Rather be dead than cool.

Kurt Coban

"Sora, Kiyo. Kiyo, Sora." Kitai introduced.

Sora frowned an examined her. She was a few inches shorter than him and Kitai a head taller than him at least. She didn't dress fancy, basic shinobi gear. There was a wrapped object around her back that Sora assumed must have been a katana like he and Kitai carried.

She held out her hand and said with a bright smile, "Atsuki Kiyoko, but like Kitai-kun said, call me Kiyo please."

"Kiyo huh." Sora shock the hand, "Just Sora."

"Just Sora, huh." She smirked at him. "Quite a hand shake you got." Sora yanked the hand away quickly. "Something wrong?"

"I'm fine." Sora hissed back. She glared. Before a fight could start, Kitai got between them. "He's looking for his Senpai, Kiyo."

"Yeah. It was Konoha ANBU who were fighting him last time I saw him." Sora snapped.

Kiyo looked down at the gray headband at her waist and groaned. "I'm not ANBU. I knew nothing of it."

"Sora, calm down. She's right." Kitai put a hand on his shoulder, calming him down. "We can sort the out at Kiyo's house."

"Woah, my house!" Kiyo screeched a little. "I have people living there."

"Who this time?"

"Umm..." She paused, "...not many actually. My little brother is there of course. But my parents are away for a while."

"Is that bad?" Sora asked.

"Not as long as Momo doesn't talk about you two. Which he won't." Kiyo assured. "C'mon. It's getting late and I have to sneak you guys in."

Konoha to Sora seemed welcoming. Unlike the Rain, the Leaf's weather was nice. It's wasn't modern, but basic. It was like his small home village without poverty. It was like the capital where he once lived with his brother, but there seemed to be no church. There were religious symbols: five giant faces carved into the mountain.

"What gods are those?" He asked Kiyoko. She looked at him oddly, "Excuse me?" He pointed to the stone figures and she laughed. "Those aren't gods. Those are Hokage, the leaders of the village."

"Oh..." Sora glanced at them again. "So leaders are like gods."

"There's no real religion is Konoha." Kiyo explained. "Most of the country believes in the something called the Will of Fire. But the temples for it are outside the village. You'll have to travel a little to find anything really religious. C'mon." She pushed him forward.

She pushed him into the house as a voice called out, "Kiyo-chan"

Kiyo gasped just as Kitai got shoved in with him. "Nara-sensei. Can't talk! My brother's been home alone and he's dying to see me."

Sora glanced into the next room and saw a little boy who he assumed to be Kiyo's little brother, Momo. He was holding a children's book in his hands and looking up at them. Kiyo came in and closed the door. "Nii-nii!" He yelled out, abandoning the book and running up to her. Kiyo hugged him and lefted him up. She looked over and mouthed my room.

Kitai led Sora up the stairs into her bedroom. It was covered with pictures of teammates and extra blankets. Sora sat on her bed with Kitai and picked up a file on the desk next to it. "What's KOI?"

"Kiyo's organization. She doesn't even talk to me about it. It's really secretive."

"Something to do with my Senpai being missing?"

Kitai shook his head. "I don't think so. KOI is completely separate from ANBU. We'll ask Kiyo when she comes up."

A few minutes later Kiyo stepped in and said with her head out the door. "And remember, I'll hide those cookies if you dare tell Mom and Dad!" She closed it and sat in the desk chair. She leaned forward on the back of the chair, arms crossed. "So what's up?"

Sora retold his story and Kiyo frowned. "I'm not in ANBU. I don't know anything about their missions. I could sneak in and look into it."

"Please do." Sora replied. "Soon. I dunno how long we can stay here."

"He's right." Kitai added, "My headbands off, but a shinobi might recognize me still. And Sora's as much of a psychopath as I am."

"Okay, okay, I get it." Kiyo sighed. "I'll do it first thing in the mor-"

"Tonight!" Both of them yelled.

