When the next morning came, all was peaceful. That is, all was peaceful until a loud crash resounded throughout the room Aoi was sleeping in. The crash came from Aoi's left, and even before he was fully awake, who or whatever made the sound was lying face down in the carpet. Slowly, Aoi's senses untangled themselves from the sleep befuddled arrangement they had been in. Murasaki was lying face down on the ground, Aoi sitting on his lower back holding his right arm in a rather painful position. The other shinobi, one of the boys from the other team, stood to the side in utter disbelief.

"Gef ouff meh!" Murasaki yelled, the sound muffled by the carpet his face was being pressed into by one of Aoi's hands.

Aoi complied, standing up like nothing had happened. There was several footfalls rushing into the room. Not bothering to knock, the door burst open to reveal Asuka, with Ibiki right behind her. Both looked hastily clothed, though Asuka more so.

"What is all this about?" Asuka asked as the purple haired Murasaki picked himself up off the floor. Her student still stood dumbstruck, but when Asuka entered his line of sight, his focus snapped to her. "What happened in here Kodomo?"

"Well... Murasaki and I both got up at six, like you told us, but Aoi was still asleep. Murasaki wouldn't wake him so we got in a slight argument that broke the picture on the wall..." Kodomo pointed over to the shattered mess of said picture, his sea green locks covering obsidian eyes.

Ibiki turned to his purple haired student. "Why wouldn't you wake Aoi up?"

"Well Koko-san should know that by now. Just look at what happened when Aoi woke up to that crash!" The last part was directed at Kodomo, and said boy's face grew red with anger at the nickname that seemed to be dubbed his.

"What did happen after the crash?" Ibiki seemed rather interested, though it didn't show on his face. Asuka turned to regard them after looking down at Kodomo, her curiosity peaked as well.

A blush could be seen as Murasaki looked everywhere but at the people surrounding him. He was too embarrassed to admit that Aoi, half asleep, was able to easily pin him on the ground. Instead, after gathering his courage, he responded to the first question fully, "Whenever someone wakes up Aoi they have to be careful not to do it loudly or startle him, otherwise he lashes out and you end up through a wall or pinned on the ground or something. He gets violent."

"So he pinned you?" Ibiki asked. Ibiki was good at twisting words, and he already knew that when people are embarrassed they let some of the truth slip through. Murasaki's eyes widened at the seeming shot in the dark that hit dead center in the target.

"I apologize, i was not fully awake at the time." Aoi bowed slightly with his apology. The other three who were now joining, being slower than the two jonin, were caught off gaurd with the formal apology. The only ones who didn't seem fazed were Ibiki and the other male teammate in Asuka's team.

There was silence for a while, only broken by a soft snort from Migota a moment or so later. Once the silence was shattered, Ibiki came back to his senses. "Well it seems that everyone is awake now. Everyone pack your things and get ready to leave." Everyone's faces sobered for the most part, but Migota was still smirking and Murasaki still had a blush dusting his cheeks. "After we eat breakfast we will split up and look for clues as to the whereabouts of our target. An hour after that, whether or not you have any leads, meet up back here." Everyone went their separate ways, and soon the team was out in the relatively large town.

_+_

"Excuse me sir!" Kaori ran up to the man who was running a stall just to their left. He appeared to be selling dumplings. The man turned around to notice Kaori alongside Aoi, smiling brightly at the two.

"Hello there miss, what can I do for the happy couple?"

Kaori's face immediately turned beet red as Aoi stood there passively. Completely flustered, her hands waved in front of her face in a denying gesture. "We aren't a couple! Just friends, that's all, just friends!"

The man chuckled, leaning down to Aoi. "That's a shame boy. She'll be a beauty when she gets older. I'd try making a move now." Kaori overheard this and now even her ears were red.

Looking at the man, Aoi tilted his head. "Make a move?"

Snickering slightly, the man nodded. "Get close to her. You don't want to be in the friend zone forever, and I'm sure you two would be a good couple. You're already on a date, just show her the time of her life and she'll fall for you."

"Date?"

The man turned to Kaori, "So you like the clueless sort, huh?"

"No!" Trying to regain her composure, Kaori coughed a little, and the furious red receded to a pale pink dusting on her cheeks. "Anyways, that's not why we're here. We have some questions we would like to ask you."

