Naruto Akatsuki Souzoku

[Vexond]

Makoto stood still panting. He was tired. He pulled out a kunai knife and held it close to himself. Everything was silent. If something was to move he would be able to hear it but the only thing he could hear was the water of a nearby lake moving.

"Where are you?"

Makoto walked forward slowly. At the same time something came up behind him. He quickly spun around and stabbed it with the kunai. Two more came from other directions and started to attack. Makoto jumped back and performed hand signs.

"Fire Release: Piercing Flare Jutsu"

Fire came from his mouth and hit one. The other one stood on the ground.

"Two water clones down....two more to go. But where is the other one?"

Makoto heard movement behind him again. He wanted to turn around but the clone was still in front of him. Then a loud noise caused him to turn around. He turned around and saw a swarm of kunai knives being thrown at him. He performed hand signs again, this time different ones.

"Water Release: Aquatic Surge Jutsu"

Water raised from the lake and surrounded Makoto. Every kunai that was thrown at him was deflected. One that was deflected was sent back at the water clone and destroyed it. The other water clone ran towards Makoto. His Aquatic Surge Jutsu was done. He had nothing to protect him now. Makoto pulled out his saber and ran towards the clone.

"Double Ended Sword Technique"

Makoto jumped in the air, twirled the saber around, and pierced the water clone with one end of the blade. The clone faded back into water.

Makoto fell to the ground. He laid on his back and looked up at the sky. He was still breathing hard.

"There's nothing like a good day of training."

He pulled off his headband and stared at it. The symbol of the Mist Village shined brightly in the sun. He was proud to finally be a Genin.

[Shadalicious Reminisce]

Kei laughed at the ninja, they sounded like two year olds. “Are you that desperate to prove to your father Ceon?? I really don’t give a flying fu….” He was cut off by one of the ninja cutting Ceon, but he just brushed it off, if Ceon was too pathetic to get out of a hold like that, he deserved to just die. Kei was much to pissed off to care about any of what was going on, and he continuing to leave, eventually getting so far that all he could see was the ninja and Ceon in the distance…………

Daaku was so disappointed that his team was such trash. Raiden wasn’t that bad, but he didn’t do much more than just stand and stare at everything, making him no better than Zen, or Tsukasa. Not paying attention wasn’t really something that Daaku did often, but when he was aggravated, or had a lot on his mind, it could happen, and very easily. He felt a sudden thump on his left side, and skidded to a stop, and spun around, glowering.

“Watch where the hell you are going!!!!”
“Watch where the hell you are going!!!!”

Kei looked to see his adopted dad, and frowned, picking himself up off the ground and glowering back at his dad at the same time. “Geez, you almost killed me. I hope Ceon isn’t dead, that would really suck for him, but that is too bad right now.” Daaku didn’t say anything, but he wondered what Kei meant by this. He opened his eyes, and reopened them, causing a flux in chakra inside his eye that extended his field of vision far beyond what his burakkuai did normally.

“He looks fine to me, but what are with the ANBU attacking him??”

Kei rolled his eyes. “Wow you can see that far with those eyes. That is kind of creepy. You should ask you dumb ass nephew. He sent us on a training mission and had us attacked by ANBU as you say.” He looked down at the ground. “I mean we are a two man cell, and he sent ninja that strong after us, that is too much, I mean I know the training is hard, but come on!!!!!!! It pisses me off. I mean I can’t deal with Ceon acting so overconfident and then when it comes down to it, he is a loser.”

“Well, I’ll tell you why I am out of it I suppose.” He sighed, and sat on the ground for a second before standing back up. “My team is worthless. They don’t work together, and have no skills, nor coordination on how to work together. They even think they know more than me about genjutsu, and I am the sensei. The overall evaluation is pathetic, they can’t even handle a genjutsu and realize afterwards that it was not real. Geez.”

They looked at each other.

“I know exactly how you feel.”
“I know exactly how you feel.”

[Chaotic Misery]

Ceon watched as Kei left him behind. "He left me? Asshole." Ceon said calmly. He then headbutted the ANBU behind him and elbowed him hard in the stomach. Without a second passing, Ceon grabbed the ANBU by the arm and flipped him on his back. "This sucks ass. I'm going to get something to eat." Ceon said as he dashed off. The two ANBU dashed off towara Arashi. Ceon made it to the Ramen shop in no time and went inside. "Hey let me get some spicey ramen. I mean the most spicey ramen you got." Ceon said as he sat at the counter.

