Transfer Mission: The Blackbird's Dilemma

Felix looked up when he saw Kana. "I can't tell you everything, but the entire fourth floor is underneath the fifth. You have to help me get back up there and see if there are any survivors." He looked to the Kage. "And there's something I need you to help me do, later, not now." Felix started up the stairs. How was he going to tell her what he'd just done. He could have killed the Kage and started a war between the Sand and his own village. What had the Crested not backed him up? Felix shook his head. He'd worry about it later.

Kana looked at Felix when he said that the entire fourth floor was under the fifth. That he couldn't tell her everything? Was his trust of her weakening as well? Though once more, she didn't protest. Had no right to do so. "Right," she said with a nod, starting towards the stairs. She was starting to feel a bit warm, though she put it down to having been around all those people a moment earlier.

Aidelia, upon having felt someone's chakra spiral out of control, and felt the building shake, had gone up a floor, to the fifth, to see what was going on. That's when she saw that Felix had lost his head once more. That being seen, she knew she had a new opportunity. Tanaka had been on the fourth floor as it collapsed, finalizing some things from the Kage's last meeting. Having made sure no one saw her, Aidelia snuck her way down to the fourth floor and searched for the Kage's right hand, only to find that he was alive, but injured. Clicking her tongue, Aidelia covered the man's mouth and quickly snapped his neck. Everyone would think that it was a result of the collapse. Hearing people come up the stairs, Aidelia quickly used a genjutsu to conceal herself and made her way out of the nearest crushed window.

Felix walked slowly up the stairs. His head was still ringing, and every little movement felt like the world was wobbling on a very small balance beam. Upon making it to the fourth floor, he could see the damage was well more than he had expected. Shaking his head, he started for the closest room that was intact and started moving aside debris. He could here a woman somewhere under all the rubble. "Help," she was crying. Felix started towards the voice and with a great effort, begin to lift a slab of ceiling that had fallen onto her. Even if it wasn't intentional, Aidelia was right, I am a danger, Felix thought to himself. Wherever I go, no one is safe. He pushed the rubble of the woman. Helping her up he carefully carried her downstairs. How am I suppose to raise two children when I can't keep myself under control? Felix heart sank even lower as he handed the woman off to a medic. Heading back up the stairs he quietly searched for more survivors. What the hell am I becoming?

Kana searched through several empty rooms before coming to a room with a survivor in it. And one who wasn't so lucky. Kana recognized the man to be the Kage's assistant, but for now worked on getting the other man out of the rubble, who seemed to be terrified of nearly having lost his life, despite the fact that he was uninjured. Damned politicians, she thought irritably. However this had happened, Kana was sure the one, or ones, responsible would get an earful from this guy. Upon bringing him downstairs, Kana started immediately back up once the guy was handed off to someone. She didn't need to listen to his babble. Heading towards another room, Kana stopped, another wave of dizziness hitting her. She had to lean again a wall, or at least, the remains of one, just to keep herself from falling over. What...the hell is this...? Now she was starting to think she should've asked Kyla about any side effects of that little potion of hers. This dizziness was starting to come out of nowhere, and Kana didn't like it.

Felix noticed that Kana wasn't looking so well. "You okay?" He asked. His blue eyes curious. He was a bit worried about her. Felix didn't need any more worrying. First Serenity and now Kana. At least Kana was here and he could see her. He shook his head. "Do you need to go home?" He asked as he headed back upstairs. He wondered how many of the people from the meeting were trapped under the debris. How was he even capable of doing this? Felix turned over a desk, making sure no one was underneath it. Does this make me a murder? Felix was about to break. He couldn't handle the mental strain. It was either shut down or go insane.

(Ohhh boy.)

Kana looked at Felix, blinking a bit when he asked if she was okay. "Do I look that bad?" she asked with a bit of a smile. When he asked if she needed to go home, she shook her head. "I'm fine. I just had my chakra fixed up, if you can call it that," she said, mumbling the last bit. "Guess my body's just getting used to the circulation again." Yeah, that had to be it. Kinda like the way your arm got pins and needles after it fell asleep. This was probably just her brain's way of dealing with it all. Following Felix upstairs, she took it steady, but not slow. "So...just what did happen here? I know you can't tell me everything right now, but...at least give me a quick summary," she insisted quietly.

