It was a curious sensation to be reverse summoned. It lasted only a split second, but it was still one of the most bizarre experiences the Monkey Sage had ever felt. The moment the smoke went up there was a rush, as if he had been flung at terrifying speeds yet he could still feel the solid ground beneath his feet, as if he was moving and not moving at the same time. A very curious sensation indeed, but he needed to focus now. He was soon going to be in the presence of the potential new Hokage and he needed to make a perfect first impression.

Noticing the summoning fog was starting to fade away, Yamazu struck a dramatic pose in hopes to impress the true heir to the Hokage's seat. Standing on a side with one arm in the air and the other reaching out to any observers, he pulled a serious face to show that he was a force to be taken, well, seriously. Praying that it would be enough for Ayame to listen to what he had to say, he began the speech he had prepared for when he came face to face with her.

"Behold! I am Yamazu, the Monkey Sage of Konoha! I have traveled many miles to find you, Ayame Akira! I come baring great and terrible news for you, she who will be the next to take... the seat of... Hokage?"

Yamazu's voice trailed off into a confused mutter as the smoke that blocked his vision completely cleared away, revealing that he was alone in a small clearing of a forest. Looking around, he soon recognized the place as a copse not too far from some of the training fields nearby the Village Hidden in the Leaves. Realizing that the blind monkey had reverse summoned him to the wrong place, he shook his fist at the sky.

"Damn you Sun! Many miles my backside! You just sent me back home, you blind fool!" Yamazu yelled at the clouds in a vain attempt to have the old monkey hear his annoyance. Several birds, startled by the loud noise, took flight from the trees as his voice echoed around the clearing before fading into nothingness.

Rubbing his forehead, the Monkey Sage sat himself on the ground to think about what to do next. It would not do well for him to just go and look for Ayame on his own. He was no tracker and he had no skills that would assist in his search. Perhaps if he stayed here, Sun or one of his brothers would see his mistake and send him to the right area?

"I can never catch a break, can I?" he muttered to himself, letting out a sigh as he scratched himself behind the ear with one of his long fingers.

“Here goes your order, a nice spicy curry for our best customer, on the house.” Ayame grew quite excited as Ichiraku Ramen’s head chef and owner left the big bowl of Ramen on the counter in front of her. “Thanks a bundle.” Spicy curry was by far, Ayame’s favorite flavor of their collection and the best tasting food that she had eaten since she was born so she was extremely grateful for getting this nice looking bowl, and for free no less. Ayame face however went from complete excitement to a suspicious annoyance as the process of “On the house” finally reached her brain. “I already told you that you shouldn’t give me it for free, you know I have the money for it. Plus, you know as well as I do that I love helping out the store it any way possible, especially when it comes to giving in a few extra ryo”

The store owner simply laughed a bit as he started cleaning his hands out with a small towel. “After all the tips you’ve been passing around of no less than a hundred ryo on top of the generous donations you’ve been giving? I think you’ve help out the store quite enough, now it’s time to give you something for a change.” Once he was done giving Ayame his reasons, the store owner flipped the towel over his shoulders as Ayame opened her mouth in preparation for an argument, to which he interrupted her. “Now, now Ayame, I won’t be taking no for an answer. Simply enjoy the Ramen and I promise to charge you next time.”

Pouting just a little as she took a quick glance at the Ramen, Ayame reluctantly picked up her attached chopsticks. “Promise?” Taking the owner’s nod as a guarantee, Ayame smiled as she nodded her head and took hold of the chopsticks with both her hands and traditionally separated them before clapping her hands together and digging into the delicious Ramen with no more apparent hesitation. “Oh my gosh, this is crazy.” During her feasting, Ayame noticed something different about this particular Ramen that separated it from the rest of the spicy curry that she’s tried in the past twenty four years of Ramen consumption. This one had a new, more sweet yet tangy and amazingly good tastes in it, especially considering that the old one was top tier stuff in the food department in her opinion.

“Man, what is in this stuff, this is sooo different, it’s like some sort of orgasm in my mouth.” The store owner couldn’t help but laugh profoundly at Ayame’s comment towards this new recipe he whipped up. “You like it?” Taking Ayame’s lack of response yet nearly animalistic nature when it came to putting away that Ramen as a way of saying “yes”, the owner continued. “It’s a new special blend of herbs and spicy that I’ve used while popping in just a few dashes of sweetness. I’ve been meaning to test it out for a while but couldn’t find the right persona until I thought of you, the best of the best Ramen consumers within this generation. I call it sweet and spicy Ramen."

Feeling quite flattered by the owner’s undying compliments, Ayame swallowed the last of her Ramen before throwing out a big smile that showed her teeth which her quite white despite the fact that she had just now devoured a whole big plate of Ramen. “Well, you have definitely gotten yourself a satisfied customer who approves of this Ramen. As a matter of fact, can you make me another one?” Obliging to Ayame’s request, the owner set back out to the kitchen in order to whip up a brand new batch. ‘In over a decade, that girl has not changed one bit. Yet she still continues to grow so much everyday’

Yamazu rested his chin on the knuckles of his right hand whilst the other toyed idly with a leaf that had fallen onto his lap a few minutes ago. It had been sometime since he had sent that monkey to the Land of Monkeys to get Sun to send him to the right place, but he had still heard nothing back. The sky was just starting to spit rain down upon the earth. It was only a light drizzle, but it did not assist his already bad mood. He had spent quite some time training; not just any old training though, training that would have killed him if he had not gotten better quick. Master Yojimbo was implacable teacher and tolerated no laziness.

Looking at the leaf he held in his hand, he wondered what was going to happen when he finally confronted this Ayame. He had not really thought about it much, but he had nothing but time thanks to recent developments. What would she make of the new he brought? Would she be shocked, outraged, sad? Might she not care at all? Yamazu knew only that she was the one who was supposed to be replacing the previous Hokage before Shihouin stepped in and usurped the position. It might turn out that she was even worse than he. What would he do then? He shook his head. There was some many things the Monkey Sage just did not know.

Such as what Shihouin's crimes truly were, or how deep they ran. The only evidence he had was the stand-in Hokage's old ANBU vest and the fact that he had not denied anything. From the limited information he had manage to gather before his summoning to the Land of Monkeys, he had figured that Shihouin had taken the jounin Arcadia Kinzoku to be tested upon. What exactly these tests were, he had no clue but it offended everything that the Hokage was supposed to stand for. Yamazu's fury at this alone was not evidence. But he thought about that too. Was he even angry anymore?

During the intense training he had been through, he had vented his anger at the Uchiha's actions the way the monks had taught him. Like them, he learned that when anger and hatred were held onto they became a poison to the soul, a poison that corrupted your values and turned you into a husk of a person. He had vented that anger in the hopes of finding a measure of peace, but found that is not what awaited him. He felt only a great sadness and he wondered at this.

