[center][h1][color=Gold]Akio Tendou[/color][/h1][/center]

Akio let out a small moan as Aoi began to tease her, worried that she wanted to continue where they left off(something she wasn’t against by by means, but then her shower would’ve been for nothing) but to her [s]disappointment[/s] relief, Aoi was only teasing. Taking the card from out of her cleavage and placing it on the cabinet before she put on her combat uniform. She thought about putting on some make-up for the trip, but considering where they were going, it would be a waste. She finished about the same time that Aoi finished her shower, indicated by how she finally stopped her overly loud singing.

She came out already dressed, which Akio didn’t really stop to think about, as the girl’s abilities meant that she didn’t mind getting wet and could probably absorb it up to use for her slime later on. As her harlequin lover called for her to hurry up, calling her by a pet name that Tendou constantly struggled to figure out if she found cute or annoying, Akio made sure to grab her weapon pouch and a carrying a good amount of hidden weapons with her before she followed, closing (and locking) the door behind her. As they walked to the meeting point, Aoi’s hands moved to interlock with hers and Akio returned the gesture, pulling the clown girl closer to her as she did so and placing a small kiss on her nose, just how she liked it.

[color=Gold]“A mission about finding some boogey man kidnapping people in a god-forsaken desert, with as of yet no real leads, within a 3-day time limit? I’m absolutely ecstatic.”[/color] The white-haired kunoichi ran her free hand through her hair as she replied with more than tinge of sarcasm. Excited, more like nervous as all hell, and though she hid it well from most, Aoi would be able to tell rather easily. She had gotten good at reading her, and while the Tendou was getting better, it was still hard to figure out what was going on in the petite Jonin’s mind most times. [color=Gold][i]That’s why I love her, though, you can never know what to expect with Aoi around.[/i][/color]

Akio chuckled, her thoughts helping to calm her down a little, when they finally arrived at the gate. Only one of their team members was here, a rather tall looking chunin by the name of Shouken. As he introduced himself. Kio just gave a nod at first, looking him over with with an evaluating eye.[color=Gold][i]He doesn’t look like a strong fighter, even with that sword on his back, but I’m sure the Hokage wouldn’t send an incompetent on such an important mission. If he’s here, he’s got to have at least some skill, so I’ll give him the benefit of the doubt for now.[/i][/color]

[color=Gold]"Glad to meet you as well, Shouken, and allow me to officially introduce myself and my partner here. My name is Akio Tendou, and this is Aoi Don Maquia, who will be our commanding Jonin for the mission. You probably know this already, but since this is our first time meeting, it's best to introduce ourselves and get somewhat more familiar with each other. Now then, we just have to wait for our final teammate, then I believe we can be on our way to Sunagakure. I wished they'd hurry it along, though, we are on a bit of a time schedule."[/color]

As she finished introducing herself, Akio looked around for their other team member, the Reikan girl. She’d heard some rumors about her, but didn’t out much basis in such things, preferring to make judgements with her eyes rather than her ears about a person. And even if the rumors were true, which doubted, what the girl did with her private life was none of her business. As long as she could hold her own in a fight, and gave Aoi the proper amount of respect, she was fine by the Tendou’s standards. However, if she continued to keep them waiting like this, she wouldn't be fine for much longer.

[@Savato]

[@Assassin]

[@Altered Tundra]

[center][h1][color=DarkOrange]Tatsuya Kajiya-Terumi[/color][/h1][/center]

Tatsuya woke up as he usually did, to the sounds and smells of his mother’s tinkering in their basement. Nothing like the sound of power tools and the smell of alcohol to start your morning, though to him, it would be weird to not here some kind of loud noise in his home. As he got out of bed, he stretched a bit with a yawn, before he heard  slightly different sound to accompany the chaos of the morning. A sort of tapping coming from the window. Dressed in nothing in his boxers, Tatsuya slowly got up to investigate, opening the curtains to see . . . nothing. Before he could start to contemplate if he was starting to go in sane, however, a white mask in the shape of a . . . duck(?) suddenly popped up from the bottom of the window sill, which caused Tatsuya to jump backwards in fright. He had barely held back the scream in his throat, having to swallow it down before he felt was ready to speak again.