Felix grinned as she said she was okay. "Your chakra is back?" Had their chakra returned at the same time? Felix wasn't sure, because he could no longer feel his. He'd ask later. When Kana insisted on knowing what had happened, Felix pulled her aside into a room that had survived the falling of the fifth floor. "Kana, don't protest, don't argue, just listen. Something is wrong back home, Serenity went home sick, but she's not answer and I'm not sure if it's the babies or if she didn't make it back home. I panicked. I asked the Kage if I could leave, the old bastard refused my request. I lost it." Felix shook his head in disgust at himself. "My chakra...it just peaked. I didn't even know it was back, but now it's gone. I don't know what's wrong with me. I have to get home, but I can't. Look what I've done. This is getting out of hand. I can't even control myself. This has never happened before." This would be the first time that anyone (Kana) had ever seen Felix genuinely upset about his own actions. "What if I can't control it? What happens if it takes over and I lose it? I can't keep doing this. I can't keep hurting people." Felix shook his head. Snap out of it! He couldn't break down here. Not now, not ever. He took in a deep breath. "Damn it, look at me, I'm a mess," Felix said with a short laugh. "We'd better finish up here." With that he stepped to the side and started back into the debris.

Kana nodded when Felix asked that her chakra was back. She blinked in surprise when he suddenly pulled her off into a separate room. "Hey, wha-," then stopped when Felix told her to just listen. She tilted her head a bit when he started saying how his girlfriend was sick and wouldn't pick up the phone. As he spoke, Kana found herself just looking at him. He'd....leveled an entire floor? Just...in an instant like that? Suddenly she found herself worrying about him. Her worries were the same as his, as it turned out. When Felix gave a laugh and said that he was a mess, Kana gave him a small smile, taking a light hold of his arm to keep him from going off. "Hey. Don't worry. If you get out of control again, I'll just have to stop you myself," she told him with a small smile. "I won't let you hurt anyone. I got your back," she said, letting go of his arm. "I'll see what I can do to get you back home. I have a few favors to call in," she told him, starting back out to look for other survivors. Felix might have just caused another problem for himself. And for the mission. Kana looked down. This was usually something she'd get angry over. Why wasn't she getting angry?

(Awww. Kana's such a good friend.) (When Felix finds out that Ser just didn't pick up the phone because she'd assumed he was cheating, he's going to lose it. I see it now. "I leveled an entire floor because of you!")


It's not exactly other people I'm worried about. Who gives a damn about these villagers, you're the one that's important. You're my former student, my partner, and more importantly, my friend. "Thanks," was his only reply. Felix paused. "We're still going through with the plans." The only question was, how in the hell was he going to get out of this mess. Felix pushed the thoughts aside and carefully made his way across the room when a thought struck him. Wasn't his silver haired enemy on this floor? Felix looked around. Where was she? Felix doubted she was dead, that would be far too easy, but she was no where to be found. Where is that snake?

(Awww, Felix...)(Also, lmfao, that would be hilarious!)(Oh, and that snake? Looong gone from that building. Heh.)

Kana nodded when Felix thanked her, blinking when he said they were still going through with the plans. So...exactly what did Felix want to do? Go home, or stay on the mission? She wondered if he was aware that he couldn't do both. Giving her head a light shake (which turned out to be a horrible idea), Kana took a breath before starting back into the building. Right now, she wanted to go back to the apartment and sleep these side effects off like a bad hangover. Not that she'd ever actually had a bad hangover. Working her way through room after room, she was glad to find that there weren't actually many people on the floor.

Then something hit her. What if they could blame this on an enemy attack from the Sand, an attempt on the Kage's life? Saying that information about two Crested ninja had been leaked out of the village, and another Sand ninja was sent into the Rock to impersonate Felix, two birds with one stone! The Sand could've gotten rid of a huge problem, the Crested ninja, while also taking out the Kage! Kana blinked, and thought it over a moment. Felix would have to have been here though. It was his new 'job'. If they say he shirked it off to go see Kyla, maybe for a quick apology even, it wouldn't look good for him. An attack as soon as he's not here. It would be a perfect opportunity for the Sand, but it would be seen as a serious mishap by Felix, not that he needed anymore on his 'record' right now. Kana crossed her arms as she walked, tapping her finger. But of course, playing hooky would not be nearly as bad as almost killing the Kage. Kana stopped in her tracks. The Kage was alive, right? Having been so deep in thought, she'd nearly passed by another person who'd been caught by the falling floor. He seemed only slightly injured when she pulled him out. Upon bringing the guy downstairs, Kana immediately went back up and started looking for Felix. Just as soon as she'd found him, she pulled him right back into the empty, and mostly undamaged room.

"Hey, I've got an idea," she said with a small grin. Aidelia would certainly want to defend the Sand, once she heard this, and it would give the ANBU and Jonin something to fight for, rather than to just prove themselves. She was actually a bit excited about this.