Lost in thought, he had not noticed that the monkey he had sent away had returned until it pulled at his sleeve. Startled, the Monkey Sage let out a yelp which the small primate echoed. Breathing heavily, he listened to the monkey's screeches and chattering. So, the Triplets had found the proper location of Ayame Akira this time. Scrambling to his feet he nodded down at the monkey, who disappeared in a puff of smoke to inform the Triplets that he was ready. Striking the same pose that he had before, he prayed to the heavens that this time the blind monkey would get it right.


The strange sensation happened again and Yamazu knew that he was at his new location. Prepared and in his dramatic pose already, he skipped straight to his speech.

"Behold! I am Yamazu, the Monkey Sage of Konoha! I have traveled many miles to find you, Ayame Akira! I come baring great and terrible news for you, she who will be the next to take... the seat of... huh?"

Yamazu's voice yet again trailed off into a confused mutter as the smoke from the summoning that brought him here cleared away, revealing his new location to him. Glancing around, he saw that was actually back in Konoha proper, recognizing the buildings as ones near the famous Ichiraku Ramen, only he could not see the well known ramen shop. A look of comical confusion slipped onto his face and he turned around, seeing the shop behind him.

"Oh come on!" Yamazu exclaimed, throwing his hands up the air in his exasperation. A couple of passerby's glanced at him strangely but did not comment. With a sigh, Yamazu entered the shop. Plunking himself down onto a seat, he slammed his head onto the counter in exhausted annoyance so hard it caused nearby bowls to rattle and one of the chopstick holders to fall over.

"One bowl of plain ramen with nothing on it please", requested the Monkey Sage in a muffled voice, not even raising his face from the counter. As a result, he had not registered the fact that he was not alone in the shop or even if the server had noticed his order. At this point he was hardly bothered. It was taking all his concentration not to slam his head into the surface over and over.

Bowl after bowl after bowl, Ayame continuously didn’t even bother to leave any evidence of existence to the Ramen bowls, giving a completely new definition to the phase “licking the plate clean.” By the time that the stack count of Ramen bowls next to her had reached six or seven, the busty blonde Jounin had finally let up just a little bit of speed in order to at least take a breath before continuing again with the exact same amount of speed that she had originally started with but this time, learning the lesion of taking a breather every minute or so after swallowing an entire bowl nearly whole.

During her somewhat barbaric feasting, Ayame looked back up to the owner as she asked. “Did you call me just now?” The owner simply shook his head in response to her question, which confused Ayame because she could have sworn that she had heard her name being called out while she was eating. Hopefully, she was going crazy and hallucinating or anything. Shrugging off the sound that had only possibly made it to her ears, Ayame continued to finish off that last bowl of Ramen as if nothing had ever happened in the first place.

During that last couple of bites, the presence of another customer was made apparent as the bells connected to the each one of the signs started to ring. The owner perked up a bit at the thought of a new customer dropping in for something to eat. Though his appearance was a little bit unique compared to the rest of the villagers that he has met, the shop owner would greet him like any other customer he had, with a big smile on his face. “Welcome to Ichiraku Ramen, where only the best Ramen is cooked and served for your delight; may I take your order?”

Once the new customer had placed his order in, the store owner quickly wrote it down so it would be cooked in the back. Just as he was about to head over to the back of the shop however, Ayame slammed her last bowl down on the counter as she yelled out. “Finished!” As soon as she said that, a good level of gas flew past her throat and out her mouth in the form of an enormous burp that actually gave off a feeling that the ground was shaking just a little bit. “Wow, you put that away in record time, little girl. But you know it’s not very lady like to burp, especially the way you just did with a guest in the room.”

Ayame simply stared at the owner with a somewhat childish look of frustration and a somewhat pouty type of expression before relaxing up a bit and smirking at his joke. “Well, you know as well as I do that a girl like me is just about everything short of ‘lady like’.” The owner just could help but chuckle a little as he took hold of her plates and brought them over to the back. Actually taking note of the guest within the shop though, Ayame kindly gave off a wave in his direction smiled. “Hey how’s it going? You new here at Ichiraku’s?”

Realizing that he was not the only one in the shop when he heard a woman's voice asking him a question, Yamazu raised his head from it's rest. A large red splotch had developed on his forehead and his eyes were unfocused for a moment thanks to the force he had smacked his head onto the counter with, but he regained his sharpness with surprising swiftness.

The young woman who had asked him a question had a face that he did not recognize, but this was not overly surprising. Whilst he was familiar with a lot of faces in the Village (even if they were not familiar with his), Konoha was a station for many travelling traders and mercenaries who came seeking the safety of the walls or the commerce of it's people. Her eyes held a friendly glint in them that Yamazu rarely saw these days inside the Village. It was refreshing to see it again in eyes that were not looking back from a mirror.

"You know, I have lived in Konoha for most of my life but never once have I set foot in here", Yamazu replied, a high-pitched, chattering laugh escaping his lips. "You would think that, given it's excellent reputation, I might have tried it sooner. Alas, I tend to move around a lot and sleep outside of the walls, so whenever the urge for ramen struck I was either too sleepy or too far away to order".

As he spoke, his thoughts drifted back to his mission. It was thanks to his secluded nature that what was happening now was actually happening. He had no delusions that he would have emerged triumphant against Shihouin; on the contrary, he believed the Uchiha clansman would have beaten him. Still, his death at the hands of the stand-in Hokage may have urged others to act against him, possibly preventing whatever was happening from happening. But what was happening? In all honesty, Yamazu had no clue. Not for the first time he realized how out of his depth he was. He was a warrior, a protector of the people, not a politician. He did not know how to play their games and he was certain that Shihouin did.

His fingers drumming a constant piano like beat on the counter, Yamazu cast these thoughts from his mind. He had been dwelling on this constantly for many days now. It was about time he just had a simple meal without any worries plaguing his mind. It felt like an eternity since he had done just that. Leaning back in his seat to stretch, he almost fell right out of it when the massive scroll on his back over-balanced him. He often forgot he was wearing it, so used to it's weight as he was now. Scrabbling for purchase on something to cease his fall, he grabbed the counter and pulled himself back upright. Sighing happily, he turned back to his companion without giving any sign that anything had happened.

"And what of you, ma'am? I know many of the faces of Konoha, but I cannot seem to place yours", the Monkey Sage asked. Maybe this young woman's story would distract him. It would nice just to chat to someone after all this time of being sent constantly on missions with comrades that did not care for his cheery outlook.

Ayame nodded her head occasionally as she was listening to the man sitting right next to her, feeling a bit of sympathy towards him for not being able to try such amazing combinations of broth, noodles and meat. Ever since Ayame was able to eat, she has always loved Ramen, especially the one specifically at Ichiraku’s place, to nearly the point of absolute addiction. Some say that the trait most likely came from her father, who was said to have loved it even more than she had. Her mother had even told her once that their first date was at the very same Ramen shop that she was eating in right at the moment. Some even said that this was the favorite store of the late and great Naruto Uzumaki. There was definitely a lot of legacy running through this extremely small store.

