Numa-Ku, Swamp Ward Village, lived up to its name. The town wasn't so much situated in the middle of a swamp, as much it was submersed in it. Wooden pylons jutted out from the waist-deep water, holding up wooden walkways, houses, shops, and halls. The town stretched upwards more than it did outwards, with almost a third of the buildings being made up of small tree-houses, hanging precariously from, and sometimes between the narrow trees that rose from the still water below. Connecting them were vines and rope bridges, occasionally sloping down to provide access from the pontoons which formed the city's roads.

Compared to the cheerful, eclectic architecture of Konoha it seemed like a warm, humid, dreary place, but it was packed with concentrated life. There was no square foot that wasn't occupied by living matter. Tiny beetles, ubiquitous and inoffensive, fought for space with small shelled creatures clinging to the wood. Together with hanging vines and blankets of algae, they made the entire town thick with green, and brown, and crawling black. To a girl who'd never been outside of her village, it might as well have been another world.

The architecture was in-ornate and traditional. Functional beams supported wooden panels, reed shutters closed on windows filled with hanging mats made of what looked like layered spider-webs, and what weak sunlight filtered through the foliage and elevated buildings was augmented in places by lanterns hanging from carved wooden poles. One of the larger tree-houses was particularly well illuminated - a narrow three-storey building built in a nest between four diverging trees. An ornately carved sign to the side of its ascending rope-bridge entrance declared it to be an inn.

"This was where we were to meet our local contact," Yajirobee said to Suzaku as the duty-nin squad left the caravan to approach the building.

"This place doesn't look like it can stable large animals," Suzaku said, looking sceptically at the cramped building, held entirely aloft by a mesh of sturdy-looking beams.

"We've arranged placement for the animals at a farm a few minutes behind us, and that warehouse belongs to our contact. That's where the traders intend to store their cargo," Yajirobee said, pointing to a nearby building standing out of the water on wooden supports.

"Gather the other guards and arrange a watch, two on the animals at any time. Make sure there's someone with fire release on each pair," Suzaku said.

Yajirobee looked uncomfortable. "Nara-san... my ninjutsu squad was due to return immediately to Konoha. We're needed for another mission."

Suzaku closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose. "No, it's no problem. Can you spare at least one?"

"Nara-san, I can use fire release," Tsuzumi spoke up. "If it's a matter of having someone in town, that person can be me."

"How would that be, Nara-san?" Yajirobee said.

"Fine. And please deliver this into the hands of the hokage. I'd rather trust you than a messenger hawk," Suzaku said, passing a thin scroll into Yajirobee's hands.

The traders seemed content to trust the labour team with carrying the numerous crates and barrels from the carts still parked on the road into the town, and were themselves making their way towards the inn. They shouldered their way past the group of gathered chunin as they clambered up the knotted ropes, apparently deeming the place civilised enough to take some comfort in after their perilous time in the country.

Yajirobee walked away to explain the situation to the rest of the guards, and soon after could be seen gathering to leave with the ninjutsu team, making what were obviously reluctant farewells with the three duty chunin who would be staying. Moments later and the ninjutsu team were sprinting towards Konoha, Yajirobee in the lead, followed by Saisu and Iwana, and with the stout earth-specialist Daikoku taking up the rear.

"Bye, cool-sensei," Ami muttered sadly to herself. Feeling somehow more vulnerable without the presence of the large man.

The remaining ninja gathered, by then consisting of only Tsuzumi, Okei, and the chunin with broad, spiky hair that Ami hadn't caught the name of, and they followed Suzaku up into the inn.

"By the original parameters of the mission, this is where you were to meet your contact, Coda Chie, secretary to the chicho of Numa-Ku," Suzaku said, pushing the wooden door open, and stepping inside.

