"Kayou."  The girl froze and turned to face her sempai slowly, with a look of  utter confusion in her eyes. "If you are going to act like death doesn't effect you, then you are not the Silvy-chan we all love." the boy stated plainly.

 

The child nodded, "You're right, but I can't go back to that girl now, though it wasn't real, I kept dying and feeling that pain."

 

Takai nodded, "For now we'll let this go. You're mission will require you to travel into the human lands, you will be alone, I am only here to observe from a distance, do you accept this?"  The child nodded, "As such you are expected to complete this mission or die in the process, those are our laws. You will kill a Juko ninja." Takai removed a picture of the man from his pocket, "This man is well aware of our presence, as such he must die before he chooses to expose us. He was last seen on the outskirts of  Whimothy. If you are wondering what his name it, it is our policy not to disclose that information to the assassin. Do you understand and accept all of this?"

 

Red orbs cast downward as lids fell softly over them, upon opening her eyes, her gaze met that of her sempai, "I accept the mission and all of the terms accompanying it."

 

The black haired boy sighed, "Very well Kayou. Good Luck." Then he was gone, leaving the child alone in the woods.

 

"Takai-sempai?" she questioned, but there was no answer. The young half-kit sighed and she pulled a map from her bag. After briefly viewing it, she cast her lifeless orbs in the proper direction. She would eliminate her target.

 

*********

A small child walked slowly through the crowded streets of Whimothy. The youth had a dark brown hooded cloak, concealing its face. 'It took me a week to get here and now it's cold and raining.' The wind blew sharply, causing the hidden figure to shiver. It darted into an ally, before removing the hood. The girl had short, light brown hair and dark pastel brown eyes, though her right eye was more of a golden brown in the sunlight. She sighed as she removed the picture from her sleeve. "Where is he?" The child wondered aloud.

 

"Can I help you find someone young lady?" A masked man questioned, based on his attire she could tell he was the human equivalent of a Shinobi No Mono.

 

"Do you know where he is?" Bright, innocent eyes looked at the man while she held up the picture.

 

The man paused for a moment, seeming unsure if he should answer or not, "Well, I do know where he is, but why are looking for him?"

 

The human was wary, that much was obvious, but from her research the man was quite hormonal and had been with many women over the years, she could use this, "He's my father."

 

"Y-you're father?" he was shocked. "Then...where's your mother?"

 

The child's head fell as she sniffled, "Mommy died. I've been living my uncle, but he's really mean and Mommy always said that if something happened to her, to come find him, but she just gave me this picture to find him with."

 

The muffled whimpers were too much for the man. He sighed, "Alright little one, I'll take you to him, just don't cry, okay?"

 

She looked up at him and nodded, rubbing her eyes as if drying away the tears. 'Well, that was easier than I thought.' She followed the shinobi, locking her hand with his. She was just a small child after all, no one would suspect anything until it was too late.

 

She was led across town, to a small inn. Her ninja guide knocked on the door, "Hithro?"

 

"Yeah?" a voice replied, "What do you want?"

 

"I have a child here who claims she's your daughter." 

 

The sound of unlocking was heard and it seemed to happen hastily, before the door opened revealing a man in his late twenties. "Are you Contessa's child?" The little girl just nodded. Her target's brown eyes widened as he fell to his knees, wrapping his arms around her. "I can't believe it." As he stood, he carried the girl with him, thanking the man who brought her there before closing the door. As he set her down in a chair, he spoke again, "What's your name and how is your mother?"

 

"My name  is Azami and Mommy...died two years ago." The brown-haired Koju ninja seemed to fighting back tears as he sat across from her, "She gave me this picture," the child started as she removed the picture from her sleeve, luckily, it seemed the rain had smeared it slightly, making the man seem younger, "and told me to come find you."

 

He half smiled, "You're six right?" she nodded, "Your eyes are like your mother's." he paused, "I'm glad you're here Azami." Wrapping the child in his arms, he finally let the tears flow.

 

As she gently brought her small limbs around his neck, she began to tremble, her claws extending, "It's alright he chide, I'll take care of you, okay?" he asked, not letting her go.

 

"I'm sorry." she said as her claw ran through his neck, the man had died painlessly as that was all she could do for him. Releasing her jutsu, the brown hair slowly returned to it's former bright red-orange and her eyes to their vibrant scarlet. Her technique involved eliminating the nervous system, before frying the brain with her potent chakra.  She placed him on the bed, pulling the sheets over him, to make him seem asleep.