"Ah, well then ask away." The man still had a broad smile from messing with the two. Though Aoi still stood there completely clueless.

"We were wondering if you noticed a strange man in town a few days ago. Do you know anything?" She looked at the man hopefully. Aoi and Kaori had already been down six different streets asking the stall owners the same question.

The man flinched back almost imperceptibly, but his smile didn't falter. He folded his arms and looked deep in thought. "Hmm... I can't say, do you have any more information on him?"

"He is about 28 years old, with dark brown hair and blue eyes. No one too noticeable I suppose, he would probably have only been here a night or two."

"Can't say I've seen anyone like that," the left corner of his mouth lifted slightly from where the smile had dropped into a stoic expression as Kaori's explanation went on.

Kaori's shoulders dropped in disappointment. It was almost time to meet back up with the others and she had nothing to go on. Seeing this, the man's cheeks twitched in an attempt to hide a smile. Kaori began to walk away, and Aoi walked with her until they were out of earshot.

"The man was lying." Spinning wildly, Kaori's head snapped to Aoi as he said this.

Her curiosity and disbelief were fully evident as she spoke, "How do you know that Aoi? It isn't like you could read his mind."

"His movements. He was smiling when he faced us, but when you asked about the man he got defensive."

"He wasn't defensive, he openly answered the question." Kaori was slightly confused.

Aoi nodded. "He answered the question, but he flinched back and folded his arms. Ibiki-sensei said people do that during interrogations to feel secure and put a barrier between them."

"That doesn't make the man a liar though, and it's a pretty weak lead to go off of." Kaori looked at Aoi, and he looked back with a blank expression. "Did you get anything else off him, because if you didn't there is no point going back."

"His left corner of the mouth raised and he hid a smile after seeing your shoulders drop." Seeing the evident confusion in Kaori's eyes as she opened her mouth to ask, Aoi went on with the explanation. "Ibiki-sensei said that if they lift only one corner of the mouth as they answer a question they look down on you and think they will pass off the lie. When they hide a smile at your disappointment, they think they pulled the lie off."

"So you think he knows something?" Kaori looked at him for confirmation, needing to hear it. She was on the edge of belief, and needed a push to make her jump into it.

"He knows more than he told us. I do not know what however."

Kaori considered this, glanced at the sky, then looked at her blue haired companion. "Let's go back to the hotel, it's time to meet up. If nobody else has a lead we'll bring this up." Aoi nodded, accepting this. Kaori took the lead and they walked off, the man selling dumplings smiling broadly at their backs.

_+_

"You guys are back!" Kodomo shot up from his seat on the ground at the appearance of Kaori and Aoi.

"Sit down Koko-chan, it isn't like we can't see that for ourselves." Murasaki said, pulling on the shirt of the younger boy. The boy fell back off balance and the two ended up in a heap of arms and legs.

"If I told you once I told you a million times, my name is not Koko-chan, it is Kodomo Kokai!" Said boy stood no more than two feet away from Murasaki, looking the boy dead in the eye.

"I told you, the fact that your parents named you that just leaves you open to that nickname, Koko-chan!"

They went on bickering for a while, as neither Ibiki nor Asuka were anywhere to be seen. Eventually Migota went over and hit them both upside the head though. "You two are so annoying!"

"Well if his pa-" Murasaki cut himself off as Migota's glare turned to him.

"You come back arguing like no tomorrow, with no information might I add, and once you finally shut up you start fighting again! You two are ridiculous!"

"I haven't heard any leads from your end, so I wouldn't criticize so much," Kodomo added.

"You aren't helping your case Kodomo. Keep getting on my nerves like Murasaki here and I might just call you Koko-chan." Migota rounded on the boy, her hair fanning out and catching the suns golden beams, making her hair turn into liquid honey. She would look completely stunning, if it weren't for the glare she held in her eyes.

Kodomo was star struck, but he managed to nod. Taking his silence as fear, Migota sighed and looked off down the street. After a while of silence between the teenagers, Migota's head perked up.

"Here they come!"

"Took them long enough." Murasaki muttered.

"Maybe it means they got a lead." Kodomo replied.

Heeding the warning they had gotten from Migota, the two remained silent. It did not, however, stop the all out glares that practically made sparks of electricity between the two. Aoi remained silent, taking in the looks the two shared and wondering what caused them.

