Is that a monkey? [Invite Only]

”Artemis, I need you to run to the market for me, please. I'm missing a few things I'll need for supper tonight.”, Artemis heard her mother call out over the music that was coming out of the headphones that hung around her neck: Linkin Park's When They Come For Me was currently blasting out of them. Artemis looked over from the couch she was seated on, blinking, as she turned her silvery colored gaze onto her mother who was standing in their open concept kitchen. ”Would you mind?”

”Not at all. I need to get out of the house anyway; I've been here all day. What do you need me to get?”, Artemis responded as she dog eared the page of the book she had been reading. She closed the book and reached over to the end table; placing the paperback down on top of it right near the lamp. The book was so well used and read that it kept closed without the cover bothering to lift up at a weird angle like new books often did.

”Two onions, a tomato, and three peppers. I was sure I had enough, but some of them have gone bad.”, her mother answered her as Artemis stood up and stretched skyward. She let out a groan – she had been sitting in the same position for quite some time after all – and then gave a nod.

”Two onions, a tomato, and three peppers. Got it.”

”Do you want me to write it down?”

”Nah. I should be able to remember it.” Artemis shifted slightly, catching her music player as it attempted to escape out of her pocket and it the floor: reflexes were sometimes a god send. She slipped the little device back into her pocket, ensuring it was deep enough not to try and make another escape attempt before she walked over to the kitchen. ”Anything else we need while I'm there?”

”Good catch. No, we're good. I just need those ingredients for the chilli I want to make.

”Alright. I'll go get 'em.” Artemis patted her stomach which grumbled softly. ”Starving anyway.”

”Well, you might want to get moving then because it's going to have to cook for at least an hour.”, her mother responded with a chuckle as she reached over and poked her daughter in the stomach.

Artemis instantly jumped back, laughing: she was ticklish. ”Alright, alright! No tickling. I'll get my butt in gear.”, Artemis said, laughing along with her mother as she walked out of the kitchen. She walked out of the living room, down the hallway, and to her bedroom where she stopped. She gathered up her village hitai-ate – she didn't like going anywhere without it – and her weapons – she also didn't like going anywhere with them, even if she preferred not to use them. Once they were properly in position; the hitai-ate around her left arm and her pouch of weapons around her right leg, she walked out of her bedroom and the rest of the way down the hall.

She paused by the front door and slipped on her black open toed sandals. ”Be back soon!”, she called out over her shoulder. She waited for but a second, opened the front door, and stepped outside, closing it behind herself.

Word Count: 550

Artemis glanced around: a lot of kids were home from school which easily told her that it was at least four in the afternoon: apparently she had burned through more of her day then she had originally intended. No matter, she was outside now and she would enjoy it while she could – even if she was only making a quick trip to the market. She walked down her walkway and then took a left and continued down the road.

She walked a leisurely pace; dinner would take an hour to cook, yes, but she didn't live all that far from the market to begin with so there truly was no need to rush. She paused halfway down her block, dodging and avoiding several kids who were having a water balloon fight, even going so far as to pull off a matrix dodge at a stray balloon that would have otherwise hit her. Chuckling and grinning she just shook her head, waving her hand as the kids called out a chorus of sorry's while giggling. Even had she been hit it was only water, nothing to lose her head over. Thankfully, it took a bit more then that to make her temper show.

When she got to the end of the block she paused, looking over to the elderly woman who was just coming out of her house. ”Hello, Maven.”, Artemis called out in greeting.

Maven turned, saw Artemis, and smiled as she hurried her way over to her. ”Hello, dear. How are you?”

”I'm doing fine. I'm on my way to the market for my mom; she needs some stuff for dinner. How are you? How are the kittens?”

”Fine dear, I'm quite fine. The kittens are doing wonderfully; I don't know how you got them to take to the bottle, but they don't give me any trouble now.”

”I dunno... my mom calls it a gift.”, Artemis answered honestly as she shrugged her shoulders slightly.

”Well it's good it's a gift you have, or else those kittens would have likely starved to death: the poor dears. Well, I must be off, Artemis; I've got a doctors appointment to get to and I'm already running behind. Say, why don't you stop by tomorrow so you can see the kittens yourself? I'm sure they'd like that!”, Maven said as she patted Artemis gently on the arm.

”Okay, I'll do that. How's noon sound?”

”Noon is perfect, dear. I'll make lunch for us. We'll make a day out of it.”, Maven said before hurrying away in the opposite direction from the one that Artemis was heading in. For such an old woman she could sure move when she wanted to.

