It was near midnight, and the half moon was almost covered completely by thin clouds. Ice covered tree limbs jingled in the breeze, playing out a haunting melody into the dead night. A trio of masked shinobi sat in a small, dark clearing, whispering quietly, and barely moving. One stood up abruptly, wild, dark red, windswept hair catching the moonlight.

"We cannot stay here any longer, Kai. The mission is impossible, leave it at that."

Male; a tinge of annoyance was clear in his dark, matter-of-fact tone.

One of the other figures turned their head unexpectedly to look at the standing male. A beam of light struggled its way through the icy grove, but it was cut off by a curtain of mid-length silver hair, blocking view of the face.

"No, we aren't leaving yet! All I need is one more night- you can stand the cold a bit longer, Luci. We've worked too hard to quit now."

The voice was indistinguishable; it had shifted from a serious, commanding tone to that of sarcasm within seconds. Mischief practically dripped off of the words.

The third person laughed while the standing male growled slightly. He disliked that nick-name greatly. Also standing up, the third person was hit with a bright patch of moonlight as the wind shifted the clouds. Although more that half of his face was covered in black cloth, his amethyst eyes reflected the light to create an almost glowing effect. Brushing back a handful of messy, purple hair, he walked over to the two.

"Na, c'mon, Lucien, that was just teasing. Kai pro'lly wouldn't do it if you didn't get so steamed. Now seriously; we do need to decide. And, even if we aren't staying, can we at least start a fire? I'm freezing my balls off."

Kai and Lucien, in perfect unison, sighed, their foreheads in their hands. Lucien pushed a bundle of sticks into the purple-haired man's arms.

"Do it yourself, Higure."

They were the unlikely trio; The stiff, serious figure of the Sand, the mischievous demon of the Mist, and the cynical jokester of the Leaves.