This chapter may seem a bit boring but it gets better later on. ;)

Chapter 1: Infiltration

Ayame had been traveling for about half a day and she was exhausted yet determined. The Hidden stone was only a day's travel and she had managed to get through the hardest part of the journey, the desert. Her journey had already gotten held up because of a sandstorm, and of course the fight she had with her family. She closed her eyes and shook away the thoughts of that. Her mother truly angered her a lot but she didn't hate her, she only hated the fact that she was so weak minded and never acknowledged her strength that she worked so hard for. As for Akari she was just being the typical younger sister who hated to be bossed around but Ayame was still angered because she had to make an enemy out of her for every little thing. She was not sure what caused her family to become so dysfunctional, either the strain of losing their dad or the stress of adjusting to the new hidden village system. She remembers just four years ago, the time when her and her family had stuck together and cared for each other.

Flashback:

OK everyone! Let us rest here!" Shouted the soon to be Kazekage, "Everyone rest and regain your strength. Our journey is almost to a near." The many Caravans began to unload and everyone began setting up the barracks. "Ayame, you must be exhausted. Rest and restore your strength." He said toward the young girl who was clutching the hands of two hooded little girls known as her baby sisters.

"Alright, Come Hani and Karina." She said, setting her tessen down and leading the 2 and 6 year old by the hand toward the caravan with the food. He watched as she clutched her black cloak against her body, underneath her black Kimono flowed in the wind. "My lord, how much farther until we reach our new land?" said a 15 year old girl with short curly green hair who approached him while holding an 11 year old girls hand. "We all are worn and my sister is having difficulties with our younger ones."

"Mommy is very worn and very sick" said the 11 year old, pulling her hood down revealing short curly green hair as well with a purple hair clip in it.

"Akari, you all have done so well. It is not much farther. Don't worry about how long it's going to be, worry about your mother." He said soothingly, "Remember what I taught you girls before we departed on our journey?"

"Yes! I remember! Look at the moon and it will guide you toward the promise land." Said the little girl, her blue eyes sparkled.

"Very Good Maki, You were listening well" Said her old sister giggling. "Let us go eat our supper." She said taking her hand and going to join her sisters.

"Sit down Karina!" Yelled a frustrated Ayame at her little sister that kept on trying to run off and play in the sand.

"No! You can't make me!" The 6 year old screamed, trying to break free from her big sister. "Ahhh!" she screamed as her big sister gave a swat to her rear end.

"Sit down and eat your food!" She said sternly, the 6 year old timidly sat down by the fire and picked up her plate of food.

"Ayame let me take over. Go lie down and rest." Akari said, sitting down on the stone and putting the six year old and 2 year old on her lap. "Maki, go get food for you and I to eat." the 11 year old saluted and ran off.

"Thank you Akari." Said Ayame, lying down in the warm sand and shut her eyes. Tonight was surprisingly hot and muggy so everyone was planning on sleeping outside to save the trouble of setting up the barracks. The sound of people walking around and chatting among themselves filled her ears. She could hear her 15 year old sister entertaining the little ones. She hoped that they would arrive soon to their new home. She was filthy and very worn out. Her little sisters were dirty and they had not bathed in days. Her mother was sick and the chances of her surviving the rest of the journey were slim; three people were already dead and she didn't want her mom being the fourth. She missed her lover, Tatewaki. He said joined up with a caravan that left before her and had most likely already arrived at their new land.

"Ayame!" Spoke a calm voice from above her. Ayame opened her eyes and looked up at one her fellow clansmen. "This arrived from a carried pigeon and it is address to you." He handed her the letter before walking away again. Sitting up, she formed a hand sign to release the seal on the letter and opened it.

Dear Ayame,

How are you, my sweet princess? I miss you dearly. I thought about you every day and night as I traveled through the desert. I am going to inform you that I made it to our new land in one piece and everyone is safe. I miss you and can't wait for you to join up with me. I love you so much my angel of the wind and I looked forward to the day when I can finally marry you.

Tatewaki.

Ayame held the letter to her heart and blushed. He had made it, he had made it to the promise land and he was waiting for her. She now had every motivation to keep trudging forward.

End of flashback

Ayame knew one thing for sure, the success of this mission would determine a lot about the future of her family. She wore a proud smile on her face as she kept trudging forward through the trees from branch to branch.

"Not much farther!" she said to herself, stopping to adjust her fan again. Her petite back was sore from carrying her fan for such long distances but she couldn't risk storing it in her scroll because she might need it right away. A few more hours had passed as Ayame jumped through the trees; she came up to a small river and decided to rest. She was currently in the land of earth and not far from the village. She had detected the presence of several hidden stone ninja in the area so she had to be on her guard. She sat her fan on the ground and sat down on a rock and pulled out her scroll to start calculating an idea of how to get into the village. It was definitely do able but it was not going to be easy task to accomplish. The hidden stone was surrounded by a large barrier that could detect anyone who entered uninvited; it extended upward about 30 feet and the only way to get in was through the front gate. The plan was for Ayame to use one of her clans more powerful jutsu; A special chakra suppressing ability that allowed you to suppress your chakra while using a transformation jutsu. Her plan was to go and use a transformation jutsu to enter as either as a stone ninja in disguise or some old person who the people would never suspect. She also had to be on guard for those other ninja she sensed earlier, if they spotted her they would most likely not let her leave with getting interrogated and she couldn't have that because the mission would already be a failure then.