The occupants of the cramped space were few. The traders from the caravan had colonised one table, and were already eating from steaming bowls. The only other patron was a scarred man in a padded shirt, pouring a glass from a pitcher of green liquid. A short-handled glaive with a curved blade leaned against the wall behind him, suggesting he was some kind of guard or mercenary. The room was filled with rich smells of hot food, and an underlying sweet, cloying aroma that Ami couldn't place.

Suzaku approached the counter, bringing the rest of the group in tow, and a woman behind the counter folded her hands primly at her waist as she turned to address him.

"Welcome to the Steadfast Inn, please while you are here make yourself at home." The woman bowed politely. She spoke with heavy breaths and in a flat tone, as if speaking to the strangers was a great effort. Ami thought that the woman could be considered quite beautiful, with pale skin, and lips so red they could only be painted.

"Thank you, it seems very cosy," Suzaku said, taking a small stack of ryo notes and placing them on the counter. "There are five of us, and we'll be staying for at least tonight. After that? Who knows. Do you have rooms which we could rent?"

"Apologies... but the gentlemen who came before have taken many rooms," the woman said hesitantly, gesturing at the group of traders. "I only have two rooms remaining."

Suzaku pinched the bridge of his nose. "Ah, it's no trouble. We'll take them."

"I'll have some extra futons arranged," the woman said, slowly counting out several notes from the pile.

"And some breakfast?" Suzaku added.

The woman peered past the Nara to look at the group of shinobi behind him, and nodded. "Four breakfast, and one child breakfast."

Ami raised her hand, the queasiness in her stomach having transformed into biting hunger at some point during the walk into town. "Adult breakfast, please."

The woman smiled tiredly, and her head rolled slightly to the side to look at the small girl. "The local spices are not to the taste of children, but I'll make sure you get a normal sized bowl."

"Ah- non-spicy for me as well, and spare the salt," Tsuzumi said, raising his hand, then whispering to Ami, "Inn food is always over-seasoned. It doesn't do for refined palates."

Ami nodded in agreement, though she'd never tasted 'inn food' in her life, and it was questionable how refined her palate was.

The woman collected another pair of bills, and moved back through an open door into the rear of the building to speak with someone out of sight. The group took seats around a large table, and waited for the food to arrive.

"That man with the glaive has got some chakra levels, about level with the girl," the chunin with wide, black hair said suddenly, leaning forward with his head on his hands to disguise the whisper as he flicked his eyes at Ami.

Suzaku adopted a similarly casual pose, setting his elbow on the table and resting his chin in his hand. "Oh, you're a sensor-type? What got you put on the duty rotation?"

"I'm not great at it, I'm limited to a few feet," Flat-black replied.

Suzaku thought for a moment, then shook his head. "It would take more than genin-level chakra reserves to pull off what happened last night."

"The girl's more like low chunin," Flat-black shot back casually.

Ami's eyes widened imperceptibly. She forced herself to remain perfectly still, but inside she was raising her hands in victory.

"Still, it would be a little bold to sit there drinking punch if he'd attacked you," Suzaku mused, half a smile playing across his lips. He became serious, as if a thought had come to him. "Still, there are no commonalities among users of doki, he may be dangerous. Stay on your guard."

Ami got up from the table wordlessly.

"Say, Nara-san, what's the plan for the rest of the trip?" the flat-black haired chunin asked. "Is it a wash out? The caravan's here safe so we passed, but the route isn't safe, so we failed. Which is it?"

"Right now we're waiting for orders from Konoha, they'll decide whether to abandon the trade project, or try and resolve the threat-"

"Hey Spear-san! Pretty cool spear there," Ami said to the scarred man from where she stood next to his table, her voice carrying over Suzaku's quiet explanation despite the distance.

"Ami!" Tsuzumi hissed. His face was an odd mix of fear and anger, as if someone had just set fire to his hair. He began to stand, "What is she doing!-"

Suzaku caught Tsuzumi's arm, and pulled him back down into his chair. "She's gathering information," the Nara said with a grim smile. "Innocent questions, remember?"

