I could tell it was light out, even with my eyes closed still. I felt a light touch between my shoulder blades and the warmth of another body curled around my own. I smiled, "Morning."

"Morning," Kakashi whispered. "This tattoo is new."

"Mhm," I hummed. "I got it while you were training Sasuke. It's the Koike clan's symbol."

He gently kissed it before wrapping his arm around my waist and pulling me closer to him.

"How long have you been up?" I asked knowing he was usually like the living dead in the morning. For him to be even at this level of awareness he had to have been up for at least an hour.

"I don't know… a while," He mumbled into my neck.

"Why didn't you wake me up?"

He kissed my neck where it met my shoulder. "You looked happy… I like seeing you sleep." I rolled slightly so that I could look back at him and he pulled himself up a bit to rest on one arm. He ran his fingers through my bangs, "Do you want coffee or tea?"

"No, I just want to lay here…"

He kissed me softly.

I closed my eyes and sighed, happily.

A knock on Kakashi's front door echoed through the apartment. Kakashi sighed and gently removed me from his arms. I opened my eyes as he crawled off the bed and watched him pull on some clothes and a mask before going to the door.

I sighed, moving out of the bed and grabbing one of Kakashi's shirts. It fell to the middle of my thighs. I sighed, running a hand through my hair as I headed towards Kakashi's kitchen.

"Awh, uh, S-Sorami-chan…"

I glanced over to see Kakashi and Iruka were standing in his living room. I quickly reached my hand up, covering my face. I blushed, having assumed Kakashi wouldn't have let whoever was at the door in. I laughed nervously, "Eheh… hi, Iruka. What are you doing here?"

"I… um… needed to talk to Kakashi…"

I nodded. "Um… well, I'm going to go put on some pants… and a mask…" I said before quickly walking back into Kakashi's room and doing just what I said. I walked back out and past Kakashi and Iruka in the living room. I poured myself a cup of tea before making one for Kakashi as well, I brought it out to him. "Iruka, would you like some tea?"

"Uh.. no… thanks."

"I'll be reading in your room," I told Kakashi.

"Ahhhhh… Sorami, the hokage wanted to see you actually," Iruka said.

"Oh… I guess I'll head over there then." I kissed Kakashi on the cheek and headed out towards the Hokage Tower. It was pretty quiet in town, not that that was surprising for an early Sunday morning but it was a drastic change from the nightlife of the village which had probably stayed loud and bright and busy until the night became morning. With the induction of a new hokage, the city was celebrating and I silently thanked the Kamis that I hadn't joined them or I would be nursing quite a hangover.

I entered the tower and slowly climbed the stairs until I reached the hokage's floor. I knocked on the door and heard a sigh before being ushered in.

I bowed low after stepping into the office. "You summoned me, Lady Hokage?"

"Yeah. I have a mission for you," She said handing me a scroll. "There's been a series of killings in the Land of Tea. The lord of the village believes that it may be a rogue ninja."

I took the scroll from her.

"Your mission is to find out who is doing these killings and why. Bring him back here for questioning if possible. If not, kill him."

I nodded, tucking the scroll into a back pocket of my pants, planning to read it once I got back to my apartment. "When do I leave?"

"As soon as possible. You're dismissed."

I nodded and bowed again, "Hai, thank you, Lady Hokage."

I'd been running for a few hours already. After leaving the hokage tower, I headed back to my apartment to collect some weapons and scrolls, then said a quick goodbye (that didn't end up being as quick as I'm sure the hokage would have preferred), and then headed out the gates. I slowed to a walk. The Land of Tea was fairly close to Konoha, only a day's run away, and I wasn't expected until the next day so there was no need to rush myself. Even if I only walked the rest of the way, I would make it just after nightfall.

