I couldn't get rid of the tickly feeling in my gut. Something kept telling me today would be the day something great would happen. Not a single cloud loomed in the sky, nor were there any complaints of any sort. Today was simply peaceful. Finally, I'd get the break I longed for.

Or so I thought.

"Oi, Kira!"

Kami, have mercy on me. "What!?" I sat up on my bed and tied my raven locks into a high ponytail. I blew my bangs out of my face, which proved useless considering they were long and just below my eyes. Suddenly, my best friend, Tenten, barged into the room out of breath. "What?"

"Hokage-sama needs us. ASAP!" She grabbed me by the arm and dragged me all the way to the Hokage's office.

xoXoXox

"Hah!? You want me to do that for you!?" I couldn't believe my ears. After all the shit I had done for her—seduce scumbags, fight psychos, put my life on the line for the sake of a mission—she had the nerve to ask me to...to...

"Oh, c'mon, Kira. You make this sound so bad," Tenten shrugged and then glared at me as if I had offended her or something. I glared right back and snarled in repulsion.

"You're not the one doing the job! You're only accompanying me to make sure I go through with it! Besides, why does it have to be me!?" I stomped my foot and caused a crack to appear on the wooden floor.

"You'll see soon. And it's just a freaking celebration! All you have to do is show up, act courteous, and—!"

"And wear a fucking dress! A dress! Do you know how defaming that is!? My badass reputation will go down the drain! After all these years I've worked hard to earn it, I can't possibly let it go to shreds because of one stupid mission—Agh!" I coughed as Tenten strung her arm over my shoulder and held me in a chokehold. For a shinobi, she had one hell of a grip that could rival Tsunade's.

"We'll go, Hokage-sama. You can count on us!" chirped the brunette as she exited the room, still holding me in her deathly grip. Tsunade nodded and quirked a brow at my blue face as Tenten shut the door. "Let's go!"

Oh boy.

xoXoXox

"Sorry about earlier! I really didn't mean it, Kira! I'm super, duper, really sorr—!"

"For the last time, I said it's okay, Ten!" I sighed into the salty, ocean air. After our discussion with Tsunade, we immediately set off on our expedition and found ourselves across the ocean. Sure, my neck still hurt a little, but it was nothing I couldn't handle. "Anyway, what exactly do I have to do?"

Tenten's calm expression turned solemn. She coughed into her hand before pulling out a scroll from her white sleeve. She began, "Well, to be completely honest, our mission isn't entirely all that light-hearted."

She looked over her shoulder and made sure no one was nearby. This mission must be classified. I also scanned the deck and then went to lean against the ship's walls. Tenten did the same and finally opened the scroll.

"The reason Hokage-sama needed you to do this mission was because you're the best of the best when it comes to infiltration."

"Infiltration? Why would Tsunade need me to infiltrate..."

Tenten pointed at a map on the scroll that covered a very large piece of land. I could see several kingdoms listed, one of them being the Kouka Kingdom—the place of interest. She continued, "We've received notice from an anonymous source that someone is planning to kill the emperor. It seems pretty bad. They paid us to protect the emperor and even pleaded that we stay on alert at all times."

My eyes widened quite a fraction.

"Kira, although we do not know if this information is valid, we do know that an emperor's life being threatened should not be taken lightly. So, with these facts seeded into your head, Hokage-sama would like you to—no, she needs you to befriend as many people at that party as you can. After that, you and I will search for any possible threats. I will keep guard at Emperor II's room."

I nodded and replayed the information in my head. Basically, the reason Tsunade asked Tenten to come was because she can make badass traps. And me because I can infiltrate easily. I need to befriend the people so that I'm not suspicious and I can't give myself away. Hm... Well, got it.

I looked over my shoulder at the sunset. The water reflected orange and yellow hues at my face and glistened softly as the ship swayed gently against its surface. Once more, I sighed and faced Tenten with a smirk.

"To be honest, I don't hate this mission all that much anymore."

Just as Tenten opened her mouth to scold me, a huge explosion came from the rear of the ship. The whole body swayed uncontrollably and caused several men to fall off of the deck. The sun had set and now the sky was illuminated into reds and yellows that came from below the smoke. Many men shouted orders and ran around hecticly as they tried their best to contain the fire. Tenten and I ran to the other side of the boat and searched for the cause of the explosion, and several miles away rested a ship with canons portruding out of its sides. From what we could see, they weren't aiming at the ship.

They were aiming at us.

