Ok! Hi everybody! um.. updating! yeah n.n;; But! there is something very, very important I have to say about this chapter! Nobukane and I RPd alot of this, so:
Everything Aoyama Naoko says and does was written by NOBUKANE. Not me.
So... yeah! Credit for everything Naoko goes to Nobukane n.n there's more about her, on his page! as well as other stories n.n so go check him ooooouuut :D
uh... I apologize for my part of this chapter. It's really long. and Boring n.n;; Sorry.
Disclaimer: Naruto belongs to Masashi Kishimoto. Aoyama Naoko belongs to Nobukane
"The interrogations department is downstairs." Kotone continued down the hallway, glancing absent-mindedly out the large windows along the outside wall. The temporary distraction of the newly promoted ANBU captain had disappeared into their kage's office, and the slightly troubled kunoichi was now left with a problem. A problem which took the form of the young- far too young, as a particularly annoying thought at the back of her mind had been reminding her- light blue haired girl trailing behind her, that she was supposed to be mentor- ing. She shook her head, eyes squeezing closed, annoyed.
How the heck was she supposed to do that?
Oh well. Naoko seemed like an independent little thing. And bright... she'd have to be to make the assassination division, not to mention this branch of it, at such a young age. She was just a kid, really.
Then again... at fourteen, she had been a jonin as well. Now that she thought back to it,Kotone had been fighting, and killing, with all the others. She had been as dangerous then as any adult. Age wasn't really a factor when discerning a shinobi's strength, and the interrogator scolded herself for forgetting that.
Kotone folded her arms across her chest, as she pushed the door to the stairwell open with one foot, allowing the other to proceed down the flight of grimy concrete stairs, and along the rusting metal railing that snaked along side it. The footsteps echoing down the high passageway were loud, and dull, and the tall, dark haired kunoichi made a face. Some conversation was obviously in order, but she couldn't begin to imagine what that would consist of. It was the same uneasy feeling as she had gotten, during her stay with the Kasumi family.
"Oh, hey wait-"
Kotone jumped, skipping a few stairs, as her chargestillsmiling confidently, strode into the wrong floor's hallway. She waved a hand, in an flamboyantly dismissive manner. "I know my way."
A low growling sound wasemitted fromthe other's throat, as she rolled her eyes. Perhaps Naoko was a little too independent.
The irate kiri nin wrenched open the door before it had time to shut fully, and stepped out into the hall of the ground floor, just in time to catch her junior, as she pulled open the first door to her right, grinning all the while, as she stepped forward, only to have sponges and rags rain down upon her, a bucket bouncing painfully off her head.
Kotone had to fight pretty hard to repress a sadistic chuckle, and speak evenly, as Naoko pulled herself out of the broom closet. "Actually, it's a floor lower. In the basement."
"I know that... I was just grabbing this," She huffed indignantly, tucking a lock of pale blue hair behind one ear, as she reached down to grab a broom.
Kotone tipped her head to the side examining the other quizzically. "Why?"Naoko would be nervous, starting a new job. That gave an explanation for the waver in her voice. It was possible that she really had gone toget a broom. Unlikely, but possible. This was Hoshigaki Kisame's student, after all. She couldn't be an idiot.
"Uhhh..." She paused, glancing down at the cleaning implement in her hands. "Well, I thought you would know that a broom... is one of the most painful things to use in a torture."
She quirked a dark, scrutinizing eyebrow, as her theory became even more unlikely. Naoko's hesitation gave a distinct feeling of improvisation. "I was unaware of that."
The smaller girl smiled, her confidence returning. "I'll spare you the details, but many of my male victims do not enjoy sodomization with this thing."
It took Kotone's brain a moment to process what it was she had just heard.
Ok, forget what she had said earlier. Naoko was an idiot.
Then again, she could be a bit of an idiot herself. A tiny smile tugged at the corner of her mouth, before growing to a small chuckle. The sickly, anxious feeling had actually diminished, the new recruit's antics lightening the mood significantly. Perhaps that was the intention? Probably not, but Kotone decided to give Naoko the benefit of the doubt.
