The night drew out, welcoming them again, not directly, but from the looming distance like it always did, watching over them with silent intrest. And the familiar mist crept through the bamboo forest like a prowling wolf, yet while it was slow and sublte, it enveloped everything, totally catching you off guard. If it wasn't for the special training given to ninja of the hidden village of Mist, the three nin stalking their prey through the bamboo reeds would have been lost for sure, and out in the hills surrounding the hidden ninja village the mists have been well known to last for weeks, and any visitors unlucky enough to be caught in it, and unlucky enough still to not be found by passing Mist ninja, would surely die of starvation. At the beginning the hunters had hoped to benefit from this and capture their prey with ease, but the hunted had forseen the possibility of such an event, and with the help of undercover shinobi already working in the area, had acquired a map, a map drawn by minds native to the area and with information on mist patterns and easy routes in and out of the hills, yet they would not need it much, as they are fortunate enough to be near the boundrys of the famous mist hills as it set in. Had they been deeper in this hazardous area, while they still would have been able to make it out given time, time is not what they cuttently have, the mist would have slowed them enough for the 3 Mist nin to catch up to them, and in their own territory, they would have been able to do as they please to the captured enemy.
Tracking the target had been easy for the Mist 3, the enemy, while highly skilled and exceedingly motivated, still are not used to running in such thick mists in unfimiliar grounds. The leading ninja bearing the Mist forehead protector stopped at the boundry of the bamboo woodland and glanced at the earth below him, there was a distinct mark from the tread of a ninja's shoe, someone got careless. As the chase bust out of the bamboo enclosures and mist, into the wide open fields, undoubtably overcome with relief, one of their number must have lost concentration for just a little too long. Now the Mist ninja were at a quandary. "We were too slow, what do we do now?" queried the second of the group, the black cloth covering the lower half of his face coupled with the darkness disguised his expression well, but the leading ninja could see from his eyes that he was certianly troubled by the situation. "This was not planned for," he continued, "we must return to the village for new orders." The masked ninja, along with the third female ninja looked at the leader, both were awaiting conformation to fall back, but what they recieved, they did not expect. "No, we were told to interrogate those ninja and find out what they know, we will continue the chase."
"Kaphin! They're headed to the country of fire!" He burst out, he couldn't believe the answer he got, he knew Kaphin took risks, and even if he managed to pull it off in the past, this had to be too much. "Do you realise the implications involved if we were to be caught infiltrating the Leaf village."
"Hatsu, we will not be caught," Kaphin replied with resounding confidence, "we are never caught."
"Shin, back me up here, you don't believe this do you?" Hatsu pleaded.
"If Kaphin thinks we can do it..." Shin was a very attractive female ninja to say the least, she brushed back her shoulder length hair and looked back out over the fields, embarrassed when she caught Kaphin's eye. Hatsu grimaced and conceded, he knew Kaphin was right, if they went back to the village after failing the simple task given to them they would be punished severely. "Ok, we have to complete the mission, for my entry to the Chuunin exam at least."
"No!" Shin cut in, the others looked at her in shock, she was definately not the sort of girl to have an outburst like that. And she quickly retracted back and explained herself when she realised what she'd done. "I mean, well, we've got to find out what they know for the safty of the village, and, well, all the Mist ninja." And finishing very quietly, "and Kaphin..."
"The other side of those fields is the ocean, once they get there and on a boat, we won't be able to stop them until they get to land at the country of Fire," Kaphin explained with grim realisation of the task at hand, he wasn't afraid for himself, he never feared for his personal safty, only for that of his squad, and the other Mist ninja. He may often have disagreements with Hatsu, and often cut off Shin despite her quiet need for him, but he would always die to save them, as a pure unadulterated sense of duty to the hidden village of Mist. "And at that time we'll be in hostile territory, and I don't want to hang around in the Leaf village for any longer than we have to."
Hatsu may have been oblivious to
Kaphin's deeper feelings of protection for them, but at that time,
somehow, Shin just managed to pick up on that supressed warmer side of
Kaphin's persona.
"Ok, let's go find a boat."
End of chapter 1.