Artemis watched her go and just shook her head with a smile: she would have argued about Maven cooking lunch for her but she knew it would have been a losing battle. Plus, Maven was lonely due to her husband's death the year before, so it was the least she could do to give the woman some company. Artemis turned her mind back onto her task and turned the corner, heading down another street that would bring her closer to the market.

Word Count: 533 + 550 = 1,083

The closer that Artemis walked to the markets the more the smell of the food reached her nose: a lot of the shops close to where she would enter the market proper sold all manner of foods. It was a temptation at best, even if she was here to buy food for dinner. She played with the idea of stopping for a snack within her mind as she turned down another block, and then once more. Each foot step she took bringing her closer and closer to the market, and the delicious smell of food.

By the time she turned the last corner her stomach was all but constantly growling and she knew she wasn't going to leave without an actual snack. Still, she would try and keep it something small; enough to tide her over without ruining her appetite.

Now in the actual market the noise level rose significantly: people were coming and going, chattering about everything and anything. Artemis picked up many snatches of conversation, but that was about it; there was just too much noise to focus on one thing at a time with everyone walking every which way. As Artemis walked she went over the mental list of items that her mother had given her, the items she would need for the chilli her mother planned on making – two onions, a tomato, and three peppers. She repeated these ingredients in her head as she walked, heading towards one of her favorite vegetable stalls: it was one of her favorites because the owner in an attempt to keep children away from eating candy often sold baggies of cut and washed veggies. It would help her to kill two birds with one stone: she would get her snack and her mother's ingredients within one stop. Perfect, really.

Artemis moved her way through the crowd, bobbing and weaving around several people, and narrowly avoiding running right into one who decided right then and there to stop in front of her. The market sure was a dangerous place when it got this late into the afternoon; accident prone, rather.

But, Artemis made it to the vegetable stall within question without incidents despite a few close calls.

”Ah, hello there Artemis. What can I do for you today? I haven't seen your mother in a while, is she well?”, the elderly shop owner asked.

”She's alright, Len. She's just been busy. She's cooking chilli tonight and she's a few ingredients short.”

”Ah, well that's good to hear. What does she need? I'll hook you right up!”

”Two onions, a tomato, and three peppers.”, Artemis recited, glad she had remembered everything, including the amounts of what was needed. ”And I'd like a snack bag of carrots, please.”, Artemis added on, her stomach growling and rumbling once more.

”Alright, just give me a moment and I'll have you fixed up in a jiffy...”

Artemis watched and waited patiently as Len took a bag and began to gather up the ingredients in the proper amounts: two onions, a tomato, and three peppers. They were each put into a separate bag which was then put into a larger one. The snack sized bag of carrots was added last, allowing it to rest on top which would save Artemis from having to dig it out later. ”What do I owe you?”, Artemis asked as the bag of vegetables was handed over to her.

”It's on the house. I owed your mother anyway; consider it a fair trade. Have a good day Artemis.”

”Awesome, thanks a bunch. You have a good day, too.”, Artemis moved away then, allowing the next customer behind her to be waited on. Artemis glanced around, looking for a place she could sit for a few minutes so she could eat her snack before she went home. A little ways away, near some of the stalls that sold all manner of exotic animals, she caught sight of a stone wall that was low enough to sit on. Artemis turned, heading in that direction while keeping a tight hold on her shopping bag.

Word Count: 682 + 1,083 = 1,765

Artemis bobbed and weaved her way through the crowd once more as she walked: careful not to drop her bag and careful not to bump or run into anyone – though that was a rather difficult task. She found herself becoming a tad bit on the grumpy side: she remembered now why she often didn't come to the market in the evenings. It was far too busy, far too crowded, and even if people weren't meaning to they often came off as rude and careless with the way they didn't pay attention.

Thankfully, though, her goal wasn't all that far away. Within just two or three minutes she had made it to the low wall she had spotted. It was a bit behind the stalls, but she knew that so long as she didn't touch or take anything no one would pay her any mind: she was far too known around here for there to be fuss about her taking a break. She sat down, shifting a bit to get as comfortable as possible on the hard stone wall. She then opened up her shopping bag and pulled her snack baggie of carrot sticks out. Keeping the main grocery bag on her arm she opened the snack bag, pulled a carrot out, and promptly took a bite out of it.

She chewed quickly and then popped the rest of the carrot into her mouth as she looked around. Now that she wasn't moving it was becoming easier to hear the snatches of conversation going on. That was, so long as one of the nearby animals didn't suddenly let out a loud noise.

