Scouting the Border

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The Hyuuga finished her cup of coffee. It was early morning and today she would meet with Karite to go on a mission together. It was nice to spend some girl time with her new friend. She put her cup in the sink before heading out. The kunoichi bad brought some homemade cake she made because she couldn't sleep. Ami hoped Karite would like it. She made chocolate chiffon cake and strawberry cheesecake, unsure of what kind of dessert the woman favoured.

She waved goodbye to one of the Hyuuga servants as she passed the entrance of the manor and headed straight for the lake. She was really excited to do something useful and have someone she enjoyed spending time with to go with her. Ami had chosen to wear a dark red dress, with a gold silk cloth around her waist tied into a big ribbon at the back. She wore dark brown boots and carried her weapons in a small brown bag. It was all about colour coordination.

The girl walked down the bustling main streets, happy to leave the busy streets to a more peaceful place. She wondered if her friend would already be there, waiting. Ami always felt bad when people had to wait for her. The weather was nice, not too hot but at least sunny. She threw on a sweater to cover her arms from the unforgiving sun's rays. The Hyuuga would reach the lake after a few minutes of walking. She loved Lake Biwa, spending her evenings there in the summer with a cup of coffee, watching the sunset.

"Karite!!!!" Ami called out cheerfully and waved her arm as she reached the lake, noticing that her friend was already there. She picked up her pace and would run up to her friend and give her a beaming smile. "Am I late? Sorry!" She giggled embarrassingly and rubbed the back of her head. She hoped Karite wouldn't be angry with her. The kunoichi looked at her friend's attire, always marveling at her fashion sense. Ami always had a keen eye for fashion.

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Ami blushed at the sight of Karite blushing. The two kunoichi would stand there for a moment, their cheeks red for no apparent reason to an outsider. She just couldn't explain why she was so happy to see her. Her face lit uo at the sight of the lunchboxes Karite made for their lunch, the thought of homemade cooking made her mouth water. Ami's mother was not the best cook and even though her father was, he seemed always too busy to cook. It's why she would always feel extra grateful and happy if someone cooked for her.

"Wow, Karite! Did you make them yourself? I can't wait to try your cooking!" She was beaming from ear to ear and held up a box wrapped in a flower patterned cloth. "I didn't know if you like sweets but I made some cake. It'll be our dessert or teatime treat!" The Hyuuga giggled, almost forgetting the real reason behind their meeting today. The lake was calm like always, the perfect spot for a picnic and just girl talk.

Oh right, mission! She thought to herself, pulling on her memory. She'd forgotten the finite details of what they had to do today. A little ditzy sometimes, she often forgot things easily. But her abilities as a shinobi were not bad at all, a way of making up for her forgetfulness, she supposed. Rubbing the back of her head again, she added "Do you remember what exactly we have to do today?" With a sheepish grin she looked at Karite. It was only her luck that she was with her friend today. Had it been anyone else, they'd probably not be as forgiving.

"Where should we head to first?" She would turn her head right and left, wondering if they were just going to stay there. She didn't mind of course, but their mission was top priority. Ami secretly wouldn't mind coming for just a picnic with Karite at some point. Focus, focus...she told herself repeatedly, feeling her mind wandering again. She really had a problem with concentration recently, affecting her training as well. Her father always scolded her when they sparred or trained together.

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Ami would blush again at the sight of Karite's cheeks turning red. They both blushed too easily, she thought to herself. The Hyuuga cleared her throat and looked to where the other girl was pointing. The other side of the lake, she mused. She actually never went there before even though she'd been in these parts many times. Ami tended to always just stick to one spot if she liked it enough. Not much of an adventurer by nature, it was nice to see a different view for once. "What are we waiting for then? Let's go!"

She would grab Karite's hand and force her to come with as she led the way. Ami wanted to get this mission over with and still spend some quality time with her friend. The kunoichi would let go of the other's arm after a few moments, realizing it wasn't very proper of her to do that, her face turning a deeper shade of crimson from embarrassment. She always did things without thinking and it always led to unnecessary trouble.

They would make their way to the orther side, which was farther than she had imagined. At first glance from where they had been she had thought it would just be a quick stroll to get there. But it took a good half an hour, close to an hour even. Ami was already hungry while they were walking and thinking about Karite's lunchboxes. She wondered what were inside, her mind filled with her favorite foods like egg, rice and meat. The day was perfect for a picnic and ahe hoped nothing would ruin it.

