A Mission of Simplicity

Daedalus' feet crunched lightly across the graveled road. He and Natsu had been travelling for a few days, and were merely a few hundred yards outside of Kumogakure now. For most of the journey, the human puppet had remained silent, as he normally did. Occassionally, he became talkative around Ryu, as he was within his comfort zone then. Ever since he had been converted to an Iwagakure Sannin however, his mind had been a little deranged. This was presumably the reason he was been accompanied by Natsu, his unpredictability, that is. Glancing over at the girl now, Daedalus' face remained emotionless from beneath his hood, his piercing eyes studying her for details before returning to the road in front of them.

"One-hundred fifty meters and closing."

His voice was monotonous. He was Iwa's tool, a true shinobi some would say. Yet here he was, dressed in unmarked cloth as he approached Kumo for simple reconnaissance. Iwagakure was in no position to start any conflict with Kumogakure naturally, they simply wanted to know if Kumogakure was in any position to start a conflict with them. Why the Tsuchikage was worried about Kumo specifically was trivial, and irrelevant. A mission was a mission, and an order an order. As they got nearer, a ping of inaudible sound waves resonated from Daedalus' cranium, eventually rebounding and returning to him with information.

"Barrier detected, access from south-west... impossible."

Natsu's cloak was moving slightly as Daedalus and her were walking towards the village hidden in the clouds. They were assigned a mission, much to Natsu's displeasure, she was together with Daedalus. She didn't have any specific problem with him, she just preferred to go on missions alone. The girl was wearing a black cloak, a hood covering most of her head. Only her pale mouth and chin could be seen, and a bit from her white hair as it fell on her chest. During their travel, Natsu hadn't talked much, avoiding to make any sarcastic remarks. She had been thinking a lot about her brother, wondering were he was. Natsu was disturbed when she was assigned a mission, immediately after she had returned to Iwa. She wanted to spend some time with Fuyu.

The man beside her informed the girl that they were one hundred meters away from the barrier. 'Finally.' she thought, as she narrowed her eyes, as if that would help her to see further away. ''The mission required us to dress as 'merchants'. You got any ideas? I say, after figuring out when the barrier is down, that we should rob some traveling merchants and dress like them.'' Natsu said with a smirk on her face. She liked the idea of robbing someone at random. It would surely be fun.

Daedalus detected the barrier and let her know that the entrance was on the south-west. However, something worried him. Natsu looked at the living puppet, frowning. ''What is it?''

Daedalus's sonar sent out a few more pings, getting a full read. It stopped the puppet in his tracks.

"The barrier is completely impenetrable, it even reflects sonar. There's no way in or out with it up."

With that said, Daedalus turned and moved off into the nearby brush, expecting Natsu to follow naturally. Eventually reaching a clearing some thirty meters in, he found what looked to be a suitable stump for a sit down. Dropping his form to the stump, his figure seemed to become more relaxed. This wasn't the entire truth however, as as a puppet, Daedalus' never truly physically tired. The position did remove weight from many of his mechanical workings however, preventing elongated wear and tear. Eyes on Natsu, Daedalus spoke again.

"We will need to wait until the barrier is down, yes. For infiltration, it will be far simpler and less suspicious for you to simply use your transformation technique. I myself do not know the technique, but I will keep watch from the surrounding mountains while you're within the city walls."

He then reached out with his hand, a small compartment in his wrist opening up and producing a small mechanical device. Tiny arms latched onto it and moved it into Daedalus' palm before the process reversed, leaving the small mechanism to sit in his hand.

"A miniature one way radio. Best to be placed as a lip or tongue ring to avoid suspicion and get the best reception. The corresponding speaker is directly tapped into me. I will not be able to communicate with you, but I will be able to hear you."

