A/N: First story posted on this site in a while so we're a little bit rusty. This is a collaborative piece between two people, and our individual accounts are gonna be located in the account description if you wanna check us out! We aim to have a new chapter up at least every week (though we're aiming for more). Let us know what you thought!

Akemi walked through the village gates, keeping a steady pace with the other. She listened quietly to the calming rustling of leaves and chirping of the birds in the morning air, occasionally turning her gaze to her travel companion. Kiyomi was the Fifth Hokage's niece, and, was a close friend of hers once. Looking back at it, that felt like a lifetime ago. They had been so close. Their shared meals, the training sessions, and their secrets that they still keep. They had spent so much time together, whether it be missions or window shopping in the village marketplace for their favorite weapons and clothes. The girls were the closest of friends for the longest time, and she almost couldn't even remember why they had stopped talking.

She hummed awkwardly to herself, not really sure how to proceed. They hadn't been out on a mission together since they were Genin fresh from the academy, or even talked since then for that matter. 'Come on, Akemi, say something…' she thought to herself, the silence almost painful. "So… it's been a long time since we've done this, huh?" she asked, twirling her hand around in her blonde ponytail as they walked.

Kiyomi glanced at the bubbly blonde beside her before looking ahead with her hand resting calmly on the hilt of the katana strapped to her left hip. "Yes. It has been quite a while since we have been on a mission together." Hearing the irritated huff that came from the 22 year old, she closed her eyes and sighed softly. "I..don't mean to be so blunt." Opening her eyes and glancing at the blonde once more, Kiyomi tightens her grip on the hilt, her knuckles turning slightly white from the pressure. "How..have you been, Akemi?"

She noticed the girl was taking her time to respond. Nakamura Akemi had always been a very outspoken person, not at all like herself. She had always been like a breath of fresh air for the socially awkward Senju and she honestly missed those days where Akemi knew just what she needed to help with her stress. Akemi was the first person she had ever opened up to. The girl knew more about her than even her own aunt.

The blonde shrugged in response, keeping perfect time with the other as they walked. She thought for a minute, a little frustrated. She hadn't talked to Kiyomi in so long, and now that she had the chance she really had nothing to say. "I've been… fine, I guess. Working my tail off, honestly." she admitted, tilting her head back a bit as a cool breeze rolled past them. She had been on a lot of missions recently, with the increase in criminal activity and slight tensions between villages starting. "Sometimes I think I just need a vacation, ya know? Stay in the village and teach some of these kids a few tricks. Something that doesn't involve leaving home so much…"

The dark haired girl nodded her head, her long braid swaying behind her as she walked at a calm pace. "I have not stopped since I became a Jonin and subsequently Anbu as well. Being a highly trained and well-versed medic-nin has made me a..favorite among other teams. Tsunade-sama has also had me doing many solo missions." Kiyomi smiles slightly remembering how easy it was to speak to the blonde. "I had seen your name had been on the roster for the Seduction Missions as well." She smirked at her companions reddening face, "Did you finally get over your prudish nature?"

"Yeah, I guess you could say that." Akemi shrugged, trying to hide how flushed her face was. She definitely hadn't gotten over it, but she knew that sometimes things needed to be done a certain way, no matter how uncomfortable it made her. "Figured i'd try something new. Tired of the same old stuff." she kicked at a pebble as she walked down the path, already kind of bored of walking.

Kiyomi chuckled at her old friend as she closed her eyes again and faced the sky, letting the cool breeze brush through her hair and across her skin as well. She loved being outside of the village. That was one of the differences between the two. Kiyomi loved to be working. Ever since she lost her parents and the falling out between the two, that's all she has done to keep her mind off of it.

"We should be getting close to Team A. Tsunade-sama said that Itachi-san last reported from right outside of the Land of Fire. I am still very surprised that they needed our assistance for a simple assassination mission."

"Hopefully everything is going better than I think it is. Lady Hokage seemed a little worried when she was briefing us." Akemi responded, crossing her arms and looking forward as she continued down the path. Kiyomi nodded as she walked in time with the blonde girl. "Tsunade-sama is never really that worried when it comes to the Uchiha's team. I believe she said they had even left with a six-man cell. They shouldn't be having any trouble at all."

Akemi grimly agreed with the girl. "I'm sure that Shisui is with them. So it makes at least two Uchiha on the team." The two then became silent after that.

