Transfer Mission: The Blackbird's Dilemma

Felix was doing his best to keep a cool composure. Not cool as in 'I'm awesome and everyone thinks I'm epic' kinda cool, but more of a 'Calm and collected,' kind of cool. "Didn't know who I was?" He asked as a joke. "I'm fine. Things are going like any transfer mission would." He paused as if he was considering what to say. "Um...it's been three months since I left, and three months since, you know." He should have just said six months instead of opening old wounds, but it was out there now. "I mean it's been six months and....well....I don't usually pay much attention to this stuff so I don't know...." He paused. "You know, if it's a boy or girl yet." He felt awkward asking this. It'd be even more awkward in person. "I'm sorry, how've you been," he asked.

Serenity rolled her eyes even though he couldn't see her, sitting down on the couch. "Course I knew who ya were," she defended in an almost childish tone. She blinked when he said um. When did Felix ever say um? Serenity stayed quiet as he tried to ask his question, but ended up stuttering like a lost child. A small laugh could be heard on his end when he did ask though. "Girls," she told him, making sure to say the plural. A pause when he asked how she was. "It's really weird not having people come over for healings, honestly. And the kage is getting on me about something ridiculous, but other than that, things are going really good," she told him. She'd toned down the extent to which she'd told him what was going on, but only so he wouldn't worry. She hoped that her comment about girls would get his mind off it completely.

That was cruel of her to laugh at him. He was a guy. He wasn't used to all this pregnancy stuff. It just wasn't masculine. Felix was momentarily sent back to the day Kyla had told him about children and instead of a child and the day Kana had corrected him and said they. His stomach seemed to tighten as if it were being sucked into a black hole. "With an 'S'?" He asked. Then she'd said something about the Kage and no longer healing. "You stopped healing? I thought that's what you liked to do? Is that why the Kage is giving you trouble? Of course the guy would wait until I leave to start bothering you." He was still baffled by the thought of two kids. "I'm going to be the father of two? Did I hear that right?"

"Mmhm," she said when he asked with an s. Serenity was glad that he assumed that it was because she'd stopped healing. "Well if I kept healing, something coulda gone wrong with the baby. Besides, even I get maternity leave when the time calls for it," she joked. She'd forgotten she hadn't told him about the whole healing thing. Oh well. Wasn't really that big a deal. She laughed a bit when he said of course the kage would give her trouble as soon as he left. She felt herself warm over at his last statement though. "Yessir you did," she said with a small chuckle. "Two beautiful baby girls," she said with a nod. They hadn't been born yet, no, but they were going to be beautiful babies no matter what anyone said.

Kana decided that she wasn't going to stay in the bath too long today. She had a lot of work to get done. Well actually, she barely had any to do, but she wanted to get it done so she could go to bed. She wasn't one of those people who would just let work keep piling up. No sir, not her. Kana got out of the bath and got dressed, pulling the drain plug. She silently moved towards the kitchen, stopping when she heard Felix talking. He was on the phone?

Felix's voice had cracked a bit when he'd said that, but he was hoping she hadn't her. But when she confirmed that he was the father of twin girls, he chocked down whatever emotion had worked it's way into his throat. "I'll be home as soon as possible." Then and there he could have warned her about the extra years that he'd have to work in the village. Maybe even ask her if the Kage had said anything about it. But it'd slipped his mind because he was thinking about the future with his kids. Had it not slipped his mind, the problems that were soon to come without his knowledge, would never happen. Or maybe it would? Maybe he had known that something bad was going to happen at heart. Kyla's prophecy was fresh in his mind still. But for right now it was the last thing on his mind. "So, do you have names yet?" He wanted full names. First, middle, and last. But he knew she'd only give him first names. They had not decided who's last name the kids would have. That was no longer okay though. He suddenly wanted his kids to have his last name. They were his flesh and blood and he wanted the world to know, because he was proud of them. Proud of Serenity. And proud of himself for sticking through this. Felix was unaware that Kana was right around the corner. Had he known, well, who knows.

Serenity smiled and leaned back on the couch when he said that he'd be home as soon as possible. "I sure hope so." A pause. "Cuz I miss you." She really did. She still felt horrible about sending him away on that mission, but it was for the best, right? She nodded at his question, even though he couldn't see her. "Yeps. Kaira and Nora," she said with a smile. Another pause. "Are those names okay?" After all, she wanted him to be as much a part of their lives as possible. Before it started was included. And of course she couldn't go naming the kids herself, she wanted to know if there were any names that he liked better.

Kana looked down. He was talking to his girlfriend. The thought hit her like a brick. Turning, Kana silently started for the livingroom, sitting on the couch and turning the TV on. She'd wait til he was done. Though the reality of what was going on was just starting to hit her. And as it did, she found herself wondering if...well, if she actually did want this immortality.