How did we know? Well... They shot a second time, this time aiming directly at Tenten and I. Now, it could be sheer coincidence that we were in the way. However, they shouted, "Remember, no matter how much it takes, kill the bitches at all costs!"

The canon sounded off and on went the ball of destruction, heading for us. Tenten quickly pulled out a scroll and summoned her best weapon. Well, in my opinion.

"Sōgu: Kyokudai Tekkyū!" Tenten jumped off of the boat and aimed her gigantic iron ball at the oncoming bomb. "Kira, be ready for the leftover impact!"

"Roger!" Immediately, I flung as many men as I could off the ship. They were better off taking shelter in the water instead of taking damage on the ship. Tenten swung her arm and within seconds, a huge blast of air flew in all directions with fire spewing in right after it. I flew off the ship and crashed into the water, not before having the air slapped out of my lungs. I inhaled and felt my lungs burning.

xoXoXox

"...a...ira...Kira!"

I coughed water out of my mouth and stood abruptly. Tenten was covered in scratches and was scathed severely. Her buns were loose and her white long sleeve shirt was burnt and missing a sleeve.

"Tenten! Where's my bag!? You need to be tended to!"

"I'm fine," She laughed charismatically. She sat beside me and frowned as she looked me over. "Besides, have you taken a look at yourself?"

I looked down at myself and noticed... I was covered in burns as well. I sighed and simply rubbed water on them.

"Seriously though, where's my bag?" I asked, pouting childishly. Tenten giggled once more and handed me my bag which she hid behind her back. I rummaged through it and pulled out a salve. I rubbed it onto her arm and wrapped it up. Lastly, I rubbed some on her face before putting everything away.

"Well, we better head out. The celebration's in..." Tenten fell silent.

"Ten? What's wrong?" Her face was ghastly and she was trembling. "Tenten, what is it? You're scaring me."

"Agh! No! Nonononononononono!" She flew up and began dragging me by the arm in a random direction. "The celebration's today!"

"Eh!? But I thought it was in 10 days time!?"

"I only just woke up before you did! Who knows how long we've been out. From what my calendar is telling me, it's today! Let's go!"

And so off we went.

After an hour, we arrived at the kingdom. Tenten swiftly headed to a dress shop, got a fancy white robe, went next-door to the hair parlor, and got my hair done. Tenten was no joke when it came to punctuality. She carried me to Hiryuu Castle (why? I don't know) and darted off to get a head start on getting to know the land. I pulled out the letter of invitation from my sleeve—notice how our sleeves always magically happen to hold our stuff for us? Nice—and went to the main entrance where several guards awaited. They were hasty to let me in, even after showing them my invitation, but allowed me to come in when a man swooped in and saved me. Tch.

I scowled at his smile. Something about him seemed so fake. I reluctantly pushed that thought away and smiled at him, remembering the importance of my mission and my actions. I needed to stay alert and make allies. The man before me had light skin, a feminine face, and dark blonde hair that framed his face with wavy-ish, long bangs. His sea green eyes were warm, although I couldn't help but get chills by looking at them. Nothing warm about that.

"Sorry if the guards gave you a hard time back there. I'm Soo-Won, what's your name?" He smiled warmly and walked slowly alongside me. I bit back a scowl and forced a smile on my face.

"I'm Kira. Nice to meet you. Also, thank you for helping me back there. I don't know what I would have done if they hadn't let me in," Not. I smiled as warmly as I could and made sure to fold my arms in front of my stomach. Tenten said it supposedly made me seem more feminine. Don't get how. I noticed... his eyes weren't looking at my face. And his face looked a little red. "Um... Soo-Won-san, are you okay?"

"A-Ah, yes! Sorry!" He looked up to the right and fidgeted with his bangs. I looked down at my chest and stomach. There was nothing wrong with them. I sighed profusedly. Men are so confusing. After a while of walking in silence, he cleared his throat and with a serious expression asked, "So... please don't take this the wrong way, but how were you invited to this celebration?"

I internally smirked. The anonymous client of ours had even provided an alias for us. Well, me.

"My father is a farmer who grows crops grown specifically for the castle people. My father and Emperor II are rather close, surprisingly. My father is sick so he sent me in his stead."

"Who is your father?" Once again, internal smirk.

"My father is Ryu Gi. He is a well respected farmer, might I add." To add emphasis on my innocence, I giggled and looked up at him with the most purity I could conjure. He paused slightly and smiled soon after.

