Disclaimer: I own nothing of Naruto except the Original Concepts in the story.

OC information is at the end of the chapter.

A loud knocking sound disturbed Rei from inside the dark depths of her mind's subconscious. It paused; and then continued, becoming more rapid. She couldn't seem to shake what was bothering her or find a way to fight against it. Suddenly; within the darkness her eyes tore open as they darted around her bedroom in the home she'd been living at in Konoha. She instinctively looked towards the window as she lay uneasily in her bed.

The heavens above glistened with bright stars shining in the depths of infinite blackness. The moon's exuberant silvery glow welcomed itself through the window to give light in the unsuspecting darkness. Then again the banging continued; she assumed someone was at the front door. Sleepily she shook her head and slowly scurried to the front in her pajamas. She reached the door and opened it with so little control its as if she had no choice in the matter.

"I hope you don't expect to be leaving the country in that..." Kazuki mocked as he stood at the doorway. He was dressed and prepared with a stuffed sack on his back for the next mission they'd been given. "You might want to get ready so we can leave and get this over with."

Rei stood there with hidden anger. She was extremely unprepared with her hair unruly and unkempt, her things not packed, and her hygiene not been covered yet after just been woken up against her will. Her right eye began to rapidly convulse in annoyance. "What the Hell is wrong with you? Are you really that insensitive? Do you honestly have any idea what time it is?"

Kazuki took a brief pause after a small sigh. "You're going to judge and label me as the insensitive one when you're screaming and possibly waking up your neighbors... Some nerve you have. Geez." He folded his arms over his torso sternly in self defense.

That had been the final straw for the current time. Rei stood erect and calmed herself as she prepared her next motion. Then she harshly slammed the door in Kazuki's face and turned away. "I should go back to bed; but I'm already up thanks to someone."

"By the way; it's around five thirty or so," Kazuki remarked from outside. He figured now he'd just have to wait for her to quickly prepare herself and join his party before they headed off to their next post. He couldn't afford another failure this time. If that happened; he'd be dealt a painstaking punishment from Tsunade herself.

"Jackass..." she grumbled in retaliation to his smart remark. She released a heavy sigh and lazily walked back in a daze. She moved back to her room to dress and pack up the belongings she'd need for the trip. A journey to Numa no Kuni, the Land of Swamps; would take a while on foot and then a trip by sea to get to the small island country. Only shortly after were all Rei's current tasks at hand completed. She stepped back to the door and out into the village. "I must admit..." she paused as she started walking beside Kazuki, "The sky really is pretty around this time."

"I knew it was a good idea to get up early." Kazuki stated in a self righteous victory. His attitude seemed slightly more warm towards Rei after the recent events since their first encounter. He might of hated to admit it; but he was getting a bit chummy with her after all. "You get a good view so you have something that will keep you from getting bored. I'm sure there's someone you should thank for that."

Rei kept going as she rolled her eyes and motioned back a few gestures before grabbing the straps of the pack on her back. "Yeah; as if. Don't think you're getting off so easily! You owe me for waking me up and screaming so loud. I think a treat at the Amaguriama would work as compensation."

Kazuki's face became covered with an annoyed expression as he narrowed his eyes. "You women and your sweets..." He sighed moderately before taking the lead in direction. "We have to make a stop before going to the designated point for meeting the client. There are some people we're supposed to meet; so we'll stop there first and wait for them." The ANBU lead the way off as he followed the directions for meeting with the others assigned to the mission before landing himself and Rei in front of the Ichiraku. "Here of all places...?" Kazuki's once annoyed expression returned so soon after realizing where they stopped.

Standing around the corner of the street were two silhouettes darkened by the street lights. They positioned close to a wooden fence. From a distance there were slight muttering sounds as if they were talking to one another. Then after a moment or so; they began to walk towards Kazuki and Rei.

"Ah; he did show up after all," one of the silhouettes spoke with the voice of a young kunoichi. Her appearance came in to view as she stepped in to the light of one of the lamps. Long magenta hair tied back into a ponytail covered the top of her hair while her eyes were as black as the night itself. Over her body was a chûnin vest and suit covering her for protection while a red Konoha hitai-ate fit snug around her waist. "I expected you to slack off and screw up like the perverted dog you are!" she mocked Kazuki as she jerked her head to one side and her hair viciously whipped the nothingness in the air.

"Oh! That's funny Sachiko... Let me guess; you got that one from your mom, right? You're just as sexist as she is!" Kazuki snapped back in retaliation. He rolled his eyes dejectedly and folded his arms tightly over his chest. "I can't believe I'm stuck with you; and if you're here, I'm guessing that's Don..."

The second silhouette waved as he entered the light. He was only a genin with the Konoha hitai-ate tied across his forehead, and the symbol for the village marked on metal plates embedded into his gloves. Short, slightly curled brown hair and brown eyes, just a simple look about him. Nothing really made him stand out with his appearance either, just a simple shirt and pants. He yawned a bit loudly as he dropped his hand to cover his mouth before shoving them both in his pockets. "...Hey Kazuki..." He dropped his head a bit with a sleepy look in his eyes.