Daedalus stopped walking and so did Natsu. 'No way in or out...' she thought, looking at the puppet. ''Not even underground?'' she asked, looking towards Kumo. She heard a rustle and saw Daedalus moving into a bush. Natsu followed him and leaned on a tree across Daedalus' stump. She crossed her arms and stared at the man, trying to think of something that would allow them to enter the village unnoticed.

The man spoke up, coming up with a plan. He himself wouldn't go into the village but send Natsu on her own. ''Sounds fun.'' she said, grinning widely. Natsu was all fired up, now that she was going to enter Kumo alone. Daedalus spread out his arm and something metalic crawled out of his wrist. Natsu looked at it with an interested expression. The puppet explained to her what it was and what it was doing. She had to wear it on her tongue or lip so it wouldn't rise suspicion. Natsu took it and placed it on her lip. She moved a bit her lips around in order to get used to the feeling of the metalic ring. ''Test, TEST.'' she said, quite louder the second time. Natsu did that on purpose, just to see if she would annoy him or cause him pain. Of course he was a puppet and puppets couldn't feel any pain, but it was worth a try.

''So...now I just have to transform into someone and enter the barrier, saying that I came for commercial reasons?

Daedalus' cold lifeless eyes stared at Natsu, not even blinking when she tested her new microphone. He nodded his head in reference to her question. yes, she would pose as a merchant, it was the only sure fire way to get in without a pass.

"We will have to wait however, for the barrier to fall. I am under the impression it is not active everyday. Whether or not it extends underground, I am not sure of, and thus it would be dangerous to test. Not only that, but highly suspicious looking."

Two wires shot out of Daedalus' back as he spoke, each one pronged with a blade. As his monotonous voice carried on, the thrashed through the trees behind him, eventually returning with a collected bundle of wood. The cables then dropped the bundle between Natsu and Daedalus just as they were finishing up.

"For tonight, we rest here."

A nozzle then produced itself from Daedalus' palm and was pointed at the wood pile. Moments later, a burst of flame came from it, quickly setting the wood alight.

"Tomorrow, we check again."

Natsu was slightly disappointed as she didn't get any reaction from Daedalus when she screamed into the microphone. But oh well, she would get over it. The puppet said that they had to wait until the barrier was down, so she could get in. Natsu was tempted to kill the guards and get in, but that would rise the guard of the village. As he was speaking, two wires shot out of his back and cut down a tree. They placed the wood between Natsu and Daedalus, and he set them on fire. The puppet said that they would rest here for the night.

Natsu let herself slide down on the ground, still leaning against the tree. She looked into the fire, which caused her eyes to hurt after a while. She looked up at the sky but the trees were hiding its view. Natsu closed her eyes, and drifted into a peaceful sleep.

The sun was shining and sun rays shined upon Natsu's face, waking her up. She opened her eyes and saw that it was already day. She rubbed her eyes, yawning and then stood up. ''What aout the barrier?' was the first thing she said. The girl wanted to complete the mission as soon as possible.

"The barrier is down."

Standing on the tip of a tree, Daedalus was currently monitoring the village. It appeared as if he hadn't slept at all. In truth, he hadn't, nor did he ever have the need to. Turning his head to look down at Natsu he opened his mouth again, words being processed by the mechanics behind it.

"My sonar does make out several large cannons set into the village's walls however. If you blow your cover before getting in, good luck. There is a checkpoint roughly fifty meters before the actual city gates, be sure to be disguised before they catch wind of you."

Daedalus then vanished, using typical ninja speed to dart from the tree tops and up a nearby mountain. As he arrived at what he found to be his best vantage point, his right eyes telescopically shifted outwards, bearing back down on Natsu's location. There was no room for messing around in his mind. It was time to start.

Her eyes widened as she heard that the barrier is down. It was finally time for her to carry out her mission. She took out a hand creme from her bag, which she was carrying with her most of the time, because its sent was calming her down. ''Don't worry. I won't.'' she said, as she heard Daedalus say about not blowing up her cover. She performed a handseal and transformed into a blonde middle aged woman, who was wearing high heels and a short -very short- outfit. She walked out of their hiding place and towards the guards.

