department didn't do much of anything, to be honest. Ritsuko would have to take it up with the hokage and if he couldn't do anything at the moment, Ritsuko would have to suggest the girl live with her until she could find something on her own. She just hoped the girl would be okay with it.

While her students were distracted, Ritsuko noticed the two women coming up the mountain. From their position near the middle of the small path, she had an easy view of both the boys and the women who were up near the springs. They seemed suspicious. Judging by their clothes, Ritsuko could easily tell that they weren't from Konoha. Their clothes looked threadbare, almost too thin.

She couldn't quite hear what they were talking about, as she had her hearing centered around Maiko and the boys, but they way they hunched over as well as the strange aura around them told Ritsuko that something was troubling about them. She could only wait until they got to the village to find out.
 
Marako glanced over at Hyosuke as he attempted to dry off his 'book', he grinned happily when he heard that his mother packed lunch for all of them. "What did she make?" He asked, enthralled by the idea that he wouldn't have to starve. Chiko hopped down the tree and ran up to Hyosuke's shoulder, biting at his fur and cleaning it before chittering. "Hush you, you ate my peanut butter sandwich!" Chiko growled and chittered back at him almost in anger, pointing right back at Marako. The two argued on, blabbering things to one another and Hyosuke was caught in the middle of it all.

Maiko bobbed her head lightly and began to walk off towards the boys after their conversation, she saw the two ladies walking down the mountain as she walked past. The youngest one looked back at her, and blushed as she quickly looked away. "Hmm..." Maiko brooded over what was wrong with that girl, and Marako was able to notice that look on her face. He quickly stopped arguing with the lemur and asked her what was wrong. "Huh? Oh, nothing. But those two ladies from the village, I think they were talking about us?"

"What do you mean?" Marako questioned her and looked over at the ladies who were now running down the mountain. Some of the water they just gathered splashed out of the basket as they attempted to quickly make it back to the village. It caught the attention of the whole group until Ritsuko walked over them all. "Should we get moving?" Marako asked, he continued to watch them running down the path until losing interest. But Maiko knew something wasn't right.
 
"She made a lot of different things," Hyosuke replied, digging through his bag, "But it's not lunch time so it doesn't matter. You'll find out later." He sighed as Marako and Chiko argued, shaking his head. Marako didn't even understand what the lemur was saying and yet here he was arguing with him. Luckily Chiko was arguing about the same thing that Marako was, so it wasn't that hard to follow. "Chiko, stop arguing. You shouldn't have eaten the sandwich anyway." He scolded the lemur with a wag of his finger. Chiko chittered sadly, bowing his head. Hyosuke sighed just as Maiko and Ritsuko came over. Ritsuko seemed to be lost in thought as Marako and Maiko talked to each other.

"Marako's angry because Chiko at his sandwich and he dropped all of his stuff in the lake." Hyosuke shook his head. The two of them were still pretty wet, as Maiko and Ritsuko could tell. Ritsuko snapped her head in their direction once Marako asked if they should get going. She waved her hand and Hyosuke looked up, zipping up his backpack and effectively hiding the lunches from Marako and Chiko. The lemur knew how to open backpacks, but he didn't want to deal with a mildly angry Hyosuke. The boy was just like his mother in that respect. When they were angry, they were a force to be reconned with.

"Well I didn't see you guys walk across the lake yet," Ritsuko said, "But it looks like you guys didn't do too good a job, so do it again until you can walk without faltering or even thinking about it." Ritsuko walked past them and onto the lake, her transition seamless. It was almost as if she hadn't even thought about it. "Evenly disburse your chakra. You only need a small amount to keep yourself up." Hyosuke nodded and stood up, he looked over at Marako, then at Maiko who seemed a little more subdued at this point and sighed. He could only wonder what was wrong. He didn't want her to get embarrassed or angry becuase he wanted to know. Chiko, not wanting to get caught up in the water fiasco that was about to happen, ran up and perched himself on the branch of a nearby tree. This would certainly be fun to watch.

"We've got about..." Ritsuko checked her watch, "An hour or so before we really have to be in the village." She frowned, hopefully these people were just overly cautious and nothing else. She didn't want them mixed up in anything strange.
 
