Chapter 3: Mission Accepted
Isamu walked in and sat in front of the Hokage. Her hands were shaking, and she was tense. The Hokage took a while and while he was thinking, Isamu noticed a boy standing in the corner of the room. He was about as tall as her, with jet black hair falling in his face and dark brown eyes. He stood there, quietly, not making a sound. Finally the Hokage spoke."Isamu, I am sending you on a mission. You and Kenji will protect the daughter of Hideki, one of the wealthiest men in our village. She needs to go to the Village hidden in the Grass for an important visit with her family. This is an A ranked mission but I have studied you two closely and I know you're ready." Ismau had this weird blank stare, and her face was pale. After she relized what she was assigned to do, she stood up and said,"That's ok and all, but who's Kenji?" The boy from the corner appeared in the light,"I am Kenji." Isamu stared at him and then turned back to the Hokage,"I'm ready, when do we leave?"
"Tomorrow morning."
Isamu rose so early that morning that the sun wasn't even out yet. She got ready, packed, and set out for Hideki's house. She arrived at a palace-type thing and relized it was it, and walked in. Inside was a hall with a huge light fixture hanging down from it. Isamu saw Kenji sitting in the living room, apparently waiting for her. She went over and sat next to him, both waiting for Hideki's daughter to come down. They had some tea but it wasn't much longer when the daughter approached. "Hi, I'm Emi." Kenji rose and so did Isamu. "I'm Kenji and this is Isamu. We'll be helping you travel for the next few weeks." Hideki came down from the stairs and walked up to Kenji. "I want to thank you for your service. Here," he said handing them a bag,"for your expenses."
"We appreciate it, sir." Isamu said. Emi said goodbye to her parents and them turned to leave with Kenji and Isamu.
They walked out the house and started down a path leading into the forest. "Isamu, you are good with directions, right?" Isamu looked at Kenji oddly and said,"Yes, why?" Kenji threw her a map and said,"I have no idea where we're going." Isamu stood there stunned, then laughed. "No wonder Lord Hokage didn't want you to go alone." They walked for a while and came to a river. "Well this is wonderful. How are we supposed to get across this?" Kenji looked frustrated. "Just relax, Kenji. We'll have to wade. It doesn't look deep. Just take off your backpack and hold it above your head." They all took their bags and held them over their heads. The river didn't have many rapids, which made it easier to cross. They all three crossed and sat next to the river for a while to dry off. "You know, it would have been nice if someone built a bridge there." said Kenji. "Well, we crossed it, didn't we?" said Isamu. The group traveled down the pathway for an hour or so until Kenji heard a noise. "Wait, stop! I think I heard something."