Hikari continued swinging her legs as she remained perched in the tree, catching a glimpse of the other two on the distance. She hated tardiness but she had grown accustomed to it after spending enough time with Kakashi. At least these two weren't habitually late like he was, so she tolerated it without complaints.<br/><br/>She smirked as Koji ran up and declaring rather enthusiastically that their tardiness was Seiji's fault. Behind the glasses she could imagine the older boy rolling his eyes, which was what brought the smirk to her lips.<br/><br/>"Miss me?" The girl teased lightly using her best sweet, innocent voice as she dropped from the tree, landing next to Asami with effortless grace. She'd been gone for over a year, training with a distant relative in the Land of Water who was known for their skill with Ice Release jutsu. While she'd met up with Asami when she returned the previous day, she hadn't seen the other two since she'd returned. She looked a bit different than the last time they'd seen her. She was even taller than before, now several inches taller than Asami, although she wasn't taller than most boys. Her hair, which had been long when she left, was now short, resting just above her shoulders.<br/><br/>In her peripherals she caught the other woman shaking her head lightly at the three of them before she nodded and led them in. "Yes. Let's get going. We don't want to keep Lady Tsunade waiting." Asami replied as they entered the building.<br/><br/>They made their way to the Hokage's office, passing several other shinobi along the way. Once inside the two women stopped near the center of the room. "You wanted to see us." Asami greeted the older woman with a bow and got right to the point.<br/><br/>"Yes." Tsunade stood as she spoke, placing her hands on the desk in front of her and putting some of her weight on them as she leaned forward, a serious look on her face. "I need you to escort a high-priority diplomat from the Land of Water." she began explaining the mission, holding up her hand to stem off any complaints about how lesser skilled teams could handle such a mission. "Recently there have been several attacks on diplomatic targets like as Mr. Ishida. These attacks have reportedly been carried out by an S-ranked criminal." she said by way of explanation.<br/><br/>"You don't just want us to protect Mr. Ishida, then. You want us to capture the criminal as well." Hikari spoke up, her words posed as a statement rather than a question. "Correct." Tsunade nodded affirmatively. "Hikari, I know you've only just returned from the Land of Water, but apparently you made quite a reputation for yourself while you were there. Mr. Ishida requested your squad personally, and I am inclined to grant that request." Tsunade explained before returning to her original train of thought.<br/><br/>"If you can, capture the criminal alive. He may be able to shed some light on the reason behind the attacks. If you cannot, then eliminate him. We can't risk him coming after any more people. We may not always have a squad like yours available to protect them." she finished, pushing herself up off the table and holding out a file, which Hikari took. "Here is all the information you should need, including where exactly you're heading and the criminal we believe to be behind the attacks." she went on.<br/><br/>"We'll do our best." Asami replied firmly.<br/><br/>"We won't fail." Hikari assured her, determination coloring her words.<br/><br/>"I know you won't." Tsunade replied with a hint of a smile, glad to see that the young girl was as determined as ever. "You leave in the morning. Be careful." With that she dismissed them.<br/><br/>"Understood." Asami and Hikari replied simultaneously before leaving the room to go over the information and come up with a plan. As they left the room Hikari scanned over the information in the file, flipping through the pages like they were nothing. "Well, I can see why she chose us for the mission." she spoke up as she closed the file less than a minute later, holding it out in case anyone else wanted to look over it.<br/><br/>Asami could have sworn that Hikari read the file even faster than she usually did. It always amazed her how quickly the girl took in information. "Why's that?" she questioned, curious.<br/><br/>"It's definitely an S-ranked mission." she paused. "The criminal she was referring to comes from Kirigakure, the same village my clan was originally from, before portions relocated to Konoha." she explained. "We need to get Mr. Ishida to Kirigakure as quickly as possible and keep him safe. Since I'm familiar with the territory and we're probably the strongest available squad at present, that makes us ideal for getting him there safely." she finished her explanation. "At any rate, we need a plan, and we should all get ready, since we leave first thing in the morning." she realized that Asami was still the leader, but she knew that the other woman was not only used to her doing things like this, but she didn't mind.<br/><br/>"Alright, then. Sounds like Tsunade made a good choice, then." Asami agreed. "You're right. We do need a plan." she nodded before glancing at the boys. "What's your take on this?" she asked them both.