There was professionalism...

...and there were professionals.

It was where they saw...

...which one they had.

Inspiration ß Naruto

...xXx...

Characters from: [LINK] by LoveDonghae

...xXx...

Shadows slipped by, leaving not a single trace of their passing.

The entire mission is a secret. No one is to know ok?

They slipped above a caravan, none the wiser as the moon could only see their passing.

You slip in, do your thing, then get out. Simple right?

The first paused and the others followed suit, the group of five frozen. 

Ok, it's an S-rank so it's not that simple but you get the picture right? I'm counting on you girls.

The first made hand signs and the other four responded, following her lead as she jumped down and confronted a group of bandits.

It was over in minutes and then they shifted, becoming other people - civilians or low level ninjas - and taking on the roles given to them.

This was where the mission truly began.

-oOo-

"I swear that I'm skinning the Kage for that mission," the brown-haired girl grumbled under her breath, her green eyes discretely taking in their surroundings. 

So uhh...go undercover. Yeah that's right. Don't hit me Sasuke!

"Don't be such a brat Haruko," another female hissed back, her green eyes rolling. The two girls were mirrors of each other in the same jonin outfit except for the parts of their hair, one parted left and the other parted right. "It's a mission."

You two will be twins and don't give me that look! I'm your boss!

"I still don't like it Haruka," Haruko complained. Their Mist headbands were in plain sight. "I don't get why he sent us away for such a simple mission when we're so much stronger." 

Miss Anbu here will be your 'older sister' and the leader of this mission. Don't disobey her. 

"Haruko. Haruka," another female called out in warning, blue eyes flashing. Her black hair was pulled into a side bun-ponytail held by senbon while her jonin outfit, unlike the twins, was spotless. "The mission isn't over until we deliver them-" She nudged a thumb at their prisoners - the bandits that they had captured. "-to the office."

You remaining two will be civilians since you have the best control over your chakra...and the least of it to be honest. 

"Yes Ren-neesan," the two chorused with identical sighs. 

This takes place in Kiri. You'll be living these girls' lives, orphans who run a small farm directly under Chojuro. 

"Ren-neesan! Haruko-neesan! Haruka-neesan!" a high-pitched voice called out just as two blurs - one of yellow and one of red - tackled one of the twins each.

They were killed recently. Your job is to find out who, why, how, then stop it from happening again.

"Mitsuko. Akane. What did I say about running?" Ren scolded, frowning. She opened to speak once more but was stopped as both Mitsuko - the blond - and Akane - the redhead - released the twins to hug her. 

And this is all incognito. Missions in the morning from the Kage - the only person who knows about your mission - and your investigations at night or whenever you can.

"Welcome home!~" the two chorused. Ren sighed then pulled them closer with her remaining arm. 

The only rule is to do your job and to come back alive.

"I'm home," she stated, her next words a mere whisper right beside their ears. 

"Start Phase 02."

-oOo-

"Finally," 'Haruko' breathed, flopping on the bed. "Holding back my chakra to mere jounin is hard."

"You're being a brat Hikari," 'Haruka' repeated, rolling her eyes. "I know the wigs itch and the contacts are annoying but this is going to be our job for as long as we haven't completed our mission."

"Acting like a civilian is harder," 'Akane' argued, frowning. "At least you can let some of your chakra run wild Hikari, Kimiko. Being a civilian is exhausting...ironically. I don't even know how well I'm doing!"

"Michiko, you shouldn't worry. Your levels are appropriate for a civilian," 'Mitsuko' comforted, smiling softly. "Besides, our investigation begins tonight. We should get some rest while we can."

"Kailin is right," 'Ren' stated, entering the room from the kitchen. "I'll take first watch. Every two hours we'll rotate until night falls. Then we make our move and search for information. As of right now, none of us exist. We are now them. Understood?"

"Yes ma'am," the four saluted, collapsing on the bed together. They relaxed as their captain left the room. 

They would need the rest.

-oOo-

Night fell upon the village but only fools believed the streets were quiet. 

They were humming with life still - late night stores, bars, and...returning ninja. 

"You know we could have taken an extra watch. You didn't have to take so much even if this is our first undercover Anbu mission," a voice whispered as the group ran. Her face came to the moonlight for but a second. A fox. 

"Too late to argue. Keep on moving," another hissed. A snake. 

"I wasn't talking to you Kiko," the fox-masked female retorted. 

"Urusai Kari," the snake-masked 'Kiko' replied, rolling her eyes. 

"Stop fighting," one of the group cut in. A bird. "We're on a mission."

"Forgot your professionalism at home?" another voice sneered, saying the words she knew would shut them up. A dog. 

The leader stopped abruptly, landing on the roof of one of the red-light district buildings, the red lanterns keeping them from being seen. She held up hand signs that the group read and through light arguing, agreed to. 

The snake and bird went one way while the dog and fox went another, the leader - a cat - splitting off in an entirely different direction.

They were to gather information and meet up two hours before the sunrise. 

If only they found the information they needed.

-oOo-

"Hey Ren-neesan! The strawberries we planted a month ago are sprouting!" Haruko declared, smiling as she crouched by the small red plants.

It's been a month since we've started our mission.

"How much money do you think we can make off of it?" Haruka questioned, fingers upon her chin as she stared down at their soon-to-be profit.

How much longer are we going to be here?

"Depends on the harvests of other farms, remember?" Ren pointed out, watering the plants. 

Depends on the information we gain.

"I hope we make lots," Mitsuko declared, beaming. "Then we can buy some new clothes for Akane's birthday."