She cringed, as Naoko brandished the broom rather threateningly at an invisible victim. "You can put that back, Naoko," she chuckled. "We use...different, methods."
Her subordinate (Kotone took a moment to work out her position in the pecking order in relation to Naoko's. Naoko was her superior's subordinate... and she was unsure where that left herself) breathed an obvious sigh of relief, as the older ninja shepherded her back to the stairwell, then down to the dank, cold basement.
"These are our preferred tools." Kotone said as they reached the landing, withdrawing a senbon from her sleeve. "Small, precise, and effective."
Naoko's eyes were fixed on the slender, polished needle, as if in fascination. She hesitated, before taking it politely from Kotone's hands, examining the sharpened bit of metal almost... fondly. "I'm going to love this job."
Kotone's head tilted to the side again, as she watched the other. Was that normal? Probably. She dismissed the almost obsessive reaction to the weapon. "You know how to use them, right? someone taught you?"
Naoko nodded, finally averting her eyes from the throwing needle. "My sensei is Hoshigaki Kisame. He taught me the basics and I kinda picked up on them."
"Right," She smiled, starting down the hallway again, as the other had stopped in the middle of the corridor. "That must have been something else. Training with Hoshigaki senpai himself. "
Naoko shrugged. "It was fun, but I'm sure he trains me harder than most. He tells me you're the Demon's girlfriend, THAT must be something else."
Now, It was the other's turn to stop dead. It took her brain an even longer moment to process what the turquoise haired girl had said. Her stomach did an odd little backflip... It took every bit of her training to return the smile on her face to it's previous state, as she coughed into her hand.
Naoko was mistaken. There was nothing to be embarrassed about, and there was no reason for her face to be burning the way it had begun to. She would simply ignore the comment. Her personal life was none of Naoko's business, just as Naoko's was none of her own. So, she directed the conversation back to something she deemed relevant to her assignment. Naoko's credentials. "He must train you hard, to be accepted into the ANBU at such a young age."
Naoko smiled, "Some days it was hard, but it's paid off hasn't it?" She said. "So is it fun working here?" She asked. Obviously untroubled by the lack of acknowledgment her previous statement had received.
Kotone paused thoughtfully, eyes directed somewhere in direction of the moldy ceiling. Fun? She had never considered her work fun, before. It was... necessary. She was doing her duty, to protect the village in the best way she could. That was what ninja were for, right? "I wouldn't say fun." She answered slowly. "It's a messy job, but someone has to do it. we keep the village safe. That's rewarding."
Naoko grinned, excitement gleaming in her hazel eyes. "I can't wait to get my first confession. Put me up against anyone, and I'll make them tell me where their mother lives." She said confidently.
Kotone returned the smile a bit more uncertainly, both amused, and slightly worried by Naoko's enthusiasm. She seemed like a nice kid... But their job was brutal, and bloody. She was afraid her junior didn't know what she was getting herself into. But, of course, being trained by someone like Hosigaki Kisame... Perhaps she was suited for this, after all. "You'll probably get something minor to start... missing chunin and that kinda stuff..." Naoko's face fell, so Kotone added, as what she hoped to be a reassuring afterthought, "But hey, who knows? You could be tackling the big fish in no time, "
"I hope so," She replied happily.
"Hm," Kotone paused thoughtfully, examining the empty floor. There were only six other interrogators, and none of them were still there. "Well I doubt there'd be any more work for any of us today. We had a real mess this morning, but we've gotten that sorted out already. You can go home now, if you'd like... Just be here again this time tomorrow."
"I'll be here even earlier!" She said energetically. "Bye senpai!" With that, the young kunoichi started for the stairs, trotting down the hallway, and out of sight. Kotone lingered in the flourescent lit area for an hour or so, before sighing, and returning home, when nothing came up. They knew where to find her if something did.
She could see her breath when she stepped outside, her sandals doing little to protect her from the cold, icy slush strewn about the roads. Wet snow, that more closely resembled rain, drifted down from the grey clouds blanketing the sky, and she shivered, before quickening her pace.
She trotted most of the way, her gait halfway between a jog and a sprint, hugging her arms close to herself to keep warm, and had to push the door open with her foot when she reached their home. Stop kicking the damn door, Kotone. That's why it's drafty. Zabuza growled, from somewhere inside.