The stranger's eyes darted to the weapon leaning against the wall beside him, then back to Ami. "It's not a spear. It's a naginata, the exquisite weapon of a warrior." His voice was soft, even gentle, and slightly sad.

"Huh, I'm a warrior too," Ami said, with some pride.

The stranger looked the girl up and down, his eyes coming to rest on her headband. "You're a shinobi."

"Yeah, so I'm better than a warrior, since I can use chakra," Ami said, half sitting on a stool on the opposite side of the table to the man.

He took a long drink of the juice. "I find that is a typical shinobi attitude."

"I guess the high ups can be kind of snobs," Ami conceded, remembering the attitudes of several of her classmates. "All they care 'bout's clans, and kekkei genkai - that's special bloodline limits-"

"I know what bloodlines are."

The woman from the counter began carrying bowls of steaming rice porridge out to the table. Most of the bowls were seasoned with ginger and a fine red spice, while two of them were flecked sparsely with nuts and cinnamon.

"Oh, gotta go," Ami said, bouncing back to the table, and resuming her seat. She received a glare from Tsuzumi, and a slightly sinister smile from Suzaku, but they soon all began eating, and her digression was forgotten.

"It sounds like he's some kind of warrior? Isn't the naginata a samurai weapon?" Flat-black asked.

"Hm. He's probably a ronin. He doesn't seem to care for shinobi, but he didn't seem threatened either," Suzaku concluded. "I don't think he'd be capable of that level of summoning."

"But if he's a ronin, that suggests he has an employer. May be someone who would also hire a missing-nin," Tsuzumi said, tapping his finger on the table.

"It's no trouble, but it may not be our job to solve this puzzle," Suzaku said. "It's possible the hokage will send a dedicated investigation team when he hears of the attack."

The group spent the morning talking and planning, there were even half-hearted attempts at jokes, poorly received, and quickly forgotten. The inn remained mostly empty throughout, though towards midday a pair of fishermen arrived with a brace of large, brown fish, and received a meal in return. Ami noticed that the fishermen had the same strangely red lips as the woman at the counter, and wondered if it was a local fashion in the town. The mercenary didn't leave when he'd finished his pitcher, he just ordered another, and then another. After some time he took out a dark brown book, and spent the rest of the morning absorbed in it.

Ami passed the time staring out through the empty windows at the city, and she began to realise that 'city' was hardly an appropriate name. The town seemed no larger than Konoha's commercial district, and most of the buildings were much smaller than the Hidden Leaf's. Where Konoha supported a population of tens of thousands, Ami couldn't imagine more than a few thousand people living in the cramped buildings so far out in the swamp, and even after it had passed the time she thought businesses would start to open, she saw hardly anyone walking the wooden pontoon streets below - the only exception being the children, a hungry narrowness to their features, clothed in rags, and wandering aimlessly around the wooden platforms.

Since the initial awe that came with the first sight of a strange place had passed, Ami began to notice the signs of disrepair scattered around the town. The reed shutters that framed the windows had been torn, or torn off in places and not repaired, and many of the lanterns which sat on top of the wooden poles were damaged beyond use. Much of the omnipresent life that had so impressed Ami on the journey into the town was itself a sign of disrepair and abandonment. The slick algae which covered the wooden platforms wasn't an unavoidable factor of life in the swamp after all, but more likely a consequence of improper maintenance. The small shells which clung to the wooden poles in their thousands would lead to damage if they weren't scraped away. It was as if the town had simply given up looking after itself.

The chicho's secretary, for all of the disrepair evident in the town, turned out to be impeccably dressed. She wore a kimono of dark red silk, with her hair held in a bun by a pair of silver hair pins. The secretary didn't wear the make-up that seemed popular with the other residents, and her chestnut brown skin and pale pink lips were natural and unstained. Despite the lack of opportunities for diplomacy in an isolated, neglected backwater town like Numa-Ku, the woman's manners were also flawless, and she executed a perfect bow as she introduced herself. The only off-putting thing around her appearance was her left eye, which seemed to point off in a direction all of its own, but Ami decided that it didn't spoil her appearance too much after all.