Just then Ceon looked to his left to see Zenith and Tsukasa. Zenith was hot and that was no lie. He couldn't believe Kakashi could make a daughter so fine. "Yo Zenith and Tsukasa. What's up?" Ceon asked them as he waited for his ramen. The ANBU had made it back to Arashi and told him everything that happened. "Well I figured that was going to happen. I was hoping it wouldn't. Well It was a last minute assignment since I woke up late. Should've just made them fight me or something. Wait. I remember something Naruto told me about his training and his first mission. I'll do it." Arashi said with a grin, "Go get them."

Both ANBU nodded and went to tell Ceon and Kei the message to meet up with them at the front of Konoha.

[Vexond]

Makoto got off the ground and put his headband on. He had been a Genin now for a couple of days but he was still without a team. HE walked over to his bag and put it over his shoulder.

"I guess I'm done training. I'll go back to the Mist Village."

He started walking for the village. He began to think. Not alot of shinobi from his village became genin this year. He had heard of a couple graduating with him but most of the people in his year didnt pass the test to become a genin. And the only new squad was Team 29.

He reached the gates to the Mist Village. He nodded to the man guarding the gate as he walked past him.

[Kissui Tensai]

"You never knew you had a sister? Well you do..." Sin smiled, noticing that he was with his students at this moment, it now just kicking in. "Well, she is really cute, takes much from her mother. Even though she looks a lot like Shira-sama, I can see your father in her eyes, that tenacity."

"Oh yeah, since I already gave it away, your Daifu did marry the 4th Raikage..." He scratched his chin a bit. "To think the great Sureiyaaku could even settle down, that really changes all perspectives doesn't it? A man I use to think was purely evil has found someone who has cleared his mind, a fresh breathe of air if you can even say that? He is obviously happy with her, and hell when we are having are missions together, that's all he can talk about. Of course, he hasn't forgotten about you, he just hopes you haven't abandoned him. Remember you were the one who changed his life."

Rayex's light bulb went off, he knew it.

"Sano and Shira-sama finally connected as I expected. Still not that surprising that I have a sister now...he always was a smooth operator. I miss'em actually, it's been such a long time since I've seen daifu, he helped to liberate us in a sense as I him. Any chance of getting in contact with him soon, most likely not granted you have to cross the battlefield just to get there. Kusa's been taken over by Iwagakure shinobi so The Hidden Grass are swamped with the enemy." Rayex sighed and slurped some more of his house special ramen.

"God, train them well, just don't go over board like someone we both know all to well... I will be around, just yell my name if you have anymore questions, it's late, time to sleep."

"Aye. Night comrade." Rayex said with his words to set in easy.

Rayex looked to old man Teuchi (lol omg, the first time his name has ever come up!) A warm-hearted smile emerged across his face, now full of eagerness to see his little sister and see Sano after all this time. He'd began to wonder how it is they've been doing for his absence, with Ryoku gone, he also wondered about him too. Having been back in Konoha for three years he'd not heard or seen a hint of him anywhere, but he was sure Ryoku was doing well in his time away.

"Ok guys. Team 17 will get it's first mission tomorrow. Meet me inside the academy, take the first door on the first floor to the right reading "Mission Reception" and follow the hall to the first door on the right down the hall. Their we'll meet with Iruka-sensei and Hokage-sama for your first assignment mission as a new team. I'll be waiting, be there at 9 o'clock A.M. sharp. We've got a few missions on hand to get out of the way, all simple odd jobs before the serious stuff comes, so don't complain to Kakashi-sama when he assigns you them. Got it?"

Rayex was kind, yet firm to the three of them.

[Chariot of Fire]

There… They had him!