Contemplating all of these facts together, Ayame reached over and patted the man’s back a little as her somewhat ridiculous level of sympathy started to raise again, though she was glad that he would be able to get the sweet tasting sensation within him today. “Well, you’ll really love it then. Ichiraku’s Ramen has got the best kinds of Ramen in this entire shinobi world. So far, I haven’t heard a soul of anyone who truly dislikes it.”

Ayame raised an eyebrow however as she noticed that he didn’t seem to be paying full attention to what she was saying. In fact, he seemed to be feeling quite anxious about something judging from the way his fingers were tapping onto the counter in such a fast manner. It was as if something very serious was troubling him to a great extent. ‘What’s the matter with this guy? He seems so rigid all of a sudden.' Ayame’s curiousity only extended over time as she continued to watch his actions.

The strange man would suddenly lean back on his seat, seemingly trying to stretch out. Ayame would soon notice that the scroll on his back would eventually weigh him down to the point of falling right off of his chair in an extremely embarrassing and somewhat painful situation if he kept going. As if responding to her thoughts in the wrong way however, the theory was suddenly proven right as the man nearly fell completely over before he caught hold of the counter and was able to lift himself up before he would fall, avoiding a store full of laughter.

The man would the simply play it off like the entire incident was completely nonexistent as he went back to addressing her, somewhat copying the question that was ringing through her own mind. “That’s kind of weird to hear considering that a lot of people that I don’t even know tend to recognize me because of things like my clan and ANBU. But in any case, it’s a pleasure to meet you, I’m Aya-” Hearing a loud beeping noise that sounded like an alarm clock coming from her watch, Ayame brought her wrist up to check on the time. “Wow, time flies by fast. Sorry to cut this meeting short but my break time’s over, time to head back to work.” Ayame would then nod towards the man and sit up fom her chair before going of in the direction of the exit/entrance.

Before she was fully gone though, the store owner came out with hat bowl of Ramen the man asked for earlier. Setting the bowl right in front of the man, the owner suddenly noticed a rolled up stack of ryo on the counter Ayame was formerly sitting in. Knowing that she probably left it there, the owner picked it up and called out to her. “Ayame, you left your money here.” Ayame would then answer while continuing her walk. “Use it to pay for the Ramen your new customer over there is eating and keep the rest as tip.” The owner would then quickly count the money before widening his eyes and calling out to her once more. “This is nearly enough to buy a house.” The Energetic Enigma would then turn around while walking backwards as she got to the exit. “What can I say? You guys have excellent customer service.” Before he could protest anymore, Ayame would cut him off as she started to exit the Ramen shop. “Gotta go now, clan business to attend to. Ayame Akira, signing out.”

Yamazu felt the pat on the back and heard the nice young woman reassure him of this shops excellent quality of ramen even through his worried thoughts. She seemed like a genuinely caring person, something that was so difficult to find these days. He found himself quickly warming to this traveller. Whoever she was, she was truly someone who would become great if given a chance. Heck, she was probably already great. Maybe she was the guild-mistress of a trade empire that fed people who had been left homeless by war, disaster or plain bad luck. Whatever she was, the Monkey Sage was certain that she was always willing to help those in need and that made her alright in his books. She did not even laugh at his near fall.

Surprise showed blatantly on his face when the woman revealed that she had a connection with the ANBU and mentioned something about her clan. So she was affiliated with Konoha then? That made the fact he had never seen her before even more curious. He had made it a point when he first became a jounin to memorize the faces and names of any of the major people involved with the trade and military forces of his home so that if they ever fell into trouble he would be able to find and help them if he could. So why could he not recall her face at all?

She had been about to reveal her name to him when the watch she wore on her wrist went off, indicating it was time for her to be somewhere else. Yamazu shrugged and gave her a warm smile.

"No rest for the weary, as they say", he said cheerfully with another one of his high-pitched laughs. His bowl arrived at the same time the nice woman left, as well as the revelation that she had left enough money on the counter for the establishment to expand exponentially. The Monkey Sage's smile widened even more at her generosity and he raised his bowl of plain ramen in her direction.

"Thank you kindly, nameless wonder!" Yamazu called to her, his joyful laugh filling the small ramen shop.

“Gotta go now, clan business to attend to. Ayame Akira, signing out”, she uttered as she left the shop.

His laugh died down into a quiet chuckle as he placed his bowl back on the counter, reaching over for a pair of utensils to eat it with. Dipping it into the broth and fishing out some of the food he sighed, wiping a tear of mirth from his eye. She was certainly one of a kind, that one. A frown creased his usually smooth forehead, the red splotch on it dimming down quickly. His chop sticks paused in midair, halting inches from his lips

Wait...

What did she say her name was?


From inside Ichiraku’s Ramen, behind the flaps that gave the customers some semblance of privacy, there came a high yelp of urgency. This was swiftly followed by a crash, a smash and yet another yell, this time of an even higher pitch. Voices of the shops employees came next, making worried queries after one of the customers inside. A shape burst from within, sending the bells attached to the front ring like a carnival was in progress. The odd looking man was grasping one of his hands which looked like it had been scolded by something.

Looking left and right, Yamazu saw a brief glint of golden blonde hair as it moved out of sight. Dashing forward at his full speed, the Monkey Sage ducked and dodged through the busy in his panic not to lose her. Several times he came close to knocking over some of the people that got in his way but somehow he managed to avoid them, pulling off moves that seemed completely impossible. Seeing his objective turn a corner, he turned into an alleyway he knew would take him straight into her path.

Someone stepped out from the shadows holding a knife. He looked like he was about to attempt a mugging, but Yamazu struck out before he could even get the words out, his first lightning fast blow knocking the knife from the would-be villain's hand and the second landing on his jaw, cleanly breaking it. Before the mugger had even hit the ground the odd shinobi was gone, turning the corner that lead back onto the main streets.

Yamazu fairly leapt from the alleyway and came close to colliding with the woman he was chasing. An expertly placed and timed application of fuuton chakra prevented this and the Monkey Sage landed gently onto the floor. Shaking his burned hand, he gazed at the young woman. This was... she was...

"You are Ayame Akira? But... I don't understand, you're already here?!" Yamazu exclaimed, completely confused by this turn of events. Raising his hand to his mouth to sooth his pain, he continued.

"Why aren't you... I mean, were you not supposed to... Oh, this is actually rather tasty!" he spluttered out, interrupting himself when he tasted the broth that still soaked his fingers. Ayame had not been wrong, they certainly knew how to make a bowl of ramen and no mistake!

