Wine and Dine [Solo]

A dinner party? Ami thought she had heard wrong when she looked up at the secretary in the Gekkousato administration building. She had come today in search of a mission to do, preferably one she could do alone. Reading the mission scroll, she would exchange glances with the secretary, who shared the exact same thought as she did. There was a dinner banquet, held at a venue in one of the non-shinobi villages and all the important people, namely rich people, were invited to attend. They ranged from diplomats, land owners and pretty much anyone who had made a name for themselves through being rich. She hated these kinds of missions, never understanding why these so-called rich people needed to enlist the help of shinobi when they had their own bodyguards. Never had she had a successful interaction with any of the bodyguards she had worked with, their coordination or lack of drove her crazy. Heaving a sigh, she rolled up the mission scroll and put it inside her robe.

“So tell me, who is it this time?”

“It’s a diplomat from our village. Actually, two diplomats, who are going to the banquet dinner together.” Just great, she was going to have to be responsible for two lives instead of one. The secretary told her that they were husband and wife, both active in the community and have made a pretty big name for themselves over the years. Ami didn’t care about how popular or famous they were. To her they were just her protection targets. “Your job is to escort them to the banquet and back.” Not only was she going to have to go with them, she was going to sit there mindlessly for how ever long the dinner was going to be and wait for them to finish. She nodded her head and would leave the building, heading to the Hyuuga compounds. She brought her weapons, some onigiri for dinner and would make her way to the village gates. The girl was told that the couple would not be going from their house but instead from a local inn off the roads of Kataki Road. They had chosen to lodge there so that nobody could follow them or know where they were headed.

It was just a dinner, no? The Hyuugan would roll her eyes as one of the village guards explained to her about the inn. It was a small place, comfortable but not extravagant. She had been there a couple of times herself, having exhausted herself after missions and chosen to lodge there instead of going home. So she knew the place surprisingly well. Ami would see a big carriage parked at the back of the inn which she immediately guessed was the transport the diplomats were using. At least they had common sense, opting for a simple looking ride, remembering the times when she used to escort people who tried to show off to the world they had money. She would go to the carriage, check the wheels, the inside and made sure everything was safe. She hated surprises and definitely didn’t trust other people handling anything. She would wait by the vehicle for almost an hour before the couple emerged from the inn. They looked like movie stars, dressed in clothing fit for a ball. It must be a really important dinner banquet, she thought to herself, wondering if she would ever opt to wear something like what the woman was wearing—a long stage dress of sorts with glittering diamonds and fancy embroidery. She could tell that the woman prided herself on her attire, taking the time to find matching high heeled shoes which looked painful to walk in and a small dainty handbag of sorts that was so small Ami wondered if there was anything really inside. The man on the other hand wore simple enough clothes, a simple tuxedo and nothing fancy.

The couple got into the carriage, their bodyguards following them. There were to be three bodyguards in total, two who sat inside the carriage with the diplomats and one who would hold the reins of the carriage so to speak. Ami decided to sit herself next to the one man holding the reins, as she wanted to be able to always be on top of her surroundings. This was especially the case on missions like escorts or protections. There were no exchange of words between anyone as they took their places, setting off towards the main road of Kataki Road. The banquet hall was a little beyond in sun village, in a non-shinobi village. She learned that the important people always had a gathering like this at least three times a year, an excuse for them to wine and dine perhaps. Ami could never imagine herself as a diplomat or even as a rich person.

The carriage moved along the gravel road slowly, with Ami having her back turned towards the driver and scanning the trees. By now the sun was beginning to set and soon it would be replaced completely with darkness. The days were shorter and the nights longer it seemed. She would keep her eyes peeled for any suspicious activity, her hand clasped on the hilt of her katana at all times. The girl would even go so far as activating her kekkei gekkai against the darkness. Her inability to see clearly at night was not a problem if she would be robbed of her normal vision with her Byakugan anyway. She also believed that being able to see chakra points and systems would be beneficial, as anyone who would be hiding behind trees or rocks could be easily seen with her dojutsu than with the naked eye. The trip there was not a long one, around an hour and a half, and as the carriage pulled onto the side road, she would see that they would be closing in to their destination. Ami was glad that they had reached the lavish looking banquet hall without any problems, remaining seated as the couple went in. It was going to be a long four hours before they would emerge again.