Or so Asumo thought. Quicker then his eyes could register, the metallic location where he had located the Sensei shifted. In fact, he had not been intensely concentrating on the magnetic field; he would have lost it completely. Virgil had shot forth faster then he could see, and even as the mist thinned slightly, he could tell that something had gone wrong… How did the Sensei move that quickly? How could he possibly have known, what with the genjutsu in place? However, even as he thought these words, the answer hit him like a slap in the face…

The Sharingan… of course, those crimson eyes… Asumo had known that they could see through genjutsu if focused correctly, but he had never expected Negavix to use them so quickly… A true Uchiha in action… So this was the power of the legendary clan that was no longer topped the entire world with its genius shinobi… However, Asumo had no time to ponder these… He was too busy trying to keep track of the magnetic field he had once known to be the Sensei’s… The clones were all shooting across the lake as well, and now it became like a game of cups…

When Daeus was a kid… in the Asumo Clan, he had often played the game of cups. Twelve metal cups were placed on top of a wooden table. One of the cups would be colored brightly, while the others were a normal steely gray. The player would be blindfolded, while the others mixed around the cups to the best of their ability…. The idea was that the player would have to track the colored cup using only his/her Kekkei Genkai, his Magamma Netika…

All of the cups were now shooting around the field, but only one was colored… Asumo had always been great at cups, but this was not twelve metal cups on a wooden table… These were fifteen clones of a powerful Uchiha Jounin… And Asumo was using every fiber of focus to try and keep track of the real Uchiha… All the magnetic fields were the same, just like all the magnetic fields of the cups were the same… It became a matter locking onto this one, and trying not to get confused with the other magnetic fields, no matter how many times their paths criss-crossed….

Don’t lose track…

He thought he heard his name shouted, but he did not respond. His miniature clones were gathering information about what was happening to his team mates, but he couldn’t listen. If he lost the Sensei now, it would take forever to find him again… He didn’t have forever if his instincts were correct. However, every bit of resolution faltered, when he realized the magnetic fields were all shooting toward him… They were coming for him… However, just as he began to step back, they all stopped suddenly, halting about fifteen feet from where he stood on the edge of the shore…

Asumo Daeus realized that he had closed his eyes out of pure concentration… The magnetic fields had stopped moving, and he slowly opened his eyes, cracking them open as the light of the day shone into his glazed eyes. Fifteen clones stood before him, unmoving. Asumo then realized he was breathing heavily, his hands clenched tightly together in some abstract hand seal in his attempt to concentrate. He slowly relaxed his hands, lowering them slowly to his side as he looked forward at the fifteen clones sitting there… Well, fourteen… The real Negavix was definitely among him. He had tracked his magnetic field here… But…

This was the trouble about cups. You never actually knew if you were right until they lifted up the blindfold, and you saw that colored cup sitting their, innocent as a newborn baby…. Until Negavix revealed his identity, he wouldn’t know for sure if he had tracked correctly… He could have messed up, followed the wrong magnetic field… And then they spoke…

"You've got distictive properties. I'm sure your aware of it by now, the true one is among us. All clones solid, lacking a sloppy form. Shuffled in have I amongst them, I’ll leave it to your judgment to pick the real one out. If you can't, Ky will be sleeping for a long time and Vergil will drown. I can't say you guys shouldn't have seen this coming, but as apart of your decision. When an enemy takes your comrades captive and you’re left with a nearly impossible choice, it comes down to this."

Asumo stood there for a moment, the Sensei’s words washing through his mind like the dense waters of Kiragakure themselves… He thought he knew which one it was… but he could be wrong… He may be good at cups, but he had lost before… But as he watched carefully, he noticed that none of the clones attempted to shuffle themselves further… That meant, whatever guess he had it was good as any…

Ky and Virgil? He could see now, listening to the information his miniature clones relayed to him. Ky had knocked himself unconscious attempting to free Virgil from a water prison jutsu… What with the dense water of Kiragakure, that would be near impossible to break through… Damn… but the clones knew what to do if things became messy…

Asumo stood there, his eyes passing from clone to clone, although this was just a stalling tactic. If he had to guess, he knew which one he would guess… But that wasn’t enough. Although he doubted that Negavix would actually let Virgil drown, he was an Uchiha. He still heard tales about how that one Uchiha many decades ago slaughtered his entire clan… Who knows what he would do?

