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There were two others already waiting by the gates, though they were hidden. They identified themselves as Karasu-san and Usagi-san. Both were men, who sounded like they were in their late teens or early twenties. Yet there was no sign of their captain.
"So, who are you supposed to be?" Karasu-san asked, putting his hands in his pockets and leaning against a tree. Brown hair, smooth voice, tanned skin. Someone who often worked outside.
She would see the sun soon, for the first time. "I am Kuma," she answered quietly. What was she supposed to do with her hands? Would it seem strange to them if she copied their movements.
"How old are you, anyways?" Usagi-san asked. Red hair, high voice. Younger than wither Karasu or Inu. Tapping his foot impatiently. "Like...three?"
"Seven," she said.
He groaned and she could almost hear him rolling his eyes behind his mask. What was that emotion? "All these prodigies. Where do they even come from?" He waved his arms around and Karasu who was chuckling. That was a sound she had never heard. Usagi pointed a finger at her. "You should be playing with your friends, little girl."
She didn't react, instead, choosing to sit patiently on the tree branch as far up as she could go. Her legs dangled down.
Usagi huffed again.
"Where is Inu-taichou?" She asked when an hour passed without any sign of him.
"He'll be here in about two hours," Karasu-san said.
He was going to be late for a meeting he set up? Was this why Danzo-sama hated the Third and all loyal to him?
"So, you're about to go on your first big mission!" Usagi said, lifting his mask slightly so she could see that he was smiling at her. Why was he smiling? "How does that make ya feel?"
"I don't," she answered.
"Don't what?" Karasu-san asked.
"Feel. I don't feel. If you were shinobi worth your salt, you wouldn't either."
"Wha? HEY!" Usagi yelled, jumping up to her branch and getting in her face. "What did you just say you little shit?!"
Why was he so loud? No one she'd ever met before had been that loud. It was must quieter in the base. He was still in her face, pressing his mask against hers. "Shinobi shouldn't feel," she said. "We are tools, and tools do not feel. They are used."
He made a small gasp, as if his air caught in his mouth. He turned his mask and looked down at Karasu-san, who made a similar sound. "You don't...really think that, do you?"
"Of course I do," she said. "If I didn't mean it, then why would I have said it?"
There was no more conversation until Inu-taichou finally made an appearance. He seemed to sense the there was some kind of tension among the group, but didn't comment on it. They set off on the road without any further conversation.
Even though they were inefficient tools, Shichi...or Kuma for this mission, could tell that they were experienced shinobi. It was in the way they moved, how every sound made them twitch. They reminded her of the superiors. They were experienced too. And not nearly as loud.
Inu-taichou was very obviously much stronger than her. She thought she might be able to kill Usagi-san and run away from Karasu-san. But Inu-taichou was in a entire realm of his own. She wasn't even sure if the superiors could beat him in a head on fight. So she supposed she wouldn't try to fight him.
They traveled for twelve hours with minimal breaks, just a few minutes every few hours, before Inu-taichou raised his hand and they took a detour into a cave. "We'll rest here for the night. We'll make it to the meeting place." He pointed to Karasu. "You'll take first watch. Kuma-san, you'll take the watch afterwards."
"Yes, Inu-taichou." She made her way to the other side of the cave, sitting on her knees and pulling out her overnight scroll. Five food pills for the trip, a bottle of water, and a few extra weapons and exploding tags. She went over her gear a few more times, just to make sure that she was prepared. She took her tanto off her back and took her sharpener, making sure the edges were sharpened to a deadly edge. Then she ate a food pill and drank her water, then sealed everything back up, and sat looking directly ahead of her.
"Here," Karasu handed her a rice ball. But that wasn't allowed.
"I am unable to eat while on missions," she told him.
"Aw, come on kiddo," he said, resting his other hand against Kuma's hair, messing it up. "There's no need to be nervous. We'll look out for ya, and this is a relatively low risk mission."
"That is not what I was referring too. While on a mission, the body's natural functions are inconvenient. Food pills do not produce those functions. So I am only permitted to eat food pills."
He looked at her, an energy rolling off him, that she couldn't place. It was another one of the 'bad' emotions. "Are you telling me...you aren't allowed to take a shit on a mission?" He asked, his voice cracking.
"Yes, that is correct."
He looked back at Inu. "Yo?! What are they teaching these new kids?"
"Kuma-san wasn't trained with the other new recruits. She was trained under Danzo Shimura," Inu said, leaning against the cave wall.
