The Broken Branch

[Endgame]

Clang! Clink!​

The unmistakable sound of Kunai and Shuriken impacting one another. The dark-clad figures in ghostly white masks win ground slowly, forcing the defending troops to retreat. They are quick, efficent, and effective. The enemy army, each wearing a distinctive forehead protector denoting them as a member of the Sound, is forced back to the inner keep within four minutes.

It would have taken us two.

The battle for the keep rages, through the inner gates and into the hall. The metallic clash of metal on metal, and the death-cries of the enemy fill the night. Atop the highest tower, the Sound commander watches the battle in dismay. There is nothing left to do, for he has already commited his last forces to the fight, and only his five personal bodyguards remain by his side. Just as we planned.

As one, we draw our Katana and throw aside the Sound uniforms we've worn for the last six days. Before the commander can move, our blades press against his flesh.

"Target is secure. Mission complete."

The Broken Branch​

"The Broken Branch?"

"So you hadn't heard of them? You should have been given the files upon assuming the office. I was wondering why you hadn't deployed them to retrieve Uchiha Sasuke from the Sound Four."

Tsunade, Fifth Hokage of Konoha, frowned so hard a small wrinkle crept across her youthful face. The elderly man's smug tone was unmistakable, and she had no doubt as to why she hadn't been informed of this before. Even a Hokage, unfortunatly, had limitations and rules they must follow. The advisors were a constant thorn in her side, serving only to hinder and discredit her. Officially, their role was to prevent the noble role of Hokage becoming akin to a dictatorship. Officially. Unofficially, they were a pain in the-

"This is a delicate matter. It's also a pressing concern. Lady Tsunade dosn't have time for a full briefing."

"Of course. I have here a brief summary."

The female advisor, every bit as ancient as her male counterpart, slid a folder across the desk. Tsunade just scowled at it.

"I know what the advisory office's brief summaries are like. This is an urgent matter. I have no choice but to trust your discretion. Can they handle it?"

"Madam Hokage, if they cannot handle it, then nobody in Konoha can."

"Then it's settled. Shizune. Take that summary and gather the unit's leaders in my office. One hour."



"So I took my kunai, and used it to do to him exactly what he'd suggested I do to my-"

The speaker, a tall, gangly shinobi with short blueish-black hair, who currently wore the uniform of a Jounin and a Konoha forehead protector at a haphazard angle across his forehead, felt his smile vanish as he glanced up and noticed an advancing figure through the throng of young kuinoichi surrounding him. Upon noticing Shizune, aide to the newly appointed Fifth Hokage, beside the young woman his gaze had fallen on, it was quickly replaced by a lopsided smirk.

"Brilliant. Sorry ladies. Something came up." He excused himself, shouldering his way outta the group to stand before his Squad Leader.

"Ayame-Sempai! Ya' never call, ya' never write. It's startin' to feel like I'm the only one puttin' any effort into our relationship!" He joked, though his tone quickly dropped.

"But, I'm guessing this isn't a social visit. And the fact that she's here-"

He jerked his thumb towards Shizune.

"-Means the Fifth, in all her infinite wisdom, has finally found out we exist. Which means your name isn't Ayame anymore, and I've got a new name too."

"That's right." Shizune broke in: "Your new name for this mission is 'Kagami'."

"Kagami, huh? I like it. Sounds cool. Deadly cool!"

As he spoke, he jerked his arms left and right in imitation of a defencive stance, and froze in what was obviously meant to be a cool pose. For a full thirty seconds, nobody moved or spoke.

A drop of perspiration slid down Kagami's temple as he adopted a deadpan expression.

"You guys. No sense of humour..."

 

[Eva]

"It's 'Hotaru' now."

The blonde haired girl gave a small smile, placing both hands behind her back as she rocked on the balls of her feet. Compared to the other two, she was quite short, and could've been mistaken for a preteen. Her hair swayed back and forth with her, and she started thinking. She had almost forgotten how much her teammate lacked any sense of seriousness, or mannerisms, for that matter. Nonetheless, bittersweet memories flowed through her mind, and she let herself dwell in her own thoughts as Shizune and the now named Kagami conversed between one another, until she finally snapped back to reality after Kagami's last statement:

"You guys. No sense of humour..."

"Oh, did you say something?" Hotaru asked as she blinked, a bit embarresed. "So sorry, I got lost in my thoughts again."

A girlish giggle ensued, though it was a nervous little giggle. She disliked how she tended to just doze off in conversations; she had a hard time keeping up conversations for too long. At least it never happened out in the field--then she would've been royally screwed. But alas, no use in thinking of it now, because she almost slipped back into that dreamy-like stance of hers, and instead tried to keep the conversation going.