“Luck…” he said plainly, cracking his right thumb as he continued down the line, “I’ve always had horrible luck…” It was true. While Asumo was a master at planning, at strategy, at analyzing information, luck was not his thing. Intuition, not his strong point… But the enemy wouldn’t take that into consideration of course…

He stared at the group, stepping back one step to get a further look at them… There had to be something… A telling sign to tell the difference… Or at least to confirm if his guess was correct… He didn’t want to directly try and get out of this situation… Negavix was far more powerful than him, and Asumo knew that any attempt to try and get him directly would needlessly result in failure... Still… he would have to have insurance…
“I pick…” he stated calmly, while inside, his mind was quickly twisting with possibilities. What was different about one of them? When they had spoke, was there any anomaly? What could he discern? All it would take was one thing, one little difference that would alert him to the accuracy of the one he had tracked…

“I pick,” he repeated, his mind suddenly clearing with realization of a single fact… Was it that simple? It was the one he had tracked, or so he thought… When the clones spoke at first, there was a single one that did not… A single one, who’s lips had remained shut before they raised their fists and spoke secondly… “You, Sensai.” He raised a single, slender hand, and with a finger the length and skinniness of some pencils, pointed to the Negavix on the far left to his right… He tensed slightly as his finger pointing accusingly at the real one… or who he thought was the real one. His body was ready, his mind focused, and his chakra rippling softly in his system… If he had picked wrong, it paid to be prepared…

[Nebula Zero]

"Boy, that was good!"

The moon had risen in the sky. Small, twinkling stars made their wake with the moon, splattered for all to see. Azuke had finished his meal and leaned back a little to bask in his satisfaction. What a great way to end the day, he thought. He should probably rest, and prepare for the day ahead. Rotating in his seat, Rayex approached him and his team.

"Ok guys. Team 17 will get it's first mission tomorrow. Meet me inside the academy, take the first door on the first floor to the right reading "Mission Reception" and follow the hall to the first door on the right down the hall. Their we'll meet with Iruka-sensei and Hokage-sama for your first assignment mission as a new team. I'll be waiting, be there at 9 o'clock A.M. sharp. We've got a few missions on hand to get out of the way, all simple odd jobs before the serious stuff comes, so don't complain to Kakashi-sama when he assigns you them. Got it?"

Kakashi-sama. He hadn't gone to his office for a long while. The last time he went was when he was experiencing troubles with his kekkai genkai. It would be a warm welcome, he thought. "Gotcha." replied Azuke. A mission was a mission, and he wouldn't fail his sensei. He picked up his Einlanzer from the wall, and said goodbye to the old man and his wife. He looked at Yuki.

"I'll walk you home. Night can be dangerous." he said to her. Azuke saw that Kai was already gone, already affirming his participation for tomorrow. Night was also the time when his Clan House was under siege by its own members. Such brazen memories were attempted to be forgotten, but it always seemed to come back to him.

"C'mon. Let's go, Yuki."

[Wasilis]

"Come on! We're not gonna let her beat us are we?" said one of the two teammates of Washicki. "Well, you are right!" Washicki replied and simultaneously he formed a hand seal. "It's my turn! Goukakyuu no Jutsu - Great Fireball Technique!" he yelled. He placed his hand to his mouth in order to control the flame. Then he drew chakra from his mouth into his chest and he exhaled it. Finally, he blew a stream of fire which erupted into a large sphere of flames.

[obbsessed fan]

Yuki sighed with satisfaction as she finished her meal. She looked over to her teammates to see they enjoyed it equally as well.


“That was delicious” Yuki complimented the chef. Which he only replied with a smile and nod.

She noticed that the street lights had come on. It has been a good day, but she spent a lot more energy than she normally does, which is saying a lot because she barely does anything at all, usually tricking or persuading other people to do her work.

Ok guys. Team 17 will get it's first mission tomorrow. Meet me inside the academy, take the first door on the first floor to the right reading "Mission Reception" and follow the hall to the first door on the right down the hall. Their we'll meet with Iruka-sensei and Hokage-sama for your first assignment mission as a new team. I'll be waiting, be there at 9 o'clock A.M. sharp. We've got a few missions on hand to get out of the way, all simple odd jobs before the serious stuff comes, so don't complain to Kakashi-sama when he assigns you them. Got it?"

She sighed, 'Man this sucks... that means work tomorrow, so begins the joyous life of a genin' She thought sarcastically.

She looked over to see Kai nodding, understanding the orders, then he took his leave. [i]'Hmm, looks like he has other things to attend to.

Azuke turned to her . "I'll walk you home. Night can be dangerous." Azuke offered.

He was right of coarse, there is danger here with so many ninjas. Even though she never had problems getting home, she appreciated the sentiment non the less and was happy that someone offered. Although, she would be a little self conscious about the place he was going to take her, she wouldn't know how he will react to the poor side of town.

Yuki nodded at his offer. “Thank you.” she smiled. Then she turned and lead him in the direction of her house.