Marako scowled about, water dripped from his clothing and the top of his hair. The cotton light blue stripes of the Hitai-ate that wrapped around his head now became a dark blue color due to it getting soaked in water. His bright white t-shirt that was compressed against his chest was now see through. He continued to look at himself, noticing his baby blue jacket was completely drenched, all of the things in his pocket were ruined. He glanced back up at Ritsuko Sensei and Maiko, he noticed the two of them were shriveled while Marako and Hyosuke were permeated.

Maiko was no longer engrossed in the thoughts of the morning, she felt a lot more convalescent with her thoughts. She stood at the heels of Ritsuko Sensei with a mischievous smile, almost taunting them for their deficiency in the simple task. Marako was rosy in the cheeks and he wailed obnoxiously, turning around to face the body of water. After a number of attempts going back and forth, constantly tottering into the water, they were able to accomplish it.

He threw himself onto the ground, perching himself against a tree, he was breathing rather heavily from focusing on his chakra over and over. He held his hands in the air, bleaming at his three other partners who actually finished earlier. Hyosuke probably finished after two attempts while it took him almost five. Maiko watched him, a cold sweat slipped down her forehead,"I think you need more work on your chakra Marako."

"Hey, at least I was able to do it!" He pointed at her, frowning.

"After five attempts," She reminded the boy, not being able to hold back her laughter. Marako rolled his eyes and stood up.

"Let's just get moving now, please?"

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Sophie made it home to her peaceful village, watching all the townsfolk farming and walking through the small market in the middle of town. It was a small place, everyone knew each other and it was a placid little village that many people seemed quite happy to live in. But people who live in the big cities can find it to be a boring way of life. There was something that brought the town down though, something that could possibly ruin the lives of many poverty-stricken citizens.

Sophie opened the door to her family's small hut, welcomed by the sweet odor of her father's freshly baked honey buns made by one hundred percent real honey they gather on the weekend. Her dog wagged his tail and barked happily at the site of his owner coming home safely. She set her bucket of water down and walked over to her father, she greeted the strong man with a hug around his waist. He raised an eyebrow and looked down at her, his hoarse laughter echoed through the small house, "Sophie, don't you see I'm cooking." He joked and placed a kiss on the top of her head.

"Dad," She looked up and the tone of her voice startled him. He furrowed his eyebrows and the mood shifted quickly. This had something to do with that man, the one trying to become mayor. He just knew it. "There are ninjas, we saw them up by the mountain."

That's when her mother stepped through the door, she noticed the look on her husband's face and placed the bucket down. She quickly peeked outside, looked around expeditiously before shutting the door. She dusted off her apron and strolled over to the sink to wash the dirt out of her hands. "Marge," The man called her name, looking over, Sophie let go of her dad's waist knowing that the conversation was going to be serious. "Is this true?"

"Yes, but-"

"God damn old man! We spoke to him about requesting jobs, he could've requested it from the mayor and just pay extra!"

"That man is no mayor, he's an outlaw! Taxing us illegal, one day he'll get his."

The man gasped and ran over to the window to close the blinds, Sophie shook rather startled by the way they acted. "How dare you say that out loud? Do you know what could happen if they were to hear you?"

"The same thing that happened with Mr.Shuni," Sophie interrupted, her father looked over, and with sad eyes bobbed his head.

"Sophie, I want you to go to his house and warn the old man that what he did, bringing ninjas here can get him in trouble!" He was saying all of this in a hush whisper, but his voice was filled with animosity. Sophie nodded and sprinted out the house, rushing her way to the Old Man's house. She knocked on the door apprehensively and the man's daughter opened the door.

She was five years older than Sophie, becoming twenty one last month. She was the youngest out of his three kids and she was the only one that lived with him, "What's wrong?" The girl asked. She looked at her, her green eyes dilated in fear by the way Sophie knocked on the door.

"Where's your dad? Ninjas are coming."

"H-He knows..."

"What?!" The man's daughter, Ayako, turned to the side to reveal the elderly man. "Why would you bring them here? You're going to get us all in trouble!"
 
"Fine," Ritsuko said, smiling slightly, "You got it down for the most part, all you need is some practice." She then walked away, the three of them following her down the mountain. Takakumo was within reach. Hyosuke watched Ritsuko closely. She seemed distracted by something. Of course, it was probably those women from the village that everyone had seen. Apparently they had been acting suspicious when they came up the mountain. Maybe their village was just weary of ninja? Some villages were still like that, especially after all of the wars that went on.