Natsu arrived at the gate, two Kumo shinobi standing there. She was supressing her chakra so she wouldn't stand out too much. It was her turn to state her reason for visiting Kumogakure. ''Hello!'' she said with a wide smile, ''I have come here because I am a cosmetics seller, and I would like to ally with a shop in Kumo.'' she said, smiling widely. Natsu lifted her chest, making visible her breasts. She also spread out one of her long legs, so the skirt she was wearing would ride up higher. The guard gulped. ''M-may I see y-your produ-ucts?'' he said, trying hard to not look down on her chest. Natsu bend over, on purpose, pulling out her own creme. 'Creme, you save lives' She opened it and grabbed the guard's hand. He blushed furiously. She slowly spread it out on his hand, the scent being infatuating. ''See? Your hand feels softer now.'' she said, looking at him. ''Y-you may pass.'' the guard said and let her through.


'Pf..men.' Natsu walked down the street, comfortable in her skin. Men were giving her looks and some were stopping in their tracks. She smirked. Natsu liked being the centre of attention.

The girl was walking around the village for ten minutes now, and yet she hadn't found out anything. It looked like the barrier was still open, since people were getting in. She sighed as she walked past a shop with cosmetics. Natsu glanced at it and walked into it. She found the creme she was using herself. ''What the...Here it's cheaper!'' she said, looking at the price. The store keeper approached her and asked her if she needed any help. ''No, thanks.'' she said, turning to leave. ''Well, miss, you don't look like you are from here. '' he said. ''Um, yeah I am not from here.'' she said. ''Ah. You came here now that the barrier is down, huh?'' he said, leaning against his door. ''Yes.'' ''Well, in five minutes its going to close again. Maybe you should hurry....or maybe not.'' he said, grinning in a dirty manner. Natsu understood this game. She could play it. ''Maybe...maybe not...'' she said and walked closer to him. ''Maybe I could stay if you told me when the barrier is going to open again....'' she leaned into him, her lips inches away from his. ''The barrier....it opens every two days . '' he said. ''Is that so.....'' she leaned closer in as if she wanted to kiss him, but last minute she grabbed his neck and knocked him unconsciouss. ''Sorry, you are not my type.''

Natsu walked back to the gate and exitted the village. She was now again in the bushs. However, she didn't turn back to her original form. ''Every two days, huh? Today is friday, which means that the barrier opens every Monday...Wednesday and Friday. Therefore it's closed every eh..Sunday, Tuesday...Thursday and Saturday.'' she said, whispering to herself, while counting the days with her fingers. Natsu always did that when she sorted out her thoughts.

Daedalus' scope had been monitoring all of Natsu's actions with his scope, keeping an eye out for trouble. In his mind, her seductive nature would have surely brought some form of attention upon her presence, and it did, although it was nothing to worry about. Through the radio, he could hear her voice, as well as the muffled voices of others nearby. He made a mental note for the days the barrier would be open or closed and then tracked Natsu back to the brush.

Arriving moments later, Daedalus appeared beside her.

"Well done, Ryusaki will be pleased."

He then walked past her without so much as another word, and began heading back for Iwagakure.

Daedalus appeared beside the girl and praised her for the successful mission. ''Yeah let's get back.'' she said, and smoke arose before her covering her appearance. As soon as it flew away Natsu was again in her normal form. She took out her creme and covered her hands with it. The scent was so good. She looked at Daedalus and smirked. ''You want some? It'll make your skin softer.'' she said in a sarcastic manner. He was a puppet, the creme wasn't going to help him much but Natsu enjoyed teasing people. They were heading for Iwagakure, the journey would take few days.

Daedalus didn't seem to catch the joke as he walked alongside Natsu.

"Unless it's also a diamond polish, I don't think it'll work."

The pair then disappeared into the clouds, heading home.

[EXIT]