Finding Myself [Rewrite]

ch. 11: The girl with a Fan

Days after adopting the lions, Mina was able to set off on her first black ops mission. Silver, at the time, was reluctant to go, but it has been too late to reject. Rejection would mean death at that point since the mission was set, and Danzo had given the order.

The mission was an assassination task with no time limit as long as it was completed. She had to not only find the targets, but erase them herself. Why Danzo gave her this mission she might ever know, but she wanted to be done with it as soon as possible so she could go back to her garden.

She had never felt more at peace than when she was staring at the plants with her friend, and she'd be dammed if she was taken out before she got to do it again.

To get to the target's location would be no east feat, since their location had been reported as being in the sand village. It would take, at the very least, three days to get there, and three to get back. Since Mina was not physically fit, and even if she were, she was certain it would take her a minimum of eight days to get there, and that would be without rest.

Her butterflies recommended she use one of the beasts she had rescued from death. Thankfully, one of them volunteered without much convincing. The healthiest out of the four animals, a black lion by the name of Ren.

With him, the trip there took half the minimum time to get there. It was almost like he were flying through the air, Mina had to double check to see if he had wings or not.

Well, no matter if he did or didn't, she got there when she needed to, that's all that was important.

"Feels so nice here. The sun blessed this land long ago." Sliver whispered in her head, dubbled over in his prison.

The girl carried a single bag in her arms, with the lion who brought her walking by her side. He had transformed to become a smaller version of himself, almost like a dog.

"Kano... Are you okay." She muttered to the butterflies on her shoulder. Their wings looked as if they were wilting from the heat, but other than that, they seemed fine.

Kano said nothing, their wings opening and shutting very slowly.

She didn't seem too concerned, but Kano could tell the girl was worried by her eyes. Her eyes never lied once, even though she herself my not realize it. Mina always came off as cold and unfeeling, but Kano discovered that she simply can't express herself like a normal child. It's not that she doesn't want to, or for a lack of trying, but she just cannot.

It's as if every once of emotion was forcefully ripped from her body, only leaving an empty shell of a person.

"I imagine not. Are you able to scout?" She asked, and the butterflies flew off to do as requested.

Mina watched as a few butterflies scattered, hoping for their quick success, because being in the sand village made her feel as if there were something behind her. She couldn't read very well, so she wondered aimlessly through the scorching streets.

The people seemed fearful, very unwelcoming. Kids were playing, but didn't look as happy as the ones in the leaf. The place was just so much more different than she had expected, and yet...

"Ah.... I know her." She mumbled out loud to herself, staring at a girl with short blonde hair in messy pigtails. Her eyes were green and hollow, but she had a confident grin on her face while leaping from one building to the next.

Why she knew that girl, she'd never know, but Sliver stirred when she got just overhead. She smelled absolutely putrid, just like a certain beast he swore to eliminate.

Their mission got more interesting, all because of that girl with the fan.