So, he couldn't blame them. And he hadn't heard from his family in this tiny village lately, Hyosuke didn't know if that was good or bad. Ritsuko pointed at the oncoming village, "Make sure you're on your best behavior. You're all ninjas representing Konohagakure, so make sure you act like it." Hyosuke was surprised by Ritsuko's words before he realized that she probably knew how the smaller villages felt about the ninja from Konoha. He couldn't exactly blame her for her warning. As they approached the village, it was bustling and lively, though it seemingly quieted some as they walked further into the village. They seemed weary by the headbands that he and his team wore, and Hyosuke kept close to the group. He wasn't scared, per se, but he didn't want anyone to get the wrong idea.

Ritsuko veered off from the group, holding out the scroll as she hailed down a man who seemed to be hurridly passing by. He looked everywhere but straight at her as she spoke and Ritsuko sighed, letting him go and returning to the group, "So Takashi-san's house is near the other side of the village." She scratched her head, "That man seemed afraid for some reason..." She shook her head, shrugging, "Well, let's just get to Takashi-san."

--

The old man moved Ayako out of the way, "I'm aware, Sophie. After all, I did pay for them to come here." He said. The old man had a plan. One that he hadn't revealed to anyone. It was a sly plan that needed to be inacted just like this. "They're just here to do some work for the day, that's all. No need for alarm to be raised." At this point, everything was going smoothly, of course, the old man planned for unknown variables. He had to save this town, he wasn't going to see his beautiful daughter being thrown to those low-lifes in his short time left. He'd do something about it, even if that meant fooling some ninja into thinking they were doing menial work.

"Go back to your home, Sophie." He said once again, "You and your family have nothing to be afraid of. If everyone in the village keeps quiet like they normally would, then they won't find out and we'll be safe for the time being." He hated talking like this. Takashi was a proud man and he wasn't one to be pushed into a corner without a fight. If he was younger, he certainly would've lept into action. If he didn't have his daughter, he would've lept into action, but he didn't want them taking her, much like they took nearly everything else away from their small town.

It didn't seem like they would have to wait much longer. Up the road, Takashi could see the shining glint of a few headbands as well as figures approaching. "You best hurry now, they're coming down the road there."
 
Marako looked around, surveying the small town where they will be doing this "Super Secret Mission," and just by swiftly examining it all he could tell was that this place was just some boring town in the outskirts of Konohana. But there was something offbeat about the quiet village, the townsfolk were closing all of their shades everytime he would glance at their homes. He noticed one man walking his dog and payed him no mind until his dog stopped to sniff at his legs, but the man tugged on his leash forcing the dog to keep walking. Marako furrowed his eyebrows and looked at Maiko who shrugged.

Maiko knew all of their actions all too well, he sped up to stand besides her Sensei as her eyes shifted towards every villager who walked past them. Each one seemed to look away immediately, they all knew they were there, but they were unwelcomed. "They all seem to be scared," She told her in a hushed whisper. There was a lady sitting on her porch with her young son who pointed at the ninjas. He was hopping up and down in awe, "Look mommy, look, ninjas!"

Maiko looked over with a soft smile and waved at the boy, but the lady stood from her rocking chair and grabbed her son forcing him inside. You could hear the boy whining about how he wanted to see the Ninjas and the whines soon led to cries as he didn't get what he wanted. She slammed the door behind herself after taking one last glance at them. Marako exhaled feeling a bit annoyed with how everyone was acting, "Hey Hyo, you said you have family here right?"

Sophie turned around and gasped as a broad smile started to form up on her face. She ran out towards the ninjas, but more specifically towards her cousin, Hyosuke. "Suke!" Oh no, this is what Hyosuke meant. Almost his whole family embarrassed him without even trying, and here came Sophie calling him by that nickname he hated so much. She hugged him tightly and looked at him, she measured her height with his and giggled when she saw how much taller he got. "Suke, looks like you've gotten taller! But...your a ninja?" After a while of talking and slowing the group down she finally decided to let them go, "Listen, when you have time come visit us Suke, and bring your...friends- if you want." She told him, she wasn't too comfortable with the group that was with him.

"...Does that answer your question?" Maiko asked Marako as they kept walking towards Takashi-San's house.
 
