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The fight raged on now as sparks sprang briefly into life with each and every thrust as Kiyoshi grew tired of this game and began to use superior experience. Her movements were fluid and fast and while nearly never the same there was a clear flow and pattern in what type of strikes could follow what. He began to drive her back and the battle soon had a clear superior but Akane still fought with tenacity almost growling with ever parry and strike.

Then it happened. A clear and almost clarifying moment where time seemed to slow down as Kiyoshi caught her fist around her kunai and twisted it away from him. Stepping intimately close he forced her back into a tree and buried his own kunai in the drunk no more than an inch from her cheek. He smiled at her and she smiled back. Butterflies began to take flight in his stomach but before the pleasant nausea could be appreciated her free hand collided with his chin in a supreme uppercut.

Kiyoshi sprawled backwards onto the ground losing consciousness. Akane took advantage of the situation quickly searching the nearby area before finding Kiyoshi's heavy coat and pilfering through it to find the lemur. Grabbing it by the scruff of his neck she quick began to run back towards the lake. It wasn't easy though, for Usap clawed and struggled for freedom drawing blood from her arm. She had to forcibly hold his arms pinned to his sides with both her hands to keep him under control.

"Damn Usap!" She shouted, "I will personally skin you and make you into a hat if you keep this up!" Usap replied with a variation of cussing and clicking noises that lemurs often spoke in. His tail flicked back and forth angrily as he growled and bent his head this way and that looking for anything he could bite.

Further into the mist Kiyoshi Tenzo sat with his back propped against the trunk of a tree. His thoughts were running circles of questions and concerns about the strange band he had seen earlier just on the coast of Mizu no Kuni. A gathering of shinobi from all corners of the world it had seemed, but all with something in common. Not only did they all have a similar agenda, they were strikingly familiar both in appearance and chakra. Unfortunate that Kiyoshi had not managed to get closer before the Mizukage drove them off. There was one thing he was certain of however. One of his old and last students had been among the travelling troupe.

Tentatively his hand reached up towards his head before slipping into the high rising collar and pulling out a headband that had been carefully hidden along the lining of the collar. It did not bear the markings of a kirigakure though, but rather the crest of a shinobi of Amegakure. He rubbed his gloved digits across the surface tenderly polishing it as he considered what all this meant. No matter how hard or long he thought on it though, he had hardly any information to make even the slightest guess at what was going on.

He rose to his feed clutching the headband tightly in his fist covering the insignia and twisting his neck about whilst rolling his shoulders. There were no answers here in Mizu. The only people who had answers had been driven out. After so many years, it was time for Kiyoshi to leave this place and go see for himself what had become of his home.

The glimmer of a knife waved briefly in the dark and it was time for the duo to make their move. For a seven year old the young shinobi did impress his sensei with surprising maturity and secrecy for the mission at his age. He made use of his clan's strengths and quickly paralyzed the guard in silence. There was the slightest muffled struggle prefaced with a small plume of smoke. But before the other guard could react he found himself busy reaching for his neck attempting to grab hold of the wires that suddenly hauled him off his feet and dragged him back into the bushes where Kiyoshi lay in wait. He cinched the wires and reached a hand under the man's mask covering his mouth and nose muffling any noises he tried to utter as he slipped into an unconscious state.

Stepping out of the bushes Kiyoshi stepped onto the path with his young student. His mask was an emotionless bird but beneath it he smiled warmly at the boy and how well he was doing with this assignment. He glanced at the man and gave a brief nod of approval to the boy before muttering darkly, "Get rid of him." Turning towards the door now Kiyoshi gave it a quick examination. He had seen this door before many times and crossed it many times on friendlier terms, a shame he was here on such dark business.

Without turning around and assuming his partner had not only incapacitated but also hidden the ANBU agent he began muttering darkly again. "Once we're inside, I'll be trusting you to act independently on your own," he paused removing one of his gloves and handing a used and resealed scroll to his apprentice. "There will be a staircase on the left once we're inside," He closed his eye and tilted his head slightly before continuing, "You'll be taking this up to the second floor while I deliver another parcel down here on the first. There are three more ANBU patrolling the upstairs, try and avoid them if you can but if it's unavoidable... same thing we did with this pair. Disable. Do not Kill."

Kiyoshi's bare and empty hand seemed to radiate heat as Kiyoshi reached forward grabbing hold of the metal handles on the thick wooden doors. Heat radiated throughout the metal of the door's handle and locks before the sizzle of burning would could be heard. "Once you've managed to place the parcel... continue down the hallway til you reach the next flight of stairs. I will meet you there and together we'll be going to the third for one last part of the job." With a jerk and the not so subtle crack burnt through wood and ash, Kiyoshi merely pulled the entire door knob and lock out of the door itself.

He pushed open the door's that swung ajar apathetically to reveal to ANBU standing silently inside staring back at Kiyoshi and Masuyo not five meters away. They were dumbstruck about what was going on, but Kiyoshi had been expecting them. With a sweep of his arm his hurtled the metal door knob glowing red straight into the face of the nearest ANBU.

Kiyoshi gave his make shift ANBU partner a cursory glance making sure his mask concealed his face properly. He was short of stature by any ANBU standards Kiyoshi had ever heard of but apart from that the young ninja certainly looked like a proper agent. He gave a small nod of approval before turning and leaping down to the wall of the building across the road.

He would run along the smooth metallic surfaces of the buildings staying well in the shadows to avoid unwanted attention. Rain soon began to fall upon the metal towers releasing gentle notes of discordance that muffled silent movements even further. His hair became matted down in the rain as he turned back to make sure Masuyo was following and sticking to the shadows. Soon they found themselves approaching the Tenzo district before coming to a stop on window ledges of an alley. Just a block or so down however was their objective. Kiyoshi turned his head, his eyes closed as he felt for the far chakras and their positioning.

He turned to face Masuyo after a moment and began whispering, "In the building just north of here there's a small fence with an ornate gate. We can't simply hop the fence because there's likely a strong chance of some detection system. Two guards work together at the gates though. I suggest we each approach quietly from either side so that we can disable them. When you're in position and ready carefully shine your kunai in the moonlight and we'll mark our move." Kiyoshi leaped to the other side of the street before turning back and adding, "Oh and Masuyo, we are not to kill these men." He then let himself slide down the wall silently in the rain before making his way quietly towards the gate keeping to the shadows still. What kiyoshi refrained from telling Masuyo was that these guards and perhaps more inside were official ANBU as well.

Kiyoshi replaced his own mask before taking off his cost and hanging it up on a loose screw under the pipes. He now wore loose baggy fitting black linen pants, a black sleeveless vest with his signature high rising collar, and of course his Anbu mask a simple white mask with a beak on the front. He reached into to rolls of the coat grabbing the handle of a favored kunai. No special abilities at all but the kunai had been something he held onto since his graduation from the academy. A good luck charm.

Walking past Masuyo back out from under the pipes he gave him a supportive pat on the shoulder. It was true Kiyoshi didn't like the idea of training a Kekkai even one so skilled. But something about the upbeat and naive boy warmed Kiyoshi's heart even if just a little bit. It was unfortunate but it was Kiyoshi's job to try and slap this eagerness out of the boy and make him a more realistic ninja. Optimists were of little value to the ANBU.

"No questions after we leave this rooftop. You'll follow me across town, we'll be slipping quietly into a building and once we're inside we'll be doing two things. Delivering some parcels to various rooms and working as a messenger. Both of which we have to do discreetly. As of tonight under my supervision you will be assisting on ANBU Operation: Violet Paint. That all being said do you have any further questions?" Kiyoshi turned back to look at Masuyo.