Chapter Nineteen
Once they were close enough to carry a conversation with the guards by the gates that marked the entrance of Sunagakure, Ino found herself staring anxiously between the two sand shinobi that stood, looking strong and confident before them.
Two men were before Ino and Lee, both with the same golden eyes, and ebony hair. One was just below average height, with slight curls to his hair, and porcelain skin not very much different than Ino's. He didn't have much muscle, but there were weapons stored in his black boots, and cockiness swimming through his eyes, that assured Ino that lack of muscle may not have mattered in this case.
The other one was tall, and looked as though he was cut from stone. His arms were large, and much like boulders beneath scarred skin. Long cuts ran along his back in jagged lines, ranging from faded white lines to burning pink and red marks that seemed to glow under the light from the stars. He wore no shirt, but scars over his chest. His eyes weren't as big, or as curious as the other man's, he didn't smile like his comrade either, he appeared, tired, yet dangerous. The legs of his tightly fit black pants, were widely flared, and flowed away from his ankles, revealing more of his legs as he began to walk towards both Ino and Lee.
Ino would have thought he was one of the most handsome men she had ever seen, had the left side of his face not been marred by the most brutal of burn marks. Just below his left eye, his cheek was a mess of red flesh, and crushed skin that she couldn't quite make out the colours of, the marks he bared ended just at the start of his stubborn jawline.
He looked at them both, and pressed his fingers tiredly against his eyelids. A long yawn escaped his lips that showed them how exhausted he was, the dark circles beneath his eyes, were also a pretty obvious indicator.
"You two wouldn't be apart of the four sent on that mission to save that Kirigakure girl, would you?"
Ino couldn't help but be a little startled. She glanced towards Lee, but her fellow Konohagakure comrade didn't seem to be even remotely surprised by this man's awareness of their mission. She did suppose that he seemed like the sort of person who knew everything, but nonetheless unease still nestled within her.
"Actually we would be. I'm Ino," she gestured at Lee with steady hands, "and this is Lee. The other two, Sakura and Kiba, well they're on a different route, but-"
"I see." The man looked towards his comrade, and raising his voice, he called him over. "Daiki! Would you lead these two inside the village?"
Daiki glanced up from the kunai in his hands, he rested his head back against his raised arms, and yawned, before nodding lazily. "Sure thing, bro."