I stretched my arms over my head, loosening them up since they were getting stiff. I had forgotten how boring solo missions could get. I had spent the last three months preparing for the chunin exams and as such had hardly left the village which meant no missions. I guess I could imagine the chunin exam itself was my mission. I definitely got paid well enough for it. I sighed and pulled out the Kakashi's book, reading it in the silence. A slight smile rested on my lips behind my mask at the thought of how Kakashi would react when he reached for his book only to find that it was nowhere near him. I sped up again. There was still no reason to rush, but at least if I got there early I could work on the mission rather than just read.

I bowed and greeted the lord, "Lord Yukio."

"Oh, you must be the ninja the hokage sent!"

He was a big man. Both in height and… well weight. He had wrinkles around his mouth from smiling a lot and his brown, mousey hair was thinning and speckled with grey. He seemed like a good man though, and a happy one. "Yes."

"You're early," He said with a smile.

"My apologies, Lord Yukio. I wished to get to work on the mission as soon as possible. I hope I have not disturbed you."

"Not at all! It's good to see young Kunoichi like yourself eager to do good! Can I offer you some food? Or drink?"

"Uh… no thank you."

"Very well! Let us get down to business then!" He stood, pulling out a scroll and spreading it on the table. There was a map of the small town on it. "There have been five bodies found already, two more people are still missing, we think they are related to this. The circles," He pointed to seven different colored circles, "Are where the women were last seen. The X's," He gestured to the five X's that color paired up with five of the circles, "are where the bodies were found…"

"You said women? Is it only women?"

"Yes."

"My mission stated that there were no signs of trauma or stress that would insinuate violence or even an attempt to fight back…"

"Yes, once the bodies appear, the deaths look to be suicide. Three of the girls appear to have drowned themselves, another seems to have sliced her own wrists, and another hung herself. Normally, we wouldn't think much of it, except that… This many suicides in a short amount of time…"

"It looks suspicious. I would agree."

"Not to mention, all of the girls had a single deep cut on some part of their body."

I bit my lip and pushed my bangs behind my ear. "My guess would be black market. Selling organs for money. Do these girls have anything in common?"

"They're all petite girls. Long hair, usually of a darker color. That's it really. Except that all the girls are said to have been acting strangely before their death."

I nodded. "When did these killings start?"

"About two weeks ago."

"Do you know the dates of when they went missing versus when they were found?"

He nodded and handed me another scroll.

"I'll look over this information once I get a room at an inn and see what information I can find out. Tomorrow I'll start searching for anything that seems odd."

"Very well." He handed me the map, "Take this as well. And we have already booked a room for you to stay in. One of my guards will show you the way. If there is anything else you need, let us know."

"I will. Thank you, Lord Yukio." I bowed to him before leaving.

"Hey, Shin! Will you show Motowa-san to the inn?" The lord asked one of the guards outside his door.

The guard nodded. "Follow me."

"Goodbye, Motowa-san!" Yukio said after me, smiling and waving happily. It was actually rather comical how happy and excited he was compared to his serious and emotionless guards.

I followed after Shin into the town and into the inn I would be staying at.

I walked through the village, taking in the local people and looking for anyone suspicious. The town seemed pretty similar to the main area of Konoha, minus all the weapons shops.

Perhaps I could use myself as bait… I fit the description at least. I glanced around me at the other women in the village. Most of them fit the description too though… I felt a slight pressure against me and then heard a thud. I looked down, realizing I'd run into someone. "Oh! Uh, my apologies," I laughed nervously and offered my hand.

The girl took it, standing and brushing herself off. "Don't worry about it. It was my fault." She looked up at me and my eyes widened.

"Kimiko?!"

She smiled, "Sorami!" She hugged me. "What are you doing here?"

"I'm on a mission. I forgot you were staying here right now."

"Mamoru told you?"

"Yeah."

"How is he?"

"He's good, his usual self."

She let her hand rest on my forearm, "How are you?" Kimiko was lucky enough to have not inherited her clan's kekkei genkai. I say lucky because, while useful, it also came at a price. Constantly seeing a person's every memory with every single brush of skin could leave its mark.

"I'm doing well. How about you?"

She smiled, albeit a bit weakly, but still a smile. "I'm doing better. I think the time away has been good for me."

