CHAPTER 2: The Hooded Shadow

Kakashi stopped by headquarters to get his uniform and essentials (as well as Itachi's, since he was going to head over the younger's residence before finally starting his chase on the scroll thief), but he was confused. Yes, indeed it was called a jounin mission by the Third, and again, yes, he was indeed an official jounin in regular ranks, but what exactly did the Hokage mean? Should he really be a normal jounin ninja? Leave his Anbu practices for this one specific mission? He had been on less vital missions as Anbu than chasing after a scroll thief, so that made no sense.

Besides, how does one even leave the Anbu practices?

Or was it because of the look he had spotted worn on the Third when the older had eyed the leftover dried blood on his hands? What had the Hokage so concerned?

The Third Hokage was a good man - Kakashi would agree. He had been one the most compassionate leaders that the Hidden Leaf had had over the years, and Kakashi liked to think that he was a man with tremendous empathy and love for everyone in his village - but that was not to say that he had ever let his feelings of empathy be a distraction in his work as Hokage. He knew this because he had seen the Hokage shut off his emotions, just as Kakashi would have, too, in situations that deem coldness and cruelty necessary.

It could have been overthinking on Kakashi's part, but he knew that the Third wouldn't have said something like that without reason.

As Kakashi head over to the Uchiha residence, he recalled the differences of Anbu and regular shinobis that was taught to him when he had first joined. In the Academy, young ninjas were taught to love their village and fight for peace and prosperity. They were taught mercy when the opponent gives in, and were taught to uphold the honor of ninjas - one that was always defined as fighting for the better good of the world, of the people living in it.

But as part of Anbu, he was told that he had to succumb towards efficiency and effectivity. He had to consider the fact that some threats were better off wiped away from existence, rather than convinced or negotiated for peace. It was why he had to "eradicate emotions" as he completed his missions, and why Anbu even exists in the first place.

Was the Hokage telling him now to switch on his empathy after years of fighting against it? And for a scroll thief?

Kakashi could not continue questioning the intentions of the Third in his head because before he knew it, he had reached the Uchiha residence. The current matter at hand was still a priority, and that scroll could not end up in the wrong hands.

He had been welcomed by a kid who looked just like Itachi, one who smiled and called, "Brother! Itachi-nii! Your friend is here," when Kakashi told him he was looking for Itachi.

Kakashi quickly handed Itachi's uniform and gear and briefed Itachi on the situation. Itachi had looked confused, and Kakashi was, too, when Kakashi told him it was a jounin mission. He had eyed the Anbu mask that Kakashi brought him a moment longer than necessary, because it had been part of his uniform for so long, and he wasn't sure just what exactly he should do. But asides from that, he spared no time for questions and moved on with Kakashi for the mission after closing the doors of his house. It didn't take long for Itachi to gear up and they continued to the gates leading them out of Konoha, meeting his ninken already lined up to report. Kakashi had summoned his hounds to search for traces of the thief from the Hokage's quarters to the place he had found the bunny previously, but to no avail. They found nothing to hunt on, and Kakashi dismissed most of them, keeping Pakkun available to help scout the forest that surrounded the village. Pakkun had offered to search the grounds while both ninjas travel through the branches for more efficiency and if they could find more clues to wear the thief headed to.

Both his and Itachi's Sharingans were activated, actively searching for leads that the thief might have left, but Kakashi had to admit that this was the work of an expert. How did they pass through the barriers of the Hidden Leaf as outsiders? How did they even find the village, anyways? It was called The Hidden Leaf for a reason. They also managed to get past the guards on duty by the borders, which was Anbu-level invisible. Whoever was behind this was a skilled ninja, and probably a divergent one, considering the many odds that did not line up to have been normal textbook jutsus or techniques.

Kakashi sighed and closed his eyes. His Sharingan had been active for a while and it was starting to drain him. Compared to Itachi, who owned his Sharingan naturally, Kakashi could not use his Sharingan for a long period of time, especially if he was planning on chasing this thief. He pulled his headband down to cover his left eyes in order to save energy before turning to Itachi, whose eyes shone red in the darkness of the forest.