Once she had successfully made it out of the Ramen Shop, Ayame let out a wide grin as she started to walk down the busy streets of Konoha. She felt quite proud for being able to trick the owner in taking the money that was sure to help them out in the long run. She really did love that place for not only the extremely amazing food, but because of the fact that the workers there was so much like her. Unfortunately, it was because of that fact that they tend to try and not take charity offers for the simple fact that they wanted to earn the money they had. Ayame wasn’t trying to take down their pride however because she felt like they did deserve a lot more than what they have for what it’s worth.

As she started to really blend into the crowd more, Ayame placed her hands in her pockets as she continued to blend into the crowd while they walked about their business; some people heading over to work, some heading over to shop, and some of them just going home after a long day of doing either one of those. Looking around at this, as well as little things like kids playing ninja with their friends really made Ayame feel a bit warm inside. She truly loved Konoha and the beauty it presented, it was all so relaxing that Ayame could only barely feel the stress of negative situations right now.

Suddenly turning a sharp corner, Ayame let out a bit of a yawn as she continued on with her walk towards her desired destination off over at the training fields so she could get a quick warm up and maybe a few punches and kicks in before heading on home to get some good old fashion and clean rest, something she’s be hoping to have for quite some time now. Ayame’s mind was so blank at this point in time that she only barely noticed the shadow that didn’t belong to her closing very quickly closing in on her location as she looked down.

Instinctively going into her defense mode, Ayame moved out of the way of the figure that the shadow belonged to, looking up to see who the culprit was directly after. Ayame would then run through a very confused expression as the odd ramen first timer had been the one that had nearly collided with her. She would then notice the wind that was expelled in order to keep him from falling over once again. ‘Fuuton? So he’s a shinobi of the leaf then.’

Before she could even react to this newfound information on him, the strange man would suddenly question her and her reasons for being where she was for some odd reason, changing her confused expression to more so an awkward one with obvious hints of confusion hidden in that awkward smile. “Well, I live here for one.” Receiving more questions that were never completed by the man, Ayame grew even more confused until he started talking about the Ramen, to which she responded with that proud smile returning. “See, I told you they had great stu- Wait, wait, wait a second.” Ayame’s small attention span was suddenly steered back into the correct direction as she shook her head. “Exactly who are you, what do you want with me and exactly what the heck are you talking about?”

Yamazu sucked on his scolded fingers a little longer, enjoying the lingering taste. He would have to seriously consider going back to that place at the next opportunity he could and have a proper try at their food. Ayame's words jerked his mind back onto the task at hand and he stopped licking his fingers, wiping them on his trousers before standing up straight. He could not help but notice how she was an inch or so taller than him.

"Ayame Akira, I am Yamazu, the Monkey Sage of Konoha", he said, his usually high, chattering voice becoming deeper and more serious. "I was... charged with finding you and bringing you back to Konoha. I assumed that you would know why, but considering that things here are still the same here despite your presence I suppose that my assumption was wrong. Serves me right, I guess", Yamazu added, an awkward look of embarrassment crossing his usually cheerful face as he scratched the back of his head.

"I must admit, I'm quite confused. I was told that upon your arrival you would relieve Shihouin Uchiha of his duties and take your rightful seat as the new Hokage", Yamazu spoke plainly, his bemused frown giving claim to his puzzlement. Was it possible that Ayame knew nothing of her new duties? He did not see how this could be. How could one not know that they would be the next Hokage? Such candidates were often surrounded by guards or servants or comrades that would know of their possible claim.

Of course, there was always the possibility that such candidates were those who, whilst still having ties to the Village, wandered on their own far from the walls that surrounded Konoha. Could Ayame be one such person? But how could that be, she was right here. Unless his initial thoughts on her had been correct; she was outside the Village for some time and had only recently returned, or had returned whilst he had been on a mission. His days over the last year had been filled with those, after all.

Another thought pushed it's way into his mind. Perhaps Ayame did know of her duty but had refused it? She did not seem the type to abandon her charges but one could never fully predict how one would react when a sudden pile of possible responsibility and power was shoved onto their shoulders. Maybe she had been scared and refused out of fear? She may have even been approached already by Shihouin and tranced into forfeiting her position with that dastardly Sharingan of his. So many ifs, so many buts, so many hidden possibilities that he could simply could not see.

These thoughts bounced around behind a look of intense contemplation on Yamazu's face while Ayame processed his words.

‘Finding me and bringing me back to Konoha? Just what is this guy talking about?’ Extremely confused as can be, Ayame couldn’t help but raise an eyebrow at this Yamazu guy. He seemed odd enough as it was from her perception and his usually giddy personality was not much to take too seriously for most. But there was something about the way he was saying this that made Ayame curiosity grow to an abnormal level, even for Ayame herself. “So what would be different here, I mean I’m just some ordinary Jounín, not much to change when I’m around.” Ayame shrugged in a very nonchalant manner as she said this, it felt strange though because he was speaking as if she was some sort of royalty. Sure, she was now leader of the Akira clan and a lot of people seemed to respect her, whether she deserved it or not, but it wasn’t as if people would fall down on their knees when in her presence.

“I was told that upon your arrival you would relieve Shihouin Uchiha of his duties and take your rightful seat as the new Hokage" After those words had reached her brain, time seemed to just stop from Ayame’s view. By now, her eyes were as wide as they can be while her mouth was gaping open only slightly but still enough to tell that she was quite shocked at these words. ‘H-hokage…?’ Finding it extremely hard to process this information within her mind, Ayame couldn’t exactly think straight, she was hardly even aware of the physical world anymore, simply trapped within her shocked thoughts as if the inside of her skull was pretending to be limbo at the moment.

‘My… rightful seat as Hokage…’ Still attempting to process this brand new and quite shocking news that just came out of nowhere, Ayame started to calm herself down so she could think about it for a minute. Why would she of all people be chosen of Hokage? Plus, even if she was chosen, why would the higher ups elect Shihouin just so someone else could take the position not even a month later? Something just didn’t add up right now. Was this a joke? Sure, Ayame had wishes to become Hokage at one point in her life, but it never really processed in her mind that it would actually happen once she grew of age. But then again, she’s always kept on to her goal of gaining respect for other kunoichi out there and what more could put them on the map than a female Hokage of this generation? But still… was this… Yamazu truly serious?

Given that she actually gave this some good thought, Ayame’s formerly shocked expression changed into that of a thoughtful and just a little suspicious one. “Who would tell you this? I mean, why would the title of Hokage, strongest shinobi within one's rightful village and one of the top five in the world, be my rightful title if Shihouin was appointed already. Not to test your word or anything, Yamazu, but I’m just finding this a little hard to believe. Just what makes this statement set in stone?” Ayame was serious when she expressed her suspicions. It wasn’t necessarily that she had little confident in her own abilities but they were talking about the title of Hokage here, Ayame didn’t expect something like that to just run into her all of a sudden.