As they were walking, they were getting nearer to the disrepair of the poor side, so she tried to distract Azuke with some light conversation.

“You have some amazing jutsu and strength Azuke, no wonder why you were at the top of the class, I was lucky to get you and Kai on a team, even if it was because of my poor exam grades.”

[Kissui Tensai]

There was but a small lapse in the momentary wait. The fifteen remaining mizu bunshins and yet one student remained to relieve the other's of their plight. Asumo. Truly Negavix wasn't wrong about him, his intuitive skill was developed to an adequate level for a genin. They'd only just started and down to one it stood. Within the water, as strong as steel, Vergil lie thinking he would drown but in actuality it was only mere containment, the water was breathable. Elsewhere on the frozen lake, Ky, lay fast asleep set for about roughly five minutes.

His decision to pass or fail.

It was time for Negavix to make that decision. He needed to do one more test, of intelligence and judgement upon Asumo, since he would need to be their lead given the situations of war and how Negavix could be summoned to fight at any time. His final trump card, a ruse if you will, he would need to trick him into thinking he was wrong. Chances were against him that we would be wrong, but this wasn't likely as he knew the boy had keen instinct. So he opened his eyes, one from the center catching him with his gaze and so forth his genjutsu was placed after the words...

“I pick, You, Sensai.”

So the genjutsu formed, and what he saw. The figure of Rayex collapsed into a pool of water before him. From the heart of the lot, the other did fall leaving only one left. Not a pleased sight at this, his arms folded and black hair to slick back. He did again renew his sight by opening his eyes again to revere the fury of his eyes as they did distort and form a three converged bladed wheel to resemble three talons dyed in yellow pigment. This was his ancient form of sharingan, passed on from Rayex the day his counterpart and Marx viewed the contents of the forbidden tengu scroll.

"YOU FAIL." A stern and monstrous voice did boom from him in great disappointment. "As much as it pains me to say it, this group, this team, will NOT be moving on to the further motions of the path we call Shinobi. It was a simple thought that Kirigakure produced only the most exceptional of it's ninja, if they should fail THEY DON'T GO BACK THE ACADEMY AND THEY DON'T GET DROPPED FROM THE PROGRAM! IT WAS MAKE IT OR BREAK IT, FRANKLY BREAK IT SOUNDS ABOUT ACCURATE."

Negavix began to siphon the subtle signs and thus extend his palm. He would use a destruction art series technique without the use of the incantation. He'd later attend to Ky and Vergil.

"Before I dispose of you Asumo. Answer me this question, a final reprieve for you. During a mission, the goal is one that is absolute, but when the enemy takes your comrade hostage and your left with the choice to complete the mission or saving your comrade while putting the mission aside or possibly in jeopardy, which would you choose?"

This was Negavix's final mind test of both his intelligence and judgment.

[Nebula Zero]

They began walking to Yuki's house. Azuke knew this part; it was where the lower-class people lived. But his gaze was averted when she tried to create some conversation. What was she thinking, he thought. A street light beamed down on him, and continued to do so. Azuke listened intently.

“You have some amazing jutsu and strength Azuke, no wonder why you were at the top of the class, I was lucky to get you and Kai on a team, even if it was because of my poor exam grades.”

"It's nothing, really. Though I'm sorry to say that your tactic isn't so great." he said to her. He had a decent ability on reading people.

"You don't need to distract me, I understand. I know what it's like, to be near the bottom." he said.

"I don't want you to be looked down upon just because your past wrongs. I believe that people are equal in all ways, no matter how skilled or strong they may be. My mother was of a low class, and yet my father still married her. Class or wherever you come from mean nothing when it comes to the people you care about. With that said, you are just as a valuable team member as me, Kai or sensei." he said. They soon reached her house. They stood a little ways from the entrance. Azuke chuckled to himself and gave her a light, meaningful hug. Separating himself, he said,

"Don't beat yourself up like that. Be happy!" he said with a great big smile, walking away. He had a home to go to, after all. Looking back while waving, he said loudly,

"You better be there on time!"

[Anzai Koyanagi]

Senkou watched his two teammates spring into attack. Seeing the fireball, he pulled two kunai from his sleeve and flung them forward. They went through the flames and picked up their fire. More then likely the knai would surprise their sensei on the other side enough to get a good attack in. He didn't keep his hopes up though. She, though tempered, was still a Jounin.