"Hey you!" a voice called to her from behind,

"Shit! Just shit!" She cursed to herself, turning around and slipping the scroll away she faced a tall man wearing the hidden stone uniform.

"State your name, village and your reason for being trespassing within our boarders" The man said approaching her. This is just all she needed right know. "Do you have a pass that grants you permission to be here?" Of course she did but she was not going to give it to him. Ayame needed an idea on how to get out of this quickly and as quietly as possible; she smirked under her mask as one popped into her head. She reached up and pulled off her mask and just as she thought the man's face softened seeing that she was a female.

"I'm sorry sir. I'm just passing through back to my village, didn't mean to be such a bother to you." She said sweetly, approaching him with a sweet smile. The man blushed

"Oh that's ok ma'am." He stuttered nervously, starching the back of head. "But for safety reasons I must see you ID. But I'm sure you're no threat, just got to follow the rules of patrolling." He said smiling down at her.

"Oh of course! " She in a chipper voice, "Do you mind?" She asked holding out her fan for him to hold so she could get her "ID" out.

"Of course not miss." He said taking it from her while she reached into her bag. Her hands fumbled around until she found a Kunai. "Do you not have it? Because it not really THAT big of a deal if you don't…."

"Oh I got it right here!" She said.

The man didn't have time to scream as Ayame whipped out a wind enhanced kunai and slashed his throat from ear to ear, he was dead in an instant. Blood splattered over the ground as his lifeless body fell to the ground; hands clutching his throat and his eyes still wide open from shock. "Hmm no big deal huh?" She smirked, whipped blood off her cheek and kicking the body aside. Ayame knew she had to get rid of this body and fast before anyone else found it, she grabbed him under his armpits and dragged him closer to the river and threw him in. She watched as he sank down into the water, there were faint traces of blood in the water but Ayame didn't think that would be a problem because the water is flowing and it would get washed away. But still she was not happy because she had to kill someone and that would probably lead to trouble in the mission later. She grabbed her fan and started running from tree to tree once again. She had a plan and the sooner she puts it in motion the better.

She stopped suddenly when she heard noise in the distance, concentrating carefully she could sense the presence of many people up ahead. It was most likely the gate to the hidden stone village, her guess was correct. She pulled out a scroll and sealed her fan away and weaved signs for the transformation jutsu. A puff of smoke she came out as an elderly woman with faded green hair, a long Yukata and a basket full of plants. Smirking to herself, she started to slowly walk like an old lady toward the front gate of the village. Just as she expected there were hidden stone ninja guarding the front gate. A tall male with red hair was the first to react when he caught sight of her.

"Hold it right there miss!" he called to her

"Oh good afternoon fellows! I hope I am no bother to you; I just went out to gather some herbs from that little forest outside the gates!" she chuckled in her old lady voice.

"Um ma'am? When did you leave? I don't remember seeing you go….." he said nervously, scratching the back of his head; a familiar gesture that reminded her of the ninja she killed back in the forest.

"Young man, are you interrogating me?" she ask, raising an eyebrow.

"No ma'am! I was just asking because I've been here all day and I don't remember seeing you leave."

"Well you better work on keeping those youthful senses of yours up to date because surely a young man like yourself wouldn't let an old lady slip past them. You call yourself a ninja?"

"No! It's not like that! I guess I've just been tired….."He chuckled nervously, his cheeks blushing a shade a pink. "Please be on your way!" he said moving by and letting her past.

"Thank you young man" she said sweetly, brushing past him and turning her head back to face him, "You better catch up on your sleep or else you will begin to look old like me!" She said shaking her finger at him.

"Yes ma'am!" He said, saluting her before running back to his post.

"Hah! What an idiot!" She said out loud to herself as she disappeared down the dirt road. She observed every little detail she saw; it was her first time in the hidden stone and they have an interesting style of building. All of them were made of stone and they looked pretty strong. It was very different seeing the types of people around, most people in the hidden sand had light, loose baggy clothing because of the heavy wind patterns that often would occur and that caused many to be fair skinned, ironic enough. The Shinobi she passed were tan skinned and many were big and burly built, most likely from training in rocky terrains. As she went down farther down the dirt road, she came up on a tower that was different from all the rest. It was larger, and it bore the Kanji Tsuchi on the very front of it. She guesses that it had to be the Tsuchikages palace. It was large; much larger than the one back in her village "Hmp, interesting."