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Ami smiled at the other girl red cheeks and really wanted to pinch them for some odd reason. She just found Karite so adorable when she blushed, so different than her regular self or when she was with Jayy. It was a special connection that only the two kunoichi shared, and that made Ami feel very special. The two girls walked to the other side of the lake and Karite explained that they would have to do a search of the wooden areas first. Ami wandered what could possibly be there. "What do you think we can find there?" Having never been to these parts, the kunoichi didn't know what to expect. But surely Karite would know. She glanced at her friend and smiled.

The two girls put down their lunchboxes and snacks by a tree near the lake as they prepared for their mission. Ami guessed that since not many people were outside, nobody would possibly steal food from them if they left it there. But what happened if they did? She would kill the person if someone ate their food. Nobody and nothing could come between her and food. But taking lunchboxes with them seemed too much of hassle since they may have to fight something if something came up. So she left it for Karite to decide and she would just follow.


"Let's go!" Ami would holler at her friend and make her way to the forest-like areas. She gripped her katana firmly, her lavender-white eyes searching for any possible movements. Ami was always quite keen when it came to detecting anything dangerous. Although she doesn't like traveling, she surely does love hunting things dangerous, a different form of being adventurous, she supposed. The two of them would walk through the forests, looking for any signs of disturbance. Ami genuinely hoped that it was an animal they would be able to come across. And her wishes were granted as she soon found herself standing ten meters away from...a wolf! She gave a tiny scream and motioned for Karite to come quickly. "l-look!"

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Ami looked over at Karite who had now come to where she was. The girl felt bad for screaming like a weak child. But she was relieved to have her friend there with her. Her eyes darted from the wolf to Karite and then vice versa as she studied the situation. She wondered if Karite had a plan to stop this thing. In general she was not a very tactical person especially when it came to battles. She would need time to think, and most of the time there wasn't that time to spare. Her eyes drifted to her friend, who seeing from her expression, already had a plan.

"What?!" She was taken aback by the suggestion of Karite but didn't have much time to react. Ami saw as the other girl jumped on a tree and was about to land on her shoulders. She pushed her chakra to the balls of her feet so that she wouldn't fall when Karite landed. The Hyuuga wondered what exactly the plan was but she would nod her head at her friend, indicating that she was ready. The staring contest was still going on between Ami and the wolf though, the grip on her katana tightening in case the animal was going to attack.

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Ami watched, slightly amused, as Karite landed on her shoulder. She studied the wolf's reactions as well, noticing him bow his head down at the 1 presence of something taller and would then run away. It worked! And it didn't involve any blood shedding. She didn't like killing animals even though some of them had to be killed if they posed a big enough threat. The girl tried to offer her friend a hand and realized that she had already jumped off her shoulders at that point. She smiled at the girl and shook her head, happy that there was someone who worried about her as much as Karite did. "I'm alright. What about you?" she asked with a serious tone.

The two young girls made their way back to their lunchboxes. It was already almost lunchtime, she thought as she looked up at the sun, casting its unforgiving rays down on the two of them. he smiled and looked over at Karite, blushing a little. "Thank you for making lunch for me...I haven't eaten something homemade in years." Her father was too busy and too concerned about being a shinobi to be holed up in the kitchen nowadays. So it was often just her, cooking for herself, and cooking the same things every day.

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Ami waited for Karite to lay out the blanket before plopping herself down and motioning for the other girl to do the same. She hadn't had a picnic in years. Her friends back in the academy were always going to picnics after school but she would be required to go home and train. A Hyuuga was always supposed to be bettering themselves before socializing. She had learned that at a very young age. Her parents were also not very keen on going out, always preferring the their compounds except for the occasional meetings they had with their friends or other clan leaders. So Ami had little knowledge of these outdoor events, even though she was almost an adult.

"Oh, I love chicken and sweet potato!" Ami giggled happily as she took one of the lunchboxes from Karite. Technically she was a good cook too, but she never really liked making bentos. She preferred making sweets or things that were hot to eat. She took a bite of the sweet potato, her grin widening. "It's so good!" The sheer look of satisfaction on her face and the cuteness of her mannerisms when she ate food could kill a person. It was part of the reason why people liked cooking for Ami.

The Hyuuga would finish her potato before asking Karite about her sister. She realized that she didn't know much about her friend's family and really wanted to know more. She wondered if Karite's sister was similar to her friend's. If so, maybe she could be good friends with her sister as well. The young girl smiled and said in a thoughtful tone. "Are you girls close? I know lots of siblings that hate and can't stand each other..."