[color=DarkOrange]“ . . . Uh . . Hello, Anbu-san, To what do I owe the visit?”[/color] In his head, Tatsuya was trying to think of anything at all he could’ve done or been involved in that would draw the attention of an Anbu. Even though he was 16, he was only a genin. [color=DarkOrange][i]Surely the Hokage wouldn’t -[/i][/color]

[b]“Hokage-sama has called you to join an important mission, I suggest you hurry and get dressed and prepared for a long trip. You’ll be briefed on the details with your team at the hokage mansion. That’ll be all.”[/b] The duck anbu gave a nodded, before using a shunshin jutsu to poof away. Tatsuya was then left to stand their with his eyes wide and mouth wide open, trying to process the information he’d just heard. The thought of a mission from th Hokage was definitely exciting, but he knew that his mother would go ballistic if she found out, and while he’d obviously still end up going, he wanted to avoid the scene. [color=DarkOrange][i]Still, I can’t just leave without saying good-bye . . . I got it[/i][/color]

Tatsuya quickly got dressed in his combat garb, attaching Ketsui’s specialized sheath to his back and putting on the Chakra gauntlet. After making sure everything was in place for the mission, he walked out of his room . . . only to run right into his [url=https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-VEbVPrY3IrI/U-gk5z4hkFI/AAAAAAAADms/X5x_bHPEf8Y/w800-h800/364bf31dbcc24417cc4bef1baaf26ce9.jpg]sister[/url], who had come upstairs to call him down for breakfast. The two went down in a tangle of limbs and curses, which quickly escalated into shouting and blows as the the situation progressed, until a strong pair of hands reached and separated the two, slamming them hard into the sides of the wall.

[color=Blue]“Okay, what the hell is happening here?”[/color] [url=http://orig11.deviantart.net/d37a/f/2009/364/5/2/blacksmith_by_archvermin.jpg]Katsuo[/url] asked, sounding tired and not in the mood to deal with both his wife’s noise and his children’s bickering. [color=Blue]“Manami, when I told you to get your brother down stairs, I meant in one piece, and Tatsuya, what are you doing dressed up like you’ve got a mission to prep for.”[/color]

[Color=LightBlue]“Probably the same reason he loved to wear your apron when he was younger, it makes him feel important and what not.”[/color] Manami added her two cents to the conversation, her voice as mocking as always. This remark caused Katsuo to sigh, wondering why his daughter had turned into such a hateful piece of work. The only time she was pleasant to be around was when she was working, and that’s only because she hardly ever talked.

Tatsuya ignored his sister’s remark, instead taking a breath as he thought about the best way to tell him father, but coming up short of any tactful ways to reword it, decided that t would be best to tell his fatheri straight. [color=DarkOrange]“Well, Dad, I kinda got a mission just right now from the Hokage . . . from an Anbu operative with a duck mask. Anyway, I’m to come to the tower right away, and I would rather not tell Mom about this. You know how she’d react to this, so can I just grab my breakfast and go before she finishes up what ever she’s doing down there.”[/color] Tatsuya hoped that his father would be sympathetic to his need for urgency right now. One should never make the Hokage wait for anything.

Katsuo’s eyes widened at the news, his hands curling up into fists as the anxiety and the anger coursed through his body, before he let it out in a tired sigh, 

[color=Blue]“I’ll . . . I’ll let her know, but I hope you’re out of the village by the time I do, or else who knows what kind of hell she’ll raise over this. Your breakfast is downstairs, eat it and run off, not wise to make powerful men wait. And . . .be careful out there, okay son?”[/color]

Tatsuya nodded, giving both his father and his sister(who was shocked by the news and unsure of how to react) a hug good-bye, before waving them off and double timing it down the stairs. He devoured his breakfast like a vacuum before chasing it down with a nice glass of orange juice, before bursting out of the house and setting a fast pace to the hokage building.