"Okay, okay. Geeze. I'll do it." She tightened her katana that she carried by cloth. "You both have your weapons?" Sora gripped the katana on back and nodded. Kitai nodded as well.

"So this is KOI?" Kitai mumbled, examining the dark building. "I assumed it was an expansion of the ANBU building."

"It is in a way." Kiyo said. "It acts like one, so no one gets ideas. So..uh there are links."

The girl slipped a gray mask on her face. "I'll open that window up there" -she pointed- "and you two can slip in. It's very very important that we don't get caught. Even more important, even after this small mission, do not ever let anyone know you know me or anything about this organization. If you do, I'll have to kill you too. If they know find out that you're immortal, I'll be forced to commit Seppuku or be hunted as Missing-nin when I refuse. Got it?" Both nodded.

The girl adjusted the mask once and walked up to the ANBU guards as the two Jashinists hid.

"Name."

"Utako Fuji." The guards nodded and opened the doors for Kiyo, letting her in. Sora looked at Kitai oddly, who whispered. "Fake name"

The window on the seventh floor opened. They saw a dark shadow of Kiyo waving them. "C'mon, lets go." Kitai mumbled, getting up. He jumped onto the building's side, chakra glowing in his feet. He looked down and frowned. "Sora, what the fuck are you doing?"

Sora was gripping the ledge of a window tightly, dragging his feet up with him. "What does it look like. I'm climbing!"

Kitai rolled his eyes. "Just use your chakra and walk."

"I can't."

"What do you mean you can't?"

"I'm not a fucking shinobi! I can't walk on water and do chakra shit!"

"...you're kidding right?"

"No!"

"C'mon, at least try. Buildings are twice as easy as water."

Sora groaned and made a handsign. "This is rat, right?"

Kitai face palm. "That's boar! And you don't even want rat! You want the tiger seal!" He made the sign and showed Sora, who copied it. Blue chakra glowed at his feet and he got upright and started walking.

"What are you doing now?"

Sora kept his hands tightly locked together in the handsign, his eyes squeezed shut in deep concentration. His mouth was moving in prayer. He stopped only to say. "I'm concentrating so I don't fall."

Kitai sighed. He grabbed the kids arm. Sora's eyes snapped open and the blue glow faded completely from his feet. He screamed softly and grabbed Kitai's outstretched arm with both hands. He dangled down from the side of the building.

"...please don't tell Kiyo about this."

The guys entered through the window to see a small room with hundreds of scrolls lining the walls and a table in the middle with Kiyoko standing at it and a few scrolls already opened. "What took so long?"

"Nothing." Kitai replied. When Kiyoko looked back to the scrolls, Kitai made a pained face and shot Sora a glare. Sora whispered, "You didn't have to carry me!"

"What was that?"

Sora turned a little red. "I asked what all these scrolls are."

"They're all missions."

Kitai scanned the room, eyes wide. "These are all the missions of the ANBU."

"All the missions in the past six months." Kiyo said, "Rest are in a storage unit somewhere."

"Damn!"

Sora looked on the ones on the table. "So...we find the mission dealing with my sensei."

"Yep."

"Found it!"

Sora shot up and rushed next to Kiyo. Kitai finished his yawn and looked over her shoulder. Kiyo read out loud.

"Kumogakure kindly asks for assistance of the ANBU of Konohagakure in the capture and restraint of a mass murderer known as Brom. H-"

"Brom-sempai!" Sora yelled out. Kiyo ignored it and kept reading.

"He is not commonly found in the Fire Country, but is well known and feared throughout the north in the Lightning and Earth countries for multiple homicide. Brom is noted to be extremely tall, estimated-

"Blah! This is just a physical description. Hang on."

Her eyes scanned down the scroll, moving it as she read. There was a picture of Brom sketched in pencil showing face details and a full body profile. It was based on details from witnesses. It surprised Sora how accurate it was.