"Well then, let's go reminise together as we continue tracking the others, shall we?" Hotaru suggested, clasping her hands together. It was the only thing she could think of saying, so why not?

Besides, she called him once. He never answered.

...Or was that another daydream?

 

[King Wolfe]

"Narukami." A soft voice muttered from the shadows, a thin girl seemed to materialized from darkness itself, she stepped forward and into the light away from the tree she was leaned up against. Her dark hair spilled over her shoulders, a bored expression shined on her face; but upon further examination, it was an expression without expression. She looked at Hotaru with a curious look, tilting her head slightly, "You didn't die, that is.. a relief."

Naru was never one for subtlety though her track record betrays this, despite this she is shockingly stealthy and can remain in hiding for days at end, let's just say; playing hide and seek with her would not be fun. Her arms remained crossed below her chest, and her listless eyes fell on Kagami, an odd name, "Mirror.. I shall call you Mirror." Deciding this on her own, she nodded; obviously satisfied with herself.

 

[Raiton Kensei]

She stood there in the clearing of the training field. Sun shining down on her. The sparkle of her katana came from the sun's light reflecting. Her eyes shifted in all directions. She was in a defensive stance, ready for an attack.....but from where.

Ok. I'm out numbered one to three so I need to even the odds. I'll defend with my blade and use my technique when I find an opening. From there I'll lower there numbers one at a time until I have them.

She was a thinker. Planning was what she did. It was what she was known for. By the time she had finished her first plan she already had a back-up plan for if it didnt work.

Suddenly she heard movement to her left. She turned to her left with her katana blade upright blocking kunai of the ninja attacking. To her right another ninja came. She quickly ducked down, with her sword still upright guarding her from the others attack, and kicked the ninja in the stomach. He stopped in his place in pain and dropped his kunai. Swiftly she spun around kicked the first ninja away and grabbed the kunai that fell and threw it straight.

The kunai was stopped by an invisible force. The ninja canceled his Chameleon Jutsu and she could see him. He stood 10 meters in front of her. She quickly did hand signs but before she could finish an ANBU jumped in between them.

"Training is over, Nee-san." he said.

He knows my codename! The UNIT must be needed again. she thought.

The ANBU walked up to her and handed her a letter. She opened it and read it. She looked back up. The ANBU was gone but her training parteners were still there. She smiled at them.

"Sorry guys. I have to go get ready for a mission. It was nice of you three to help me train."

She made the horse hand sign and in a puff of smoke she disappeared.

 

[Nyangoro]

A zephyr played along the grassy hills in a woods near the ninja village, Konohagakure. That gentle breeze was just what he needed. It set the mood so well, that he felt as though he could lose himself within it. Indeed, that was just what he wanted. To escape from himself, to a self that he preferred, yet could only keep up for so long. It was this tender side of him that helped him retain even the tiniest fragment of sanity.

With his fingers, he guided the loops tying the Konoha ninja headband apart and lifted it off his forehead, careful not to disturb the glasses resting on the bridge of his nose. He folded up the cloth on the back of the headband and placed it face down on the grass beside him. In order to obtain this brief respite, he could not be wearing his headband. That protector was the main thing that he associated with his duties as a ninja, and he needed to escape from his ninja responsibilities, lest he find himself losing the peace that the zephyr provided.

He took in a deep breath, held it for a few moments, then let it out. Reaching into his back pocket, he pulled out a tiny harmonica. That little instrument was the final piece to his serenity. He rubbed the mouthpiece with his sleeve before playing. The tune he played was slow, but not somber. It was soft, melodic. It was the very embodiment of what he wanted most of all: security and simplicity. Those two things were in short supply these days, not that he could ever maintain a long supply during peaceful times either.

It was then that a sensation slid up and down his spine. He knew what it was, as much as he didn't want to. He returned the harmonica to his pocket and waited.

"Why now?" he thought to himself. "Just when I'd finally found some comfort outside this cruel profession."

A man hidden behind a mask appeared before him. He knew this man, or more accurately, he knew what this man's presence meant. He had a new name. Just as he expected, this mysterious figure handed him a tiny, folded slip of paper. He opened the slip and read the single word written on it to himself:

"Samui"

That was it. As soon as he read that word, his peace had left him. His job called him again, and he could only accept. His eyes, which seemed so kind just moments ago, were dead and empty. Any man who dared say he could see emotion within those hollow orbs could only be called a liar.

"Fitting, is it not?" the man asked him.

The newly-named Samui stared at the man with those dead eyes and asked, "Is it?" Though those simple words are called a question by most people, it was anything but here. Samui didn't want an answer. In order to want an answer, one must care about the question being asked. Caring, however, was not something he would be feeling anytime soon. Still, the man saw fit to answer him.