I started walking with her, "Mamoru said that you didn't know if you would be coming back."

She shrugged, "I'm sure I will eventually. I just don't know if I can just yet. You of all people know how close Akiyo and I were."

I nodded. I wanted to tell her how much Akiyo loved her. I wanted to tell her that the ring was in his vest pocket and he was going to propose to her as soon as we returned… only he hadn't returned. I knew telling Kimiko these things wouldn't help her so I just nodded.

She adjusted her shopping bags in her arms and I grabbed them from her before she could protest.

"Come on, I'll walk you home."

"How long will you be here?"

"A few days probably. Maybe a week tops."

"Stay with me."

"What?"

She smiled, "Stay with me. It'll be like old times. I dread to know what kind of dump Yukio hooked you up with."

"It's not a total dump…" I murmured.

"Please, Ami. I want to hear about how people are, how the village is."

I sighed, "Okay."

"So what's the latest gossip in Konoha?"

I blushed, knowing exactly what the latest gossip was. "Uh… um.." I coughed.

Kimiko looked at me, worriedly before a smile grew on her face, "Oh my Kami, it involves you! What did you do?"

I frowned, "Why do you assume I did something?"

"Well… you were on a team that tended to uh… what's the word… cause more trouble than good."

"I was not the cause of that. Look at your brother. It's not my fault he had to hit on every client we had."

"Stop getting away from the subject. What happened?"

I groaned and pushed the palm of my hand into my forehead, "I'm kinda… dating… someone…"

"Who?!"

I glanced at her from the corner of my eye.

"Kakashi?! You're dating Kakashi?!"

I nodded.

"Oh my Kami! If Akiyo were here…!"

"Yeah, I know, he'd die laughing."

She laughed, "No, you don't understand…" She doubled over in laughter.

"What? Am I… missing something?"

She stood again, out of breath from the laughter. "All the jonin had bets going!"

"They what?!"

She nodded, "They all had bets on how and when you two would finally hook up."

"Seriously?"

"You don't know how many times Mamoru and Akiyo tried to bribe me to help one of them win. Rules said no interfering though." She laughed again, "When did it happen?"

"Uhm… two months ago about."

"Gai lost, if I remember correctly, so did Kurenai. I think that means Iruka lost as well…"

"Iruka?!" I yelled, "Iruka was in on the betting?!"

She nodded, "He'll be so disappointed, too. He was certain it would be another year. But yeah, I think that means Asuma and Mamoru won. Actually… I think Genma won."

"Kami, I hate all of my friends."

"Have Asuma and Kurenai hooked up yet?"

"Not openly." We reached her house and she ushered me in, having me set the groceries on the kitchen table.

"Now that we're alone, what's you mission?"

"You heard about the murders?"

She shook her head. "They're usually pretty quiet about stuff like that here, don't want civilians panicking. What's going on with them?"

I sighed, "I guess there's been a string of suicides. The number of them though, points to murder. I'm thinking black market organs."

"Who would do that?" She asked, sadly.

I shrugged, "Someone who knows how to manipulate people well. Most likely someone who hangs out a lot after dark in sketchier areas. I'd be willing to bet they live around here as well but are comfortable in their alibi."

"Why do you say that?"

"It's been 5 or 7 girls over two weeks. Why would a killer just keep coming back unless they have a set persona here? And it's someone who can convince these girls to kill themselves since there's no sign of struggle."

"You don't think it's genjutsu, do you?"

I froze and looked at her. "I hadn't thought of that… but it would make perfect sense… Are there any people here with shinobi training of any kind? Even just teachings from parents?"

"Uhm… I mean all Yukio's guards have training but it's mostly in taijutsu. There's a family down the road, their clan specialized in genjutsu but as far as I know none of them had any real training. There's a few retired shinobi here as well…"

I stood quickly. "I need information on these people. I have to go see Lord Yukio."

Woo! Longest chapter yet! Hope ya'll enjoyed it!