Izo nodded to General Morimoto as he was given his orders. He was to travel to a cottage in the woods on the outskirts of Konan to take out a Frost Goddess who was allied to with the Fiends. Shu was to come with him, but as always they would travel separately. This was so that if something happened to one of them along the way, the othercouls still carry out the mission. He worried for his little brother, who was much newer to battling Gods and Goddesses than he was, but he knew Shu was strong, and he sent a silent prayer to Suzaku to keep him safe. “I'll be in touch, Sir.” He said, saluting his superior before turning and making his exit from his study.

He made his way to the woods in a short time. Luckily they were currently stationed near the area that housed the cottage. It was perhaps an hour's walk, two depending on the terrain. Either way, it was nothing he had not done before. He ensured he was ready and then set out, nodding to Shu with the smallest of smiles as his brother headed in a different direction. It was a slightly shorter walk the way Shu was going, but it was also a slightly safer walk, and Shu knew not to take any real risks until he arrived.

Making sure both his katana and his Dark Blade were in place, and that Tsukai was following along overhead, he set out into the woods, down the path toward his target. Each time he was given a new target, he hoped it would be Ignorance...he was ready to exact vengance for the pain his parents suffered just for showing kindness to a stranger. Unfortunately, it wasn't known for sure if the Dark Blades even worked on the Fiends themselves, as no one who weilded on had ever faced a Fiend to find out. Still, he was confident that they would work when the time come. They would destroy the evil and return peace to the land. Then at last he could know that his parents' spirits, as well as that of Ayame, could rest in peace

As was his custom, he observed his surroundings as he walked. A large group had passed through there recently...bandits or slave traders, if he had to take a guess, and hw scowled at the tracks he saw. Had he not been on a mission, he would've welcomed the chance to rid Konan of scum like that, but he had a deadline, and Shu was waiting ofr him. That, and that alone, was the only reason he hoped he didn't run into them along the way. Perhaps once his mission was completed, he would track them down and put them out of commission. He did not like the threat such people posed to the innocnets of Konan...

Time was something precious to someone like Chiyo. As a good shinobi she knew that any seconds more or less could make a difference when a mission was on the line. She was running without making a sound, listening to whatever the animals around her transmitted and at times she could leap form tree to tree to avoid being detected. She knew that she was given a task to fulfil and if she failed her sister would be harmed. she had lived all these years serving the fiend even though she detested such being and now she was not about to let anyone kill her beloved sibling and throw everything she had done away. She was not sure why her sister would have been singled out as dangerous by the government officials since she was not as active as Chiyo was. The Fiend kept her safe so that they could use her to ensure Chiyo’s loyalties lied with them. She frowned, she still did not understand how information could have leaked or how anyone could have found out her sister’s current whereabouts but she would not let her get harmed. She growled silently as she heard a wolf do the same, it seemed there were bandits around and so she would be best leaping from tree to tree. It was then she realised the bandits were harming innocent animals and something stirred within her. She knew that her sister needed her, and so she had to hurry but as she moved for she guessed their numbers were not too great and so, she could deal with them in no time.

It was a hard choice since she was as loyal to animals as she was to her sister. She was fond of the creatures but also respected them because her sister had always been soft toward those in need and animals and plants were her top priority. She could not avoid smiling if just for a moment at such fond memories. She did not sense anyone nearby and so she jumped form the tree and stood silently with her hood on waiting for the bandits to get to where she was, they are going after exotic animals to sell their furs, there was no name for scum like them. She silently took out four silver darts in shapes of falcon claws and stood there. Once they reached her she looked up but they could not see her face. One of the men moved back a couple of steps as if fearing the person that silently blocked their path. She grinned darkly and once they were close enough she released the darts and five of the men fell to the ground dead.

The men had made a greave error. As usual… they had judged her a weak person just for the sake of being a woman and it had become their undoing. She silently inside the ribbon of her katana and lightly clicked it out of his scabbard with the simple move of her thumb. She did not remove her hood but rather said coldly and calmly, “Unless you turn back from whence you came and leave the animals and persons be, you will sign your death warrant, just like they did.” The men shivered at the coldness in her voice but one of them growled angrily, the leader no doubt.

“She is just a woman… capture her and do whatever you like with her. You hear me boys?” Chico rolled her eyes as more men than expected approached her from their hiding positions. To be honest she expected this if she got involved. She sighed and drew her blade while muttering, “What a pain…” Her eyes shone a deep piercing scarlet colour as her anger arose because she knew what they expected to do to her. fora moment she faltered remembering the torture she endured during her childhood but remembering the loving smile of her sister she recovered just in time to judge one assailant and quickly moving with the speed of a shinbone and stabbing foe after foe. This would just slow her down! She had to get rid of them fast… It was silly to have hoped that they would not keep going if she surprised five of their comrades. Oh well, if she got rid of them now they would not annoy her on her way back.

That was a plus since she would be taking her sister along once she saved her from the government officials. She frowned in anger, why attack her when she had done nothing wrong? Why not hunt her down instead? She would gladly lay down her life to protect her beloved sister. She lifted a fist, this was for her beloved sister, the only person to ever show her kindness and genuine affection. She then increased the speed of her tracks and the men screamed in anguish, “She…she can’t be a woman… she is a demon!” She grinned darkly and stabbed another man almost instantly.

Izo continued moving silently through the forest. It was true that he was on his way to a very serious mission… but something in the air felt off to him. He said another silent prayer to Suzaku for guidance, and turned his attention back to the path ahead.

It was then that he heard obvious signs of a battle going on somewhere ahead of him on the path. His first thought was that Shu had been discovered, and drawn into battle. That thought caused his heartbeat to pick up just a bit, and he began to move more quickly toward the noise. He emerged into a small clearing in time to see the bandits he’d noticed fighting with a hooded figure - a shinobi, by the look of , and a woman at that - and he decided to step in and aid her, if only to clear the path so he could resume his mission.

He dared not use his Dark Blade - the consequences for misusing it were too great - so he drew his normal katana instead and rushed forward. There was a couple of bandits sneaking up behind the woman as she was engaged in battle with their leader. He hated dishonorable tactics like this.

Charging forward, he ran one man through with his blade, and then the other, spinning so that his back was to the unknown shinobi as he joined the fight to take on the rest of the bandits. There wasn't time to ask questions or make any sort of statements of intent… He just had to trust his instincts and the mystical connection he shared with his Dark Blade. He fell into a fighting pattern similar to the one he and Shu used, and he trusted htis unknown woman to watch his back, as long as he watched hers.

He was just dispatching another foe when he saw a bandit darting quickly up the side to stab the woman with a Long knife. Thinking quickly, he moved to intercept the man, taking a calculated injury for himself.The knife was slowed significantly by the leather armor he wore, so that prevented it from being more than a deep but insignificant wound to his side. He had suffered much worse in battle, and he could patch it easily enough once the battle was over.

Meanwhile, Shu reached the small cottage. He settled in a position where he could observe the home until Izo showed up, wanting to get a good idea of their opponent. He was not one of the official Keepers of the Dark Blade, but he had learned that he could trust the intuition the blade granted him. Placing a hand on it, he frowned slightly - he didn’t feel any malice in this place. What if this was a misunderstanding? What if this goddess wasn’t harmful? He moved silently within the cover of the trees, watching for any movement and hoping to observe her and try to determine for himself what she was like. Izo would say that orders were orders, but something felt… off about this situation.