Ritsuko lead the group down the path. This village seemed kind of... barren the further they went into it. A quick glance at her students told her they weren't all that excited to be here, but then again, what could she do? It wasn't as if she could suddenly say 'let's go back!' and trade missions with someone. She'd already tried that and was slowly starting to come to terms with the fact that new genin had to take shitty missions, even if their sensei was as awesome as she was. But there was something off about this place. Ritsuko had passed through here not too many months before and it was looking much better than before. And they weren't as fearful of ninja as they were now. Ritsuko could only wonder what happened. Maybe a skirmish between ninja did something? It was likely, after all, this town was only on recent maps, so if you didn't know where you were going, you'd wind up here.

"Uh, yeah..." Hyosuke scratched the back of his head. He did have family here. His aunt and uncle and his cousin, Sophie. They lived somewhere around here and Hyosuke was praying to the gods that they didn't run into each other. But it didn't seem like luck was on his side. Like, at all. "Hey, Sophie..." Hyosuke greeted. She was smiling brightly and the smile just seemingly dropped from her face when she looked at the others. "Yeah, I'll stop by later, mom's been wanting to visit, but she's been so busy." Hyosuke looked over at Ritsuko. He was sure that the sensei could sense the girl's discomfort in the others and he was right.

Ritsuko only subtly nodded, it was so quick, Hyosuke wasn't sure if he'd seen it. But from the look she gave afterwards, he knew he had seen correctly. Ritsuko clapped her hands, "Okay, kids. Let's go start our first mission." Ritsuko's voice wasn't as cheerful and happy as it normally was, taking on a more serious tone. Ritsuko and the others kept talking while Hyosuke stayed a bit behind with Sophie. "Just be polite, we'll be gone within a few hours." Ritsuko told them The old man waved them over, leaving his house as walking up to the gate to meet them. "You're Takashi-san, correct?" Ritsuko said, holding up the scroll. It was garnished with a seal that Takashi knew was from the hokage.

"And you're the genin team I hired." Takashi greeted with a terse nod. "Well, come on in, then." Hyosuke said goodbye to his cousin, running down the path to his team as they entered Takashi's home. "Ayako," The old man called into his home. "Ayako is my daughter, she'll be showing you what you are to do today."
 
Marako glanced at Sophie as she leisurely walked away, she was walking fast with a skip to her step. She was worried about something, and whatever it was Marako had a feeling it wasn't going to be good. She glanced back, to take one last look at the group and that's when Marako noticed the beautiful features on her face. He wasn't really looking at her as she was cuddled up besides Hyosuke, but now he could make up her features and a blush seemed to mark his cheeks. His mouth fell agape but before he knew it Maiko was yanking him along. "Come on lover boy," She rolled her eyes as he struggled for the first two minutes but finally gave in.

Maiko looked at Hyosuke and sighed, "Your cousin may be much more of a problem than I had hoped." He probably wasn't going to be able to tell if she was being sarcastic or serious but by the time he could react it was too late, they finally made it to Takashi-san's house. Marako finally got himself together to align himself with his teammates, not trying to "embarrass" Ritsuko Sensei. The old man seemed to be a very nice man, his house was well kept but it was small and it was obvious his income was small but manageable. He called his daughter's name and she stepped out of a room, she walked over slowly and bowed lightly.

It was obvious she was a busy girl, she wore farming clothing. Overalls smeared by dirt, and a pair of dark blue jeans which seemed to once have been a light blue color. She pulled off a pair of dirty grey gloves that smelled like manure. She held her hand out for Ritsuko but then realized that she probably wouldn't want to shake her hand when she smelled like that. "My apologies, Today was my turn to gather the manure for tomorrow." She smiled softly before clearing her throat awkwardly and turned around. "Follow me," She lead the group out the back door and pointed over at a bunch of unplowed dirt. "We just need you to plow that for us."

"Wait...What?!" Marako shouted and crossed his arms. There goes the not embarrassing Ritsuko. "The awesome mission was plowing dirt?! I thought this mission was going to be super secret and fun!"

"W-Who told you that?" Ayako asked flushed by the boy's outburst. Both Maiko and Marako looked over at Ritsuko. Maiko was cracking, almost bursting into laughter and Marako was scolding his sensei as if she were the child.