"But I thought…" Karasu sighed and stopped talking, casting her another look before walking over to Usagi and sitting down, whispering among each other. Kuma paid them no mind, keeping her eyes straight ahead.
"You should get some sleep," Inu said when they were all settling down.
"The mission is not yet complete."
"Sleep. That's an order," he said with a hard edge to his voice.
She nodded her head and laid down on the cave floor. She heard Usagi sigh, and he threw a blanket over her. She didn't pull it closer around her body, but it did beat out the cold that had been seeping into her flesh. Her midriff was freezing, her cloak doing little to keep her warm. And against he better judgment, she felt herself slipping off into sleep
The mission objective was on the other side of the bridge. She didn't look great, but seemed to be unharmed. But which of the three standing on the bridge were Danzo-sama's agent? They started crossing, and Kuma's group followed at the same pace. When they all stood at the center of the bridge, Inu and one of the Kumo shinobi stepped almost toe to toe. The Kumo shinobi handed Inu the rope binding their fellow leaf ninja, and Inu handed over a black scroll.
Kuma held out her hand and tilted her head to the side. "It looks like it'll rain soon. Isn't that bad luck?"
"Nah, I'm sure we'll be fine," answered Usagi.
"Pleasure doing business with you," the Kumo shinobi said with a sneer. "May we never set eyes on one another again." Then the three of them turned and walked back where they came from. When they got to the other side, one of their comrades pulled a sword and decapitated one, then turned and sliced down the center of the other shinobi. Usagi and Karasu both made sounds of shock, when he disappeared, black scroll clutched in his hand.
Inu put a hand on Kuma's shoulder. "What did you do?" He demanded, tightening his grip on her shoulder.
"Followed my orders," she said, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. When she felt the aura Inu was emitting, she realized he was expressing one of the bad emotions again, but this time towards her. The emotion that cause lesser shinobi to react without thinking. He might kill her, but at least she had compleated her mission objective.
"And that's what happened," Kakashi finished his story, hands behind his back. He could tell that the Third was...well pissed. "I believe that Kuma passed on a code to the man, on behalf of Danzo."
"I should have him executed when I had the chance," he said, letting his hands go and placing them down on the desk. He took in a deep breath. "And what became of the scroll?" He asked.
"The infiltrator took it and ran after he'd already killed the other two." Kakashi fidgeted with a loose thread on his glove behind his back. "When I asked her what she had done, she simply said she'd 'compleated her mission.'"
"I ordered him to disband ROOT, I suppose I should have known better than to trust him at his word. How many children do you believe have fallen under his care."
"Sir, you can't blame yourself for his actions."
"The hell I can't," The Third snapped. "That child is a citizen of Konoha, and look at what that man has done to her. He allows her to associate with shinobi not in their organization. That means he trusts her and that by his standards she is well taken care of. You only spent two days with her, and you managed to spot something wrong. Imagine what else is beneath the surface."
"She was...like a doll," Kakashi explained, picturing the chid's mask. "A doll that Danzo was issuing orders too, even though he was back in the village. She never complained about being cold, tired, hungry. All she ate were food pills and water, even when presented with other food."
"It would be easier to help her, if we knew who she was. But I doubt there are records of her...Danzo would have taken or destroyed them."
"I...I can keep looking."
"Yes...but I also have another assignment for you." The Third managed a smile for Kakashi. "What do you think about being a Jonin instructor?"
She returned to base, and was ordered to kneel immediately. She did and Danzo-sama made his way into the debriefing room. He was holding a black scroll, and seemed to be exhibiting a good emotion. He was...pleased, she thought. Which meant that she had been successful down to every detail of her mission.
"This is twice now that you have succeded. Though, this mission was quite a bit easier than the first." He ran his fingers along the outside of the scroll. Was that greed then? "And the ninja who was returned to our village has brought with her many secrets from her captors. You are truly, an efficient tool, Shichi."
"Thank you, Danzo-sama," she said, not taking her eyes off the ground.
"You may return to your room and rest for the night. Then I expect you back in training tomorrow morning."
"As you command, Danzo-sama."
He chuckled, deep within his chest. Vibrations that se could feel under her fingertips. "Ah, if only your father would have addressed me so politely, I never would have needed you to exist in the first place."
"Was my father rude, Danzo-sama?" She asked.
"You should know better than to speak out of turn, Shichi," Danzo said, his amusement turning to annoyance. "You will be punished before you are permitted to rest. Ten lashes."
"Yes, Danzo-sama."