"What now?" Mei asked sullenly as her eyes trailed over the retreating form of Pakura. She didn't like that Rei recognized the woman. Nor that the woman seemed to be extremely strong… and pretty. Not to mention Rei looked at Pakura more than the other S-rankers in that battle. Nope, she didn't like it one bit.

Konan on the other hand, also watched Pakura with her calculative gaze and 'heee~' kind of playful expression, making Pakura feel chills go up to her spine but being unable to tell why no matter how much she looked around. ​​

"Now we go and follow the Lava spitting guy from Iwa. If I am right, that's the youngest son on the Tsuchikage." Rei stated absentmindedly, bringing the two thoughtful girls to reality. "He is the man we are supposed to meet and hand the letter to, according to the mission orders." He shrugged, not expecting this to be a pleasant mission at all. He knew better as did Konan who slightly tensed, amusement never leaving her eyes. Only Mei stayed blissfully clueless, not that the older duo would enlighten her. They wanted to see if she would find out by herself.

...

A lone Iwa shinobi had guard duty at the gate of the closest Iwa outpost to the Suna borders. It was a bother, to be honest, and the job was dangerous as heck since during war they had to be expecting an attack twenty-four-seven. At least, it was well paid. He was yawning as it was almost evening and he was mind-numbingly guarding the gate for eight hours now despite the fact he was to be swapped four hours ago. When one of your work 'buddies' is the niece of the outpost commander, then those less fortunate, like him, have to quietly suffer for it.

Suddenly, in the distance, something shimmered and the Iwa guard narrowed his tired eyes as he tried to get a better look at it. It took him a few minutes to finally manage but his eyes widened when he saw three figures making their way straight towards the outpost gate. Now... he was conflicted. He could report this but it didn't seem like an attack. If it was, good. If not, he may be punished for disturbing his commander! The man gulped as his mood soured. 'Why did I become a ninja again? Stupid, stupid, stupid!'

While he was having internal turmoil, Rei, Konan, and Mei finally arrived in front of the gate and nodded at the guy in greeting. Slowly, not to show any threatening movement, Rei withdrew a scroll with his orders and handed it to the man who took it curiously before reading it. The scroll didn't really contain the message of the Mizukage but it was more of a confirmation of their identity.

"I-, I will get my commanding officer fast!" The Iwa-nin scaredly exclaimed before scurrying away into the outpost.

Mei frowned at the guy who seemingly left the gate wide open and without any guardian but when Konan poked her cheek with her index finger and attracted her attention, Mei could quickly see the amused look Konan usually had when she wanted her to find out something 'hidden'. Usually the meaning of a lesson or exercise... 'Oh! I get it!' Mei's eyes sparkled and darted all over the place while she acted like an overenthusiastic child... a mere new genin who thought this was a vacation or something. 'Two, no, three hidden ninjas?' She tilted her head as she turned to Mei and discreetly showed her three fingers, expecting to be praised.

"Almost, you missed two hidden in the ground. This is Iwa outpost, after all." Konan bluntly said with amusement in her eyes, making Mei pout childishly and the hiding Iwa ninjas face-fault at being discovered so easily, by a child no less, and then having it thrown straight into their face. 'Heh~, now we would be taken seriously.' Konan thought, resisting an urge to exaggeratedly roll her eyes as she, with the corner of her eye, watched the two men observing them from within the outpost.

They waited for close to thirty minutes before the guard returned and with a shaky voice started speaking. "The Commander and Lord Kitsuha will see you. Follow me." He said before awkwardly turning around without even looking at them and started walking.

The party was led into a big lavish room where two men sat behind a plain wooden table with various battle plans strewn on it. One man was a lanky, middle-aged man with short grey hair and a very calculative gaze that slithered over them like a snake... making Mei glare at him in return as she didn't really like the way he looked at them. The man smiled as she saw Mei's glare and with a slight bow, introduced himself.