"Greetings, ninja-sama. I am Coda Chie, secretary to the chicho."

"Nara Suzaku, and these are my subordinates," the dark haired jonin introduced himself, and gestured at the other chunin.

"It's my honour to welcome you to Numa-Ku, I hope your trip was comfortable. It is a long way to Konoha by the old land-road."

"Ah, it was no trouble, Coda-san. Eighty miles passed like eight," Suzaku said gracefully, though Tsuzumi and Okei exchanged glances. For the guards who'd been forced to travel at the slow civilian pace of the caravan all the way from Konoha, the journey had been somewhat less comfortable, to say nothing of the previous night. "So far we've found your city welcoming and hospitable."

"Ah, that is kind, considering the problems, but shall we sit? Our discussion will happen more smoothly over refreshments."

Suzaku nodded, and moved to a table some distance from that of the other chunin. Coda caught the attention of the woman at the counter, and ordered a pitcher of the same punch the mercenary was favouring. "The honey locust trees produce a sweet bean pod, which makes an excellent beverage."

Ami looked on longingly at the fruit juice. She took a long draw from her water glass and focused on eavesdropping on the conversation.

Suzaku sipped politely to mirror the secretary. "You mentioned Numa-Ku has been having problems. Is it anything I need to be concerned with regarding the trade agreement?"

The woman shook her hand urgently. "Oh no, I should hope not. But over the last several years, the peasants have grown lazy and slothful. They sleep too long, and work too little. It is embarrassing, but you have seen the results for yourself."

"The state of the village? Hm," Suzaku said, nodding slightly. "It's no trouble, it's charming in a way."

The woman made a tsk-ing sound. "It's slothful degradation. The chicho has tried everything to try and motivate the dotard. Higher salaries, greater punishments, more emphasis on religion, and nothing has helped. People stop going to work, stop paying taxes, and do the least they must to survive!"

"That would be a problem. Do you know what the cause might be?" Suzaku asked, taking another sip.

"It is hopelessness," the woman sighed sadly. "Years ago when the Shinobi Wars broke out, coastal trade was hurt very badly. At the time we relied on riding the river to the sea road, where we sold our delicacies up and down the coast of Fire, and even to Water and Noodle country, but that wasn't something that could continue under the animosity of the Village Hidden in the Mist."

"But it's been years since the end of the third war," Suzaku said.

"Ah, true, but the seed of despair was planted in those dark days. The bottoms of our boats were cracked, our farmers and silk breeders had left. The people of Fire grew tastes for new, exotic goods. But- this is why we are here. Trade with Konoha, and through her roads the rest of Fire, that will bring new hope to Numa-Ku."

"It sounds like trade can't begin soon enough as far as you're concerned," Suzaku said.

"Ah, no," Coda laughed, smiling. "As soon as possible."

"But is everyone here as eager for trade to begin?" Suzaku asked, his expression carefully controlled.

"Of course! Who wouldn't want new life in this sad, lazy town," Coda seemed genuinely shocked.

"Perhaps someone has a local monopoly, which trade would disrupt? Or are there local criminals who would object to the flow of ryo falling out of their hands?"

"O-of course we have local monopolies. We have been our own only customer for more than ten years, but it's not like you're suggesting. We have almost no crime in Numa-Ku. The chicho says that even the criminals are lazy."

"No crime? Hm," Suzaku mused, draining his glass and pouring another.

"Almost, the most we have to deal with are mischievous children. They're always the first ones to suffer when people become poor," Coda added sadly.

"I wish we knew your secret in Konoha. Even the vigilance of shinobi doesn't seem enough to keep criminals suppressed," Suzaku said.