He knew it! He had known that Ayame would be completely oblivious to her new position, he could tell by the look on her face that this was news to her! Well, if he was being honest with himself he had only known it as one of many possibilities that might have come up. He was not smart enough to have pinpointed the exact reason, he needed a much wider net to catch that kind of answer. He noticed that, upon hearing his words, her face had actually frozen in place out of shock. Shifting uncomfortable, he was about to raise a finger to poke her when she came back to life. Making him jump, the startled Yamazu placed a hand on his heart and slowed his frenzied breathing.

The Monkey Sage's eyebrows raised as Ayame asked a valid question. Who had given the order to find her so that she could come back and replace Shihouin? He had not been there when the order was given, he had only heard it after his investigation into the disappearance of Arcadia Kinzoku began. These things often passed right by him thanks to his living outside the walls. Still, the point remained that Shihouin needed to be taken from the seat of power he was abusing and replaced by someone who would not perform experiments on the people. Deciding to answer the easy question first, he spoke.

"To be honest, I heard it from the other jounin. As I said before, I live outside the walls. Many of these announcements miss me altogether. What I do know is that Shihouin was never meant to be the true Hokage. He was supposed to hold the position until you could be found. But now..." Yamazu said, his voice trailing off. His words were absolutely sincere, without any trickery or guile and filled with more worry than his cheery demeanor would make seem possible. "I do not know if it was set in stone or not, but now more than ever Konoha needs someone to straighten out the terrible things going on here under Shihouin Uchiha's rule and I'm not clever enough to do it alone". Looking around in fear of being overheard by an unseen force, Yamazu, leaned in forward in a conspiratorial manner.

"To take the seat of Hokage, one needs more than just strength or power. One needs compassion and genuine affection for the people who live in Konoha. From the little I've seen of you I can tell that you possess these things by the boatload", Yamazu went on, looking her dead in the eye. He was not trying to flatter her so that she would take him seriously, he truly meant what he said. He knew deep down in his gut that the generosity he saw in the ramen shop was not a one off thing. She wanted the best for these people and that is what was needed to lead this Village, not ambition or lust for power. "Whoever it was to give the order for your new position knew you were the right person for the job. And now, so do I". If he had not been sure of Ayame Akira's claim as Hokage, he certainly was now.

"There is something going on with Shihouin Uchiha, something very bad. He is gearing up and preparing for some sinister purpose and I fear that I am in way over my head to stop it. But know, regardless of your decisions, I will try to stop him. He has abused his position for too long already and I will not allow him to corrupt and destroy my home, nor my people!" Yamazu spoke with fire, his dark eyes lighting up as this determination to halt Shihouin's plans filled him. Yes, he knew it now. No matter what happened, no matter how things with Ayame went, no matter what forces and political fronts Shihouin's twisted mind threw at him, he would not cease until he had kicked the Uchiha from his stolen seat.

The Monkey Sage swore on the names on his friends, mentors and on his own life that he would do this. Only then would he let himself find any rest.

Ayame listened closely as Yamazu started answering her questions, obviously not sure if his source was completely correct at first but now, seeming to be positive of this information. He also seemed to be absolutely sure that Shihouin was not the rightful owner of the title “Hokage”. But why? Sure, in Ayame’s experience, he had never really been the completely passionate type, but is he really that far deep? Ayame thought about the past and when she had first fought Shihouin when they were kids. He had basically taken her out like it was nothing and brushed her off like a walk in the park, only gaining much strength and reputation growing up. Didn’t that mark him as being top status of the village? What was he doing that made his position as Hokage such a threat?

Ayame listened even closer as Yamazu mentioned his own version of requirements that met the needs towards the status. Kindness, affection, compassion; this were what he viewed as someone who should be Kage, but what was Shihouin doing if he didn’t have any of these qualities. According to how Yamazu presented this case, he made it seem as if Shihouin was doing the exact opposite as the leader of the village. Looking back into it, Ayame couldn’t say that this was actually unbelievable news; the way he would take the lives of even children with no known understanding of the word “hesitation” would definitely strike the sign that a person like that didn’t exactly hold the code of compassion to heart.

Whether Yamazu was right on the money or not, Ayame had to at least find out the truth behind Shihouin’s actions. Sure, they were friends, at least in her mind they were, but Ayame knew as well as anyone that he wasn’t the most trustworthy person in the world, especially with people’s lives. As for “her position as Hokage”, she was going to have to accept that if Yamazu was right about Shihouin’s actions behind the scenes, then he must also be right about that. She knew it deep inside and she knew that the Uchiha member did to because she has told him many times, if he were to bring anyone within Konoha towards danger, then she would take him out; his new title of Hokage would do nothing to change that.

Losing her shocked and confused expression and gaining a more serious and determined one, Ayame looked Yamazu straight in the eyes for once. “I can help you find out if something is up with Shihouin and I can also help you out with what he’s doing if there’s something suspicious going on.” Ayame took in a shallow breath before sighing and continuing to express her concerns. “You should know that, when we were gennin, Shihouin was my teammate and one of my closest friends so I know how he works…”

When she said this, memories of what Shihouin told her several months ago flashed in her head for a quick second as she stared down on the floor. "Lately here I feel like the village has been too peaceful. Too soft. Was this his own twisted way of fixing that? Me and you have roots deep in the village. We're Naruto and Sasuke, Tsunade and Orochimaru. If she could recall correctly, both of those group of legend were destined to have a final battle, a final battle to the death. ” You know I can't stand being weak, and the kids in the village need something to look up to." This just wasn’t right, kids needed someone to look up to, but if Shihouin was performing actions like what Yamazu was telling her, they couldn’t possibly look up to something like that.

Raising her head once again to look into the eyes of Yamazu with that look of determination, but in an even stronger sense, Ayame continued. “If Shihouin is really abusing his position like you said, I’ll definitely take him out to protect the village. I won’t let him harm anyone else… As the rightful heir to the status of Hokage, it is my duty to ensure the village’s safety. Just let me know what you need and I'll help you out any way I can.”

Well, that had been much easier than he had expected. Ayame was very ready to except that Shihouin was abusing his power, saying that she had been on his team when they were genin. This had taken Yamazu aback. Who would have thought that the one who would bring Shihouin down and replace him as Hokage would be none other than his old teammate? He felt a twinge of sympathy for her. He himself had suffered the betrayal of a fellow team member and it was a memory that pained him to this day. Of course, there was no way he could know if Ayame felt the same way, but betrayal was never easy an easy pill to swallow.

Knowing that he had her on his side, Yamazu knew that now he had to tell her what information he had been able to glean from his amateur investigation. Looking around, he motioned her to follow him into a more shadowy area where they might have more privacy to their dangerous whispering. When Ayame had followed him, he began his short tail.

"About the same time as the Nidaime went missing, a jounin also disappeared. With a missing Hokage, it was pretty much under the radar but I answered the call. The trail led me to a training field in which I found samples of iron sand which I learned belonged to the missing jounin and an ANBU vest that belonged to Shihouin Uchiha. After a little digging, I learned of the Village's less than pleased attitude towards our new Hokage and the rumours that were flying around". Yamazu shifted uncomfortably for a moment when he realized that one of his less than shining moments would come to light soon.