This was one of her favorite parts of the market: she loved animals of all kinds, and even though she never actually bothered to adopt one yet, she still liked to visit them. Plus, it made for good learning experiences, as she often got a glimpse of animals she normally wouldn't have had a chance to see out in the wild. It was one of the reasons why she actually bothered to train and try and rank up: while her ultimate goal was to open a no-kill animal shelter, the higher rank she was the more likely she would get to travel freely on missions. That meant a chance to learn even more outside of the village.

Once she finished chewing the remainder of her first carrot stick her hand plunged into the bag and sought out another. It was promptly removed, bitten, and chewed, too. The third, fourth, and fifth carrot stick met the same fate as well as Artemis simply ate her snack in quiet while continuing to watch and listen to what was going on around her. Nothing had particularly caught her eye, at least not at the moment.

It was, all in all, the usual animals milling around: cats, dogs, a few tame wolves, some rats, a pair of ferrets, and further down some reptiles including some snakes – the one animal she had never bothered with because her father had strictly drawn the line against them being brought into the house. Considering everything else she got away with though, she couldn't complain. She watched as a little boy near the cage of rats tugged excitedly on his mother's sleeve, pointing at them in an obvious attempt to communicate that he wanted one. His mother took one look, shook her head no in a hurry, and ushered him towards a large cage of adorable and fuzzy puppies. Artemis just chuckled: rats were so harshly judged by people who didn't understand them.

Word Count: 599 + 1,765 = 2,364

The last carrot stick in the bag was being brought to her mouth when a commotion off to the right of her caught her attention and held it. Two men were arguing behind a stall and looking around frantically for something. ”Where did she go? Where the fuck is she?!”

”I don't know! You were supposed to be watching her while I went and got us some coffee.”

Out of the corner of her eye she watched the first speaker haul the second up by the front of his shirt, forcing the other man to stand on the tips of his toes to save himself from being dangled. ”If we don't find her it won't just be my ass on the line and you'd do well to remember that. Haun will have both of our asses. She was the jewel of his collection! Worth a fortune!”

”Well how far could an albino monkey get? She sticks out like a sore thumb!”

Albino monkey, eh? Artemis' gaze traveled to the left a bit as something white and fuzzy caught her attention. She glanced at it quickly enough to realize that it was indeed an albino monkey, and she was hiding on top of a large stack of crates for one of the fruit vendors across the street. The monkey was watching them look for her from her perch and if Artemis didn't know better she would swear the monkey looked amused.

”I don't care where she's got to, just find her!

Artemis returned her attention to her carrot stick, forcing herself not to look again at the monkey: she didn't want to draw attention to it. No, she was far too amused by watching two full grown men freak out over a third giving them an ass tanning over said missing monkey. Besides, it wasn't her place to interfere in the private matters of others; so she would leave them to their issue and allow them to solve it themselves.

She bit into her carrot stick, leaning her back against a large wooden crate behind her as she chewed slowly: it was the last carrot stick after all and she wanted to savor it before she joined the rest of the crowd and worked her way back towards home. When she had swallowed the first bite she popped the rest of the orange carrot stick into her mouth and chewed and swallowed that as well before sighing: she was loathed to get caught back up in the throng of people moving to and fro, despite how badly her mother needed the ingredients in the shopping bag she had for dinner. She had been hoping that by killing some time eating her snack slowly the crowd in the market might die down, but if anything it had gotten worse, far worse.

Word Count: 471 + 2,364 = 2,835

”Wait! I see her! I see her! Artemis looked over as she heard the excited shouting. The smaller of the two men was hopping up and down in place, pointing towards what was clearly a bad hair day on an elderly gentleman: right color, wrong species.

”Shut it, you idiot. That's just someone's hair.”

”Well, it could have been her!”

”If she was a he, and a seventy something year old looking man!” The larger gentleman then proceeded to smack the smaller one. Artemis just shook her head, continuing to watch them out of the corner of her eye as she turned her head away so they wouldn't catch her looking: those two were both idiots, but she wasn't about to tell them that.

A glance in the direction of the crates the monkey had been perched on allowed Artemis to see that the monkey had her left hand over her mouth and was pointing at them with her right: it looked the same as any child who might point and laugh at something they were watching – but something they knew they shouldn't be laughing at. It caused Artemis to smile a bit, laughing softly herself. This monkey was getting great enjoyment out of these two, and so was Artemis if she was honest with herself.

