...<br/><br/>Tanigakure was so silent and serene at night. All that could be heard were the sounds of crickets chirping.<br/><br/>It was a quiet night. Jun and Suzume tumbled together in lustful embrace. Tashi was getting dressed as a nude Maki looked on with amusement at her much younger lover. From the small station where local thieves and lost children were held... a young woman emerged. She was plain, unassuming, with brown eyes and brown hair tied back, a mask covering her mouth and the ninja armor of a chuunin. The rest of her attire was in standard with Tanigakure customs.<br/><br/>Within the police station, there was no one within. Yasuo and his comrades were nowhere to be found. The floors were clean and the rooms unadultered. In one of the prison cells, Shirō Mengichii slept with his back to any visitors. The illusion was meticulous.<br/><br/>The young woman departed casually from the scene...<br/><br/>...<br/><br/>...<br/><br/>... A few minutes later, Maki gave Tashi one last kiss on his lips... and then another, on the forehead, before she let him depart. A lasting reminder that though they may have been lovers this night, they were still ultimately teacher and student.<br/><br/>As the swordsman made his way back to his own residence, he saw a young kunoichi walking along the road as well. She was heading from the center of town. The woman was dressed plainly, in Tanigakure uniform with brown eyes and brown hair tied up in a spiky ponytail. The lower part of her face was covered in a mask and Tashi did not recognize her. When the two passed, she nodded to him.<br/><br/>"Evening." She murmured.<br/><br/><hr/><br/>Kaname ran, hopping from tree to tree away from her attacker. She could hear him coming from behind, at first following her on the ground and then taking to the trees with her. The branches waggled and shook with each impact as he came in pursuit.<br/><br/>Marise and Sakumo soon found her, coming from the side of her vision and soon joining her. "Kaname!" Sakumo yelled, seeing her condition and the way she was moving. He figured out instantly that she was being chased but stopped once her pursuer appeared.<br/><br/>The cloaked figure halted as well. He stood atop a thick branch, his clawed toes embedded in the wood as he stood up straight. The cloak obscured the rest of his body, save for that fearsome visage; a dark man missing his lower jaw, partially bandaged with wild black spiky hair and horned happuri.<br/><br/>The trio of Konoha shinobi now all stood at an equal distance away from him, though Kaname was separated from her comrades by a few dozen feet.<br/><br/>The strange man seemed interested when he saw Sakumo, who did not tear his gaze away from him as he let Imouto gently down against the tree trunk. "Mari... He doesn't have the chakra signature of a Yōkai... does he?"<br/><br/>