[hr]

He arrived soon enough and only slightly out of breath, looking up at it for a bit, sick with anxiety. His hand found it’s way to Ketsui, the feeling of the sword’s handle in his hand calming him down and reminding him that this is where he wanted to be. If he was going to become a great ninja, this could be the make or break moment he’s been dreaming off to propel him down that course. Entering the building with a slight hop in his step before he quickly calmed himself down, he quickly was directed by one of the helpful staff where the meeting place was, seeing along the way for a few flyers that talked about saving the old Aviary.

[color=DarkOrange]“Interesting,”[/color] He thought, somewhat understanding why someone would want to keep such an old building around. It was a part of their history as a village, a sign of their empire, so to speak, so to have it torn down would be a real shame. However, it really didn’t have any use to it, and was falling into dangerous disrepair because of it. Taking it down seemed like the more practical thing to do. [color=DarkOrange][i]Food for thought, if nothing else, I suppose.[/i][/color] Tatsuya though with a shrug, pocketing the flyer as he continued on to his destination. The staff member had told him he was in a team with a Jonin by the name Tsukiko Umene. The name rang a few bells, having heard about her from people on the street, something about her being ‘dangerously unstable’. 

As he entered the room where the teams were assembled, however, he came across the sight of one older looking boy with scars threatening some girl with long hair, recognizing the girl to be one of the new police detectives and the boy to be the famed Minamoru prodigy.

[color=DarkOrange][i]I’m glad I’m not on the same team as those two.[/i][/color] He thought, noting from what he could see that they were most certainly not friends of any sort, and that the Minamoru guy was just as intimidating as people had said, if not a bit more so. He looked around a bit until he found a woman matching the description the staff member had given him. [color=DarkOrange][i]Damn, she’s hot for ag-no, Tatsuya, focus on the mission. She’s way too old for you anyway.[/i][/color] When he looked back up, he saw a black haired boy around his age walking up Tsukiko, seeming to be offering her chocolates. [color=DarkOrange][i]Is that just a friendly gesture, or is he trying to hit on the Jonin who’s likely way too old for him . . .weird, very weird.[/i][/color]

Deciding that he’d done enough standing around, Tatsuya walked up to the two, clearing his throat as he approached to get their attention before introducing himself.

[color=DarkOrange]“Hi, I’m Tatsuya Kajiya-Terumi, Genin, and it’s a pleasure to meet you both. I already know your name, Tsukiko-sensei, it’s been mentioned a bit around my father’s shop from time to time, but what are rumors and gossip. I’m sure you’re nothing like that . . . right?”[/color] He said with a somewhat nervous chuckle, before his eyes went to his companions weapons, a gleam sparking in his eye as he sensed an opportunity. [color=DarkOrange]“You now, speaking of my father’s shop, we focus on custom orders mostly, preferring to make a weapon of fine quality through ancient family techniques. They’re a bit pricey as a result, but definitely worth every penny spent. But don’t take my word for it, see for yourself the kind of quality you can expect from our store in my very own hand-made sword, Ketsui.”[/color]As he spoke, Tatsuya pulled his blade from his sheath, putting it out in front of him to show off the fine craftsmanship, as it held a good mix of both style and functionality to it’s design, with the latter of course taking first priority.

[color=DarkOrange]“Not only does it look amazing, but it even has special abilities given to it by my family’s specialized seals, inscribed into it during the forging process, though for you that would cost extra. However, if you were to purchase some of our more common wares, like a set of kunai or shuriken, I could try and convince my father to give you a discounted price.”[/color] He gave them a smile, before he re-sheathed Ketsui. taking a second to listen to the blade sing as it slid down the sheath. He held out his hand out towards whoever would be accepting of the deal.[color=DarkOrange] “It would, of course, have to wait until after the mission, but I promise you that it’ll be one of the finest weapons you’ve ever laid your hands on. This I promise you on my honor as a Kajiya.”[/color]

[@j8cob]

[@Partisan]