A Chance Encounter

The sun dipped below the jagged peaks in the distance; casting an amber sheen over the land it looked down on. A bitter chill whistled through the air as night began to settle in and Tsuki found that she had no idea where she was supposed to be going. After escaping from her captors - untrained, but armed to the teeth - she wasn't sure where she was supposed to head. She couldn't return to Konoha; nobody would welcome an exile such as her there. Her mother lived in the Rain but the relationship between mother and daughter had been strained at the best of times since Tsuki hit adolescence and began to find a desire to see the world for herself rather than in her mothers stories. She'd gotten her wish but it was at a hefty price. She'd lost her home, her rank, her friends and her pride. She had a blank slate but she never wanted what she'd had to be erased.

Sitting down by the side of the path, she threw her pack down haphazardly beside her to pull out a bear hide blanket she'd managed to throw together and a cheap straw pillow. Living on the road didn't leave her much of an opening for luxuries. She let her ruby eyes flit around nervously - almost like an animal - before she decided that nobody would dare try to cross a path as sparse as this at night. Nobody she couldn't handle, anyway. She pulled off her net shirt and bodywarmer to leave her in her underarmour, kicking off her sandals with a resigned sigh before she lay back and tilted her head towards the stars. Lilac hair strewn out behind her head, she wondered if this would be the life she would always lead or if she'd find someone worth getting to know along the way.

The night air swept through trees as leaves rustled. The sound of foot steps could easily be drowned out by the ambient noise. The night was growing darker as the dark figure jumped through the trees. Ryuuga had his assignment, he was to find the girl and bring her to the land of waves. She had a price on her head but he had his own agenda. His mind went back to the village in the mist. " You are to bring her in dead or alive, I don't care." Ryuuga shocked by the strict orders. " Sir you can't be serious she isn't even a high level criminal, she is literally just a child!" His superior slammed his hand down on the desk. " Remember who your talking to! If I told you I want her head You had better bring me her damn head!" Ryuuga put his mask on and picked up his katana from beside the desk. "Yes sir I understand." Under his breath he had said something completely different.

Fast forwarding back to the task at hand he strapped his sword to his back and put his mask back on. His anbu uniform slightly different then most. He was a jounin/ anbu/ bounty hunter. "This is job I chose and this is what has to be done." He began his approach to her location. Throwing a kunai near her head missing it slightly on purpose. He wanted to spook her not kill her. This was the moment he waited for drawing his katana and backflipping into a tree, ready to play cat and mouse.

Tsuki felt a rush of air as a kunai flew past her head; she could almost taste the metal on her tongue. That was on purpose, she thought. Whoever threw that was experienced, they wanted to hit me then they would've. She plucked it out of the ground and twirled it between her fingers before she pocketed it and raised her hand; waving into the darkness with a grin on her tired face.

"Thanks," She called out. "I needed a new one,"

Grunting a little in frustration as her arms and legs protested at her movements, she stood again. She didn't appear to be threatened by the presence of a hostile stranger but neither was she lax; her eyes cut through the night better than most. Travelling mostly by night these past few months had gifted her with that much. She caught an outline not too far away. The figure was hunched, blurred by the branches and leaves of the tree he was taking shelter in. Words flew through her mind, disjointed and analytical.

'Male, adult, masked. ANBU? Possibility. Armed, hostile, trained.'

Tsuki didn't reach for her weapon but neither did she flee; she wasn't stupid. He could kill her now and be done with it before she even had the chance to run. She was still young for a kunoichi at the age of 21 and without a proper mentor to ever keep her right, she didn't exactly have experience. Her raw talent and instinct was what had kept her alive thus far and it was what made her stay completely motionless now. If this was her time, so be it.

Ryuuga knew he could be seen from his position, but he didn't really care. She was in no position hold him off, or even fight back. " Hey kid, if you know where I am give me your best shot." Ryuuga always liked to give off a little taunt. " Oh yeah, and why don't we make this interesting." Ryuuga then pulled out four kunai soaked oil held together by twine. He threw them and diamond shape. Applying chakra to them activating oil setting the diamond ablaze.

She smiled and ran a hand through her hair as she mulled over his invitation.

"Nah, I'll pass. Thanks for the offer though," She replied.

She hopped lightly to one side into the cover of the trees, tying her hair up so her bangs didn't obscure her view before she came back into his line of sight again. She wasn't going to give him a challenge; she wouldn't give him the satisfaction of a victory.

"I think you and I have different concepts of 'interesting'," She mused, rocking back and forth on her heels. "I find books and chess interesting, not things that could potentially kill me,"

Ryuuga dropped down from the tree extinguishing the flames with a change in his chakra flow.
"Good to know, My orders are to bring you in. Sadly Im not going to do that." He said as he removed his mask. The figure shown in the moonlight was standing at 6'1 toned figure. Dark long black hair, with maroon eyes. His clothing was different from an anbu/ jounin. He wore a sleeveless mesh shirt with his charcoal color jounin vest. His left arm had his headband tied to it. Showing mist insignia, his right arm was tattooed from shoulder to wrist. He wore regular shinobi pants with his ankles wrapped and his sandals on his feet.

He looked upon her with his maroon eyes in the moon light the only thing about him she couldn't see was the lower part of his face.