[Kissui Tensai]

They'd soon left and Rayex after properly compensating Teuchi-senpai for the ramen, given it took a blow to his wallet with Azuke's appetite, he could eat like Uzumaki-san if he were here, he wouldn't believe it either. Still eager to meet his younger sister and see Sano-daifu after all this time it would do some good to his conscience. Lord knows thinking about the incident three years ago made him tread even as this war wages on. The shuffling of jounin past them on the streets, their military was dispatched on the front line within a barracade between Iwa and Kusa, given they'd already taken Kusagakure over by this point.

"This situation of tactics doesn't look to be a pleasant one."

Rayex said as he sighed walking home.

It was funny, even though being gone for such a long time he never actually moved from where he was staying initially. Sano's spread, his dojo-like setting establishment was huge for someone on his payroll, he'd bee compensated well from his assassin days. As the moon was now out, and his genin to meet him tomorrow at the appointed spot, they would take it from there it seemed. As he passed through the courtyard and came upon the porch. He slid the first door open and took his sandals off as he came in. Taking pass down the hall on the right from the outside he slid another door open.

"Welcome home Rayex." Ayumi smiled as she sat to the table eating.

"Oy, Ayumi, how's your day been?" Rayex said unto his wife. "I see you've swelled to a good side since then better it there than."

"Don't push it Rayex, you know I can still nail you through the wall."

"Hehe, still as sexy and tenacious as ever Ayumi." Rayex laughed. "But seriously...I think it's a wonderful thing. We'll be parents you know, thinking about how I'm going to be not only a sensei, but a daifu just like Sano-daifu. I just...I don't know, i want to be good parent and I've had only so much practice with kids." He grinned steadily scratching his head.

"You should do a fine job Rayex, the child's not due for another month however."

"I see, well lets get to bed alright, I've got to be up early as to start team seventeens first mission."