(he tried warning her)

Felix was keeping himself as stable as he could be. "I miss you too," he told her. He couldn't wait to get back home. He was even considering that if he did get time off he might go home for a while. But that was impossible. If an emergency happened. He'd need to be here. Not four days away. "Those names are perfect," he told her. Kaira Kuriyama and Nora Kuriyama. He wondered how she'd came up with those names. Didn't matter. He liked them and that was the truth. When he heard the TV cut on he was reminded he was not alone. "Well, I have to head out. I'll talk to you soon. Take care of yourself." He paused. "And, I love you." When Serenity had hung up the phone he went back to his room. He was half naked after all. Closing his door he laid on his bed. He'd needed that talk.

(lol, shutup)

Serenity smiled to herself when he said that he missed her too, even moreso when he said that those names were perfect. "Glad you like them," she said. She blinked when he said that he had to head out. So soon? That was disappointing... "Kay, you too," she said when he told her to take care of herself. She blinked in surprise at what he said next though, and it almost made her want to cry. "I love you too," she said with a light smile. "Talk to you soon. Buhbye," she said, reluctantly hanging up the phone. She held it on her lap for a few moments before giving a sigh. If she could, she would go to the Kage's office and ask about having the mission length reduced. But unfortunately, she couldn't.

When Kana heard Felix go into his room, her gaze dropped. Was her depression beginning to come back? Oh, that was just fucking lovely. With a sigh, Kana laid down on her stomach. She'd work on the papers in a little bit. What she hadn't planned on though, was falling asleep a couple minutes later. Which she did.

Felix had laid in his room for a few moments longer until he'd gotten a bit hungry and decided he needed food in his system before he died of starvation. No pun intended. Slipping on a shirt he went into the kitchen and got himself an apple. He then crossed into the living room. Kana was asleep. If she wanted to sleep why didn't she just go to her room? He turned the tv off and went into the kitchen, looking over the paper work she'd left on the table. Taking a bite out of his apple he looked them over.

(PUN INTENDED)

To her great dismay, Kana's dreams actually took on a form this time around. Her parents, her past, her future, Felix, his unnamed girlfriend...they all played a part in the dream. Only about ten minutes after Felix turned off the tv did Kana wake up. It was more bcause of the lack of noise in the house than anything. And because of her dream, the jonin was less than pleased. Not pissed, just...unhappy. Thinking Felix was still in his room, Kana sighed and went into the kitchen. She'd talk to him tomorrow. She'd forgotten for the moment that she never put her hair back up into a ponytail. Her notes on the table were mostly possible training schedules for the ninja in the village, rather original ideas for traps, along with the map of the village and the structure of the gates surrounding the village. The gates seemed to have quite a few notes written all over them. Running a hand through her hair as she walked into the kitchen, she was still blinking herself awake, but stopped when she saw Felix. "Thought you went to bed," she said with a shrug. She sat down across from him. Screw talking about the immortality for now. "What were those plans you had for the training schedules? Come up with anything yesterday?" she asked nonchalantly. After all, he had said that he'd gone home to work on them. She only hoped that he had. It would give them something to talk about. She didn't want to talk about his girlfriend, and she most definitely didn't want to talk about the immortality issue. At least...not right now.

Contrary to the conversation he'd held with Serenity, Felix looked as if he'd gained a hundred years worth of age. He'd been examining the maps and thinking about how much he'd miss of his kids life. He'd wanted to be there when they were having their first birthday and now he'd missed it. All because these ninja were clueless. He looked up with the blankest of expressions when Kana asked him about the training plans. "We're going to train for seven months and then make an attack on the sand. Training schedules consist of teaching Genin in the morning, Chuunin in the afternoon, and Jonin in the evening. Everyone will have weekly night sessions. That's when we'll attack." His blue eyes looked back at the papers. "We also need to set up traps. If spies are coming in and out then we need something to stop them." He pushed forwards her map of the gate. "The guards aren't very good at what they do. We need to find the best ninja and put them at these post until the others are up to date. I also want to do a check on everyone. These ninja can't be that pathetic. Someone in either the academy of higher up position is training them in the wrong ways. I want to find out who it is, and I want them found out quickly before they get word to the Sand." It was clear Felix had completely shut down. Everything from the earlier months were death. Felix Kuriyama, the well known Silver Death was back.