"I believe it is."

Samui's tone didn't change regardless of whether it was a statement or a question. "Fascinating."

He knew what to do now. He held the paper up before him in one hand as he formed a circle with the index finger and thumb of the other. No seals would be needed for something of this trivial level. He held his hand in front of his face, positioned so that the circle aligned with with his mouth. He let a single puff of air escape his lungs and pass through the circle. As it did, it morphed into a dwarf fireball that consumed the paper in an instant and vanished. The mysterious man took that as his cue to leave as well, but not before telling him where he needed to head first.

After he left, Samui picked up his forehead protector off the ground and fastened it back onto his head. He double checked his equipment, and then began walking towards the heart of Konoha.

 

[Shinra]

A seeemingly young man was just resting underneath a tree in the training field.. his mask was still on but his messy brown hair concealed the eyeholes and even the crest of Konohagakure on the forehead of the mask.The lean Shinobi was simply resting on the grass, waiting for something to happen. He hadn't had a mission in some time so he had a few days off luckily. Then he noticed a change in the blockage of the light.

He rose and opened his eyes to see that it was none other than the guy who gave him and his fellow 'agents' their missions and a new name along with each of them. The man handed him a small bit of paper and He opened it up sweeping his hair back to read it.

"Onii-sama eh?"

"Hai."
Then with a quick nod the man formed the horse handsign and he was gone. "Gotta see what this is about, gotta go see the hokage."

 

[Piercing Light]

"One... Two.. One... Two.." A red haired shinobi hung upside down from the edge of a multistory building, doing pull ups. He had been at it for three hours so far, and his stomach was starting to feel the burn. "Alright, I think that's enough for today." he huffed, lifting himself up once more, only to be startled by the sight of someone now standing by the edge of the roof. His legs loosened and he began to fall, the ground closing in on him he reached out for the side of the building, gathering chakra to his hands and feet. Skidding to a stop he stood horizontally on the wall. "Geez." He sighed, rubbing his temples with his index fingers. "You guys are never subtle, are you? So whats the deal?" Without a word the masked man tossed him a scroll. Catching it the red head wasted no time in unrolling it. "Zell huh? well I'll see you later." With a single hand sign Zell's body seemed to turn to rock and crumble. He reappeared in the Hokage's office with a puff of smoke. Reaching into his vest he pulled out his mask and slipped it on. "This must be urgent... For us to be called. I'm all ears."

 

[Aliahya]

She sat there, her mind relaxed as her thoughts were empty. On the wind she heard the faint sounds of a harmonica playing, her red lengthy hair touching the ground just enough. As she sighed, she smiled. This was the life she enjoyed, the life of pure existence.

She fiddled with the shrinken that was in her hand, throwing it up and down and catching it with her index finger. Her staff lay next to her along with a forehead protector that still was as clean as the day she was given it. Not a scratch she would allow on it. Across from her protector was a tiny bomb, the size of a child’s hand that she had been tinkering with, it sat there diffused but still with a fair amount of “boom”

She looked down at her body, toned to say the least but there were still things she would change. Shaking it off she looked at the sun but then the harmonica on the wind stopped... the woman became saddened at this. A she sighed at stood up she was met face to face with a man...

Without a forward word he gave her a piece of paper, folded neatly in half. She opened it as in clear precise letters it said Kouen.

“Hmpf” she sounded as she grabbed her gear, placing the forehead protector upon, then her staff upon her back and the flashy looking device in her bag. She thanked the man giving him a quick bow as her eye twitched slightly.

“What is that?” he asked about the bomb

She ignored him...giving him an isn’t it obvious look as she fixed her staff to a more comfy position

“Okay...Okay...I get it”

She nodded and gave him a sassed filled smile, his eyes meeting hers, as she looked down at the ANBU mask. He did a hand gesture and disappeared, newly named Kouen flipped herself from the high building she sat upon, placing the mask upon her face as she went. Her chakra went to her feet to balance her. As she got to the bottom she made her way to the Hokage’s office.

The door slightly ajar, she walked in. Taking her spot on the left side of the room against a wall, her vibrant red hair rivalled that of another ANBU who was just speaking as she walked in.

She leant...awaiting her instructions.

 

[Zero]

A young man wearing a mask that concealed his face stood in the middle of a forest. His black, spiky hair stood out and appeared from under his mask, he was deep in thought. He didnt have a mission for the moment so he wanted to relax for a bit. A noise could be heard closing in on him but he didnt move, then a man appeared in front of him as if he came out of nowhere.

"Spikes." The man pulled out a letter and handed it to him and he opened it and read it.

"Another mission I guess." He put the letter away and made a hand sign. "Thanks." The young man disappeared leaving a puff of smoke where he stood.

