Sold

Bittersweet

Hopping from treetop to treetop, an anbu with a fox like mask ran. He moved without a sound. No heart beat or chakra signature could be detected, even by the greatest of sensory shinobi. To an outsider, it would appear as if he were nothing but a phantom haunting the night. 

Muffled chatter broke the tree line. The scent of alcohol clung to the air. With one swift move of his hand, the anbu erupted in a puff of smoke.

The men and women who spoke turned loud in an instant. Food and drink flew from their mouths as they laughed. In a clever disguise, the anbu slipped around thick tree roots, keeping to the shadows and the comfort of the cold. 

Fire snapped and crackled as another log was thrown into the pile. 

Wet tears accompanied the wailing of a small child, loud and obnoxious. It snapped the men and women from their drunken stupor. 

Kunai weakly held in his hand, a man stood up. "Fucking..." he drawled. "Come on out kid! My friends and I want to help you out." the people around him snickered. He watched as a small figure came out of the darkness and approached the group of seven. The child was thin and malnourished, with his clothing handing off as if two sizes too big. Bright yellow hair and vibrant blue eyes, three lines decorating his right and left cheek, had they been in better moods, the group might just have taken the boy in. 

"Well where'd you come from?" a woman chirped, letting the bottle of sake slip from her fingers. 

The boy tried to speak but only wheezed out dry hot air. It burned his throat and left it scratchy. He began to pick at his neck with chipped fingernails.

"Come on, kid, we-" something warm trickled down the neck of the man. It was viscous and red. Though he thought to reach it, it was too late. The man's head fell from his shoulders and hit the ground with a splash. In a gust of wind the fire was put out, leaving smoke to swirl in the atmosphere. 

The group was sent of high alert and stood up with stumbling legs. A man jerked the boy towards him, placing a kunai at his throat. 

"Try anything else and this bastard dies!" he warned his attacker.

From behind the body, hidden by shadows, a figure stood with its back to them.  Embers glowed and illuminated a white mask, ornate in its details. Through the shadows, and only visible with that dark red glow, stood Fox.

In a puff of smoke the boy was gone. The man holding him back gasped but already found it to be too late. His arm was gone, cut off at the elbow. He was surprised with how little it hurt. In the blink of an eye, his torso slid off his hips. All he could do was watch as the figure slaughtered his group. But he thought that they had been careful this time. The recent killings were only rumours. They were suppose to be safe!

Fox resided in the comfort of the cold, glancing over the bodies on the group. Upon searching them, he found the scrolls his master sent him to retrieve. Now all that was left was to clean up the scene. His master required that all bodies be taken care of. Not so much as a droplet of blood on a leaf was allowed to remain. 

The rising sun crept over the land. Fox ran, bolting as his next mission was to take place the very same day. But Lord Danzo would wish to have the scrolls first. Weaving one simple hand sign, a clone appeared. His clone teleported with the scrolls back to the village, leaving Fox to carry on. Lord Danzo needed these missions finished within the day, and there was still much to do.

*************

Sakura noticed that the sun was extra bright this day. Unable to hold back a smile, she tried to change her mood while on the trail. Nayu was forced to walk beside Captain Yamato in order that she behave better. With Sai beside Sakura, she mulled over potential topics of conversation but always came up dry. He seemed disinterested and distant, leading Sakura to believe that this mission was a chore for him.