"What do you mean sexist?" Sachiko angrily shouted as she pushed passed Don abruptly and put a hand on his chest to push herself forward. "If anything it's you! You're the perverted jerk who only thinks about himself! At least last year I didn't try to take off and get an autographed copy of 'Make Out Paradise'. And I am not like my mother!"

Kazuki sternly stomped his foot at her as he leaned in with furrowed brows. "You heard me! Not deaf are you? Or are you too much of a feminist to even care what I have to say?" He curled up his fingers as they turned into fists.

Almost instantly it felt as if sparks were flying between their eyes as both of them began growling at each other. Kazuki and Sachiko locked eyes as they challenged each other. The both of them were doing the exact same movements. Shaking fists, snarling, and glaring at the other; neither one seemed content to be in the other person's company.

Sachiko then rushed in and slipped behind Kazuki. She threw her arm around his neck from behind and started choking him while she beat him in the head with her other fist. "Take it back; take it back!" she screamed in furious rage.

Kazuki choked on his words as he struggled to free himself. "I... will... never...!"

Don released a solemn sigh as he slowly put his face into his right hand. "Just like old times..." He shook his head lightly in combination with his sarcastic but serious remark. He just watched from the background; making no attempt to step in and interfere. He figured it would be better if he let things be.

Rei stared with narrowed and annoyed eyes. She calmly rose her hand and pointed a finger in their direction. "You mean this is typical with these two? You can't be serious... I have half a mind to strangle them both right now."

Don yawned heavily. He extended out his arms and stretched in a sense of restlessness. "Yeah... good luck with that."

Rei snarled before walking up to both of them and brutally smacking them in the back of their heads. "I'm a bodyguard; not a babysitter! Get that through your thick heads. Now stop acting like brats and come on!" Rei snatched the backs of their outfits and dragged them away as Don followed behind yawning to himself.

A figure stood back in the darkness leaning against the ramen shop. A silhouette couldn't contrast against the lack of lighting, thus they were completely hidden unless sensed by some means other than visual perspective. The person softly sighed and watched as the shinobi walked away. In the darkness the figure just shook their head with their arms folded over their torso.

A few hours had passed gracefully as the squad awaited on their accompaniment. It was nearing the time for arrival of their client, so they continued to wait around. Even though it had become tiresome, they still had to live up to their responsibilities. The free time did allow them to casually converse and discuss things as they waited.

"So..." Rei began, catching the attention of the other three. "How do you all know each other prior to this mission? You guys obviously have kind of history together." she quirked out of curiosity, and having nothing better to do.

Kazuki narrowed his eyes in a disgusted manner.

"Well," Don yawned lightly while stretching with his arms out in front of himself, "We knew each other from the academy pretty much. We all got stuck together through training. Besides, we're squad members."

"Were." Kazuki snapped, preventing Don from uttering another word. His words piercing the air like a sharpened kunai dipped in venomous poison. It stung and lingered even after. "We were squad members. Years ago; but not anymore. Though I'd rather you guys just drop the subject."

Don scoffed and rolled his eyes, turning away from the others. "Touchy much?"

Sachiko glared. Those words Kazuki spoke annoyed and infuriated her. "Oh; so now you think you're better than us, that it; huh? No, you don't just think it, you act it! You're nothing but a conceited asshole! You're no better than anybody. You're no freaking king of the world, so stop acting like a selfish child! You're just a spoiled brat because Hokage Tsunade-sama carried you along most of the way. God, you'd think the whole world revolves around you!"

A set of footsteps lightly scuttled across the ground gently as another approached from the outside gates of Konoha. A calm and gentle female voice called towards the group from the location of the footsteps. "I'm not interrupting am I? I'm seeking an escort group to take me back to Numa no Kuni. I don't assume you are my escorts; are you?"

"We are." Kazuki responded blatantly.

The client narrowed her eyes a moment as her voice became more stern. "Is that so? I suppose I'd rather keep our introductions brief then. I am a high priestess of Numa no Kuni. I would rather this trip be as quick as possible. I'd rather avoid getting into any confrontations from you seeing your earlier behavior."

Kazuki scowled and glared in her direction. "So you're implying that we're troublemakers based on your judgment of our behavior that you only saw so briefly? I think that's a bit narrow minded myself."

"Narrow minded?" the priestess quirked. "Just based on that little display, I'd say you're the worst of the entire group. By what your friend has said so far, you're only self-centered and concerned about your own affairs. Let alone your malice and buried hatred to those around you. With an attitude such as yours, you would never amount to much in this world. How you achieved your status as an ANBU in Konoha is beyond me."

"Hey; why don't we just calm down a..." Rei started before being interrupted.

Everyone turned to look at Kazuki who was walking out of the village, quietly gritting his teeth together and keeping his head hung low.

"All of you just keep quiet and follow me..." he demanded with a moderately powerful anger in his voice.

OCs introduced this chapter (and their creator); Don (Shadowbear), Denzai Sachiko (Ryu-Kazuki)