Or at least, he should have.
Kotone stepped inside carefully, a few steps through the room revealing that it was otherwise unoccupied. However, the red streaked mask set down on the kitchen table alerted her to two things. One, he had been home, and two, was conspicuously distracted. He had left his mask lying out carelessly, out of place. That was unlike him.
He was probably out with the other trackers, celebrating... He'd been promoted after all, that usually made him a bit more agreeable, if only for a short while.
But no. Zabuza wore his mask in public, almost without exception. He had to remove it when actually eating, of course, but still, it was always either turned to the side of his head, or sitting patiently, at the ready beside him.
Several, long, quick strides brought her through the kitchen, to the back door, which creaked open. She grimaced, as the mechanical squeal pierced the air, and stepped outside as quickly as possible, thankful that it's closing groan was lower, and more bearable.
Though not a true hunter nin herself, the large sandal prints in the snow were enough to tell her which way he'd gone. And her training as an interrogator told her something else. As easy it would have been for him to hide, said footprints, he had failed to do so. Indicating that he had no reservations about, or perhaps was intending for, her following him.
Of course, if he really had meant to hide, he wouldn't have chosen such an obvious spot to begin with.
He was sitting near the edge of their old training ground, back to her, glancing over his shoulder slightly as she approached. She stopped, frowning when she noticed the bottle, and glass beside him.
"Drinking?" He just nodded, grunting ambiguously. Kotone raised an eyebrow, and sat herself down next to him, ignoring the snow, and how it was soaking her backside. "Aren't you in a cheery mood today."
"Look, taking care of the morons on the tracker unit isn't my idea of fun."
"Yeah, but appointed by Mizukage sama himself? That's really something else!" He made another heavy breathing sound, before handing her the glass, which she drank half of, as was her habit.
"Recognition from that stupid bastard doesn't mean much to me, Kotone."
She stared at him, eyes showing an unusual mixture of shock, and reproach. "Zabuza-,"
"Look, never mind." He sensed the impending argument, and decided to save it for another time. It could wait a little longer... Instead, he sighed, leaning back on his bend arms. "What was that Aoyama kid like?"
The kunoichi paused, taking a moment to think, and cross her legs more comfortably. "She's... I don't know... unusual."
"How so?"
"Loud."
His eyes flickered cynically towards her, eyebrows raising a fraction. "And you're not?"
"Well yeah, but," She shook her head, resting her face in her hands, her bangs running from between her fingers. "With you, I am. This little kid just walks up to me, bold as anything, and just kind of... talked. "
"So, she was completely comfortable around you?"
She nodded, her muffled voice still coming from between her hands. "Totally. It was weird."
"Actually," Zabuza started, meditatively, eyes now directed somewhere near the snowy treetops above them. "I think she might be normal."
"Wha?" She sat up straight very suddenly, hands now resting behind her. "What do you mean?"
"I mean," He chuckled bittterly, returning his attention to her. "You weren't properly socialized as a kitten, now were you?"
Kotone crinkled her nose in disapproval. "And what is that supposed to mean?"
"The old academy system. Aoyama would only have been part of it for a year. Not isolated for as long as the older ones were. Our training made for good ninja, but bad conversationalists."
It was quiet for a long moment. Early as it was, the sky had started to grow dark, and the wind had died down, still leaving the chill from the water nearby. Most of the birds on the island had moved on to warmer lands, and many of the other animals were nestled in their burrows, sleeping through the worst of the weather. Their absence hd left the air was eerily still, and even though she spoke quietly, it sounded loud when she finally did.
"Spar me."
He sat up. "What?"
"Spar against me. That'll cheer you up, won't it? Take your mind of things? It always did."
"No,"
She was smiling now. "What's the matter? You scared?"
"Kotone, don't be stupid..."
"Come on," she got to her feet, brushing a few bits of snow away, frowning at the dark wet, and therefor cold, spot the snow had left on her happi.
"Alright then," He didn't bother ridding himself of the snow stuck to his clothing, and stood, pushing the bottle of Sake out of the way, before his stance became more ready. "But it's your own damn fault if I kill you."