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Ami wished she had as close connections with her family as Karite seemed to have with her sister. The young girl had a younger sister too but they weren't close at all. In fact, they secretly hated each other, always fighting over who was stronger. The girl sighed as she thought about her sister who had died a couple of years ago due to an illness. She always felt guilty when she thought of her sibling, since their relationship was not the way sibling relationships should have been when she was alive. And now she was dead, and there was no way for her to make it up.

"I had a sister too...a younger sister..." she looked to the ground, her eyes welling up with tears. She told herself she wouldn't cry, not in front of other people. She still remembered that night when she heard about her sister's death, how she hadn't even been able to visit her before she passed away. Ami looked away from Karite and took a deep breath, her gaze resting on the lake waters. It was hard for her to talk about her sister.

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She whimpered a little as tears streaked down her face, the guilt of not being the good older sister finally getting the better of her. She had tried, when the two girls were children to play the part. But her sister was not the kind of girl that was strong about family ties. She remembered how distant she was with both her parents and then eventually with her. Her sister had seen Ami as a competitor, someone that was going to go for the head of the Hyuuga clan and so they were always trying to out-train each other. The girl also recalled when her sister fell ill and had to be taken to the hospital. It was then that they had stopped fighting over the inheritance.

She smiled weakly at Karite as she pulled away from her hug. The young woman wasn't very keen on hugs but had let Karite hug her, trusting the other girl completely. It was strange, how strong bonds could be built over such short periods of time. Ami felt a sudden pain in her chest and moaned slightly. Kuso...she muttered to herself. Both sisters had the same heart illness but she has been able to control her illness quite well over the years, thanks to her constant training.

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Ami would try to brush it off, a bit annoyed with herself for showing her weakness. She pulled at her locket from around her neck and produced an antidote that she always kept with her in case of times like these. She took out one of the pills from the locket and popped it in her mouth, waiting for the affects to kick in. She smiled weakly at Karite and nodded her head, indicating that she was alright. It had been awhile since she had had one of these 'attacks' so to speak. She had been able to keep her illness under control for the most part in the last few years.

As she was waiting for the medicine to take affect, she would look around them. By now they would have finished their lunches. Thanking the other girl for a nice lunch, she wondered if they should continue to scout the place, as she realized it was getting to early afternoon. The Hyuuga wasn't sure what exactly they were supposed to be looking for or how they would know if they'd completed the mission, but she was certain that that definitely a little more than just the wolf that had appeared earlier.

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Ami smiled at Karite and began to pack up their things and leave the camp. She thought for a moment about leaving, as the other girl had suggested. But she was a perfectionist, which came with being a Hyuuga. The girl would help her put the blanket and the lunchboxes back before they made their way one more time into the forest-like area. She liked patrolling, even though she wasn't a big fan of jungles. She preferred patrolling more humanized areas, so to speak. The two of them would patrol this time together, as per Karite's suggestion.


And there lurking in the shadows, was a creature. From its silhouette, Ami could tell that it wasn't the wolf they had seen earlier. It seemed a little smaller and yet moved a little quicker, as it dashed out in front of them, some fifteen meters away. The Hyuuga stopped in her tracks, taking out her hand to grab Karite's arm as well. She wanted to watch the animal, to see if it would strike before they made a move. She was not a cold-hearted killer and she wanted to give the chance of life to animals as much as she could. If it attacked, she would retaliate of course.

"Is that a fox?" she murmured

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Ami didn't know whether to be amused at the sight of Karite squealing over the fox. The Hyuuga didn't share the same sentiment for the animal, thinking that their eyes were scary. But she did like animals, especially dogs, as she was known to around and pet dogs all the time, sometimes even into other clan compounds. She loved Shiba dogs the most, unable to get over their cute eyes and smile. Ami was convinced that every dog smiled and no amount of persuasion wold prove otherwise. She wished her parents would let her have a pet.

Her eyes widened a little as she heard that Karite had released a fox earlier on a mission. She wondered if the animal in front of them was indeed that fox. But it would soon prove to be different as it crouched down, ready to pounce on them. Ami thought for a moment, knowing that she wouldn't want to kill the animal if it wasn't proven to be monstrous. It may just be scared or be reacting with natural instincts. So she withdrew her hand from the hilt of her katana and instead would simply use her body for combat. Against an animal she had some confidence.