"Got anything?"

Itachi answered grimly, "No." He closed his eyes, and when he lifted his lids, his eyes were back to normal.

"Then we have to hunt the old way," Kakashi said firmly, stopping on the trees to take a more careful look for signs of escape. Pakkun was right below him, sniffing the ground for a desperate lead. It was starting to frustrate them, but there was just no way that this thief left without a single mark.

"This person," Itachi started to say as he searched. "Escaped you, senpai? How?"

Kakashi didn't look at his junior as he replied, his eyes instead focused on searching anything they could've missed the first time they scanned the area. "We're dealing with a shinobi skilled in chakra control. They diminished their chakra, and somehow was able to transfer their chakra out of their body and re-locate their chakra to put up a distraction."

"A distraction?"

The memory of questioning a rabbit came to mind as Kakashi shrugged Itachi's question down. "Chakra separation, or something like that," he said instead.

"Kakashi," Pakkun's voice echoed in the night. "I found footprints."

Both Itachi and Kakashi stepped down to the ground at the newly found leads. Beside Pakkun, there were obvious marks of a run pointing to a single direction. It didn't take another second or another word from the two Anbu and the ninken to naturally follow the trail, and to sniff around incase the trail of footprints got confusing.

"Judging from the space between the steps, this person was fast," Kakashi noticed. "Be ready for anything."

The two turned to shadows as they sped along the trails, trailing after Pakkun in front of them.

A milestone away from the trackers, the wanted criminal had been running non-stop on continuous chakra speed boost. She had continuously absorbed natural energy around her legs in order to quickly replenish used chakra and stamina, but maintaining such concentration was not easy. When she spotted the village entrance she started from before heading to Konoha just a few hours ago, Rei slowed down.

She took a quick breather, a few walking steps as a break. She had used chakra control to run - giving her an abnormal speed even for a shinobi. The masked ninja that had chased after her back in Konoha was too cautious for his own good, but luckily for her, she was faster, and that rabbit had been at the right place and the right time. It was simple luck and quick thinking that she had escaped without so much as being seen, but had it been different, she not only would've lost a client, but also her life.

After all, she was a missing nin, with a bounty on her head and crimes to be paid. Getting caught was not an option.

With a minute into the short break she had managed for herself, Rei was able to re-energize. The forest held an abundance of natural energy for her to absorb, so she was able to refuel almost immediately. With the possibility of trained shinobis chasing after her, it was best that she finished the mission quickly. The address written on the request scroll had been committed to her memory, but it was in the village North from this one, and it was further distanced than the trip to Konoha. Rei sighed. She decided to just go to The Waves, grab a drink, refill her supplies, and rest up at the motel beside it before heading right over to the next village.

Besides, what's life without a little adrenaline chase?

The footprint trails of the scroll thief led both Kakashi and Itachi to a civilian village right next to Konoha. There were barely any other hints that the thief had left for them through the trail, and this had frustrated Kakashi. Not only did he or she managed to pass by the Hokage's quarters, pretending to be himself (he didn't know why but he felt very offended by this fact), their execution was ultimately clean. There wasn't an awkward piece of unneeded action that faltered the thief in escaping - hence nothing they could use to identify anything at all. All they had was the Pakkun to sniff up the footprints and locate the thief through the trail, but even that was not a determined solution to catch this thief and retrieve the scroll.

The chase had been an abnormally steady run. From the looks of the footprints, the figure had no rest, save for a couple of shorter steps before a non-shinobi village. It was almost impossible, as it would've taken hours for a mere human to travel that far, and fatigue was a natural course even for shinobis. Sure, the thief had been sprinting from the get go, and thus reduce time, but to continuously go at such speed was just out of ordinary. Both Kakashi and Itachi wouldn't have been able to catch up if they weren't so trained to do so.