It would have been impossible to tell who struck first, as a second later, they were nothing more than a blur, darting across the training ground. Zabuza formed quick, precise handseals, occasionally throwing water ninjutsu, that the taijutsu specialist had no hope of countering. She instead had to throw herself out of the way, smacking the ground to break her fall as she landed, then almost instantly springing back to her feet.
Not that Zabuza's hand to hand combat was sub par, by any means. He was strong enough to easily deflect her weaker, but well aimed, and well executed, strikes. The tracker kicked out with his left, hitting the air, where she had been a moment before. "Gotta be faster than that," She giggled, as she sent another kick towards his head, which he pushed away.
It went on that way for quite a while, before, all of a sudden, Kotone found herself flat on her back, staring at the cloudy gray sky, a dull ache passing through her, where she'd landed. And before she had time to sit up again, a weight against her chest, and something sharp, and cold at her throat. Zabuza held the kunai where it was, pointed at her larynx, and eyed her suspiciously when she made no move to throw him off.
Kotone's brain had already surmised that she had been pinned. That was no trouble at all. She could think of a dozen ways to get out of this.
Her mind knew, and chose the best suited of these. But somehow, her body failed to obey the order.
Not to mention that there were a hundred other thoughts ricocheting off each other in the back of her head somewhere. And none of them were useful.
Like how he didn't weigh as much as she'd have expected him to...
Or how small she actually was now, compared to him...
Or the way her heart was now racing inexplicably...
And how his eyes were a lovely shade of chestnut when you really looked at them...
Or why the hell she was thinking that at all.
Kotone's internal rambling was finally cut short, as Zabuza broke their eye contact, digging the kunai into her neck, just enough to remind her it was there. "I win," He stated evenly, standing once again, and gathering his thrown weapons, and sake, before starting for home.
The kunoichi, still slight dazed, got to her feet and did the same, soon after.
vvvvvvvvvvvv
Kotone tapped her foot quickly against the ground beneath the heavy wooden desk, resting her head on her folded arms. It was unlike her to worry this way about someone else, but a certain someone's behavior, as of late, was highly unsettling.
Naoko had been unusually cheerful when she had joined, and that had bothered the older interrogator from the start. Their job was serious, and Naoko's enthusiasm had been setting her up for quite a fall.
Soon after being assigned to look after Naoko, Kotone had suddenly sound herself with an extremely heavy workload, that occupied the vast majority of her time, both interrogating at headquarters, and away with the trackers.
In fact, it was the day Naoko was first asked to interrogate that the leader of their division saw fit to assign her to someone else, a man a few years older than herself she knew only vaguely. Of course, as it was an official order, and she had no right to question it, she didn't argue with the younger girl's reassignment.
She saw Naoko in the hallways, and coming to, and from the little rooms used for questioning. And each time she saw her, she looked a little bit gloomier.
Kotone wasn't surprised at first, and told herself that the other was still adjusting to her new career. But about a month and a half later, mid February, when the turquoise haired girl was looking more dejected, and sullen than ever, she began to worry a little.
In fact, as much as it bothered her to admit it, this worried her a lot.
So much so, that she got to her feet, stepping away from the desk, a paper in her hand, and out into the dimly lit hallway. She ignored the muffled sounds of a target's shouting behind a door to her left, and hastened up the stairs, to the first floor.
The door to the tracking department, where their desks, and files were kept, was smaller than the integration's, and less used. Nevertheless, there were three masked men lazing about the office when she entered, taking the time to bow politely, as the one she intended to speak with did, technically, outrank her.
"Ume,"
"Captain Momochi,"
There was a tense silence, as the other two realize they had been dismissed, and left the room rather quickly, Zabuza's mask's dead looking eyes following them, and perhaps speeding their exit.
So to left Kotone's professionalism, and she untied her mask, setting it down with the paper she had been holding, on a nearby tabletop. "Zabuza kun," She started, much more casually, ranks aside. "I've been looking at this report, and the names for that mission tomorrow..."
Zabuza pauses for a moment, before baring his own face, his mask clacking against the wodden surface he so carefully set it down on. "What about them?"