"I am Kimura Hagareno, the Commander of this outpost, and jonin of Iwa. Nice to meet you Rei and Konan of Kiri. I wonder... who is the third member of your party?" He asked in a fake-pleasant voice, his eyes lingering on Mei as he stared at her with suspicion.

"She is Mei. Our apprentice." Konan stoically stated, her expression cold and detached. Rei could only inwardly smirk as Kimura shivered at how lifeless her eyes were despite not an ounce of killing intent being used. Mei politely bowed but wisely stayed silent, observing the conversation.

That was when the other Iwa shinobi in the room introduced himself. "I am Kitsuha, the youngest son of the Third Tsuchikage," He started with great pride. "a jonin from Iwa." All three of the Team Downpour recognized him as the burly lava spitter from the battle they witnessed. After all, they found this outpost by following his retreat.

It was obvious the man craved recognition so Rei just politely smiled and tilted his head enough to send the non-verbal message that he never heard of him. Amusement filled him as the man clearly understood the gesture and deflated while a small scowl appeared on his face.

'So easy...' Both Konan and Rei thought with a sweat-drop.

"Please, sit." Kimura gestured to three free chairs, obviously prepared in advance. "Now then, I heard you have a message from the Mizukage for Kitsuha."

Rei nodded and handed the letter to Kitsuha who carelessly took it, opened it, and started reading only for his eyebrow to rise. His eyes trailed between Rei and the letter as a frown appeared on his face but in the end, the man nodded at Kimura and stashed the letter away. He would have to send it to Tsuchikage, after all.

"Now that this is out of the way, if I got it right, you are to return towards Konoha after this?" Kimura asked and Rei slowly nodded. "Wonderful! In that case, what about accompanying Kitsuha? His unit is going to move in the direction of the Land of Fire and regroup with some more troops before starting an offensive against Konoha."

Rei raised his eyebrow, enjoying the eye twitch of Kimura, knowing he annoyed the hell out of the man by the silent treatment he was giving him. "Sure." Rei shortly replied, his eyes flickering to Konan who slightly smiled. She enjoyed how nervous Rei was making the slimy git despite how good the man could hide it.

"We will gladly accompany you." Konan pleasantly confirmed, and Mei's body went rigid. She knew that tone. She knew that precise tone very well. It didn't spell anything good for...

'Oh, so it's one of those situations!' Mei mentally groaned, resisting the urge to smack her head on the table.

Mei had to admit she was out of her depth during the conversation. She didn't miss how there was no last name when she was introduced. Konan gave out nothing that could give even the slightest tell of Mei's ability. For all Kimura and Kitsuha knew, she was just a random genin. This was the first thing that made Mei tense and overly aware of the discreetly veiled distrust between their two groups.

The way both groups acted... it was obvious this was yet another form of a battle between the shinobi of two different nations. Each of them overly cautious in their own way. And yet... something didn't add up. As the debate about which route they would take started, Mei was already aware this mission would end up in bloodshed, simply because Konan never used a pleasant voice unless she was talking to her 'sisters' or Rei. Using it for Kitsuha? That could only mean the man would soon die.

Mei's head swirled with possibilities of 'why' but her face stayed expressionless through the entire conversation. The debate finally ended and they were offered a separate room which was promptly declined and Mei found herself bunking in with Konan and Rei. That way it was safer since Rei sealed the heck outta the room. Not even a fly would be able to get in unnoticed and not even an elephant would be able to strong-arm its entrance. It was only when she was falling asleep between both of her teachers, embraced from each side did a spark of realization hit her like a proverbial truck. Her eyes went instantly wide as she kept herself from waking Rei or Konan up by abruptly sitting up. She remembered multiple discussions about bugging Tsuchikage's office and connected the dots with how Rei and Konan acted during the meeting. Yes... Mei really understood why her teachers were so unfriendly.

'Shit... so this is a freaking trap all along?!'