 

[Akans]

Clunk

Drowsily, the young man woke from the fog of sleep, blinking blearily as he looked towards the source of the sound. Yawning, and then smoothing back his hair which had fallen everywhere in his sleep, he got up and dragged his feet over to the door, looking down in a tired way. To his surprise, he found...

"A scroll?"
He didn't get those usually. It was much nicer if people talked rather than dropped messages. Plus, he could have overslept and didn't notice the scroll. Since the last mission, he had felt a bit out of shape, but it was nothing a few laps around the city couldn't fix.

Sliding it out of its tube, he unwrapped it and scanned its contents. It was a short letter, subtly listing a bunch of words that defined his mission, ending in...
"....Hunter?"
The newly named man said the word, rolling it around in his mouth, muttering it as he moved back to clothe himself.
"Not too bad a name... I can see where they're going with it though..."

Tossing the letter into a small bin, he pulled on his jounin vest and slid the now slightly dusty mask from a fake floorpanel and headed towards the door, sliding the mask on. The slightly faded colors peeked out, in the shape of a very startled monkey. Two red-black circles in the eyes enclosed by a heart shaped brown smudge, outlined in more black. It was a nice mask, and Hunter liked it, though he didn't get to use it as much as he would like to.

As he left, the letter burst into flames and quickly vanished from existence.

 

[Eva]

Narukami's appearance was, as she was, enigmatic, with her declaring her nickname for Kagami and stating a simple sentence to Hotaru. She was used to this, though admitted it had been a while since she remembered how Naru acted. None of them had really changed, each of them having that citizen persona they all had. Hotaru was more curious about the ANBU persona, which she had a feeling she would see very soon.

It was quite nostalgic, and sad.

No time to dwell on thoughts now. There was work to be done, and the Hokage awaited them. Catching up, as much as Hotaru would have loved to hear how they were doing, would have to wait. Two members down, one to go.

"Well then, let's scoop up our last member, then meet with our Hokage." Hotaru stated, clasping her hands together, giving that same small smile. "Let's see, where would he be?"

 

[King Wolfe]

With the slightest of nods Naru calmly approached Hotaru, "In.. Town?" Speaking in deliberate pauses, it was merely out of habit not a speech impediment, her indifferent gaze fell on Hotaru. Her natural ANBU stoicism was made obvious at first glance, some wouldn't want to follow protocol; with a reluctant thought of Mirror, but some might think she takes it too far. One would think that, but horrifically misconstrues it as either anti-socialism or some other odd disorder in hopes of diagnosing the poor girl, the truth of the matter is, she kept to herself and that's that, nothing special behind it.

Prognosis; don't expect conversation from her.

Unless of course you are the type who could chatter on for hours, go for it man, no one is stopping you.

She turned her head to the direction of the village, it was good to be back, in a sense, but she felt slightly uncomfortable. Members of her... division, were used to being a ghost; fading in the background in a sense. She was used to that, as all of her colleagues, but she felt fidgety being in that village. Like she didn't belong or something, with a slight shake of her head she shoved those thoughts to the back of her mind, suppressed as always.

"We should hurry, we wouldn't want our company... waiting."

 

[GrandMaster_Chris]

Such a beautiful sound it was. The clashing of katana and the rush of a waterfall nearby. This was the sound that you’d hear if you were anywhere near Yoshi and his barrage of water clones. Slash! One down....a lot more to go. And to make matters worse, for every one he killed, two more would literally shoot out of the waterfall in its place.

This was one of many training methods he learned through his years of kenjutsu training. His sword skills had become unsurpassed and yet he still practiced daily. Not only that, but being left handed gave him an advantage over most opponents who had poor defense. His black hair swayed in the wind as he continued to battle the clones. Yoshi winced in pain every time he had to spin to guard himself. He was hurting.

On a recent mission to the land of rain, he took a few hits to the body, more specifically, vital parts of his body was damaged. This rendered him useless for awhile. Luckily, there was no real need for the Broken Branch Unit at the moment. He fought through the pain for a bit long before making the clones evaporate into thin air to end his training.

Yoshi adjusted the bandages around his abdomen and added a few more layers. “Ahem...” He turned around and there she was. The fifth Hokage’s assistant found him. “The Fifth needs you and the Broken Branch squad, Yoshi Nakamura, you’ve been called to duty.” Yoshi sheathed his sword and brushed his hair back.

“Sorry, I won’t be able to aid you right now. Find the rest of my squad and tell the one called Onii-sama that he’s in charge until I’m fully healed.” Yoshi spoke.

Shizune nodded and turned away from him. She slowly walked away as he stared a hole in the back of her head. “Oh and my name isn’t Yoshi Nakamura when I’m on duty.....they call me Senshi.”