"I went after Shihouin to question him but I fear that I may have been too... heavy handed in my inquiries and he fled before I could stop him", he confessed, embarrassment showing on his face. "I never was the sharpest kunai in the set and I let my anger get the better of me. After that, I started looking for you and here we are".

Yamazu gave this recollections some thought for a moment. Was there anything else he knew that he had not mentioned? A moment later, it hit him. Yes, Shihouin had been talking about trying out medical stuff on the two other shinobi who were already in the field when he arrived.

"When I found him, he was talking with two other shinobi about some 'practical medical application'. I am certain that the jounin I was looking for, Arcadia Kinzoku, has been taken against her will as a part of some experiment and Shihouin is looking to use the shinobi of this Village as test subjects".

As Yamazu spoke these words, the anger he had felt at Shihouin's abuse of his people returned, but he quickly stamped it down. If he was to do this, he needed to keep a level head. If he lost his cool, even a little bit, the impostor Hokage would use it against him. Calming down, he felt the great sadness he had felt from before return. He shook his head. Where did this come from? Whatever it was, he sincerely hoped that it would not get in the way of his duty, nor bringing Shihouin to face the justice he truly deserved.

Paying close attention to Yamazu as he started directing her to a more secretive area, giving Ayame the idea that what he was about to tell her wasn’t exactly the top story on the news or anything if one would catch the drift. Following close behind him, Ayame kept her ears and eyes in a state of slight enhancement as she prepared herself for some dark secrets. To this minute, Ayame wasn’t entirely sure that she would be able to trust the word of a stranger that she had just now met, but she was even less inclined to believe the word of Shihouin due to his unstable nature and how it could so easily be brought to that of an unhealthy pursuit of power. Ayame definitely needed to think about this, possibly even spend the whole night thinking before she would be able to perform any significant actions.

Listening quite closely to each and every one of the man’s words, Ayame eyes started to widen just a bit when he mentioned that there was a mission Jounín that was lost to the rest of them and wondered who it could be exactly that was missing all of a sudden, though she wouldn’t know thanks to mostly being in contact with few people in the past month or so. She really did need to stay in the loop a bit more though considering that she hardly even knew that Shihouin was Hokage for the longest and who knows what else a big surprise to her was.

The thing that surprised her the most though was the mention of “Iron Sand” and Shihouin’s ANBU vest. Ayame’s eyes widened even further as she started to dig into her memories and uncover the piece of information that may help her figure out who this missing Jounín was and, not only that, but also find out what he was probably doing with her. If Ayame could recall correctly from the previous blood puddle that was left in front of her house nearly a year ago along with a past conversation she had with Arcadia, she had the ability to manipulate metal and iron, more specifically iron sand, a trait carried down from the First Kazekage.

That wasn’t even the interesting part though, the actually interesting part was the fact that she didn’t have that bloodline in their youth, or perhaps she didn’t show it. Nevertheless, she held a completely different bloodline involving animalistic behavior or something of that nature. Ten years later, she somehow loses her memory, joins the ANBU ranks and gains a whole new ability. She was quite the interesting human being indeed.

And based on a conversation she had with Shihouin prior to his “promotion" within a restaurant, the odds that he would kidnap her in exchange for some experiment were really not that low, they were actually quite high. “That’s an interesting thing Nasa developed, you know. A brand new bloodline and the ability to manipulate iron sand, brought down from the First Kazekage himself. But how do you figure that even happened? I mean, you’ve never heard of any shinobi with wavering Kekkei Genkai, just seems so… impossble, right?” Shihouin then took a sip of his tea before continuing. “I’m starting to think that her actual Kekkei Genkai is to be able to switch Kekkei Genkai themselves. I just need to get a bit of research on how it’s done."

Ayame simply sighed as this crossed her head. ‘If this is really true Shihouin, how far have you honestly gone?’ Even after hearing all of this and even after making her statement that she believed this was her destiny, Ayame still had a hard time accepting the fact that someone she could’ have easily called her best friend and toughest rival would stoop to this level. Was this what Legendary Naruto Uzumaki had to think about when he fought Sasuke Uchiha, a legend in his own right? Or perhaps one of the original legendary Sannin, Jiraiya when he was pit face to face with his own teammate, Orochimaru. This drove so much confusion to the blonde kunoichi’s head that it actually started to hurt for a while as she thought about it more.

Just then though, Ayame started to hear a bunch of cheers going on and about around the corner getting louder and louder. As they grew louder, Ayame grew more and more curious so, eventually, she turned around so she could poke her head out in order to see a television set. Apparently, Shihouin was giving a speech of some sort. Starting from “The fact is, I am willing to come down there and shake hands with each one of you. Bow to your feet and kiss your babies…”, Ayame listened to and watched the entire thing for a while, laughing a bit inside as she thought about Shihouin actually performing anything even relevant to those actions, until the entire crowd, not only from inside the television in attendance of the speech but simply from within the street where the merchant was showing this live broadcast, went into an uproar of cheers and praises.

After this, Ayame gained a somewhat comical look of neutral as she turned back over to Yamazu, letting an equally somewhat comical silence rain upon them before she pointed backwards. “I don’t know about you, but they look pretty damn pleased to me.” The next thing Ayame could swear that she was hearing made her eyes grow wider once again, she was getting surprised quite a lot today. Looking back around the corner and towards the television, Ayame saw someone she knew right next to Shihouin, giving her own speech as well. “Hana…” Her speech was completely full of praise and practical worship over Shihouin, which didn’t truly prove natural in Ayame’s books. She could tell that Hana’s words were not under direct influence, but in Ayame’s experience, trusting your entire life in the hands of Shihouin would be equivalent to trusting it in the hands of Orochimaru himself, not a very good sign if anyone has read the Shinobi History Books in the past hundred or so years. But it seemed like Ayame's own protege was putting her life completely in the Third Hokage's hands. Now, she really and truly needed to find out what was going on.

Once the speech continued one for a while, Ayame would only see more and more signs of trust that simply proved strange for her. Ayame could tell that she wasn’t angry at this fact, but her suspicions only rose because this was the exact same level of trust that Arcadia had on Shihouin and where was she now? Only god and possible Shihouin knows at this point in time. After checking that out for a while, Ayame slowly turned right bakck to Yamazu before going on. “Ok, now I honestly believe that Arcadia had been taken by Shihouin. I just need to confirm a few things first before I give you wanymore information but in the meantime, what’s the plan?”

Yamazu registered the cheering noise of the crowd at the same time as Ayame did, confusion showing on his face for a split second before realization hit him. This must be that speech the Three Wise Monkeys were talking about! He listened in for a while incredulously. Surely the people of this great Village would not fall for such lies? They went on to prove him wrong moments later however, uproariously embracing the man who had usurped the position of Hokage. For a while the Monkey Sage was speechless, his jaw hanging open in shock. Soon enough though, his mouth closed.