The distance and travelling speed were not the only factors that made the impromptu mission so difficult. Except for the evident footprints on the forest floors, they had absolutely no clues as to even who this figure was. All they had were Kakashi's remembrance of said person's chakra signature and the black hood that the thief wore, but that was it. To a normal shinobi, going on with such tracking mission seemed pointless with so little information. Had the Hokage waited till morning to embark on the mission, they would've lost all footprints through the night and end up with absolutely no clues to lead them on. Had the Hokage also chosen normal shinobis, they would've definitely lost the scroll. Call it fate, but Kakashi sighed as he realized that he was meant for this mission.

The two Anbus that Konoha sent for the mission were far from your normal shinobis, making them just right to chase after this aberrant criminal. The two were named prodigies since their early years, and not to mention that they were owners of one of the best tracking devices ever naturally existed - the Sharingan.

This being said, a question kept tugging at the back of Kakashi's head. Back in the Academy, young ninjas learnt that travelling through trees would conceal footprints that dirt or sand usually leave. Though at times they may still take the prints and leave a record of your passing, footprints on branches would've been subtle as opposed to footprints on the ground. That was one of the basic strategies of a ninja. This thief, on the other hand, obviously a talented shinobi with what looked like an unlimited chakra supply, was doing the latter. It was a restriction towards a certain technique, Kakashi liked to believe, because there was no way such physical prowess existed.

Kakashi stole a glance to Itachi, wondering if he was wondering the same questions, but he decided against voicing out his curiosity on the understanding that they had to concentrate to stay on trail and keep on speed, pushing chakra down their legs to help push their physical abilities even further. His eyes returned to the track before them, his focus back to speeding up his search.

Both prodigies stopped right where the footprints became shorter, right before the village entrance. Itachi nodded when Kakashi turned to look at him, going through the standard procedure of masking their presence and changing their appearances when scouting villages. Pakkun split up from the ninjas, knowing he had to scout the area with the rest of the ninken.

At first, the village seemed normal, only a little less advanced than Konoha was. The lack of public chatter at that hour was common in any villages, but the deeper they explored the village streets, the more they understood that it wasn't the best village in conduct, judging from the lurking eyes and the stillness of the place. There were shadows within shadows, and the streets were eerie to walk in late hours. Those who actually were walking down the street had their coats zipped up and their hands clutching their belongings like it was their lifeline. The speed of their walks were faster than the usual civilians Kakashi had met, and this only gave confirmation that the place was more than just shady.

If they had showed up geared as a ninja (a Konoha Anbu, no less), it would only trigger those lurking in the shadows to pull an ambush - which was stupid to pull, but happened quite often as they were seen as a threat. Kakashi had transformed himself to a mere civilian, brown haired, ordinary face, and easily forgotten, and Itachi turned to a similar visual.

With one nod, the two split their ways and wandered into the village.

Kakashi walked through the village, his Sharingan active even under a disguise. He searched for that one chakra signature he had memorized when chasing after back in Konoha, but never found what he was looking for.

On a corner of the third block he passed by, he sensed a ton of chakra signatures within the same place - most of them weren't as bold colored as the usual shinobis, so they must be normal villagers, but a few of them piqued his interest. The closer he got to the location, the clearer they became to him. One in particular, was exactly what he was looking for, and Kakashi bolted upon realization.

But just as he had found the chakra signature, it started to disappear at an alarming rate.

Kakashi found himself standing in front of a bar as he neared the location of the chakra he had spotted, but at such an hour the place was full of people. He scanned the bar with his Sharingan, but the chakra signature was long gone. The other option was to manually look around for a figure that could compare to the shadow he had seen back in Konoha, but it was difficult, with the number of people that filled the room.

