Wandering Heathens

Mission: Intel and Recon

They stood a safe distance away from the Village, partially hidden by the mist that surrounded the region. "For obvious reasons Kisame and I will not be accompanying you when you enter the Village" Itachi said quietly. Kisame growled and increased her grip on Samehada as she looked at the Hidden Mist Village where so much of her anger originated.

"So instead of participating, you want us to infiltrate and do the dirty work. Am I right?" Shinjo asked as he knelt down to touch the ground. "This is going to be fun!" Ryuu exclaimed but Shinjo brought him up short, "don't be too excited. The Village is full of water users and the environment is full of water. You're screwed." Ryuu's happy expression fell from his face and he clutched his hair in panic, "water?! YOU DIDN'T TELL ME WE WERE GOING TO BE FIGHTING WATER?!" He shouted as he dramatically threw himself against Shinjo who pushed him away.

Itachi watched this exchange with a raised eyebrow. "He hates water users. I suppose they're the enemies of fire users" Shinjo explained. "Mortal enemies" Ryuu said quietly. "Kisame is a water user. You seem to like her" Itachi observed. "Yeah but I don't plan on fighting her!" Ryuu wailed. Shinjo slapped him on the back of his head, "get squared away" was all he said. Ryuu's demeanour changed and he sat upright with a serious expression on his face. "Right" he said as he robotically began arming himself. That's still ingrained in him?

"You two should disguise yourselves. Your exploits are well known and for the purpose of this mission you need to blend in" Itachi instructed. Shinjo nodded as they turned away and walked back into the mist.

Kisame passed out the meals that were packed for them and they quietly ate, lost in their own thoughts. After a while, Kisame asked "how will you disguise yourselves?", breaking the silence. "You'll see" Ryuu smirked and Shinjo chuckled. Itachi and Kisame exchanged a worried look but knew that the men had some skills or else they wouldn't have survived for so long on their own. "We should get some sleep seeing as we need to be up in a few hours" Itachi said and agreement was murmured. The women settled down on one side of the fire while Shinjo and Ryuu lay down on the other side.

Shinjo was laying on his left side, facing the fire. He heard shuffling behind him and then a body press against his back. "So cold..." Ryuu muttered as he pressed close. "You have fire chakra; you should be warm" he reasoned. "Cold." He sighed and shifted a bit as Ryuu snuggled into him, throwing an arm around his waist. Shinjo sighed in irritation but a small smile tugged at his lips and he settled down to sleep.

A pale sun dawned in the sky and Itachi and Kisame began breaking camp. Shinjo yawned and stretched before turning to flick Ryuu's forehead. "I'm awake" came the grumbled reply and they all worked to erase any evidence that they were even there. Standing on the outskirts of the village, Kisame kept watch as
Itachi questioned the men on their plan. "How can you infiltrate the Mizukage's advisors? While I know she's desperate to marry, I doubt you two can just walk in" she reasoned.

"Where is that scroll?" Ryuu muttered as he sorted through his pouch and exclaimed with satisfaction when he found it. It looked old and worthless and Itachi was beginning to lose her patience. Shinjo noticed and held a hand out to her, wordlessly telling her to keep calm. She huffed and crossed her arms while Ryuu walked a little deeper into the mist.

Kneeling down, he opened the scroll and waved chakra over it. Items appeared and he quickly stripped naked before performing hand signs: "Transformation Jutsu!" When the smoke cleared, a lean curvaceous woman with long lilac hair and pastel blue eyes stood where Ryuu once did. She slipped on a pale green kimono and tied a white obi around her waist, adjusting her breasts as she did so. She tossed her old clothes onto the scroll, waved her hand over the pile and sealed it inside. Rolling up the scroll she walked towards Shinjo who took the scroll from her with a smirk. "Nice to see you Yumi" She smiled at him and caressed his cheek, "you too, Jo." Itachi and Kisame glanced at each other before Itachi rolled her eyes and approached them. "We need to start the mission" she said.

Yumi calmly walked into the Hidden Mist Village and looked around. Everyone had a look of meanness to them, even the women and children. She paused to examine some wares at various stalls, appearing to be a woman shopping for her household, as she worked her way closer to the Mizukage's Tower. Shinjo followed her, quietly leaping from rooftop to rooftop, his purple hair slicked down and his robes left at camp. He hid in the shadows and suppressed his chakra signature as he watched her walk through the winding streets.

She approached the Tower and two guards stopped her. "Sorry little lady. Mei's not accepting appointments today" he said to her kindly. "But it's been so long since I've seen him! Is there any way that I can go in?" Yumi asked, pressing her breasts into the man's arm. He blushed and blood began trickling down his nose. He held his nose and waved her through, the other guard having fainted. Shinjo suppressed a laugh as Ryuu easily gained access to what was supposed to be a secure Tower.

He noticed that she flicked her hand to the left as she walked in and he began circling the Tower. There! He spotted an open window and slipped in, landing quietly and scanning the room. Empty but two guards outside the room... Shinjo crept to the closed door and readied blades made from chakra. He quickly opened the door and stabbed the blades into the guard's vocal cords, catching the collapsing bodies and dragging them into the room. He quietly left the room, closing the door behind him, and continued making his way to the Mizukage's office. He could hear Yumi humming to herself as she passed guards and shinobi, eventually making it to her destination.

She stood outside the door with her hand on it. Shinjo hid in the hallway off to the side where he had a good view of Yumi. She knocked and a "come in" reached his ears and he watched as Yumi stepped into the office, leaving the door open slightly. "State your business" a male voice said.