"You've sent Aoyama out."
"Yes, I have."
"She's never been out with you guys before."
Zabuza frowned, sitting slightly against the desk, arms bent, as his hands hooked under the table's surface, idly. "She's Hoshigaki Kisame's student, right? You'd think she could handle some runaway chunin garbage."
"I know. She's a perfectly capable ninja, but..." Kotone trailed off, face twisting almost guiltily, as she shifted her weight back and forth between her feet."She's been acting funny lately. Depressed."
The dark haired jonin lowered his gaze, eyeing the kunoichi disapprovingly. "You're worried about her."
She stood up a little bit straighter, and huffed indignantly. "It's my job to be. 'Look after Naoko,' that was my assignment."
"Was being the operative word." The young woman frowned, crossing her arms against her chest. He watched her pout, mildly intrigued. "This is unlike you. You're actually worried about the little twerp, am I right?"
Kotone sighed, staring at her sandal, distractedly, for a moment. "I'm not sure why. And not really... I don't know... Zabuza, she's just a little girl..."
"At her age, you were quite the assassin, if I remember correctly. Aoyama's the same."
She shook her head, slowly. "No. Not like me. Naoko's different. I know she can kill people, I looked over her supervisor's reports, and she has, but," She sat back up, pushing her bangs out of her face, with a weary little sigh. "It never bothered me. I mean, yeah, that one time, but I got over it. Naoko... It hurts her."
"Then she's weak."
The kunoichi said nothing for another drawn out moment. Zabuza glanced down at the desktop, a few light footsteps across the tiled floor bringing him to the paper she had brought with her. He examined it, briefly, before picking up a discarded pen, and scrawling something along the bottom in messy, badly formed letters. He tossed the almost dried up writing implement where he'd found it, before picking up, and handing her the paper. She smiled, as she read her own name, under the assigned shinobi, next to Naoko's.
"You know we only need one of you for a mission like this. But, if it's to help train the new recruit, I could justify sending you, as well." He grumbled. "
"Thank you," She answered, clearly relieved. "I'll keep an eye on her."
The ANBU captain nodded curtly, before tying his mask back into place, and leaving the room.
The snow had stopped about an hour earlier. That was good, A black haired tracker, knelt by some footprints, that, though fuzzy, and undefined, was enough to point them in the right direction, as well as tell them that their target had made them only a short while before the snowfall ended. "We usually just let the trackers do their thing, till they catch the guy." She told the shorter girl, as they waited for the group to start moving again.
Naoko nodded, with, what Kotone was glad to see was genuine enthusiasm. The prospect of her first real mission had cheered up the younger interrogator, enough to make her forget her usual melancholy. "Then it's up to us to make the guy squeal, right?"
"Essentially, yes," Kotone nodded, "Three chunin went missing on a mission a few days ago. We assumed they were dead, until someone sighted one of them yesterday, and we've only found one set of tracks. It's our job to question him, to get the location of the other two, if they're alive."
Naoko seemed to Hesitate for a fraction of a second, before nodding as well. "Well, let's get going then." The hazel eyed girl turned rather sharply towards the trackers "What's taking so long? Hurry up." She demanded.
The tracker looked over at her, face obscured by the mask he wore. "Northeast," He snapped. "The footprints match the target's description, and he was definitely alone."
Kotone was pretty sure, that, had Naoko's features not been hidden by her own carefully designed mask, she would have been scowling. "Damn, I wanted to show off my new killer jutsu." She whispered to herself, a little too noisily to be a real whisper. Suddenly mindful of masks, Kotone tightened the knot beneath her ponytail, keeping her own on securely, before the group took off, in the direction they had been told. The experienced interrogator kept to the back with Naoko, instead of her usual place at the side of the group. Zabuza, who was leading, farther ahead than usual stopped, suddenly. Kotone and a few of the other trackers caught up, speaking amongst themselves silently. "More tracks," She murmured to Naoko, as she came over. "Alot more."
"Could it be the other two?"
"Yes, and no. They must have encountered some others. We're looking at about five people."
"Bounty hunters, thugs, bandits... we may not have a person to interrogate." The younger one said grimly.
