"Why didn't you use your real appearance, little brother?" Hashihime said helplessly. "I wanted to make myself prettier."
That was true. If they were mother and son, the mother couldn't be all that good-looking if the child wasn't. But did she know his real appearance? It seemed his status as the top student was no secret to them.
Hashihime's transformation wasn't all that ordinary either: a traditional, graceful woman. Perhaps she couldn't accept making herself ugly.
Once everyone had transformed, they set off separately on foot toward Fukuyama Town.
An hour after reaching the main road, Shinsei spotted a small town in the distance.
Most of its buildings were traditional wooden houses, but overall, it was fairly prosperous. Perhaps because it was near the Land of Fire's border, quite a few people did business here.
Holding Shinsei's hand, Hashihime walked down the street in search of an inn.
The largest inn in town was a small three-story building, the Fukuyama Inn.
The plump proprietress held a flyswatter listlessly, her head nodding as she dozed.
"Do you have any rooms?" The woman Hashihime had transformed into led Shinsei inside.
"Yes, yes, we do." The proprietress smiled, creasing the corners of her eyes. "Would you like a double or a single?"
"A double."
"A double is 800 ryō a day, with a 1,000-ryō deposit."
"One double room."
"Certainly." The proprietress took the money, picked up a key, and led the way, her ample backside swaying. "Our rooms are much cleaner than anywhere else. You'll see once you stay here."
To Shinsei, the inn seemed reasonably clean, and the price wasn't expensive either. A bowl of ramen in Konoha cost 50 to 70 ryō.
The door opened to reveal simple furnishings: two beds, a table, and chairs. The room had a private toilet, but nowhere to bathe. There was, however, a separate bathhouse in town.
After the dusty journey from Konoha, Hashihime had long wanted a soak and tugged Shinsei along to the baths.
Shinsei would rather have eaten first, but since Hashihime controlled all their funds, he went along with her.
Come to think of it, Shinsei hadn't received his salary yet. He had been in the Anbu for less than half a month, and allowances were paid monthly. He hadn't undertaken any missions independently either. The money in his pocket was still the allowance his parents had given him before. He wondered what rank this mission would be. If there really was a Jonin involved, it would be at least an A-rank mission, and he could make a tidy sum.
There weren't many pedestrians in town. He didn't know whether that was because of the disappearances.
There were only two or three people in the bathhouse, too.
After rinsing off under the shower, Shinsei took a towel and headed for the soaking area.
This was a standard mixed bath, with a wooden screen dividing the pool. It was Shinsei's first experience of the Shinobi World's bathing culture.
Shinsei was alone on the men's side, where white steam rose from the warm, clear water.
"Whew." Shinsei exhaled and sank into the pool, his whole body relaxing.
"Little Hakutaku~ I can't reach my back. Could you come help scrub it for me?" Hashihime's voice came from beyond the screen.
Shinsei rolled his eyes. Hashihime liked to flirt, but it was all talk.
Although Hashihime usually wore a mask, her figure looked good, with shapely curves, and her skin was smooth too. But Shinsei was only a twelve-year-old child. She could try saying that again in a few years.
Shinsei ignored her. The more he responded, the more she would get carried away.
The bath left them refreshed, but their stomachs were growling with hunger. They grabbed something to eat at a small shop in town, then returned to the inn to wait for their captain.
Knock, knock, knock. Someone knocked at the door.
"Who is it?" Hashihime asked through the door.
"Want something to eat? I have roast chicken." Captain Wood Kite's voice came from outside. This was a coded exchange.
"How much? I won't take it if it's over 100 ryō!"
"98 ryō."
With the passwords confirmed, Shinsei opened the door and the captain walked in. He really was carrying a roast chicken.
Wood Kite formed hand seals, and chakra spread around the room to form a soundproof barrier.
"Rent a house in town tomorrow, as close to the edge as possible. It'll be hard for them to make a move at the inn." Wood Kite unwrapped the roast chicken and tore off a leg for Shinsei. "I've scouted the place. Their base won't be easy to breach head-on, and we could easily scare off the targets. Once you're inside, Hashihime will take the lead."
The three continued discussing tactics and decided to first figure out how the barrier worked. The two teams would investigate separately and find out what was inside.
Once the roast chicken was finished, Wood Kite left.
The night passed without incident.
The next morning, after getting ready, the two settled their bill with the proprietress.
Outside, they ran into Goat in disguise. He patted Shinsei's shoulder and said quietly,
"It's your first mission. Be careful."
Shinjō was a little surprised, then nodded. He hadn't expected the usually laid-back Goat to be so warmhearted.
After breakfast, Hashihime took Shinsei around town to ask about renting a place.
Finding a rental wasn't difficult. After asking at a few places, they rented a small courtyard house at the far end of town. But an unreadable gleam flickered in the landlord's eyes as he looked at Hashihime and Shinsei.
After closing the door, Hashihime and Shinsei exchanged a glance.
Something's wrong! Both had noticed something off about the landlord, but that was exactly what they wanted.
That night, Hashihime and Shinsei turned out the lights and lay down in their respective beds.
An unknown amount of time passed before rustling sounds came from outside.
They're here!
By the moonlight outside the window, Shinsei saw a bamboo tube poke into the room and blow out a cloud of smoke.
Holding his breath, Shinjō hoped they would hurry. Although he could hold his breath for ten minutes or so, the experience was unpleasant.
A few minutes later, the door opened. Two men entered and hoisted Shinsei and Hashihime onto their shoulders.
Once outside, the two men tied Shinjō and Hashihime up, stuffed them into sacks, and placed them on horses.
Hooves clattered as the horses carried the two out of town.
The ride jolted them uncomfortably, and he had no idea how much time passed.
"Who's there?" a man's voice called.
"It's us. We've got merchandise."
"Why only two?"
"Sir, fewer and fewer people have been coming lately, and you won't let us touch the townspeople. These two just arrived, so we hurried and grabbed them."
"Put them down."
Someone lifted Shinsei off the horse and pulled open the sack.
Through narrowly opened eyes, he saw a vicious-looking middle-aged man reach out and pat his face.
"Why isn't he awake?"
"Maybe he breathed in too much of the knockout smoke because he's small," someone beside him hurriedly explained.
Shinsei quickly opened his eyes, afraid a harder slap would dispel his Transformation Technique.
"Who are you? Where am I? Where's my mom?" Shinsei struggled incessantly, his face filled with terror.
"Heh!" The man sneered without answering and slapped Hashihime awake beside him.
Hashihime looked panicked, and tears spilled from her eyes as she looked at Shinsei.
Her acting was much better than his. Shinsei wondered whether his own performance just now had been a little overdone.
The man picked up Hashihime and Shinsei and carried them beneath a nearby rock face. He set them down and formed hand seals, and a pitch-black cave appeared in the massive rock.
The man grabbed the ropes behind their backs and carried them into the cave.
After they rounded a bend, the cave grew brighter, revealing a corridor ahead, with wooden doors set at intervals along both sides.
The man kicked open a door and threw them inside.
"Make a racket and I'll slaughter you!" the man threatened viciously.