She knew that face. She knew those terminologies. She knew those strategies. This wasn't the Felix she'd been around the past three months. This was the same person that had been her sensei thirteen years ago. And she had never been more happy to have him around. But the thing was, he was talking to her like she ran the village. Could she even get half of this stuff done? ...What the hell was she thinking, of course she could! All it would take is a little...persuasion, on her end. "Right. I'll take care of the traps issue, and make sure that those background checks get done," she said with a nod. "As for who guards the gates, I'll test each of the ANBU and Jonin myself. I've been looking at the gates," she started, moving one of the gate maps on top. "And from the directions that the Sand ninja have been coming from, it seems that the guards were set up in convenient places. For the enemy. Felix, I think there might be several spies, and one of them has definitely worked his way to higher power," she told him. This she could get used to.

"I figured as much. Try and keep a low profile with this. We're now running an underground operation. Tomorrow I have to train the Academy kids, yes I'm starting at the very source of a ninja, and then I'll look into seeing who all are training the genin. I trust my instinct that none of them are too happy to be this weak. If I can see if any of their senseis, or any of the proctors in the exams or academy from their past seemed suspicious I'll get names. I want you to handle any and all interrogations." He was waiting for a complaint about all the work he was giving her. He after all was no longer her sensei and not in charge of this operation. "After talking with the genin I'll talk to anyone that lives near the Kage building. See if they've noticed anything out of the norm. Specifically people leaving in and out during the night." He paused. "Do you think the Kage has anything to do with this? Selling information for money? Things along that line?"

Kana nodded when he told her to keep a low profile. "Got it." She almost grinned when he said that he was going to train the academy kids tomorrow, but stopped herself. She did however, grin when he said that she'd be handling any and all interrogations. She didn't mind going with his strategies. He was better at making them than she was. Then again, it seemed that he was better at everything than she was. But hell, there were some things she was better at than him, even if they were few. Kana took a moment to think at his question. "No. I talked to him earlier today, and his personality type doesn't fit that at all. He seems to me like one of those kage's that would rather die than betray his village in such a way. On the unfortunate side, he does seem a little bit naive, so there might be someone that's right under his nose," she told him. She didn't realize her mistake though, when she had told him that she'd gone to talk with the Kage. What was it lately with her and not watching what she said?

He raised an eyebrow, catching her mistake. So she'd gone to see the Kage eh? And what had she spoken to him about? Not important at the time. "I'm guessing it's one of his advisers that's running the shots." Felix turned his head slightly. "If that's the case then we need to keep an eye on them. Someone is bound to slip up eventually." Felix looked back at Kana. "Anything else you'd like to add?" He asked. He was getting ready to sleep.

Kana blinked as he raised an eyebrow. "What?" What had that been about? "That's probably the case. And if it is, we need to be really careful. Whoever it is might be able to persuade the kage to send us back before we get the chance to figure out who it is," she told him. She paused when he asked if there was anything else she wanted to add. Did she even want to start the conversation? .... "No. I'll get started first thing tomorrow," she told him. In fact, chances were, she'd be gone before he even woke up. She'd leave him a note or...something.

Felix nodded and got up from the chair. Tossing away the apple which he'd taken a total of five bites from he went to his room, closed his door, and quickly fell asleep. Dreamless once more, he awoke some hours later. The sun shinning through his window awaking him. He turned on his other side and tried ignoring the warm rays. They needed to move apartments. Not because of the window, but because the place was possibly bugged. Sighing he got up and went into the living room. "Kana?" He wondered if she was even here. He wanted to run it by her.

Kana woke up early the next morning. The sun hadn't even peaked over the horizon yet, but the sky had been getting lighter in color. Kana had taken the liberty of doing a sweep of the place before she left. With none too good results. By the time Felix had woken up, Kana was sitting outside the gates of the village with a notebook. She'd checked the areas that were guarded and had even woken up an ANBU for extra guard because at one part of the gate, there was a large gap in sight. Not good. On the kitchen table, Kana had left a note for Felix. Felix. Nine o'clock, outside the gates. We have a problem. -Kana Currently it was eight o'clock.

Felix walked into the kitchen, spotting the note on the table as he went for an apple. Stopping mid reach he read the note. It was just eight, but being early was better if the problem was serious. He quickly dressed himself in all black, covered with his jacket and headed for the gates. Then it hit him. He was late. He'd told the genin to be at the Academy at eight. If he continued to dismiss them like this, they would think he was no better than the rest of the ninja. Going to the Academy he looked at all the kids. No one was late. Then again, it was 8:10 by now. "Alright, listen up. The obstacle course is already set up. I want you all to start running it. Your names are on the poles, so you'll know where to start. Th button at the very end will indicate how fast you got there. Do not leave your partner behind. The first to finish will be rewarded. The last will determine the punishment for everyone else." He looked at all of them. "I suggest you finish quickly. Begin. When you finish go home. " If they cheated while he was gone, he'd know. He had it set up perfectly. Another ten minutes wasted he headed for the gates. He got there by 8:34. "What's the problem?" He asked.