They continued their journey for another hour or so, until they made it to the area that Team A was supposed to be. However, they were a little confused to find that they weren't there. Not that they could see, anyways. "Hm. That's a little… weird."

Kiyomi narrowed her eyes slightly before she sent out a pulse of chakra to see if she could find any traces of the Anbu team. Feeling a faint flicker of response, she motioned for Akemi to follow her silently through the trees. That led the two girls to a semi-open clearing that was densely packed with trees almost all around.

On the ground in the center of the clearing seemed to be a couple of downed missing-nin. The dark haired girl stilled as she listened to the sounds coming from the trees, trying to pick up on anything that would give her an inkling of where the 3 Anbu were. "Akemi. Do you sense anything...off?"

Akemi frowned, looking around at the eerily silent clearing, then down at the missing-nin. This all seemed way too convenient. Way too quiet. She rested her hand on where her staff was holstered as she stood there, preparing for anything that might happen. It was so quiet at a point, that she almost started to believe that there was nothing wrong.

Suddenly, she heard the smallest rustle of leaves, and pulled her weapon out. "Careful, we aren't alone…." she said in almost a whisper, glancing over at the other girl. She knelt down and moved to flip the body onto it's back so they could identify who it was while Kiyomi kept watch. Once she did, she immediately noticed the paper bomb stuck to its forehead and gasped. She shoved the other girl back, diving as far away as she could get just as it exploded.

Kiyomi looked into the blonde's eyes before confirming the plan with a nod. Within seconds, the girls disappeared just as three ninja flew out of the tree line and landed right where the two had previously been. Kiyomi immediately noticed something off with them. She glanced in the direction of her companion and realized that she noticed it, too. It was Team A. Apparently they were being extremely cautious as well.

Akemi sighed, a little relieved when they realized it was just them. The real surprise, however, was that there was only three of them. "I thought you said they left with six?" she asked, quirking a brow at her friend.

"...They did." she replied, before jumping out of the tree and landing behind them. Genma was the first to turn around, weapon in hand. He let out a chuckle when he saw them, lowering it.

"'Been a while, girls." he commented, crossing his arms. The other two looked at them, Shisui with his signature smile and Itachi with that stoic, unreadable expression. Some things never change.

Kiyomi raised an eyebrow at the three men. Genma was an..odd addition to the duo. She'd never seen him on a mission with them before. The two girls then bowed partially to Itachi before Kiyomi pulled out the mission scroll from Tsunade and handed it over to the youngest Uchiha.

Shisui scoffed and then pouted at the dark haired woman. "Kiyomi-channn, why does Itachi get the scroll?" The woman gave the oldest a dry look as her eyebrow began to twitch in irritation already. He loved getting on her nerves. It was one thing that he did very well.

"He is the team's Captain. Who else would I have given it to?"

Akemi giggled at Shisui, making her way over to stand with the rest of them. She glanced over at the Uchiha, just listening to the exchange. She'd had only a handful of interactions with both of them, almost always mission-related. She could already tell how badly he was getting on her nerves, and it really was amusing to watch.

"But what if I had become Captain for the mission?" Shisui whined, but the look he received instantly shut him up. "Please, Shisui-san. I am not in the mood today." She heard Genma chuckle at the two before he patted Kiyomi on the shoulder. "Ah lay off of him, Kiyomi-chan. He's just happy to see two beautiful women on the same team as him."

Kiyomi rolled her eyes at him before turning back to Itachi and putting on her serious face. "Tsunade-sama seemed rather perplexed as well as worried that you needed help for an assassination mission. She said you had not given much information to explain why you needed us. Would you mind filling us in on the status?"

"We currently have one of the missing-nin that are in involved in this trafficking ring. We tried interrogating him, however… genjutsu has no effect." he started to explain, before looking over at the blonde. "We needed somebody more suited to try and get the whereabouts of the leader out of him. We've...lost a few operatives, as well as some from other teams, to this group. We cannot risk any more casualties, which is why we summoned you, Kiyomi." Itachi explained, turning his attention to the dark haired girl. It was obvious in his eyes that losing men under his command was slightly bothering him.

Akemi crossed her arms and looked around at them with a slight frown, not really sure why she was needed. She wasn't surprised that they were unsuccessful, none of them being as trained in the interrogation field as her. "Oh boy, this is gonna be a lot of work." Akemi complained a bit, shaking a leaf out of her hair. 'So much for a simple mission….' she thought to herself.