The two carried on for quite a few minutes, searching under tables, boxes, crates. Turning things upside down and then right side up in their attempt to find her. They searched high, they searched low. They searched right and they searched left. But, neither one of them bothered to search outside of the stall. Artemis didn't understand why, and she didn't frankly care; she was far too amused by this all. She had even given up watching them out of the corner of her eye and was instead looking at them fully with her molten silver colored orbs.

They didn't notice of course, they were far too busy looking here, there, and everywhere for this elusive monkey. If only they'd actually bother looking across the street: it wasn't like she was actually hiding. Of course, Artemis didn't want them to find the monkey – something deep down in her gut told her that no good would come to the monkey if they did indeed recapture her. Still, given the way they were, that wasn't going to happen so it wasn't a worry – at least for the moment. Artemis shifted against her crate she was leaning on, arms folding across her chest comfortably. As she moved the bag that hung from her wrist she was reminded that she needed to get home, and yet unable to tear herself away at the current moment.

”Come on! Where the fuck is she?!”

”I don't know! Again, you were supposed to be watching her!”

Word Count: 470 + 2,835 = 3,305

God, this was just too funny. Neither one of the idiots were looking across the road, they were just so focused on their own rather tiny, rather cramped stall, that they weren't thinking about the larger picture. How many times were they going to search the same places before they stopped thinking with their asses and started thinking with their brains? All Artemis could do was shake her head and continue to watch, to drawn to what was going on to care about getting home in a timely manner anymore. Across the way the monkey, too, was watching them while continuing to point and obviously laugh.

The pair just continued on with their search until one of them, exasperated, sighed. ”Haun's going to kill and stuff us instead of that monkey if we don't find her.”

”Maybe we can find another monkey!”

”Exactly where the hell do you expect to find an albino monkey!?”

”Who said it had to be an actual albino monkey? Maybe we could just dye it!”

”You idiot! Haun has been hunting and poaching animals for years! He'd know the difference in a second!”

”Oh, fuck that.”, Artemis muttered underneath of her breath. She was not about to sit back and let them catch this poor, nearly defenseless creature, just to turn around and stuff and kill her so she could be mounted on someone's wall. No, fuck that. Not happening. No way. No how. Artemis had been content to sit back and watch had this monkey been destined for a home of some kind, but not death and stuffing and mounting. Never that. It was part of the reason why she intended to open a no-kill shelter to begin with: killing animals for sport or because it was simply the easy route didn't sit well with her. This didn't sit well with her.

Artemis got up suddenly and stepped into the crowd. She moved her way as gently but as quickly as possible through the crowd, attempting not to full out shove people out of her way as she crossed to the crates that the monkey was perched upon. It took her nearly thirty or so seconds but she managed to get there without knocking anyone over. She looked up to the crates that were stacked well above her head, to the monkey. ”Hey there, little monkey. Why don't you come here with me so I can take you some place safe where those guys across the street can't find you? I'd hate to see them catch you and try and stuff you.”

The monkey suddenly looked to Artemis, and the intelligence in the creatures eyes was un-nerving. Oh, she knew monkeys were smart, in fact most animals were smarter then the average human was willing to give them credit for. But this? This went beyond that. This was into a whole new level of intelligence. The monkey seemed to decide for a moment, looking between the two guys at the stall and then back to Artemis repeatedly. After about four times the monkey began to climb down the crate and towards Artemis' open arms. Just as the monkey made it to her – the monkeys arms wrapping around her as Artemis held onto her like one would a child – shouting reached her ears. ”There she is with that girl! Hey you! Girl! Stop! That's our monkey!”

Artemis didn't even look back at them, instead she took off into the crowd with the albino monkey clinging on to her for dear life.

”Thief! Stop her! She's stealing our monkey!”, she heard the other shout in an attempt to try and get someone within the crowd to stop her, or perhaps one of the guards that always seemed to be lurking nearby in case some petty thief happened to wander by.

Word Count: 638 + 3,305 = 3,943

Artemis wasn't about to stop, and by the gods she wasn't about to let someone else stop her. She couldn't sit back and let this monkey die just because someone wanted a trophy for their wall. Albino or not, the animal was a living creature and deserved to be treated as such. So, with this in mind she slipped out of the market proper and into the back alley behind it. The alley was full of all manner of crates, boxes, and the usual garbage that one would find in an alley way. It was the main way that the shop keeps brought in their stock so that they didn't have to go through the constantly busy market. As it was now it was mostly empty and that worked well to serve Artemis' purpose.