"And how did Konoha fall to the darkness?", he said quietly. "Not in fire and death, with brave heroes sacrificed to save their homes and loved ones. No, it fell to the empty words of one of it's corrupt sons and the cheers of the crowds". One might have suspected that this was said with bitterness, but all that could be heard in Yamazu's quiet voice was a sadness so great that it was heartbreaking. It hurt him that the people he lived to protect would so readily give themselves over to Shihouin's power.

Ayame was talking to him again, asking him what the plan was. What point was a plan now? The very people who they would make a plan to save did not even want saving anymore. You cannot save someone who did not want to be saved, no matter how much you wanted to lead them to salvation. Yamazu shook his head almost as soon as these thoughts passed through his brain. He could not think like this! His people were in trouble whether they realized it or not. They still needed his protection, even if they did not know what from. They needed a plan.

"Now he has the people on his side. Simply going up to him and announcing that the true Hokage has been found will not be enough anymore. The people will reject the idea and then we are finished", Yamazu said slowly. He was not the smartest of people, so he made things as simple for himself as possible. "We need solid proof of his corruption, just how far he has fallen and an ANBU vest won't cut it. We need allies who will denounce him and join us in our efforts. We need to help the people wake up to Shihouin's true darker purpose. We need to find those close to him who know what is going on in the inner workings of the Hokage's Office and talk to them, or at least plant the seeds of doubt. My sources indicate that Shihouin has big plans for something, something that he is holding very close to his chest. I do not think that he is going to stop with Konoha. His hunger for power is too big for that and we need to know exactly what it is he is aiming for".

All the words slipping out of his mouth made the Monkey Sage realize just how daunting a task it was that they were setting for themselves. There was no way they were going to confront Shihouin now and live. This would not normally bother Yamazu, but the thought that the usurper Hokage's twisted schemes would continue after he was dead did. Direct opposition was only going to get people killed. Not just shinobi, civilians. Children, the elderly, merchants and beggars, all of them would be put into the firing line. An idea struck him, one that he did not like but it was the only plan that he could think of.

"We may have to go... underground", Yamazu muttered. The words tasted like dirt in his mouth. The idea of being driven to hide in his own home made him almost physically sick and it was obvious to anyone that he hated the idea. Still unless Ayame had another plan, Yamazu could not see a way around it.

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Warning: In somewhat of a rush so the quality isn't exactly up to par

As Yamazu started giving his response to Ayame’s question on whether they had a plan or not, Ayame found it difficult to keep her full attention on him after the first few seconds or so of him talking. The reason for this however, wasn’t that he was started to get boring or anything like that. It didn’t even have much at all to do with her naturally short attention span that has seemed to plague her ever since that day she was born. No, for once, her lack of absolute attention was for an actually plausible reason that Ayame just couldn’t help but allow the thoughts, or more so short term memories, to run through her mind.

Her thoughts and memories were aiming more so towards Hana and what she had just said while she was giving her speech. "Shihouin sama WILL lead us into a golden age. He cares about each and every individual. He would do anything for us. I trust him with my life and I know he will do great things for Konoha. So we should all give him a chance and put our trust in him! It’s our duty to be behind our Hokage one hundred percent!" Ayame simply put both of her hands on her face and let out a deeply held in sigh. ‘Just what is it that you’ve told her, Shi? What did you put into her head?’

Ayame’s attention aimed back to that of Yamazu’s words before he was finished, though. Just about the time that he mentioning the backbone of his plan to find someone close to him. Immediately, a thought came into her mind. Perhaps Hana’s potential corruption or brainwashing was more so a blessing in disguise rather than a curse that was placed upon her if Ayame could just handle the situation in the correct way.

Once Yamazu was finished announcing his plan added with his obvious distaste for the way they were going to have to carry it out, Ayame decided to bring it up. “I think I know one person that may be close enough to Shihouin who just might be able to help us find some truthful answers.” Ayame stared straight at the strange man as she continued on with her proposal. “It’s pretty obvious to tell that the girl we saw is currently his apprentice and what more can give you at least a mutual relationship than being an apprentice. Plus, judging from what we just saw earlier, their relationship seems to be a bit more than mutual. Finding their location should be a snap with the right connections.” Ayame nodded her head once she was finished. 'Not only that... there's a little bit of info that I need to find out for myself, Hana...

Yamazu noted his companions apparently wanning interest in his ideas. He had never really thought of himself as the most inspirational of men, but she could at least not yawn! Okay, she never yawned, but still! Maybe she had already thought of these ideas in her head and was simply waiting for him to finish out of politeness. That would be more likely. As the Monkey Sage often said, he was not the sharpest kunai in the set.

However, she proved him wrong when she seemed to hear one of his suggestions and revealed to him that she may actually know of someone close to the stand-in Hokage. She commented on the girl that had spoken out on behalf of Shihouin and Yamazu thought he saw something flicker across her face. He recalled that she had muttered the name of the girl, Hana, when she had shown herself. What was their connection? Normally he would have minded his own business, but if the two of them were going to be working together it would not do for any surprises to spring up between them.

Biting his thumb, Yamazu made a few handseals then put his hand to the ground. There was a small puff of smoke and when it cleared two small monkeys were sat there, looking up at the pair and chattering happily. He crouched down next to them, putting his hands on his knees to keep his balance.

"Hey friend!", he said to the monkeys, a big smile on his face. "I have a task for you. Would you mind have a sneak around and look for Shihouin Uchiha? When you find him, one of you come back and tell me and the other shadow him for a while until we get there".

The monkeys chattered their reply and took of at an impressive speed, swiftly fading into the shadows. Yamazu watched them go for a moment with a grin on his face.

"You would be surprised at how rarely they're spotted. Too quick, and they don't give off any more chakra signals than any other animal. Perfect scouts", he said quietly, although if he was talking to himself or to Ayame was anyone's guess. He soon turned however and looked at her.

"I'm no student of human nature, but do you know this girl from somewhere?" Yamazu asked directly. They did not have time right now to tip-toe around each other. "I ask because I do not want to be caught off guard by anything at this point. The slightest weakness shown to him might very well end in our destruction".

Yamazu knew that his question had been put rather bluntly and he did not want to cause offense, but the last thing any of them needed was to be knocked off balance right now.

Quote :

A thunderclap. It wasn't a pretty one either, it was one strong enough to race out across the skies and struck near the Hokage monument, more closer to his face than Keiden's or Hiroshi's. A bad omen for the superstitious and a bad feeling for Shihouin. His eyes trailed out towards the village again, and he knew he had to do something or at least back up someone. He had to figure out the abilities of this person and keep Hana safe at the same time. She was more than just a test subject to him now, she was his most beloved comrade, and no logner student.

