More Kids... (Group Plot)

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Ami found herself in the Sun Village once again, having only returned to her compounds for less than two days before being asked to come back for a mission. She was surprised to learn that Keiji would be coming with her on the mission, quite enjoying the idea of traveling and completing assignments with her love. Although she was slightly disturbed when she heard about the details of the assignment. She wouldn't mask her surprise that they had been asked to help in the investigation of something that should be dealt with by Sun ninja. She didn't mind this of course, but it seemed rather strange that the Sun village was seeking the help of Moon shinobi to help them with something within their village parameters. But then again...she had worked with a Sun shinobi once on one of Moon's internal missions. Was this some attempt to strengthen ties between the two village?

She would hear Keiji's word, blushing a little at his now very vocal declarations of love. She had gotten used to it by this point, no longer as shy or afraid of public displays of affection. She pondered at his words though, wondering what exactly he meant. She recalled the conversation they had had at his compounds that first day they met, and later at the Hyuuga compounds after the cafe incident...Ami knew he was a hunter-nin, so could it be that his demeanor or personality changed if he was forced to? If that was the case, she wasn't at all disturbed for he didn't know how her personality would change either. "I too have a different...vibe to me if need be..." she said softly, remembering when she ruthlessly attacked bandits who got in her way that was the polar opposite of her usual sweet self. She prayed that he would not have to see that side of her...at least not yet.

Whatever it was, she was happy to at least have Keiji there to accompany her as the two of them made their way to Nikkousato. She would see the ever-so familiar desert plains and sigh, immediately noting the temperature and weather change as they walked to the meeting place. They were supposed to meet a sun shinobi, which seemed normal given the circumstances of the mission. As they drew near, she would see a lone figure standing there, waiting for them. Upon a closer look would reveal someone she had met on countless occasions, most of these occasions were not good ones at least on her end. Sojiro Sakura...she would notice that he had on some regular clothes this time, as perhaps his usual doctors attire not fitting for mission-taking. Her lavender eyes rested on him for a moment, before calling out to him. "Sojiro, nice to see you again." She questioned the validity of her statement since the last few times she had seen him she was either beaten up or unconscious.

Sojiro would pick on a familiar scent as it approached and adjust his view so that he could see Ami and some other person walking with her, letting his gaze take in the details of the man. The man would lazily push himself off of the pole that he had been leaning on and would take a step towards the both of them, "Ami, how's the finger holding up?" He would ask bluntly after she had greeted him, obviously getting straight down to business. He'd offer his right hand to Keiji, "Sojiro Sakura." And, assuming he took his hand, he'd give him a firm shake before releasing it and sliding both his hands back into his pockets. The man would take a moment to look around them before gesturing with his head for them to follow, himself starting to walk down the street as he did.

"I don't know how much they told you about this mission but a child went missing about a week ago and they want us to try and find a lead." The man would let out a sigh after saying that, truly unsure of what they could find but he wasn't going to underestimate the two of them, "I've got a scent to try and pick up on but currently, I don't have anything. I want the two of you to keep an eye out for anything without drawing too much attention to yourselves." Sojiro would then take a moment to turn and look back at them, their attire making them obvious Shinobi, "You know, as much as we all can manage."

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Ami would merely nod at Sojiro's comment about her finger, subconsciously moving it as it was mentioned. It felt like she had never lost it actually as she cast a glance at Keiji, who fortunately hadn't heard the comment. She hadn't told him about the tomb nor the loss of her finger. she also hasn't mentioned sparring Jayy and getting herself nearly killed. The girl breathed in a deep breath, focusing on the conversation between the two men as they exchanged greetings. Her eyes met Keiji's and his distrust in Sojiro more than evident in his eyes. She would nod her head and give him a small smile of reassurance. Sojiro was Sojiro, he would learn soon enough, as she had had to.

Turning her attention back to the medic, she listened with interest. Missing children? It tugged at her heartstrings at the mention of children, having a natural soft spot for them. "Do you have any details? Like anything about the child, and where he or she was last seen? We could start there." Noticing him glance at their attire, she nodded again, knowing that their clothes screamed ninja from ten miles away. She at least put away her Gekkousatou headband, especially not wanting to cause conflict with any other Sun shinobi, a little weary of their reputation in the village when she was here last doing this assignment.

Sojiro would move with the two as they both responded, Keiji immediately giving the man his support and Sojiro nodding his head in appreciation at that. As Ami spoke, Sojiro took another moment to look at her from over his shoulder, "Good thought, I'm taking us to where he was last seen." The man would lead them down a few streets before coming down a rough looking road, most of the buildings here being closed down and even partially collapsed. Once here, Sojiro would gesture to the area around them, "Well, here we are."

The man would gesture to the area around them, no scent of missing children on his nose or anything. There were a few alleyways that led into the other parts of the slums but Sojiro wasn't sure what they would find here.

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Ami would follow Sojiro to a rundown district, by the looks of things. Many of the buildings were in dire need of renovation if not a complete rebuild ad the alleyways were far from clean and kept. It gave her an eerie feeling to think that a child had been here, had gone missing in these parts, her heart sinking as she took one look at the area. What had the child been doing here? Where had their parents been? All of these thoughts crossed her mind as she took in the surroundings, trying to piece together the events. "Do we know anything about the missing child? It seems really strange for a child to have gone missing from these parts..." she would speak to Sojiro but more so to herself.

As Keiji took to the rooftops of buildings, she would look for clues on the ground. She didn't expect to find anything though, her eyes searching every square of the grounds as she walked. And there would be nothing, not even a hair that could be found that looked out of place. Ami continued down the alleyway. "Anything?" she would call to Keiji. This was probably one of the few missions she had ever gone on where she felt helpless and hopeless. It was not a good feeling especially since the life of a child was at stake.

Sojiro would listen to Ami's question and shrug his shoulders, "Not everyone grows up in a compound, some times the only fun you get is running around town and exploring. They should be able to do that peacefully..." The last sentence had a bit of malice in it but it wasn't directed at Ami, his eyes shifting to where Keiji had been on the rooftops and perking a brow. He saw the handseals that he did, nodding his head and, as Ami would start to walk down the alleyway and start to talk, Sojiro would take another route along the other side.

It was easy to cross the length of the building until he was across the way from Keiji, following where his eyes had been looking and taking note of the wagon trails. There was a small, approving nod of the man's head as they moved closer to the building in question. Despite this being his mission, Sojiro had every intention for the others to take the lead. He needed a new set of eyes on these cases.

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Ami took into account of what Sojiro said about not everyone grew up in compound. That was true...not everyone had such luxury, as she would glance at Keiji briefly. She would stop as Keiji came back towards them, letting them know what he had seen. His limited scope of vision hadn't allowed him to see if there were any guards, something that she knew she could help with. "Lead the way, Keiji..." She was normally not one for jumping from rooftop to rooftop but she did believe that for this particular mission rooftop traveling was probably the best way. She hoped he would take her to where he had found the supplies so that she could use her kekkei gekkai to see if there were any guards guarding the place. She also found it odd that there were tatami mats among all other things. Ami would give Sojiro a look and then back to Keiji, holding out her hand so that he could take her, hoping that Sojiro would follow.