Kana kept her back leaned against the wall, her gaze downwards, her thoughts wandering. She hadn't expected Felix to be early, at least not this early. But all for the better. She looked up to the guards on the gates. "We'll be back." Then to Felix. "Come on." She started walking away from the gates and the village. They couldn't trust anyone in the village, so they had to talk outside of it. And this way it would make it easier to know if they were being watched. "I found a bug," she told him when they were far enough away from the gates. "This morning I looked through the house. There were three. I left them in place as to not cause suspicion." A pause. "Dammit, they heard everything we discussed last night Felix." She was pissed at herself for not thinking of this sooner, and it was quite obvious that she was irritated by this fact.

Suspicion confirmed. They were fighting a losing battle. Felix leaned against a tree. "We've wasted too much time. We need to turn this around. Use the bugs against them. We revise our plans an make everything seem backwards. We'll lead them on until they have no idea what's right and what's not." He gave her a small grin. "Use hand signals when speaking to let me know if you're lying or not when in the house. They don't have camera's set up." He paused. "I've got an idea, but it'll be risky." Felix looked around. "I'm going into the Kage building tonight. To see what's what. I'd take you along, but I need you on the outside watching. Plus, you're great at genjutsu. I need you to hold a powerful illusion. I want to be able to move through the building without having to sneak. So you'll have to focus on the outside as well as the in. Can you handle that?"

When Felix leaned against a tree, Kana crossed her arms and looked around. So far it didn't seem like anyone was watching them. Good. "We have to still make them seem plausible though. Whoever is watching us isn't an idiot." She looked at him at his pause, blinking at his plan. He was crazy. That was an insane idea. But hell, if anyone could pull it off, it would be them. She hesitated a bit when he said that he needed her to watch the outside and hold up an illusion that would cover the entire building. She mentally checked through her known genjutsu. "Yeah, yeah I can do that," she said after a moment, giving a nod. It would be tough, but hell, she could handle it. Although afterwards, chances are she'd be dead tired. So getting into a fight wouldn't be wise. They'd have to be very careful. She looked around once more. "Time?" If they needed to, they could just say aloud in the house that one ofthem was going to bed. Easy, right? Unfortunately, Kana had to move some things around to find the bug earlier, so that might have caused some suspicion. But on the bright side, she'd been pretending that she'd been looking for one of her scrolls. Hopefully whoever was keeping tabs on them fell for it. Awaiting his answer, Kana shifted her shoulder uncomfortably. She was wearing a shirt that covered her shoulder, and the wound wasn't fully healed yet, not by a long shot. It was very deep, and if one just looked at it, you'd be able to tell that it was gonna leave a nasty scar. It was only then she remembered about his chakra flow having been messed up in battle. It seemed normal enough now, thank goodness....

"I know you'll be exhuasted afterwards, it'll take a lot of chakra, so after thirty-one minutes exact get out and go home. Understand me? I don't care if I've come out or not. I can handle myself." He waited a moment. "Do you need a map of the inside or something so everything will look exact?" He asked. His blue eyes met hers. He could get inside and out if she needed it. Felix was very resourceful. He'd already managed to pick out a few ninja he could rely on. He hadn't confronted them just yet though. "We start the process at 11. Remember if I'm not out by eleven thirty-one get home."

Kana internally winced whe he said that he knew she'd be exhausted afterwards. She could handle it. Didn't he think so? She nodded at his question. "A map would certainly help." It wasn't a sarcastic remark. "But if you can't get one, I can visit the office today and claim that I'm looking to talk to the kage again," she told him. When their eyes met, she couldn't hold the gaze for more than a few seconds before lightly clearing her throat and looking around again. "I don't particularly think that it's such a great idea for me to just head home after. It doesn't matter if you can handle yourself or not. If you get caught, we're both screwed. And I'd rather know if you get caught and be prepared for ninja heading our way than be clueless at home when they come," she told him. Yeah, she was pretty much telling him that the last bit of the plan was not an idea she liked. "Besides. This is a partner mission, remember? Exhausted or not, I'm not leavin you to do somethin that big on your own, no matter how capable you are."

Felix grinned. "Well, you're still stubborn I see, but I think you should listen to me on this. Whether you like it or not. If one of us gets caught then the other can notify the Crested in the case that we can't get the other out." He smirked when she broke eye contact. "And if you're not comfortable with going back to the apartment, considering it's bugged, then find someplace else to go. Go to..." Felix's blood ran cold to even suggest this. "Go to Kyla's. The village knows she has a connection to me and you'd go there, but Kyla knows her stuff. And she won't allow one of her immortals to be harmed. Understand me? So when those thirty-one minutes are up, get your ass out of the village and don't get spotted."