 

Looking at the dead man's face, she noticed that it was peaceful and he seemed happy. The young half-kit was disgusted with herself for killing this kind man, but she had no choice. 'Kill or be killed' those words would haunt her til the end of time, this is what her god-father told her as he made her kill the illusions. Pulling the hood back over her head, she performed a single hand sign and vanished in a cloud of smoke.

 

Reappearing in the woods a good distance from the village, she knew it would be several hours before they realized he was dead, she had to use that time wisely. Glancing at her map once more, she raced away at top speed, praying it would be enough.

 

********

"It is done." Takai told his captain.

 

"I see, you are still following her back right?" Tekeshi questioned with a slight hint of menace.

 

"Of course I am, just because she's completed the mission, doesn't mean my job is over. I won't let her get lost."

 

A sad smile appeared on the blonde's face, "Thank you."

 

"There's no need to thank me." Takai stated as he left his captain to his stacks of paperwork.

 

********

 

Silver looked at her map. 'This wasn't here before, but I came back the same way I left, so why is there a canyon here?' Takai appeared behind her, obviously out of breath and looking rather ragged. "Sempai? What happened to you?"

 

"You made a trip that takes a week in four days and because I've been struggling to keep up with you, your sensei is going to push my speed training even more than he already is." Locking eyes with her, he noticed that she seemed colder.

 

"Had I known you were following me, I would have slowed." Even her tone showed little emotion. "But since you're here, I suppose you know where this canyon came from."

 

"Yes," he sighed, "It's a defense for the village. Walk out a few steps, then perform a release jutsu." The child nodded, before doing as he said. Takai shook his head before following.

 

The girl was waiting for him as he appeared inside the city's genjutsu, "I know you wish to ask something, what is it?"

 

He half smiled, "You're right. I want to know how you feel."

 

"I feel nothing." Silver turned and continued on her way, seemingly unaffected.

 

"You feel nothing!" Her sempai's yelling made her stop and turn to face him as she nodded. "Nothing for the man you just killed, nothing for all the people who died because of you, nothing for your father and god-father who wanted you safe! How can you say you feel nothing!?"

 

Her eyes never once changed as he yelled at her. She simply stared, seeming more lifeless than when she left. "I feel nothing, because there is nothing left to feel, and there are no more tears to cry. I have relived my worst nightmare. Pain, joy, fear, strength, anger, anguish, life and death, I felt them all in a single month, there is nothing left, but a shell and that is how it must remain."

 "That's not true Sil. You can still feel, you can cry for your victims, you're only a child, there's no reason for you to be this way." Takai's eyes showed his overt desperation, but the young Kayou merely turned and walked through the gates of the village as though there had been no discussion.

 

********

 

Kali sat on the large couch, seeming to be bored, when the one sound she had been wishing to hear, came.

The soft tap of the front door closing brought sudden activity to the headquarters. The blond kunoichi leapt from her seat, racing down the hall, to see the young child remove her hood. "Kali-sempai." the girl stated, acknowledging the woman's presence, before heading towards the stairs.

"Silvy-chan." The pain she felt was evident in her large green eyes. The happy child they had just found, had left as quickly as she came. She trembled slightly as though she would cry, but instead took off, out the door.

 

********

 

It wasn't long until Kali stopped at the base of a tree. Her target was sitting there, head tucked between his knees. The girl settled herself next to her team mate. "Takai?" She got no response, "What happened?" A muffled sound came from the boy. "I'm sorry, but I can't understand you unless you pick your head up."

 

When gold and green met, the girl felt like crying herself, his normally joyous expression, had been replaced by one of complete depression. "She...She said...she feels...nothing." The tears began to flood from his eyes. The girl gently hugged him, trying to comfort her younger friend. "Nothing, Kali-san, how can she feel nothing? I don't understand!" He cried on her shoulder.

 

"Just cry, it's the best thing you can do right now." she soothed.

 

He pushed away, "How can you be so  calm about this!? It's like you don't care!"

 

The accused girl sighed, "I do care, it's just that I've seen this happen to other ninja. They pull out of it eventually, we just have to be there for them when they do start to feel again." The chunin nodded, clinging to that  small amount of hope she offered.