"Looks like you're all here," Ibiki stated. Everyone turned to him, awaiting what would be said. "Who has any leads?"

"Is it always just work with you Ibiki?" Asuka looked at the scar faced man. "It has been a while and we've all been running around in the hot sun. I don't know how you can stand to wear that ridiculous black trench coat. Anyways, I'm sure that we're all tired, so why not sit down at a tea shop for a moment and talk there?"

"Every second we waste is another chance for this man to get away. If he gets away, any chance we had at an alliance between Konoha and Kiri will disappear as well."

"It's been a week already since he was last seen in this town, I doubt that 15 minutes will make much of a difference."

"If you had any sense of responsibility, you would know that going now is the wisest choice. It's your lax attitude that made it so we didn't get any leads."

"You know what? I don't think it was my lax attitude, if anything it was your u-"

"Umm... Senseis?" Kaori finally spoke up. The two stopped, and after a brief glare both turned to the girl. "Does that mean you didn't get any leads?"

Clearing his throat, Ibiki nodded. "Nobody we questioned seemed to hold any information. Do any of you have any leads?"

Four people shook their heads, and Asuka sighed a little in disappointment.

"We have a lead," Aoi spoke. All eyes turned to the blue haired boy and Kaori.

Ibiki spoke, "How reliable is the information?"

"It is not information. The man tried to trick us with lies." Aoi would have gone on, but Asuka spoke up.

"How do you know the man was lying?"

"I know he was lying because of my training with Ibiki-sensei."

"Where is the man?" Ibiki asked, with a twang of pride at hearing that the training paid off.

"Seven streets over in a stall selling dumplings," Aoi stated. A faint blush rose on Kaori's face, and she couldn't be more thankful that nobody was paying her any attention.

Feeling rather than seeing Asuka's glare, Ibiki spoke. "We'll go see if this man has anything useful. If it turns out to be a dead end we'll take a break," Ibiki shot a glare at Asuka, "If it gives us a clear direction, we move out. Any questions?" Everyone shook their heads. "Let's go ask this man some questions then."

_+_

"Show me what happened Aoi." Ibiki ordered. All eight of them were hiding, rather creepily, in an alley just off the street. Ibiki and Aoi were together at the mouth of the alley, and Aoi had just pointed out the man they had talked to. Raising his hand, he let the memories be carried along the flow of chakra and into Ibiki. The one good thing about Aoi's passiveness was that there weren't many useless thoughts to pick through, so Ibiki got a clear perception of what happened, one that wasn't skewed with feelings and impressions. Aoi's memories were simple replays, scientific.

"So that's how it is. Let's go back to the others." The two walked silently beside each other, Ibiki sorting though his thoughts to form a plan. Aoi just following along, not too concerned over what would happen. The way he figured, Ibiki would come up with a plan, and so long as he followed it things would turn out alright.

When they got back to the others, Ibiki laid out the plan. Asuka disagreed and raised arguments, fighting every step of the way, but Ibiki easily snubbed those out. Everyone except Asuka finally agreed. Knowing she was outnumbered, she grudgingly let it happen, though she felt the plan would never work.

_+_

"Excuse me." The man running the stall turned at the monotone voice. He forced a smile on his face as he stared at the boy from earlier.

"Hello there boy. What happened to your date?" Though he wouldn't admit it, the way the boy looked at him made him feel uneasy. As if realizing this, Aoi's eyes dropped and he smiled a little.

"Well you see, she is back at the hotel we are staying at. I thought I'd come back and ask you something."

"Oh?" The man smiled at the nervous attitude the boy seemed to have. No wonder he let the girl do all the talking before.

"Well from how you acted..." Aoi trailed off for a moment, and the man waited with a smile. "It seemed like you might know something."

Underestimating the boy, the man chuckled lightly. "Why would you say that?"

"You seemed nervous." Aoi looked up, staring the man straight in the eye. Aoi was back to emotionless, the steel in his eyes catching the man off guard.

The smile on the man's face disappeared. "What reason would I have to be nervous? It isn't like I know anything about that shinobi!"

"I never said he was a shinobi." Aoi stated.