Coda lay a hand gently on Suzaku's sleeve. "Ah Nara-san, a little crime is an insignificant price to pay for a population with vitality. I mourn for the Numa-Ku of my youth."

"Your youth? You barely look out of your twenties, Coda-chan," Suzaku said with a smile.

The woman gently swatted Suzaku's hand.

Tsuzumi turned away from the pair of them and rolled his eyes at Ami, who forced a smirk and rolled her eyes in return.

"Will you be staying in town long, Nara-san?" Coda asked after a moment of silence.

"We might be, it's not yet certain," he replied. "We're here at least for tonight."

"Oh, then perhaps you would all like to join me at the Chicho's house tonight. We're having a small party to celebrate the arrival of the first caravan."

"I'd be honoured, Coda-san," Suzaku said, smiling.

Suzaku and the woman made their goodbyes, and Ami turned to the three chunin around the table.

"So suspicious," Ami muttered, barely audible.

"Huh, what's that, Ami-chan?" Tsuzumi asked.

"That woman, she's so suspicious!" Ami said, waving helplessly at inn's door.

"How do you work that out?" Okei asked.

"She's so clean, and pretty, and everyone else is filthy," Ami said with confidence.

The chunin with wide black hair chuckled mirthlessly. "It's called having money, kid."

Ami scowled at him. "What's your name anyway?"

Flat-black blinked. "Hayase."

"Okay then." Ami swayed slightly, and reached up to rub her eyes. "I think I better sleep before the party."

"After one night without sleep? How pampered are genin these days?" Hayase said, the jibe falling on deaf ears as Ami yawned.

"You're not going to the party," Suzaku said sternly, resuming his seat at the table.

"Whaaat?" Ami asked through a yawn, but there was no fire in her indignation.

"If there's anyone in the city with money enough to hire a missing-nin, they'll likely be embedded in its upper class. They may even be using the nukenin as a body guard. I'll take Hayase to try and identify targets, and Okei as backup. Tsuzumi, you'll stay here with your student and wait for the messenger," Suzaku seemed suddenly troubled. "I expected one to return by now. It's nearly noon, and at a sprint the journey doesn't take that long."

In the table behind them, the mercenary finally finished what turned out to be his final pitcher of punch, pushed his chair back from the table, and walked from the inn with his naginata in hand. The conversation between the chunin died down as he walked past, only to resume once he was out of ear-shot.

"Hm, I better go to the party," Tsuzumi said, weaving his hands together thoughtfully. "My ability to decode body language may be useful. Meanwhile, Ami-chan can wait for the messenger."

"You have that ability?" Suzaku asked, eyeing the chunin sceptically.

Tsuzumi nodded, his eyes turning towards Ami. "For example, my cute student is angry."

Ami was indeed angry, and the scowl on her face needed no subtlety in the art of reading body language to decipher.

"You can't leave the kid alone," Okei said. "This is just like you, Tsu!"

"Eh. It's fine, it's fine," Tsuzumi said, wafting a hand. "My genin student is a capable kunoichi."

Ami's scowl relaxed into an approving grimace, she gave a slow nod. The nod deepened, and then her head snapped back up, her eyes open wide. "Wait, what if the monster comes back?"

"It's fine, it's too big to fit in the rooms," Tsuzumi said with a smile.

Ami pondered that for a moment.

"She should probably go to bed right now," Okei sighed. "She's falling asleep in her chair."

Ami was led up to one of the rooms, a small space with two futons at opposite sides of the floor. One door led to a wash room, with a lavatory and a tub full of water, with soap and oil nearby. The water in the tub wasn't warm, but with the local climate, water left to stand in the air could never be called cold, and after Tsuzumi left her alone Ami bathed and put herself to bed.

The sun had set by the time Ami woke, from a nightmare about black hair and grasping hands. There was no sign of any of the other chunin in the room, though there were a pair of bright white eyes watching her from the darkness.