"I have an offer for you, if you wish to take it, or even hear it." He waited for a reply.

Tsuki's stance relaxed a little as she let the man approach. His words sounded strange considering he was probably from the same village those other guys had been from but she wasn't about to judge him based on that one common factor. Her nocturnal eyes took in everything he was letting her see and took her sweet time replying to what he had said to her.

"I'll listen but forgive me if I'm a little tentative about it," She shrugged, rolling up her sleeve and showing him a scar that ran up from her palm to the crook of her elbow. "Your village hasn't exactly been diplomatic towards me before,"

Ryuuga took out another kunai put it toward his left arm. dragging it along the insignia scrapping through it. "Now that, that worthless thing is out of the way." He said as he put his real head band on. " I understand that they havn't been diplomatic, but my people actually will be. That is if you come with me" He walked forward his actual headband showing in the moonlight has his dark raven hair showed. " Im a double agent for the land of fire, Ive been sent for you miss." He said as he threw down his gear aside from his katana.

"Im head of the anbu there, and an assassin. We want your talent and I could train you. Only if your willing." He said with his arm crossed.

"How do I know you're not just PRETENDING to be a double agent?" She teased with a feral grin and a playful spark in her eyes. "I've seen it happen before,"

All joking aside, the offer was tempting. To have a roof over her head again and a proper bed to rest her head on, not to mention the training she desperately needed to let her excel at what she loved doing. Rolling down her sleeve again, her scarlet eyes glittered thoughtfully before she held out her scarred hand to him with a contemplative nibble at her lower lip.

"Alright, you're on," She nodded. "Even if you're just trying to trick me, I can't keep living like this,"

He held out his blood covered hand to meet hers. "Welcome back to the land of the living tsuki, we've got a lot of work to do." He said as his maroon eye meet her scarlet eyes as he moved his headband back over his right eye. " Alright enough talking we have got a day and halfs travel a head of us back to konoha. Don't worry, your captures won't be back for you." He said as he began down the road to the village of the leaves.

Tsuki shook his hand heartily, ignoring the blood, before she followed behind him without another word. She gathered up her cheap belongings and slung her pack over her shoulder again, grunting a little in exasperation at the weight on her still sleep-heavy shoulders. She jogged a little to catch up with this man and hovered a little at his side. Curious eyes drifted up to his face and she quirked a brow before she nudged him lightly in the side with her elbow.

"Are you gonna tell me your name then, or what?"

Ryuuga looked over to the girl. "My name? Its Ryuuga, Ryuu for short. I don't really care which one you use to be honest." He said as he continued his walking. He stopped by a tree for a moment. Walking over to it the moon light revealed the men who were fallowing her now dead where they had decided to sleep. He grabbed his bag opening it and throwing her a separate bag of clothes for her to change into. "Change into these, you'll need something less blood stained before we arrive at the village and don't worry you can change behind the tree I won't peek." He said has he walked further off with his back to her waiting for her to change.

She mumbled something incoherent, something along the lines of 'my old clothes are fine' before she shuffled off behind the trees. She spoke again as she pulled her shirt over her head, stuffing it in her pack with an irritated huff. This was bull; blood didn't make her clothes any less wearable. She tugged on the black tank top he'd given her and the unstained shinobi pants and shuffled a little in discomfort. They felt too...New. They were crisp and probably hadn't been worn yet. She was used to scruffy and that was how she liked it.

"My name is Tsuki, by the way. Your files probably have my name registered as Aoi. I figured it would be safer to change it,"

She emerged again to follow when she was decent, pulling at the tank top to try and make it feel a bit more comfortable.

"We have every single one of your names. We've been watching you for quite some time. Well I have anyway." He said as he turned back to her and gave her a taunting wink at her new clothes. He began back at his fast walking pace with his bag on his back. "When we get back you'll receive a medical examination and a skill evaluation from our staff back at headquarters." He said as he put his arm around her. " You won't have to run anymore kid, you'll have a home as long as you put the work in." He said retracting his arm.

"You and another student will be under my instruction hopefully you'll get along not like it matters to me though. Im not bringing you here to make friends, Im bringing you here to be my personal student." He said fastening his pace.

"Medical examination?" She groaned, running a hand through her hair. "Shit, I hate doctors. They always seem to think I'm dying of something or other,"

She couldn't help but smile anyway as he spoke when his arm came around her; telling her she didn't have to run anymore. It felt nice to let her mind wander on the prospect. She quickened her pace to match his and raised an eyebrow again, humming thoughtfully to herself.

"I think I can handle some fitness tests though...After a meal and a hot shower. So who's the other student? I still remember Konoha fairly well,"

"Don't worry these medics aren't looking for desease they are testing reflexes and sight." He said as he looked at her." Ill be taking you too my place for the first few weeks till I find another place for you to stay, shouldn't take too long." he said looking up at the hills of the land of fire. he looked over to her. " As for your new class mate, her name is sakura I hope this won't be a problem." He said pulling out an adult novel, as he read by the moon light he remembered his old master and walking with him like this. " Tests ill be conducting will be once I have you healthy, so you can rest up for a week or two and then we will hitting the ground running!" He said with a slight hint of excitement.