The sea of people and the loud chatter and music made it impossible to focus, for Kakashi was hearing a million things and nothing at the same time. Pushing his way through, he found the bar and sat on the closest tool he could reach. The bartender looked at him, ready to ask what he would get, but before he did, Kakashi pointed at the water gallon on the corner of the bar. The man stared for a few seconds before turning away to get him the glass of water he had pointed at.

His hands were clasped together under his chin, supporting his head on the wooden bar before him. Kakashi concentrated and expanded his senses to study the bar. The energy of the people around him showed nothing that felt like a ninja, much to his disappointment. He examined each and everyone, their physical attributes, aura, built, behavior, composure, but nothing seemed to have fit the criteria of the shadow he was chasing after.

It came to his realization that this thief must have been able to understand the chakra dimension. It was not coincidence that the chakra signature had disappeared right when he had finally found it - the thief must have sensed him coming. With his diminished presence, a regular shinobi would not have known that Kakashi in specific was approaching, not unless they knew of his chakra signature and was able to differentiate his signature than any other shinobis. There was no use in guising his appearance or diminishing his presence, not when his chakra signature was known. The figure must have memorized his chakra signature from the short chase back in Konoha.

And that was the annoying part, if not the most fearsome part. The only people to understand the chakra dimension were the Uchihas - through the power of their eyes. Kakashi himself did not have such power until Obito had given him his Sharingan, and thus making Kakashi able to enter and visualize said dimension, but other than that he didn't know if there are any other way to have understood the chakra dimension so clearly. Sure, there are ways to feel chakra surrounding you - but to differentiate them was another thing.

Who - what - is this thief?

"Water," the bartender pulled Kakashi away from his thoughts with a thump on the table, harshly placing the clear glass of water on the wooden surface before him.

"Never seen ya around," the bartender said gruffly, his voice deeper than what Kakashi had expected. Kakashi replied that he was going to the next village, and he was just stopping by.

The man raised his eyebrows but posed no more questions, moving to other customers instead.

Kakashi took the glass of water, but did not drink. He twirled the water inside the short glass, like a civilian wasting his time in drowning in thoughtlessness. The water could've been poisoned, one must never dismiss doubts, and from a place such as this one, it was a reasonable doubt. That being said, Kakashi was far from being absentminded - despite the lack of interest on his current facial expressions. If he had learnt anything from his past missions, it was to always play nonchalant and carefree, then nobody would care and he would be easily forgotten.

He took this into advantage and heightened his hearing senses. Another lesson he learnt from his ninja experiences (and had completely understood its essential from embarking on a mission with the ninja pervert #1 in Konoha) was that gossips were a good source of information. At first he focused on the two young women sitting left of him. They were giggling in their short skirts, talking about a cute guy in the corner of the room. Kakashi followed their line of sight, but was disappointed. He certainly would've won over that one, hands down.

Without further exploration, Kakashi moved on to the next person, this time to his right. There was a man, probably double Kakashi's age with the lines on his forehead, who just took a stool and called for the bartender with some sort of a false confidence. Kakashi noticed that the man wasn't drunk, and from the corner of his eye, spotted a bag of gold and a scroll.

He realized instantly that this was a black market transaction, and he had just found the gate towards that market. Kakashi eyed the bartender and the staffs in the bar, but he observed that their chakra didn't signify that they were shinobis. It wasn't as big of an energy neither did it had a specific signature that most shinobis had. That meant that The Waves was just a cover up cashier.

Slightly, he inched closer just as the bartender approached the man.

"I-I'm here for the Hooded Shadow. I heard y-you can find her here," he stuttered-whispered and mumbled with an obvious struggle. Kakashi lifted his cup and pretended to drink as he listened in. He, of course, had heard of the name before. It was in his newly updated Bingo book, but no information had been displayed save for the labelled name. Even the fact that it was a 'her' was pretty new, and Kakashi made a mental note to remember that information.

The bartender gave the buyer a suspicious look, his eyebrows almost knitted together. He was taking in the man up and down before eventually saying, "Leave front payment here. Admin fees are a half off yer payments even if she refuses yer request."