Surprise widened the man's eyes. He glared at the boy before him. "Information isn't free boy. How about a question for a question, fair trade of information. So long as you keep me interested in what you have, I'll let you know what I have." Aoi nodded. "Why are you so interested in that man?"

"He is my companion's father." Aoi lied easily. The man bought it with a nod. "How do you know the man?"

"He's an old friend," Aoi looked over the man, but nodded when he saw no signs of lying. "I didn't know the man had a kid though?" The man made it seem like a question, so Aoi answered.

"He got a woman pregnant in a one night stand." The man nodded. It seemed like it was normal actions from his friend. "When did you last see him?"

"Guy stopped in to borrow some money before he left. I'd say about 6 days ago." The man smiled then. "Sorry fella, but I'm not interested in any information you might have anymore."

"If information isn't free, I'll pay for the last question." The man turned back to face the expressionless boy before him. "One box of dumplings, I'll pay double price."

"Triple," Aoi nodded and the stall owner got busy preparing the box of dumplings. He turned back to Aoi, setting the box on the counter and holding out a greasy palm.

Slipping the money into his palm, Aoi took the box and asked his last question. "Which way did he go to leave town?"

After a quick count of the money to make sure he wasn't being cheated, the stall owner pocketed the money. "He went east." Aoi nodded and walked off.

Once he was sure that the man was no longer watching, Aoi ducked into the alley that his teammates were hiding in. Ibiki stood up, greeting his student. Aoi sat in the circle, depositing the dumplings before the team. Almost everyone's stomachs growled in sync and they dug in to the food. Ibiki busied himself taking the hidden radio off of Aoi. When he was done, Ibiki sat as well and fell into the temptation of the dumplings, reaching for one as well.

Aoi's hand shot out, and everyone sat frozen as the dumpling that had been about to enter Ibiki's mouth smacked into the ground. All eyes turned from the dumpling to Aoi in question. Migota opened her mouth in order to ask, but Aoi spoke first.

"Poison." Aoi turned the smashed dumpling over, and the inside was a sickly grey color. Kaori sniffed it lightly, nodded and turned to Asuka.

"I recognize this smell, it's tetrodotoxin." She dropped the bit she had picked up. "Pretty nasty stuff. Shuts down the nervous system. With this amount, whoever ate it would be sure to die."

"So the stall owner tried to kill us?" Kodomo looked rather put off as he said this, shifting nervously where he sat.

"No." Ibiki looked over at Aoi. "He didn't know about us. That man tried to kill Aoi."

There were various responses if shock and worry. Kaori's eyes widened with fear, and Asuka looked at the group. "Why would he do that?"

There was silence, but it was soon broken by Kaori. "The real question is where he got it. It's a rather obscure poison, and without some connections it would be hard to come by."

Ibiki spoke then, "He probably traded his friend the poison for the money he loaned out. The most likely reason for the poison would be that Aoi came and started asking too many questions."

Asuka looked at Ibiki dubiously, as did Kaori at this point. The suspicion from the other team was growing, and Ibiki noticed this. It was a race now, between whether they would finish the mission or the others would grow too suspicious and begin asking questions.

_+_

There you go guys, chapter 13! I hope you liked it and everything like that. Since you hopefully read the authors notes, I'll tell you that Koko means baby chicken. It's a play on the two beginning syllables of Kodomo's first and last name. If you were curious, tetrodotoxin is an actual poison, so if you're curious look it up on wikipedia or something. It's kinda interesting to read about... This makes it sound like I read about poison for fun... I don't, I'm not some psycopath.

Song to the side is just something I like to listen to. I like to post songs because it makes me feel like I'm sharing a part of myself, more than the story offers. Kinda cheesey sounding, but whatever. Now would be a good time for random question asking time... I need a name for that... Anyways...

If you could choose any mythical creature to actually exist, what creature would it be?

So there you have it. I hope you guys stay interested for the next chapter and all that. I should be posting another chapter here in the next two or three days, because I'm on spring break. I'm trying to update all my stories, but it might take some work. So if you read my other stories, you can look forward to those chapters, if not you can look forward to chapter 14 of this. It's only chapter 13 and I'm almost at the third part of the chunnin exams... Let me know if I'm going too fast or something, I sorta like this pace, but I'm open to input, good or bad.

Anyways, this has rambled on long enough. Vote/comment/fan/message/buy-me-ice-cream!

-Nicky~