"Papers! Papers! And more papers!" the red headed young woman thought to herself as she gathered up the work that she was supposed to deliver to her leader. The woman's name was Saiko, and she was currently stressed to a very high level. She had just recently been made the tsuchikage's assistant and she regretted taking the offer at times. "That lazy piece of….he can get his own damn papers!" She cursed to herself. Of course she didn't mean to think so negative of him. She did really appreciate getting offered the job; she was by his side during the time when the village was first formed and he trusted her the most and it made her feel honored. But she felt zero honors when she was in one of her "Moods". "God damn the person who invented papers." She cursed to herself as she walked down the hallway carrying a heavy load, her red heels clicked on the stone floor. Soon, she would be in a happy state of mind, drinking a glass of wine as her village finally got to celebrate the election of their new leader. They had been caught up with dealing with the damage from the attack from the hidden mist who decided to try and destroy the hidden stone when the new kage was elected. It was a large scale attack that left a lot of damage and nobody knew exactly why the 2nd mizukage, who as well was a newly elected kage, hated them so much. As she passed a window, she stopped short as something caught her eye. A peculiar old woman whose appearance seemed very odd was standing in front of the tower observing it with keen, squinted eyes. Her distraction caused her to lose her balance and drop the papers and fall onto her butt. "Damn it all!" She cursed to herself, as she used to window sill to hoist herself up. Brushing off her black skirt, she gathered her papers and stole one last glance out the window. The old lady was gone to her shock. "Weird." She thought to herself.

"Hmp. This should be easier than I expected." Ayame thought to herself as she strolled through the town observing every little detail around her. She knew she had no time for sightseeing but everything about this village was unique. She turned the corner and stopped short as she saw a couple of men who appeared to be Jounin standing in the alley way of two buildings smoking a cigarette.

"So you excited for tonight? It's about time we had some fun here in the village." a rather short and stalky man said, letting out a manly laugh.

"Yeah I totally agree! It's a little late but we can finally celebrate Lord Tsuchikages victory in office! I mean really, who wouldn't want to elect him anyway? Lord Muu is so amazing and very powerful and there is no one else who can compete with his Jinton!"

"Jinton?" Ayame wondered casually. "So that's what we are dealing with?" Ayame had learned from her studies long ago that there existed a powerful clan with a special bloodline limit called Dust Release that appeared every three generations; it was said that it can destroy anything that it comes in contact with. Ayame was not about to let her guard down anymore on this mission because if it ever came that she was confronted by him she knew she would lose because Dust Release was far more powerful that Scorch Release; her clans bloodline. Ayame, still transformed as an old lady, continued to make her way down the long road of the large village. She had stumbled upon a little restaurant and realized how hungry she was. She was severed by a waitress who apparently was trying to act extra polite around the "elderly". She ordered a large bowl of chicken and rice and a cup of hot tea. She felt relieved when her food came so fast because she was about to pass out from starvation. She ate her meal quietly while listening to all the gossip around her.

"Those stupid elders, my god I hate them!" Saiko grumbled to herself as she pushed open the heavy doors and excited the giant tower. They were constantly yelling at her for being childish and not taking her job seriously and that annoyed her to the highest. She was currently working her butt off while trying to be a single mother of a five year old son and be head of the pharmaceutical division AND be the leader's right hand. "Either none of them were parents or they must have forgotten how it works." She spat at the ground. She was happy to get all her work done and her next order of business was to go and pick up food for her kid who happened to be sick with a bad flu. She felt bad that he had to stay home tonight so she had promised to get his favorite dish from his favorite restaurant that served the best chicken and rice. She was shocked that it was not super busy. She orders her food as well as a cup of tea to drink while she waited for it. It was when she kicked back to relax at a table that her eyes caught sight of the table in the back of the restaurant. The woman she had spotted earlier was sitting at that table. That same woman who seemed very peculiar to her; She had never seen her before in the village and knew almost everyone that lived there.

Ayame cringed when she noticed she was being watched. The person who was watching her appeared to be a woman in her 20's with long red hair and cat like green eyes. She's, Ayame guesses, quite tall, when judging by how long her legs stretch out on the stood she was seated in, dressed in very flattering ,professional attire with heels that probably added more height than needed onto her. Judging from her appearance and strong female attitude she seemed to carry, Ayame knew right away that she must have some high authority in the village. She clutched her glass tightly as the woman approached her.

"Why hello there Ma'am." She smiled elegantly, she lips curled revealing a set of shiny, white teeth. "What is your name? I don't believe I've seen you around. Are you a traveler?" She gave a little cough before getting into character again.

"Oh no missy, I am just an old woman out having some lunch!" She chuckled, her mouth full of rice.

"Oh….Well will I see you tonight at Lord Muu's inauguration ceremony? There is promised to be an amazing reception afterward. Music…Dancing…lots of foods… do come…I insist." The woman's fiery green eyes had a strong look to them.

"And just who might you be?" Ayame said, leaning forward, raising an eyebrow.

"Saiko. High ranking jounin, Head of the pharmaceutical division, and our leader's right hand woman! Oh, and mother of a child who I love to the death!" Whoa ayame was right about her having high authority. But her achievements were just as impressive as hers back in suna. A woman called out her name with her order and she went to go retrieve it but not before turning to look back at ayame once more, "It was nice meeting you…hope to see you again…" Something about the tone of this red heads voice made her feel uneasy. There was no way she saw through her disguise already?! No, her clan's chakra suppressing ability is S-Rank; no way could someone like her be able to see past it. She watched the red head leave, and then finished her food quickly and left.