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Ah, the amount of effort it took not to roll my eyes at the goon's speech was monumental. My pretty little behind, really? He sounded like the uneducated peon that he was, both under Konoha's regime and the ranking of the resistance. Fortunately, I was able to keep a relatively straight face by reminding myself that we would be wiping these idiots off the face of the earth within the hour, and with minimal repercussions! Rewards, in fact. If only everything in my life was this wonderful.

As the head of the trio traipsed off to get the head honcho, I slid my hands back in my pockets and relaxed my stance somewhat, making it look like I was waiting leisurely. In fact, I gripped one of the paper shuriken in my right hand, running my finger along the blade to soothe my jittery nerves. If we took out the leader first, and perhaps some of the goons, we could torture the remaining one for whatever information we did not have. Taking out the leader would put a stop to their immediate activity, and would likely be a strong enough persuasion tactic to make someone else think twice about taking up the position again. With Asato fighting at my side I felt no real hesitation in making a reckless plan; it was not something I would have done if it were one versus four.

My thoughts were interrupted by footsteps -- I dragged my gaze away from the jungle gym and to the new face that had come along with the old. Him? That was the leader of the insurrection? I tilted my head to the side in obvious curiosity, taking in every detail of the man as he spoke at me, like I was some piece of meat. Despite being a few meters away, I could smell his body odor, like a mixture of expensive cheese and decaying feet. Yes, feet. His stupid accent and the spittle that flew between his prominent teeth with every word kindled a fire of hatred in my heart, and though I did not allow it to show on my person, I could feel my body temperature rising beneath the cloth of my cloak. Unfathomable that this bum, this Jounin-reject, would be the one to challenge my husband's right to reign! Unfathomable that he should survive, that he should not suffer at my hands.

Without warning, without even waiting for him to finish "expects it--", my body disappeared from its spot as I ran at him, moving faster than the untrained eye could see thanks to Shunshin. Though he was a Jounin in the past, I banked on him not being prepared for my reaction. I allowed my body to collide with his own, not hard enough to topple over; rather, one hand grabbed him by the jaw while the right pulled a shuriken from my pocket. I started at him in his eyes - they boggled - his mouth was hanging agape in shock, but trying to spit out some reaction. I could feel him start to move to retaliate, but not before the hand holding the shuriken forced its way into his mouth, pushing the object down his throat. "Asato!" I shouted, pushing the reject away from myself and jumping backward, putting distance between myself and his sorry fate.

I followed Asato's lead through the dark streets and darker alleys, feeling safe only because my mind was mostly on the mission at hand. Honestly, Konohagakure's scum disgusted me; when I was younger and this curfew did not exist, I had many close calls with skeevy individuals that one could never fully forget. Some women were not as fortunate as I. My gaze was trained upon the ground, refusing to look up in case there was something I did not want to see. At least, until we finally arrived at our destination.

"I agree. I think that I hold more sway than you, in this case," I mumbled, removing my hands from my pockets. I could feel the cold creeping on my fingertips and pressed them into my palms, seeking any type of warmth. He offered me some of his paper shuriken and I wrinkled my nose, but took them nonetheless. It would not do to have any sort of visible weaponry during the opening stages of our negotiations, so I slipped two into my right pocket and one into my left. "Watch my back." I turned on my heel and walked toward the three men, as nonchalantly as I could muster, given the situation. They had not seemed to notice us until this point, but now their full attention was on me, and I could see hostility upon their faces - obviously they were not expecting company, much less one without a face. I slowly raised my hands into the air and laughed, a sickly-sweet, tinkling sound even in my own ears. "I haven't come here to fight, there's no need to be so mad!" I called out, stopping five meters from them. As I lowered my hands, I pulled the hood down with them.

Shock. Awe. Anger. Hatred. I saw the emotions flash over their faces like a stage drama and smiled. "Doubtless, you know who I am, and I think I know your opinion of me. But I've come here of my own accord tonight. You see, I'm tired of being controlled by the Hokage ... I am tired of doing his every whim while my comrades die, while parts of this village fall into financial ruin. I heard about your group, and my associate and I have come to offer our assistance in your fight," I said, while motioning back toward Asato, confident in his disguise. "Kon and I are Jounin, strong, and more importantly trusted by the Hokage. We could be a great asset. Please, would you be so kind as to bring us to your leader - or bring your leader to us?" I batted my eyelashes at them, keeping a neutral expression despite my diplomatic words. One wrong move could mean a failed mission, a fleeing rat.