The man nodded, the sides of his face sweating as his eyes wandered around for observing eyes (he obliviously missed Kakashi's) before dropping a bag of money and a scroll on the table, which the bartender took and hid behind the counter.

Kakashi kept his spying subtle as he observed how the man was fidgeting his fingers and was flinching in his seat to the smallest of movements. It was probably his first time dealing with the shady world, thus his anxiousness. The man took a drink from the bar and left right after, a normal case of black market transaction. The information and overall glimpse of the place was enough for Kakashi to draw a conclusion, and he decided that it was time he got back to his mission as well.

He slipped a piece of gold on the table beside his drink before dissolving into the crowd without notice, and went back out to the meeting point he had previously agreed on with Itachi. When he reached the point, Itachi was already waiting, still in his disguise.

"Found anything?"

Kakashi nodded. "Someone called the 'Hooded Shadow' is a black market ninja, and this may be our thief. I located the transaction point, but lost the thief. The boys should have an update on perimeter checks, though."

As if on cue, Pakkun reappeared before the two to give a report. "We spotted someone going out of the village, heading North."

"Let's go."

Rei wasn't sure if it had been her paranoia in action, or that she felt a familiar chakra approaching The Waves. The familiarity of the chakra reminded her of the masked shinobi back in Konoha, and if it was true, that meant that her chaser had caught up to her. With a quick gulp, she finished her drink, placed a coin on the table, and left with a nod to the bartender. Knowingly, he nodded in return and went back to his business without a hitch.

Escaping The Waves, Rei made sure to diminish her chakra and slipped away from the village, heading North. The only task she had left was to drop the scroll in the designated location, and to do that, she needed to continue North, and probably secretly hitch on with a trader's carriage to get to the address. It would take her approximately a day if they would go by horse, and she could save her energy, too.

After running on chakra again for another hour straight, she finally reached the next village, her legs wanting to give up after the physical drain she had exhibited that day despite the amount of energy she had fueled them with. It was almost dawn, and her eyes were getting wearier by the minute, so she went to the cheapest looking motel and dropped a few coins on the front desk without pulling off her hood or mask. Sure, she could convert chakra into stamina, but human fatigue was still a thing. Rest was absolutely necessary, even if risky.

In a bad mood, she glared at the clerk, didn't bother asking the price or the rooms, and only raised her eyebrow, expecting the employee to react. The aura she emitted alone was enough to put people a few steps back on their own free will. The dead look in her eyes when she was tired, though, could bring people on their knees. The clerk shivered at her entrance and handed her a room key without another word. Rei had entered the motel looking like an assassin, with her dark clothes and concealed identity, and the employee only wished to continue living. Rei took the key expressionlessly and took in the numbers written on the small wooden plate hanging by the said metal.

Rei let herself fall on the cheap bed without bothering to take any of her weapons away. She was about to just pull herself to slumber when the face of the masked ninja came was recalled. She was so sure she had been careful in her steps and course of actions, but the bunny incident only reminded her that she, too, must not underestimate her opponents. If that same masked ninja was the one chasing after her, then she had to somehow mask her chakra signature.

Sighing, she sat on the bed properly and closed her eyes, focusing on the energies within her. Every single living being on the Earth had a certain unique flow of energy within them, and most regular ninjas would have called them chakra signatures. But to Rei, it wasn't just chakra. She could feel the different energies including chakra, and this compromised most living things. That masked ninja could probably see her chakra signature, which Rei could not, but she could feel as if her limbs were extended towards the energy realm. This allowed her to completely control energy around and within herself, and change the flow, as well as the intensity of them out of her own will.

It was what she had been doing to get out of situations.

So she manipulated her energy and mixed the flow within her before sealing herself in order to have that same flow continue during the course of her slumber. The seal would not last long, but it would be enough if she did nothing but sleep, and it would disguise her until she would wake up and could take be on full alert.

With the last of her seals, Rei succumbed to her bed and slept.