He motioned over to the ANBU who seemed to be eagerly waiting commands. "Take care of Hana. Go get Ayame and if Yamazu is with her go grab him up. They have A rank orders now, to see to it that Hana is taken care of. I want the stone tablet in the Uchiha district secured safely as well! Move!" One of the ANBU scattered off with shunshin to complete his commands. Things were getting tight and the situations was definitely getting thick. No, not thick. Opaque was a better word... because he wasn't sure that all of his ninja would see through to the end.

He moved over to Hana, and stood over her, bending down on one knee as to not tower over her. He put his arms around her and embraced her in a tight hug. "I've done unspeakable things, and haven't told the truth entirely. I'm going to go take care of the village, I'll be back and I'll make things right." He released her and reached into his ninja pocket, pulling out a few scrolls. "Start with non-elemental. Ayame and or Yamazu will help you if you need help. These are my personal techniques... Destroy the scroll after you get done learning them." Shihouin stood back up with some type of renewed.. no it was more like he had a different type of resolve, a new determination. And this time, the Sharingan didn't look like it would bring destruction, it looked more like he could see a clear future. "Cya Hana!" With that, he took off towards the village center, where the attacker was promoting havoc.

After seeing some sort of weird technique that Ayame could only assume was a summoning of some sort, a monkey summoning to be specific. ‘Wow… that’s actually pretty cool. Having monkeys for summonings is better than even having one as a pet.’ For a long time in the past, Ayame had always dreamed of having a monkey as a pet when she was a kid. To just have one hang around her back all day while she went about her regular routine and to train with it every day would’ve been an incredible blast to her. Unfortunately, the second she had passed the idea to her grandfather, it was immediately shot down in some of the worst fashions so she never bothered asking again. Sure, now that she was her own supervisor and ryo stacked so much across the roof that it was debatable on whether or not the Hokage himself had that kind of money, but she figured that now that she had grown up and her grandfather was now six foot under, she should respect his wishes and resist the urge to simply grab one from a pat store.

Still, she did have a bit of a liking towards the little buggers, something just can’t change, she guessed. Yamazu would then tall Ayame of the monkey’s abilities, to which she would respond with a simple. “Cool.” He would then mention something that was sure to grab her full attention, no matter what she was thinking. He would ask about just who Hana was to her. This was somewhat of a difficult thing to respond to in all honesty, due to Ayame generally not putting her life out there unless absolutely necessary, especially to someone that she had just met about an hour ago. Even if his own lack of information could pose a threat, Ayame was still harboring a few trust issues since… he left her.

While she was debating on whether she should tell this man the truth or not, Ayame started to feel just a little bit uneasy as the presence of someone came upon her the second before a shinobi who was obviously a member of the ANBU Black Ops had appeared behind her utilizing the Shunshin no Jutsu. “Lady Ayame…” Ayame’s expression would simply grow into that of slight annoyance once she heard that. ‘I hate it when they call me that…’ The ANBU member would then continue on with his message. “… and Yamazu, the monkey sage. A new threat has made itself apparent in the village.” This news would cause Ayame to immediately turn around in slight shock. “A new threat? But who? What? When? Where? Why?” The ANBU calmy answered her questions to fullest of his knowledge. “We’re not completely sure but sources indicate that it may be a shinobi formerly of this village. There’s not much more information to give out.”

Ayame’s protective instincts would immediately start to kick in once she heard this. ‘Could it be…?’ Already taking the initiative, Ayame started to head over to the direction she though could be this new threat’s location, but the ANBU would then extend his arm as a way to stop her movements, causing the blonde kunoichi to tense up as she forcibly stopped. “I’m sorry, Lady Ayame but I’ve been given specific orders to make sure that you follow yours.” Ayame would then look directly into the eyes of the ANBU member, knowing full well where the orders came from. “I’m not taking any orders right now; my loyalty is to Konoha and not Shihouin so I’m going to protect it with my very life. I would suggest you move out of my way now.” Ayame then lightly slapped his hand back and continued on her way.

Somewhat taken back by the frightening look in Ayame’s eyes, proving the theory that hell has no fury over a woman’s scorn, the ANBU choked a bit as he regained his composure and continued on with the details of the mission due to the fact that whatever was coming his way, he could not fail here. “The orders that were given to you are of A ranked importance. These orders are to secure the Uchiha tablet and to make sure that his apprentice was protected.” Ayame would then stop right in her tracks as she heard the keyword. Though she didn’t turn around, it was obvious that the subject that was touched just now was beginning to have somewhat of an impact on her. She would simply sigh once again as her formerly tensed up muscles would soon relax a bit more. “Hana…” As her name left her mouth for the second time today, Ayame let herself go into a deep sigh before turning around. “Where is she?” The ANBU would then nod, content with finally getting through to Ayame. “Follow me.” He would then disappear into that of a fast yet traceable speed.

Ayame looked over at Yamazu’s direction, silently exchanging this glance as a means of running something through in her mind before she declared. “Let’s go.” And took her own speed leap over to the ANBU member. Once Yamazu would make his way close enough to Ayame, she would whispered to him. "Hana... was my apprentice..."

Ayame seemed to waver, apparently unable to decide whether or not she could trust Yamazu with the information. This may have been understandable (she had know him for mere moments, after all) but if they are going to be allies in this matter they needed to know any possible link each other had to Shihouin. He had already given her his, the investigation he had run. He had to hear this.

Unfortunately, this was when an ANBU Black Ops shinobi decided to show up and break the moment up. Yamazu instantly raised his arms, ready to defend himself and Ayame against attack. The man did not attack however. He called them both by name and informed them of a threatening person inside the Village, a missing-nin inside his home! Before the ANBU had even finished speaking Yamazu was off taking long strides down the street to find the threat. When he heard the man stop Ayame, he turned.

Shihouin Uchiha thought that, after everything that he had done, he could order him away from such a dire situation?! He had another thing coming. Ayame seemed to be of the same mind, putting the Black Ops shinobi back in his place with a well worded statement. Yamazu nodded.

"You have that right. No-one threatens my brothers and sisters!", the Monkey Sage stated vehemently. If Shihouin thought he could stop him protecting his people, he had no idea who he was dealing with. Walking off again, he froze when the ANBU shinobi spoke once more, saying exactly what they had been thinking of moments ago.

Was this some sort of trick, some trap to draw Ayame and himself away so he could perform some new heinous act? His companion did not think so. Either that or she did not care, taking off after the ANBU Black Ops man. Yamazu paused, unsure what to do. His head turned this way and that until, fairly spitting in anger, he followed Ayame.

When he caught up she finally revealed the secret. Hana was her student! This would explain her desire to find her and her sudden change of heart. His heart still heavy at being forced to leave his people in danger, Yamazu reassured himself that they might get some leeway in dealing with the corruption inside Konoha.

He hoped.

[Topic Completed]-Archived