Kotone shrugged, watchful of the front of the group, wanting to be ready when they decided to keep going. They were talking tracking up there, and she didn't really want to get involved. The tracking unit, or any 'team' in their village, wasn't much of a team, really. Just a bunch of ninja trained the same way, after the same person. Made things easier, less personal. Less worrying."Missions like this, things often go strangely. gotta be ready for anything. Still, five of them, seven of us, I'm liking our odds, here."
The pale blue haired girl clenched her hands uneasily. "But if we get ambushed..."
Kotone made a face, as Naoko's not so quiet musings were attracting the others's attention. "Hey, relax..." She said, trying to model the kind of quiet they needed on these missions. "We can take them... I hear you're no pushover on the battlefield. Don't worry. And I think we're talking to much," She chuckled lightly ,hoping her not so subtle hint would do the trick, before taking off after the others, who had started again.
Which it did. Everything was fine, the trackers and interrogators gliding along silently, moving like ghosts over the snowy ground, between the country's many coniferous trees and birches. Kotone nearly groaned aloud when another not-at-all quiet noise disturbed the silence. .
"Zabuza-senpai!" Naoko called, indiscreetly. The tall, dark haired man made no signs of having heard her, and continued as though nothing had happened. Of course, it was obvious that everyone had heard the rookie's outburst, especially since she persisted, her attempts getting louder.
Kotone felt the need to step in, when irate trackers started glancing over their shoulders, their glares, though unseen, somehow felt. "What is it?" She asked softly.
Naoko's tense shoulders, and voice betrayed exactly how frustrated she was, clearly not used to receiving the cold shoulder. "The target is trying to get out of the country fast. I know a shortcut that if we head back a few clicks and turn through the woods it'll save us time."
Kotone bit her lip, trying to think how to best explain to Naoko, without discouraging her, that they generally didn't make assumptions, and followed the target's exact trail. If they went to the coast, and the enemies were not trying to flee the country at the time, they would have to relocate the trail, and would have lost precious time. Naoko called him again, this time dangerously noisy, and a tracker actually turned, and shushed her, loudly, clearly seething. "Um, Naoko, perhaps we should try and be a bit stealthier..."
"What the hell?" Naoko's voice was defiant, and at just the right volume to assure that everyone definitely heard, and was definitely meant to hear. "I try and suggest getting there faster and they shh me! Maybe they're scared that I could do their job better then them."
"Naoko," Kotone said gently. "The old academy system relied heavily on auditory training, so, if any one of us is making noise, the others's searching abilities are impeded-" Not to mention that the targets, who had also been trained in the old system, would probably hear.
And to think Naoko had been concerned about ambushes, minutes ago.
"I'll impede the damn trackers as much as I want to," Naoko interrupted crossly, finally lowering her voice.
The group stopped suddenly, at the edge edge of a clearing. She could hear people milling about in the slush and snow, and a light chatter, of their unsuspecting targets.
Zabuza motioned for them to split up and surround their targets. "You stay here," The older one said as she slipped off somewhere to the left. "You can stay out of the fighting for now, if you want." Interrogators, like medic nin, were technically supposed to stay out of fights. But Kotone had always hated just watching. She preferred to make herself useful.
The younger girl nodded, "Are you gonna fight?"
"Yeah," She answered. "I'm not about to let the men have all the fun. I'm no good throwing things, though. I usually join once the senbon stop. "
The signal was given, and the hunter nin crouching in the trees took aim, letting their senbon fly. One man, who looked more like a civilian criminal, or bandit than a ninja fell down dead, another, who was indeed wearing one of their village's flak jackets clutched at a deadened arm.
Generally, they would have kept throwing things till most were dead, or immobilized, but one of the two who actually appeared to be rogue shinobi, had cast the kirigakure no jutsu, compromising their aim.
Some trackers relied on their aim too heavily, and in these situations, had to sit out, and wait for the others to finish the targets off. Zabuza, herself, and another tracker she wasn't acquainted with sprang at them.