Kiyo started up again:

"Brom has been rumored to be 'immortal' and there have been no successful attacked that have managed to badly damage him-"

"'Badly damage'" Sora mumbled, "They're talking about him like he's a thing, not a human."

"Brom is wanted dead or alive. ANBU will be rewarded with-"

Kiyo blinked. "Wow! That's a lot of zeros." The others to nodded, staring at the price.

"Jutsu that would normally kill shows little to no effect on this man. Same with physical attacks. Therefore, we strongly urge instead of attempting to kill him, bring him alive. Our own sources will pick him up outside of Kumagakure. He will then be escorted to our Maximum Security Prison. We wait for your answer. Please accept this mission."

"It's signed by the heads of Kumokagure. Weird. I don't see one from the Raikage." Kiyo noted. She flipped the scroll over to the back to look for more writing.

"So that's him?" Kitai said, taking the scroll from her when she found none. He showed the drawing of Brom to Sora again. "That's your Senpai?"

Sora nodded, remembering the man like he was standing right next to him. "Where was he again, Kiyo? Max security prison?"

"Yeah. I can do more research on it if you want, but it will take some time t-"

"No!" Sora slammed his hands on the table. "I've been looking forever for him! I'm not wasting more time on research!"

He felt a hand grip his shoulder. "Chill Sora." Kitai said easily. Sora took a few deep breathes and looked up at him. Kitai's hand being there calmed him. Kitai smiled down at him and looked at Kiyo. "Think you can come with us."

"No," Kiyo sighed. "Not unless I get sent to Kumo and they have good shinobi there. They won't need me. I wish I could though. I'll search the building for anything. You guys should get going before they find you."

"Okay. Let's go Sora."

Sora instantly jumped out the window and started scaling down the wall. Kitai exchanged a long lasting hug with Kiyoko, then jumped down after him after saying goodbye.

"Sora wait up!"

Sora stopped instantly. "Huh...you mean you're actually coming with me all the way."

Kitai smirked. "Sora, this is another immortal we're talking about! He's decades older than us and much more experienced. I could learn things from him that no one else could ever teach me. And I'll be with you, my friend. You honestly expect me to pass this off!"

Gaki's face was well hidden by the cloak. Even after the cloak, his slimy, wet-from-rain hair was in the way. It didn't matter. Those who could see the Captain knew who he was easily. "You two work quick. I assume it went well."

The puppet master groaned, trying to hide her annoyance, "We would have gone quicker if his 'buddy' didn't hate being wet."

Behind Natsuki, the young Konodo dragon was on Kenpatchi's back under a layer of clothes. She swore to herself if that animal could make noise, it would be whimpering loudly in this weather. Lightning flashed and the dragon dived it's head down before the thunder stroke. Kenpatchi patted the scaled head to calm it. It made her wonder for the hundredth time; if lizards hated water and cold so much, why the hell was the clan that summoned them located in the Hidden Rain of all places!

"You have the scroll, right?"

Natsuki nodded- of course they had it! Why would they come if they didn't!- and looked to Kenpatchi. He reached inside his clothes and pulled a small, violet scroll out. The scroll was tossed over to Gaki, who caught it.

The teen crossed her arms. "Don't forget our pay."

"Of course-" Gaki shot up straight and looked around. He felt something. Natsuki noticed and copied him while Kenpatchi looked over his shoulder and left and right nervously before remembering his eye technique and activating it. His mouth opened, about to warn of something, but Gaki had already noticed.

The shinobi jumped up into the air just as a flash appeared below him. There was another flash when he was above ground. Blood exploded out of his chest. He hit the ground, dead. A dark haired man carrying thin, once silver (now red) blades landed smoothly next to him.

There was another flash, not bright and blinding, but a dark shade of purple. A young brunette stepped out of it and calmly stood next to the man.

"Mitsukai, honey, why did you have to do it in front of the kids?" She sighed.