Felix was getting sick of moving all this rubble. He wanted his chakra back so that the Executioner could move it for him. Felix could give it a try, but it would have failed miserably. When he was suddenly dragged away into a room, he thought it was Aidelia again, but it turned out to be Kana instead. "An idea?" He questioned. She looked happy about this, so he was sure that this was something that good. That was good, because she'd effed up earlier, and now he'd done the same, which meant he had to make up for this. Felix ran his fingers through his hair. Life was not going the way he wanted it to.

"I know this is going to sound a bit far fetched, but I'm sure it'll work. Granted, it won't get you out of trouble completely..." She shook her head a bit and continued. "If we label this as an attack by the Sand, it'll set off Aidelia too. She won't want the Sand blamed for this, but now the whole village knows there's a spy here. Listen, information was sure to be leaked about the two of us. So," she started. "Aidelia probably wanted us out of here from day one, and what more of a perfect way than to send someone in looking like you to kill the Kage?" her voice was low, and for good reason. She couldn't explain everything to him right now though. "Look, we'll go through details later, but if anyone asks, you were at Kyla's place with me, offering her an apology while I was getting a potion from her to help with my chakra. Okay?" She hoped he would go along with this, hoped that he could understand where she was coming from. As much as she wanted him to be able to go home to see if his girlfriend and kids were okay, she didn't want him returning in chains.

Felix nodded. "As long as I stay out of major trouble, I'm all for it." He gave her a weak grin. Guess she's not all that bad without me. It may have been easier for her if I were out of the picture. Felix gave a small shake of his head. I should have went home. "Let's finish up here and then meet with the Kage," he told her. And then I need to speak with Aidelia. After all, I damn near killed the Kage and she didn't believe me.

Kana gave Felix a small smile when he gave her a weak grin, putting her hand on his shoulder. While it looked like she was trying to comfort him, half of the motive behind her action was trying to keep herself steady without showing it. "Don't worry. I'm not prepared to just let them take you back to the Crested as a fugitive. We'll make sure these rock heads know that ninja like us don't go down without a fight," she told him with a bit of a smirk. She nodded when he said they should finish up there, then go meet with the Kage, taking her hand off his shoulder. In order for her plan to work, she had to have an ANBU from the gates that morning on her side. And there was only one way to do that. Looking outside of the room quickly, Kana pulled back in and made a shadow clone, which cloaked itself in a genjutsu in order to sneak out of the building. Closing her eyes for a moment, Kana was sure that the world had started spinning around her, and had to put her hand on the wall for a few moments. Just how long was this going to keep up? If it was for more than a day, Kana wasn't sure she'd be able to handle it. After all, what use on a mission was a dizzy ninja?

Felix nodded to Kana as she reassured him that things would be fine. "Thanks," he said. He then looked at her as she went off. Helping a few people out, he looked at her as she said that she wouldn't let him go back as a fugitive. You're smart, but naive. I just hope it doesn't end up getting you killed in the end. His blue eyes darkened. "Are you okay," he asked her when he saw her looking dizzy. "You need a break," he asked. Maybe she'd consumed too much of the floating debris. "You can go outside for air if you need to. I can handle this by myself," he told her.

Kana merely had to blink when she heard Felix ask if she was okay. Her vision had blurred a bit. "I'll be fine," she said, when Felix asked if she needed a break. She was sure it was just from using her chakra. Though, even as she said so, she knew it would probably be a good idea to rest. But they had to see the Kage after. When he suggested that she go outside for a moment, she just gave up and nodded. "I'm only gonna be outside for a minute though. We...still have to talk to the Kage," she said stubbornly, looking off to the side before starting downstairs.

Her clone, on the other hand, was busy making it's way to the gates, where it could see the ANBU from this morning was still on guard. She smirked. This would be easy. Making her way up to the post, the clone greeted the ANBU. "What's up Kana? Did you need something?" he asked. The clone nodded, her hands behind her back as she started a jutsu. "Do you remember this morning, when I left the gates to go see Lady Kyla?"

The guard nodded.

"Do you remember my partner, Felix Kuriyama, leaving the gates with me?"

The guard gave her a confused look. "No, I don't remember him being with you," he said with a frown.

Kana took her hands from behind her back, pressing two fingers against his forehead. "Yes you do." There was a slight glow to her fingers before it faded and she took her fingers from his head.

"Oh, that's right, he was with you, wasn't he? My mistake Kana," the ANBU said with an embarrassed smile.

"Don't let it happen again," the Kana clone said, jumping from the post before disappearing mid-jump.