With that, they set off to bed.

~~~~~~~~~

The dark approached.

"Fire when ready Pein." Tobi implemented.

"Aye. Destruction Art: Nine Raging Dragons Nova Blast!"

With great power and speed, from the mouth of the leviathan did a massive stream of concrentrated chakra did fly. If it were to be compared to Marx's Fenric Garganta, it would easily cripple it. At unimaginable heights did their attack fly over the night sky, and several planes. Headed to an old base of Orochimaru's with which triggered a massive explosion to wipe out the northern base, to house all of the lunatics of whom were bred by the curse seals. In a fail swoop, having eradicated not only Orochimaru's old research, but killing potential war tools with the exception of the long since escaped Juugo.

"Holy shit! You blew it away clean! HAHAHAHAHAHA! Thats amazing!"

"Pretty cool indeed. However a mere demonstration, now we've got our first assignments. Onisan, use your eye and open the Negacion, your being sent off in pairs to explore Orochimaru's old bases. Only two three teams of you partnered pairs will be needed. Ryoku and Zetsumei to the western hideout, it was the last one they were located in when Sasuke absorbed Orochimaru, he's got valuable information left. Onisan and Marx to the eastern hideout, if anything you'll discover the remains of Team Hebi, they could prove valuable to us, so don't go killing them you here?" Tobi went off as his word was absolute.

"Understood Tobi-taichou."

Onisan's mask covering his face from piercing eyes and blocking dojutsu probes like byakugan. Behind this mask, his eyes did distort revealing his special brand of spirtual eye trait. The white eyes inhabited with concentric circles to fill four rings on each eye, in contrast to the rinnegan of Pein-senpai. They flicker yelled and around the fingers, the negacion field did swim lifting them up and dimensionalizing near the needed spot.

"Aye Marx. Lets go find these kids." Onisan stated moving through the dark across the water.

[Chariot of Fire]

Failure…

The clones sank beneath the waters as a single one stood resolute atop the surface of the water, a look of anger and disappointment on his face. Asumo’s face remained blank, but inside his innards suddenly dropped at the loss… He had failed… he’d picked the wrong clone… The disappointment in himself welled up inside like the dense waters of Kirigakure themselves… It was his greatest weakness, the disappointing of other people… He couldn’t handle the feeling that others expectations of him had not been met… and now that feeling was festering in his stomach like worms within a rotten apple… He stepped back quickly, his hands rising as he prepared for the worse… his emerald green eyes showed just a bit of pain, not tearing, but widening slightly and his lips curling into a resolute frown. His thin limbs seemed to creak slightly as he quickly prepared for whatever Negavix was undoubtedly going to throw at him. His fingers instantly came together to form whatever hand seal he thought might help him… Unfortunately, none came to mind…

"Before I dispose of you Asumo. Answer me this question, a final reprieve for you. During a mission, the goal is one that is absolute, but when the enemy takes your comrade hostage and your left with the choice to complete the mission or saving your comrade while putting the mission aside or possibly in jeopardy, which would you choose?"

The Sensei had spoken… Asumo felt like stepping back farther with every syllable he spoke, but somehow remained firmly rooted to the ground. His words of disappointment and destruction were torture enough, but now this? A final judgment? A final question? Was there a right answer? If so, which answer might Negavix want to hear? Would he praise Asumo for his logical thinking if he stated he would finish the mission? Would he want him to be compassionate and save his team mates? What would get him through?

However, as these frantic thoughts flashed through his head, Asumo suddenly felt a sudden stillness come over the chaos of his mind… A serenity through the discord… What would he do? During a mission, his team-mates were captured… Ky and Virgil… He barely knew them. In fact, these past few minutes, he had talked to them more then he had ever done in his life… He had no connection to them whatsosever, other then the experience of this battle. Would he save them and forgo his mission if they were captured, like they are now?

“I…” he started slowly, his eyes shifting as he stared into the yellow swirls in Negavix’s face. What did he truly think? What would he truly do? The truth…

“I’ve always thought of it this way,” Asumo said his voice as creaky as it usually was, although this time it rang with certain conviction, “It depends on the mission, but generally it goes like this. There will always be another mission. You only get your comrades once. Once they’re gone, they’re gone for good. You have to weigh that against whatever the success of the mission means… And hell, if its possible…” he smiled slightly… “do both.”

[S/\|T0]

Sano and Joi walked back into the Raikage Mansion. Joi had quickly jumped off of Sano's back and ran towards her mother's office. Casually, Sano followed behind.

As they neared Shira's office, Joi had hastily jumped right in and Sano held the door open enough to walk in before it shut. He fell back against the door and Joi ran up to her mother and gave her a nice hug.

"How was your day, Joi? Was Daddy I good boy?" She smiled, teasing Sano.

"Yes, he was good, Momma. I had a great time today, We went just about everywhere. Daddy actually played hide and go seek with me around the village. He seems to always be tired when he's home." Joi looked over at her Dad. "We ate already, I had Shrimp Ramen!"

"Sounds like you had a great time, that is all that keeps me happy. You mine leaving for a moment while your Mom and Dad talk, Joi?"

Joi looked at her mom somewhat puzzled but was quickly out the door.

Sano only looked at Shira for the moment, he knew what she wanted.

"So, you want me to tell you about the nightmares...?"

"Yes, that's exactly what I want to know. You have been waking up in the middle of your sleep for several months now because of it." She watched his eyes for any sudden changes, pretty much use to any signals Sano could throw.

"Eh... Well... It's been about my past..." He slowly eased the words. "It's been about Sureiyaaku. All this war, it's bringing back horrible memories. He is gnawing on my mind, Shira, and I don't think I can even handle it. Am I losing my grip on sanity, please tell me my love... I don't want to be a bother, but I guess it is true, war effects everyone differently."

Shira was in awe, she hadn't seen her husband like this in a long time. He seemed to always be happy, but he still found his way to hide his pain once again. She got up, walking close to him, grasping him in her arms to comfort him.

"Don't say that to me... You will never be a bother, why would I have married you if that was true?" She held him tighter with each word. "Please, we will cope with this. I just can't stand seeing your eyes filled with so much pain. I need you here, with me..."

Sano felt her eyes beginning to soak his shirt. He held her chin up, planting a kiss on her soft lips.

"And I don't like to see you in pain either, let's get Joi and just relax. We all need it." He put his arm around her and they walked out of the office.

-----------

Zetsumei glared for a moment at Tobi.

'What good are we going to find at an abandoned hideout... Good information, you think we would already figured something like this out...'

"Let's get going Ryoku. We have no time to waste..." He looked over at Tobi. "We will find whatever remains."

His hologram like projection faded out and Zetsumei awoke, with Ryoku still on his side. Getting up, he looked down on his barbaric partner, and waited for him to come to.

'Hurry up already...'