Hope we gain a lot. Maybe we can go home in time for Michiko's birthday.

"The sale last season wasn't that good though," Akane pointed out, frowning.

But we haven't found anything yet.

"Well, I'll check around the markets soon then," Ren declared, brushing her hands on her pants and standing up.

I'll go undercover tonight. 

"Alright," the girls chorused.

The leader was moving.

And they weren't going to let her go alone.

-oOo-

"She's flirting," Hikari pointed out with disgust. Their conversation was disguised by several simple genjutsu - preventing others from hearing their words or seeing them and alerting them if the genjutsu was broken on any person. 

"Yes," Kimiko agreed, rolling her eyes from underneath her snake mask. 

"She's flirting," Hikari repeated, her expression obvious even with her fox mask.

"Well, she's gaining information, more accurately," Michiko pointed out, adjusting her dog mask slightly. 

"But Kaida-neesan's flirting," Hikari retorted, pointing down at their female leader (Her codename was, they were told, Kaida.) who was, as Hikari emphasized, flirting...with several men...at once. 

"Are we sure that's her?" Kimiko questioned, tilting her head slightly. "I mean...her actions are..."

"Weird?" Michiko offered. "Well, I guess her uptight personality normally wouldn't be so salacious. Her acting's good."

"Well, it is her," Kailin informed, one hand keeping her bird mask from hindering her vision. "Her chakra is slightly cloaked and from what I can assume, it's a genjutsu to make her more...appealing."

The female below - their leader - looked nothing like the female they had met face to face that month ago. Oh.

"Ah," the girls chorused, partially bored but also partially worried. As far as they knew, Kaida never took breaks. Not during missions of this high a level. 

Silence.

"Oh," Hikari stated, tilting her head sheepishly. "Uh guys? She just wrote in the air with her chakra to go home. Should we?"

"Your bloodline?" Kimiko asked, her own eyes flashing red for a moment. 

"Yup. She just wrote that we're distracting," Hikari added, unmoving. 

"Should we move?" Kailin wondered aloud.

The girls looked at each other.

"Nah."

And so they stayed despite her orders, watching as the men came and went - a few knocking out from drunkenness on the floor. 

Then it came. 

It was sudden and short. 

It was their only warning. 

"Kaida-neesan!" 

And their leader moved into action, suddenly gone from below as if she had never been there and suddenly by their sides as if she had always been there, a kunai pulled out from somewhere - though 'where' was questionable in the clingy outfit their leader was wearing - and defending her comrades with ease, her cat mask and a black cloak donned. 

"Kaida?" their opponent repeated with recognition, a sneer in his voice. His comrades - identical-looking Anbu with frog masks - stood with their weapons at Kaida's throat. "The 'wooden li'l dragon' of Konoha? What are you doing here with such a flimsy feline facade?"

"Fox. Dog. Snake. Bird, Plan Tau669," Kaida ordered. The girls hesitated for but a moment, obviously unhappy with the idea of abandoning their leader, when their adversaries acted. They drew their weapons as the girls did, aiming to clash in the center. 

"Is this insubordination?" Kaid questioned, her voice strangely sangfroid. She crouched, hands on the ceiling and wood starting from where her hands were and trapping the three Anbu. She turned to them, her cat mask hiding her expression but not her eyes. "Go."

And so they went without hesitation. 

That, they realized, that was an Anbu. They were Anbu. They couldn't hesitate. They were seconds away from death and for the first time in a long time, they could feel their hearts pound in such a way that they knew they had just escaped death. So they continued to run, heading for their destination. A ninja appeared in their path - a Chunin at best. He was shaking but determined. The four didn't hesitate this time.

He fell immediately, facedown on the roof tiles. 

They ran passed him, adrenaline singing in their veins. 

Sirens began ringing, screams of panic arising from the civilians below. It was child's play to bypass the guards - fresh jonin and experienced chunin who were standing on duty - and it wasn't long before the four stood in the Kage's office, slight hitches in their breath. 

The Kage there stood abruptly, panicking for a moment, but they held out the folder. 

"Plan Tau669. We were discovered," the shortest of the four stated. The Kage nodded, taking the folder. 

"For believability, should we receive injuries?" the tallest of the group questioned. Chojuro shook his head. 

"Thank you for your work. I dismiss you from your duties. Please, return home," he stated formally. The four bowed politely and left through the window, just in time as the door was thrown open. 

"Mizukage!" a chunin called. Chojuro laughed. 

"I'm fine," he denied the four females faintly heard as they escaped, dodging more shinobi and kunoichi. They traveled to the border of the village without hesitation and lingered for only a second but continued on, having faith that their leader would soon catch up.

They ducked into a cavern a few hours into traveling and Kimiko placed a genjutsu up to hide the opening and their own talking. 

"Well that was fun," Kimiko stated sarcastically, slipping out from her role as Haruka. 

"It was," Michiko agreed, glad to not be Akane longer. "Although I'd prefer other roles."

"I'll let Tou-san know," Hikari joked, releasing her disguise as Haruko.

"Sh!" Kailin quieted, putting a hand out. After oppressing her chakra for so long as Mitsuko and her mother's influence, she was the most sensitive to the subtle changes outside. 

A hand knocked against the wood, a familiar code ringing out. 

The four turned to each other, grinning, and ran out. 

It was time to go home. 

-oOo-

Kimura 'Kaida' Mizuki (cat) Ren

Uzumaki Hikari (fox) Haruko

Nara Michiko (dog) Akane

Uchiha Kimiko (snake) Haruka

Kailin (bird) Mitsuko