"Well then, I'll be seeing you, Ryu Kira," He waved goodbye and left down the long hall we had been walking in as I turned the corner to enter a different hall. For a split-second, I nearly showed my confusion but realized that I had told him my family name was Ryu. Gotta be better than that, Kira. I gently slapped my cheeks and entered a huge dining hall where many people were gathered.

Let's do this.

I entered the room and swiftly made my way to the dining table where many assortments of delicacies awaited me. The delicious pastries sat on the table, glistening brightly as if to taunt me. I withheld my urge to devour them as a lady approached me. She walked with such elegance and appeared to be in her early twenties. She was almost like a female Soo-Won, only her eyes were brown. A smile was plastered on her porcelain face, not once faltering. Finally, someone with a genuine smile.

"Hello, I don't think I've ever seen you before. I'm Yun-Ho! What's your name?" She gazed at me with such innocence that she reminded me of a...

"Chikku..." Fuck. I shouldn't have said that. I shouldn't have said that! I immediately began flailing my arms around like an apologetic walrus on drugs. "I-I didn't mean to say that! I'm very sorry! Please do not take offense to what I said!"

I bowed and clenched my teeth. Just how stupid could I be!? I just insulted an obviously important figure! Now the mission would go to shreds because of me. I waited for her to begin a rant on how immature I was being or for her to scream in horror as if I'd cursed her entire family. I could sense her arm extending towards me. Here comes the much awaited slap. I felt her hand grab my shoulder gently and lift me up.

"There's no need to be sorry! I actually like the nickname," She giggled and beared one of the gentlest smiles I had ever seen in my entire lifetime. This woman... She was much too precious. "Let's be friends...?"

I smiled back at her and answered, "Kira. Ryu Kira."

"That's a lovely name!"

"Not at all. Your name is much more lovely than mine..." Several men parted way as a tall dark-skinned man made his way over. His eyes were golden and his brown hair was tied into a ponytail. He was rather toned and had a tough face, the kind a leader has. You could practically feel the dominance radiating off of him. Almost like a certain brooding Uchiha I knew. Lord knows how much I hated him. The guy heading towards us almost resembled him. It wasn't hard for me to see that we wouldn't get along. When the man came into reach, he extended an arm towards Yun-Ho. He's trying to get at her! Me, being my overprotective self, immediately went to stand between the two until—

"Ah! Geun-Tae, my dear husband!"

—I found out that he was her husband.

The guy, apparently named Geun-Tae, patted her head and then turned his attention to me. Straight face, Kira, c'mon! Don't snarl or glare. Smile and bow. I managed to conjure a smile onto my face and bowed.

"Nice to meet you, Geun-Tae-san."

On a scale of "uh-oh" to "what have you done", I had apparently fucked up. The surrounding people gasped and began taking small steps back, all the while murmuring about how disrespectful I had been. I felt sweat begin to form on my palms as I deliberately tried to figure out what I had done. As far as I knew, I had been completely respectful... or at least I'd like to believe I was. Had they read through me? No, that couldn't be. My smile, albeit forced, had always been fullproof. Then why? Or maybe I used the wrong honorific? Hm... no. That couldn't be it.

Then, that's when I heard my answer.

"How dare she call a General by something less of -sama?" General? Sama? Fuck! I did use the wrong honorific! Horror was etched onto my face as I faced Yun-Ho. Once more, I began bowing like my walrus-self.

"I am so sorry! Oh my gosh, I didn't mean to show disrespect! I am not very caught up with information so I didn't know, but that should be no excuseIamsosorry!" At the end of my rant, Yun-Ho giggled uncontrollably and even Geun-Tae bellowed with laughter. In my ears, their laughs sounded sinister. They were probably thinking of ways to torture me.

"You're really funny, Kira! Tell me, are you a foreigner?" Yun-Ho chirped. I nodded and explained my situation (not the real one, mind you) and added in that I was out of the kingdom, thus my informal diction. "I see. There's no need to refer to us with honorifics! We're friends! It's okay!"

Geun-Tae looked uninterested most of the time, however he did smirk at me once. That was the most equivalent of a smile that I'd be getting from him, so I was glad. After Yun-Ho's announcement, more people approached me and even offered to have tea with me someday. Yes, the odds were definitely in my favor.