Back at the tower, Kana stumbled down one of the steps, grabbing onto the railing to keep herself from falling completely. She'd forgotten. Any jutsu her clones used, directly affected her.

Felix followed her downstairs to make sure she was going. The girl was as stubborn as a Taurus. Felix watched as she nearly stumbled. And to think she had claimed she was fine. Yeah right. Felix's eyes narrowed. Something wasn't right with Kana, but he wasn't sure what it was. Turning away once she was downstairs he looked around for any more survivors, or does who were deceased. "And the river ran red with the blood of the innocently departed," he said quietly.

When Kana got outside, she leaned back against the building, her head laying back on the wall. She was starting to feel useless. She didn't like the feeling. She was also starting to feel warm. Really warm actually.

By the time it was getting dark, Kana had returned home, having talked to the Kage with Felix. Aidelia hadn't been present. It was clear that the Kage was pissed off, and it was also very clear that the old man didn't believe a word the two of them were saying about the attack from the Sand. But when Kana made the argument that Felix had gone with her to see Kyla, he seemed a little less suspicious. She'd even offered up a witness, the guard that had been on duty the morning of. The very same one whose memory she'd altered to include Felix in it. Of course, Kana very slyly left that part out. All in all, she'd done rather well in covering up for Felix, and covering up the fact that she wasn't feeling well. The guard was called in to provide witness to the fact that Felix had been with Kana that morning, and everything after that went over rather smoothly. Of course, Felix still did get into trouble for skipping out to go with Kana to Kyla's place, as were Felix's body guards, for being fooled by an illusion. Though, no one believed this to be an illusion, rather than an infiltration. Felix was made to come back to the office even earlier in the morning the next day in order to help with repairs on the building to make up for his absence, and Kana was also made to come in to help after she finished with training the jonin. The ANBU could train themselves tomorrow, she was told. On the way out from talking to the Kage, she told Felix that she would be heading home. He was made to stay the rest of the evening to help with repairs, even though he would be there tomorrow.

Upon arriving home, the first thing Kana did was open all the windows in the house and take a cold shower. By the time she got out of the shower, she still felt as if she was burning up, so she left her hair damp and didn't bother putting it up, leaving her long brown hair to hang around her shoulders. The house, by this time, was reasonably cool, but even so, Kana put on just a pair of shorts and tank top. While it might not have been very professional, she didn't exactly care. She turned on the kitchen fan and spread out a scroll, writing onto it in an elaborately fancy script:

Curtain's closing. All actors are
being called off stage, and instructed
not to trip on their way out.

~Blackbird

She waited for the ink to dry, before ripping the sheet from the scroll and putting it into a small, handmade envelope. Getting up from the table, Kana pulled out a summoning scroll, cutting her finger with a knife from one of the kitchen drawers, before swiping her finger on the scroll, doing a jutsu with it in hand. When she threw the scroll on the ground, she had to lean back against the wall. Summonings took up a lot of chakra. Appearing out of the smoke was a tall, gangly figure of a solid shadow, who bowed upon appearance. (This is the pic of it bowing.) "I need you to take this letter to a man in the Sand village. I need you to take the form of a scorpion as soon as you approach the village, and keep the letter as hidden as you possibly can. It cannot be seen my anyone other than it's intended target. As soon as he reads it, you are to retrieve the letter from him and dispose of it yourself. Do you understand your instructions?" By this time, the creature, known to Kana as the Shadowshifter, had straightened up, only to bow again at her question. "Your instructions are heard," it replied. Kana slowly approached the creature, handing the letter to it, only for the creature to snatch her hand, sending shivers down the Jonin's spine as the Shadowshifter searched her mind for the appearance of it's target. Once found, the creature let go of her hand, taking the letter as it turned into a black mouse and disappeared in a hole in one of the walls. Even as it left, Kana was left shivering. She disliked using the Shadowshifter. She didn't even remember where or when she'd made a contract with it, which was what scared her the most.

Sitting back down at the table, her face flushed, Kana took out other scrolls with maps on them, and started planning routes from the Rock to the Sand for the attack. If Felix wasn't able to do these things because he was busy cleaning the tower, it was up to her, sick or not. Even so...that fever she had wasn't fading, and it was making her feel woozy.

Thanks to the tank top she was wearing, the scars on her right shoulder (front and back) from both the snake bite earlier in the year, and from the Blue Demon, were all too visible. Even after two months, the bite from the Blue Demon didn't look fully healed. But Kana just figured that it was going to stay that way. She'd noticed that it had looked the same way for about a month. The area actually looked like it had suffered burn damage around the bite wound as well. Funny thing was...Kana didn't mind it. It was just another scar. She was sure that sometime in a the future, a jutsu could be developed to take care of it, if she really cared to get rid of them.

