Splitting Up

"Chigau!" Anko said, getting a little heated. Kakashi and several other jounin looked at her with amused disbelief. "That is not why I agreed to become Orochimaru's apprentice!"

"Sure, Anko," said Kakashi, patting her on the shoulder, still reading his book despite how interesting the discussion had been.

Genma was about to ask another question when Shizune entered the jounin lounge, letting the door slam a bit to get everyone's attention. The room fell silent as she took in the scene before her.

"You lot are still here?" she said. "Lunch was over twenty minutes ago! You've all got things you should be doing, and half of you have teams to manage. Get a move on before Hokage-sama finds out!"

There was a generalised grumbling, but the room was quickly cleared as the jounin dispersed the way only ninja do.

"Not so fast, Anko," Shizune said, catching Anko by the arm before she could leave.

"Wh-what?" she said, blushing slightly. Did she hear what we were talking about!? Anko thought in panic, though outwardly she remained mostly calm.

Shizune waited until she couldn't sense anyone else lefft around, and then sighed, losing her strict tone and releasing Anko's arm. "Let's go grab a bite. Tsunade's been in a mood all morning and I need to get out of here. Unless you have something to do?"

Anko laughed a little nervously from relief and waved the idea aside. "Of course not! I'm always willing to be a sympathetic ear! Let's go get some dango!" Phew! So she didn't hear!

Kakashi got an earful from Naruto and Sakura as he arrived late. After quickly apologising and assigning their D-rank mission for the day, the three went to look for the items desired by their client. Kakashi settled down to continue reading, not expecting them back for at least an hour with some of the items.

Just out of range of anyone's senses, two shinigami watched from a high vantage point.

"Matsumoto, we're going to split up for now. I'm going to approach that one," Hitsugaya said, motioning towards the silvery-white haired masked fellow with one eye covered.

Matsumoto withheld comment, but grinned a little. "Hai, Taichou. You saw those two women leave that place? I think I might see what they're up to."

"It's better if you find individuals."

"I know, but from here it looked like they were going to have some fun."

"Hn," said Hitsugaya, not surprised. "Remember to be back here on time, and be careful."

"Of course. Good luck, Taichou!"

"You too."

Kakashi looked up from his book, sensing an unfamiliar presence. A boy somewhere between ten and thirteen wearing rather outlandish clothing was walking vaguely his way, glancing around every now and then as if not sure which village he was in. Kakashi got up, putting his book away. He certainly wasn't a local, and didn't look like a merchant, a messenger, or someone who might be looking to hire ninja, and Kakashi was getting curious. Kakashi noted he wasn't exactly coming from the direction of the main gates, either, meaning he might have been wandering around for a while, perhaps ever since the ninja on gate duty had not had a reason to reason to refuse him entry. Then again, he might have somehow entered from a different entrance, or just snuck in another way.

"Oi there, kid, you look lost," he called out casually, taking a few steps towards the boy before stopping.

The boy stopped also and glanced at him in an appraising manner. At least we speak the same language, thought Hitsugaya. I suppose those boys at Twelfth Division were right about something for a change.

"I suppose I am," Hitsugaya replied after hesitating a moment.

From what he had observed earlier, and seeing the man close up, Hitsugaya could tell this man was certainly not a nobody. He had weapon pouches openly strapped to him, and despite apparently only having one eye visible, he knew that this man could be very dangerous in a fight – Zaraki Kenpachi was a fine example of how having only one eye in use didn't mean someone was a pushover. Hitsugaya also noticed that, despite the casual stance, the man had moved with graceful efficiency, like any master fighter, and could probably move with deadly speed if necessary.

"Well if it helps, you're in the village of Konoha. I'm Hatake Kakashi. I have to say I'm a little curious who you are. You're obviously not from around here, and yet you're here alone. And I assume you didn't come through the main gates…" He continued his thoughts in his head. He's not wearing a hitai-ate and doesn't seem to be armed…but that doesn't necessarily mean he's not a ninja. His presence is completely strange…

"Konoha, eh?" the boy repeated quietly, glancing around a bit. "I'm…Hitsugaya," he said, deciding there was no reason to lie about his name. "Hitsugaya Toushirou. Pleased to meet you."

"Likewise."

"You were right, I didn't come through the main gates."

"I see. So, Hitsugaya-kun, forgive me for being blunt but what are you? We don't usually get lone strangers here just wandering…"

"I'm…a goat herder," Hitsugaya improvised. "I've…lost my goats."

"…I see," said Kakashi, neutrally. It was a bad lie, and it was obvious they both knew it. He could tell the boy was obviously measuring him just as he was measuring the kid. This kid's far more intelligent and mature than most boys his age, thought Kakashi. Who the hell is he?! He knew that this little Q&A session could take some time, and he was intrigued enough that he didn't want to scare the boy away. He also realised that until he knew what he was dealing with he couldn't justify simply assuming he was friendly or hostile and acting accordingly. Kakashi sighed.

Anko and Shizune were about to tuck into the first serving of dango when a busty young woman entered the dango store, making a bit of a scene.

"Oh, for crying out loud! Where's a good companion when you need one!" she sobbed dramatically to no-one in particular and everyone at the same time. "All I want is a friend, a strong drink—" she quickly glanced and saw the dango at Anko and Shizune's table "—and some fresh dango. Is that too much to ask these days?"

She sat down, clearly unhappy, at the table next to Anko and Shizune's, inwardly grinning to herself that she had all eyes on her.

"Hey, join the club," said Anko with a grin. Anko shot a quick, questioning glance at Shizune, who shrugged slightly. Anko, then motioned that the young woman might join them.

Success! Matsumoto thought as she moved to sit with the two jounin.

A pair of serpentine eyes observed the Copy Ninja and the white-haired boy as they sat under the shade of a tree, chatting like old friends, occasionally sharing a laugh. Orochimaru licked his lips as he hungrily eyed the younger of the two, completely forgetting that he had come to Konoha to find Sasuke.