[hr][h3][color=Thistle]Azumi “Ami” Taketori[/color][/h3][hr][sup][i]Early Morning || Konoha[/i][/sup][indent] [/indent] Azumi stared at Ai with wide eyes, surprised at the jonin’s small and friendly stature. However, she quickly recovered her smile: Ai seemed friendlier than both of her teammates, which was reassuring. [color=thistle]“H—hello, I’m Taketori Azumi,”[/color] Azumi started awkwardly when it became clear that neither of her teammates was willing to share first. [color=thistle]“In the future, I, um, want to become stronger and find out what I want to do,”[/color] she said after some struggle, glancing between her teammates and captain. [color=thistle]“Nice to meet all of you!”[/color] [indent] [/indent][hr][h3][color=darkgray]Masumi “Sumi” Rinha[/color][/h3][hr][sup][i]Early Morning || Konoha[/i][/sup][indent] [/indent] Maruyama Ai appeared less formidable than most, but her confidence betrayed her strength, and Masumi was sure that there was more to his jonin captain than what meets the eye. [color=darkgray]“Rinha Masumi,”[/color] he said when Azumi finished. [color=darkgray]“I’m going to become a jonin and succeed my clan as heir.”[/color] He glanced at Minori, having concluded his part. [indent] [/indent][hr][h3][color=mediumpurple]Asuka Kurama[/color][/h3][hr][sup][i]Twilight || Iwagakure Outskirts[/i][/sup][indent] [/indent] Asuka’s Anbu mask was a snake. Though she didn’t specifically choose the mask, it fit her well; she had few words and fewer emotions, with or without it on. Her job was to carry out her orders, and she did this with utmost efficiency. Tonight, she was teamed with Sparrow, Rabbit, and Bear to intercept a Iwagakure-Kirigakure jutsu exchange and steal the scrolls involved. According to Konoha’s sources, the exchange was to take place in an isolated sector of Iwagakure. As such, the group formed for the job was comprised of a chakra sensor and ninjutsu, taijutsu, and genjutsu specialists. The sensor-type was to help locate the location of the exchange for the genjutsu specialist, who would then distract the enemy shinobi so the ninjutsu and taijutsu specialists could step in and retrieve the scrolls. The group was currently searching for the exact location of the exchange, with Sparrow performing what he did best—scouting and sensing. [i]Five,[/i] Sparrow signalled. [i]Two,[/i] Bear signalled. [i]One,[/i] Asuka, Rabbit, and Sparrow signalled. Four nods followed, then a silent flurry of motion as the group signed their preparations, Sparrow and Rabbit putting up shadow clones. When they set out, Sparrow led the way as nothing but a shadowy blur flashing between trees. The group of enemy shinobi came into view as Asuka finished her signing. That Kirigakure shinobi preferred to drowse up a light mist whenever they moved would just make her job tonight easier. [b][i]Shōmei kiri no Gensō[/i][/b]—[i][b]Mōmokuteki Moya.[/b][/i] With the Jutsu cast, the Anbu team quickly closed in on the Kirigakure shinobi, Asuka bringing her target down with a few precise lightning techniques. Her role was to set up for attacks, so conserving her chakra for the next strike was of essence. Nevertheless, she signed another genjutsu—[b]Genkaku[/b], to make it seem as if another group of Anbu had arrived—to distract the Kirigakure shinobi still standing. The targets went down, Sparrow rising with the scroll in hand. At a nod from Bear, the group donned their enemies’ garb, Asuka thickening the fog around them as Sparrow tracked down the Iwakagure shinobi. Rabbit slung the retrieved scroll onto her back, and Bear checked the Kirigakure shinobi over, making note of their faces. [i]Four,[/i] Sparrow signalled. [i]Two,[/i] Bear signalled. [i]One,[/i] Sparrow and Rabbit signalled. [i]Zero,[/i] Asuka signalled. [h3] [/h3][hr][sup][i]Morning || Konoha[/i][/sup][indent] [/indent] Asuka arrived early at the small restaurant, since her schedule was clear for the next few days on account of prescribed houserest after her last mission. Overworking herself—that was the excuse her Anbu captain, Bear, had used when he sent her home for the week. Such was her general routine: a month or two of Anbu missions, then a week of forced rest before she returned for more. As a seasoned member of the Anbu corps, she could take as many missions as she wanted, so long as her performance met the mark. And since it always did, Asuka never stopped until her captain told her to. She’d never understood why he cared, since her performance on missions was always up to par, but she’d quickly learned that there was no fighting against his “suggestions.” So, though she didn’t see the point in doing so, she accepted the intermittent weeks of emptiness, when her mind was forced off its usual track of jutsus, missions, and marks. Being sent home to the quiet little flat she paid rent for was never pleasant, though, since being alone with nothing but her thoughts to keep her company inevitably led her mind to wander back to times past—times she always wanted to forget entirely until she’d lingered and become wrapped up all over again. The call from the head of the Konoha police, Sakaguchi Ryuu, therefore, had taken Asuka by surprise. As fruitless as she was sure their conversation would be, Asuka had let her curiosity drive her decision, which led her to where she sat now, watching as the head of police fended off a pair of young civilian women. Sakaguchi Ryuu had been a bit before her time at the academy, but she’d seen him a few times—even spoke with him—after she joined the Anbu, though only from behind a mask. Thus, this would be his first time meeting her, which suited Asuka just fine. When the waiter led Ryuu to her table, she nodded, acknowledging him as he sat. As he settled in, Asuka waited patiently. He’d called the meeting, and he was going to ask the questions, so all she had to do was watch, listen, and occasionally give a response. She would have no expectations for the meeting nor what Ryuu’s investigation might uncover because the decade-old cold case had long faded into an obscurity that Asuka, even on low days, knew would likely never be dispelled. If she’d lacked answers then, she had even fewer now, with years of dust and faded memories to work off of. A buried urn of ashes under a inscribed stone marker was all that was left, and the dead didn’t speak. [h3] [/h3][hr][hider=Jutsu] [hider=Ninjutsu][list] [/list][indent] [/indent][/hider] [hider=Genjutsu][list] [*]Genkaku (“Illusions”) — Yin Release [Genjutsu]: creates illusions in the landscape that manifest as physical objects. [*]Shōmei kiri no Gensō (“Illusion of Lightning Fog”) — Water + Lightning Release [Ninjutsu]: allows Asuka to transmit genjutsu techniques through electricity passed through particles of water in the air. [list][*]Kieru Kiri (“Disappearing Fog”) — Yin Release [Genjutsu]: momentarily disappears something from the opponent’s senses [*]Mōmokuteki Moya (“Blind Haze”) — Yin Release [Genjutsu]: makes the fog appear blindingly thick for a moment.[/list] [*]Takarajima (“Treasure Island”) — Yin Release [Genjutsu]: shows the target their inner desires as to distract them. [/list][indent] [/indent][/hider] [indent] [/indent][/hider] [@SimpleWriter]