Felix was glad that the Kage bought Kana's story. His former prodigy was smart as hell. She had managed to make everything go according to plan. The girl was brilliant. Felix didn't even complain when he was punished by having to clean. He did after all cause this mess. It was not fairing well on conscious that the adviser was dead. That meant Aidelia was possibly next in line. He had to find the silver haired woman before the night was over with, but he wasn't sure where he would find her. After all, she wasn't present after the building had collapsed, and Felix knew she had been there.

Taking a small break from his cleaning duty, he pulled out his cellphone and called Serenity. He hadn't called her since earlier that day and now it seemed he was back at square one once more. Damn, I have to stop messing up like this. As the phone rang, Felix pulled his cigarette case from his pocket and opened it. There was a single cigarette in it. He'd thrown the others out. Placing the cigarette in his mouth he gave a small sigh and searched his pocket for his lighter. "Serenity, please pick up the phone."

Serenity walked in the door to her home just as the phone started ringing. She'd spent some time talking to a few old friends that afternoon. It was strange to not have to heal anymore. But it was also stressful. There was nothing to occupy her mind from all that was happening. From the trust issues at the Crested, to what was going on with Felix. Looking at the phone, Serenity sighed. She hadn't answered earlier. What if he was worried about her? So, she picked up the phone. "Hello?"

Kana's eyes slowly shut, before she forced them open. She was tired. And not feeling at all well. But she was the one running this mission now. "Sick or not, this is my responsibility now..." She kept telling herself. "I'm the one who screwed this mission over...far too many times." She looked to the kitchen window. She hoped her fellow ninja in the Sand got her message.

She picked up. Felix wasn't sure what to say anymore. He'd just wanted to check on her at first, but now, now he was in trouble. "Are you okay," he asked. "They said you'd gone home because you weren't feeling well. I got worried. I wish I could be there with you, but..." Felix trailed off. He didn't want to bring up his short comings. "I have to finish my mission first." He felt like he was being selfish. The mission came first. He didn't want it to come first. It really didn't, but he was on lock down.

Serenity couldn't help but to take a seat when she heard his voice. He really was worried. She shook her head. He cared about her, but he...he...

"I'm fine. I just...wasn't feeling very well." When he said he wanted to be there with her, she looked down. Her mind drifted to what she'd seen out on the streets of the Rock. "It's okay Felix, I know. We'd agreed before you left that I'd wait here for you, didn't we?" She almost felt herself choking up. She remembered. She'd told him she'd wait for him if anything went wrong. But this truly wasn't what she'd had in mind when she thought of something going wrong. "I'm fine now though," she told him. "I guess I just needed to be in a familiar environment."

Felix damn near found himself smiling as she said she was okay and that she'd promised to wait. "I know, but I feel bad for leaving you like this. I should have stayed. I honestly miss you Serenity. If I could come home, I would. I would come right through that door and wrap you in a hug. Just to feel your warmth. To know that I can physically see you." Felix finally found his lighter. He lit the cigarette and let it casually burn without bothering to inhale it's toxins. The silver haired jonin looked off to the side at the working ninja. He really did want to be home. What the hell was he thinking when he said he'd wanted some space?

(Awww....)

Serenity leaned forward on her couch, the phone against her ear and her gaze down to the floor. "It doesn't really matter now though. What matters is that you finish your mission and get home as soon as you can," she told him reassuringly. She paused when he said that he wanted to come home and wrap her in a hug. Before she knew it, she found herself smiling, warm tears rolling down her cheeks. She idly wiped them before speaking again. "I miss you too Felix, I really do...I'm sorry I didn't say goodbye before I left," she told him sadly. She really was now. How could she have thought he'd been cheating on her? She didn't care what Tara had said, it was ridiculous. "I am glad I got to see you while I was there though, despite the...circumstances."

Despite the circumstances. Yeah, that was his fault, but it did lead to him seeing her in the end. He was glad that she had come. He could have done so much more damage. Felix looked down at his hand and balled it into a fist. I can't be a shinobi if I have no chakra. I might be retiring early. That's depressing. This is all I know. How can I suddenly stop what I was born to do over night? "I prefer the phrase 'see you later,'" he told her. "Goodbye sounds permanent." A slight pause. "I hope you're not crying, because despite popular belief, if you start crying, I might start as well. And I'm surrounded by other shinobi and we can't have me looking soft," he joked.