She flitted through the obscured clearing, focused, unlike the other two, on one thing only. To find one of them, and incapacitate them, without actually killing, or compromising their level of conciousness. This was no easy feat. A second later, panicked breathing and the rustling of feet through wet, crystalized snow caught her ears, and she spun, kicking what she saw to be one of the two ninja, in the face.
The fight went quickly, the cold winter air silent, save for the splintering of bone, as Kotone landed a particularly forceful kick against the man's chest, the bandits scampering about ( No screaming, of course. Zabuza's victims didn't have time to scream) bodies hitting the ground, and Kotone's furious cry of "Son of a bitch!" as the other tracker appeared, seemingly from nowhere, and unknowingly slit her target's throat.
She had been working with the trackers long enough to know that they had an annoying habit of getting in each other's ( and an interrogator's) way. But she was still pissed off.
The fog had began to clear, and though still faded, she could make out the quickly clearing shapes of the other two, and the dead bodies.
Zabuza had the other nuke nin by the throat, a kunai pressed against his jugular vein. "Here," He grunted, tossing the terrified, yet still living, nuke ninja to the ground.
"Thanks." Kotone pounced, drawing a kunai, and stabbing the target legs, carefully. A precaution she usually wouldn't have bothered to take, but decided it would be best if Naoko had less to worry about going wrong. "Oi, Aoyama," She called. "You can take this one, ok?"
Naoko dropped to the snowy ground gracefully, before instructing one of the trackers to hold the man down. Zabuza watched as Kotone stepped closer, watching Naoko as carefully as Naoko was watching her victim. Analyzing.
He had watched Kotone at work often enough to make some observations, himself. Naoko's voice was softer than Kotone's ever was, with her targets. Though her mask hid her expression, as was part of it's purpose, the rookie torturer was still visibly hesitant. Her questions were delivered mechanically, as were the senbon she pressed into the sensitive spots on his skin when he failed to cooperate.
Kotone was always more relaxed, more casual, her voice calm, and almost mischevious. She toyed with her prey like the great, wily cat that she was. And worse still, let the know they were being toyed with. She let the see the needle as she turned it between her fingers, or tapped it against the table. Every little clinking sound reminding the criminal what she could do with that weapon, should she choose to. Which she very well might.
It was something he always kept in mind, when around her. Though she was amiable, and dare he say friendly, (with himself at least) in a general sense, Kotone was far from being a kind person. That was a weakness Shinobi like herself couldn't afford.
Which is why this entire affair with Hoshigaki's student had completely muddled him. It was unlike her. It was stupid.
Naoko finished, finally killing her reluctant informant, and announcing that there were no others with the group, and the third ninja had died on that mission. The bodies still needed destroying, but Kotone volunteered, and the masked ninja started for home, as two large cats began gnawing on their meals.
Though they arrived together, the ANBU team returned as they liked, all taking off in their own directions, save the interrogator, who waited with her clawed companions, and the ANBU captain, who waited for her.
"You still worried?" He asked bitterly, recalling the trouble the other girl had caused.
"No," She admitted, with a sigh. "She was like she was on that first day. Bold as anything, and ordering her superiors around." She let out another breathy little noise, as Kogane growled, chasing Hisui away from a particularly meaty looking bandit. "Oi, Zabuza kun, I'd been meaning to tell you. I think I'm going to see if I can get all my work for two days from now done tomorrow, I I'll probably have to stay real late. If nothing comes up, I'd been meaning to work on my kuchiyose jutsu... see if I can get any farther than Kogane... you know. Just in case."
The dark haired man nodded, but wasn't really listening. From somewhere through the trees, the wind had carried what he found to be a particularly annoying voice back to the clearing. A certain someone was informing everyone that they were 'going home the wrong way, and were morons for not following her'.
Zabuza grit his sharp teeth tightly enough to hurt.
'Luck' was a word he hated using. But he could honestly say that Aoyama Naoko was unbelievably lucky that Kotone had accompanied her, today.
Because if it weren't for her presence, he was pretty sure he'd have turned around, and killed the little brat less than an hour in.
So... yeah! Credit for Naoko goes to Nobukane : D
Sorry if it what I wrote was boring n.n;;; Thank you all so much for reading, please review, and have an awesome day!