Nature's call rung and so I went out to look for a restroom. This place seemed to be rather behind on technology. I mean, they didn't have any lights or swinging doors. Pretty shocking. I walked down the hall and turned the corner, to which a huge garden came into view. It was marvelous; it was filled with roses, hydrangeas, and a huge tree sat in the middle of a little pond. Lillies floated in the water and little birdies ate from bird feeders on the tree. It was like a dream—

"Ah, Kira-chan, I see we meet again. Isn't the garden lovely?" I jumped in surprise at having been caught while vulnerable and turned to the perpetrator. Soo-Won stood a distance away with two other people. One was a short female with long red hair and the other was a tall man with messy black hair and blue eyes. That's strange. He looks almost like me.

"Soo-Won, who's that?" The young redhead asked, clutching onto his sleeve. Her haired adorned a pretty flower hairpin that made her look all the more innocent. Well, that's my cue.

"Nice to meet you. I'm Ryu Kira," I bowed and smiled genuinely at the young girl. For some unnatural reason, I just couldn't be rude to her.

"Oh, I see," I quietly waited for her to introduce herself, however she simply smiled. Well, such manners! The man next to her smirked and introduced himself as well.

"Son Hak. Nice to meet you."

I nodded and turned to the girl. Perhaps she'd introduce herself now. She raised a brow at me and looked to Soo-Won for help.

"Uhm... not trying to be rude or anything, but aren't you going to introduce yourself?"

The three looked to be in a state of shock. I quirked my head to the side while rocking on my heels back and forth. Soo-Won finally regained his composure and went to talk.

"Have you been living under a rock or something!?" However, Hak beat him to it. "This is Yona-hime, you idiot!"

I lunged at him to rip his throat out for calling me an idiot, but froze as I let his words sink in. She... she's the princess...

"Oh my gosh, I am such a fucking idiot! I am so sorry—!"

"You better be."

"You shut up! I am sincerely sorry, Yona-hime. I was out of the kingdom for as long as I can remember so I am not familiar with much of what's going on. My father was too sick to attend your celebration and so I came in his stead. Once again, I'm very sorry for my actions and my colorful words," Kami, I was tired of bowing and apologizing. She smiled and hummed in approval as Soo-Won patted her head. How sweet. Blegh.

The three went elsewhere and I went back to the dining hall without my potty break. The celebration ended and I left to the Inn where Tenten had left our things. After changing out of my fancy robes and into my comfortable ninja clothes, I headed back to the castle.

xoXoXox

"So... any luck?" I hand-signaled over to Tenten who answered with a shake of her head. Abruptly, we saw Soo-Won walking down the hall and enter Emperor II's room. Tenten nearly made her trap go off, however I told her he was friendly. Tenten was still wary and decided to stay on her toes. We waited several minutes before Yona came bouncing over. Just as the small girl took hold of the sliding door, the sound of a sword unsheathing came to our ears. In a split second, we ran past her and pushed the culprit to the ground.

"What're you doing!?" The Princess shouted as she entered the room in hysterics. Emperor II was shocked but handled the situation rather calmly.

"Who are you two?" Tenten, being the one who wasn't grabbing Soo-Won down, got down on one knee respectfully and answered.

"Sorry, but I cannot disclose that. We are simply bere to save you. Please excuse our intrusion. We mean you no harm."

The emperor smiled and offered a warm hand to Tenten. Yona was still in bewilderment that Soo-Won had been the culprit but managed a weak smile.

"You're very kind," STAB!"Emperor II."

My eyes watched in astonishment as he fell to the ground with a kunai, holding a tag, inserted in his chest. My eyes immediately flew to my comrade who simply smiled sadistically. Beside her, an explosion enveloped the room in a flash of white as red covered the room and everyone in it. Chunks of, dare I say it, human flesh rained down on us, sprinkling red.

No one moved.

I couldn't think properly. This was my best friend and loyal comrade. She wouldn't do this. She couldn't do this. Not her.

Yona's scream filled the quiet room.

"Tenten... What... What have you done!?" I shouted as I ran at her and pushed her away. No. No! This can't be her! Is has to be... Wait a second. It can't be, can it?

I strolled over to the laughing Tenten at my feet. She looked up at me with clouded eyes, smirking at my horrified expression. Tenten's were never like that. They were always shining radiantly and spoke a thousand words in just one glance. These... They spoke nothing. Perhaps...

"Kai!" A poof went off and before me lay a ninja from the Hidden Rain Village.

"Guess we've been found out, huh?" I heard a voice speak up from right behind me. Fuck! On instinct, I aimed a kunai at the culprit behind me, but soon felt an excruciating pain in my stomach. I could feel a wet, warm liquid coming out of where the sword had once been. "Sorry it had to be this way, Kira."

"Fuck you..."

Soo-Won.