Artemis looked around quickly, trying to find a spot big enough to hide the albino creature who was now clinging to her. ”I'm going to hide you, okay? But I'll come back for you. I just have to drive the guys looking for you away so they don't find you themselves.”, she explained, hoping that this above average intelligence monkey would at least understand that much. She walked a good six feet to her right and lifted up an empty crate; it was light weight, and she was sure that if she didn't make it back the monkey would be able to free herself. ”Hide under here, okay?” The monkey, as if she understood completely, stood on the other crate and allowed Artemis to bring the upside down one down on her; hiding her away from sight.

With the monkey hidden and staying rather quiet despite all of the tension Artemis moved away, not wanting to be caught anywhere near this monkey if the guys who were chasing after them happened to find the alley way. She made it roughly thirty or so feet down the alleyway when she heard, ”There she is!”

”Yeah, that's her, Huan!”

Following this came a much deeper voice, one that as she turned around she found to belong to one of the biggest people she had ever saw: this guy had to stand at least six feet eight inches tall, and looked to weigh over two hundred and fifty pounds: he was built like a body builder and the bruises on his knuckles indicated quickly enough to Artemis that he wasn't afraid to use them. Huan was popping and cracking his knuckles as he looked menacingly at Artemis who was by all means much, much smaller then him. ”You there, girl. My associates here have informed me that you took my monkey. Give her back and no harm will come to you....”

”What monkey? Do you see a monkey?, Artemis responded with, her smart mouth coming out due to the tense situation.

”I know you know where she is, now give her up or I'm going to beat your ass!”, Haun roared, his voice carrying easily over the usual noise of the crowd on the other side of the alleyway.

”You want your monkey? Go find her...”

Word Count: 519 + 3,943 = 4,462

Right, apparently that wasn't the answer that Haun wanted. Finished popping his knuckles he moved and oh god was he fast for his size. Artemis didn't know it, of course, but Haun had once been a Chuunin of this very village – but had decided to tread darker paths because they paid more. Haun had been one of the best of the best physical wise and that meant that this was going to hurt. Haun was in Artemis' face before she had time to react, one large hand snatching her up by her throat and dangling her in the air until she was level with his face.

Artemis attempted to ignore the fact that his breath stunk as he began to speak, ”Tell me where my fucking monkey is. I've been tracking that bloody thing for three weeks, and I'll be damned if you keep me from my newest trophy.”

Despite the damn near complete lack of oxygen she was getting as she was dangled by her neck Artemis found herself able to respond, barely, ”What... fucking... monkey...?”

”GRRR! YOU STUPID BITCH!” In his rage Haun threw her straight into a pile of wooden pallets a good six feet away. She landed in them, the first few she hit breaking and splintering beneath her. Artemis attempted to catch her breath; winded from both the strangling hold that Haun had had on her as well as being thrown back first and having the wind knocked out of her upon hitting. ”The monkey! Where is she?! TELL ME!”

”No...”

Haun moved again, faster then Artemis by far. He had her out of the pile of broken wood and splinters and dangling by her throat once more with her feet a good foot off of the ground. Somewhere in the back of Artemis' mind she could feel blood trickling down her leg; one of the larger pieces of wood had likely pierced her when her fall had broken several of the wooden pallets, but given the small trickle it wasn't deep: she'd survive it. Though, she couldn't say the same if Haun kept choking her. Of course, the commotion of the noise combined with his loud shouting was liable to draw attention – Artemis just hoped it was someone strong enough to help her against this big bastard before he ended up killing her – still though, she wasn't about to tell him what he wanted to know and let an innocent animal die because of it. ”I'm going to give you one more chance to tell me where that monkey is so I can stuff her ass and mount her on my shelf.

If Artemis was going to die, or at least be beaten soundly, she wasn't going to go out without hurting Haun at least once, and so with that plan in mind she spoke through gasped breaths, ”Go... fuck.. yourself...” Artemis then swung her foot with all of her might and kicked him right in the balls. Haun roared with pain and sent Artemis flying once more, straight towards the pile of broken and splintered wood as he doubled over in pain.

Word Count: 524 + 4,462 = 4,986

Well, seems like he made a good call coming to the market tonight. He could have skipped it, but he wanted some fresh fruit, and had the time. He'd walked around a corner just in time to hear some very pissed off sounding bitching, and see a child flying through the air.

Uh huh.

So catching this kid was simple enough; even dozens of feet away he was fast enough to cover that distance and then some; positioning himself so that she impacted his chest and not anything sharp and hard. He barely even noticed the impact, she was light as a feather to him, and the impact had basically no force behind it really.

"Sooo... What's going on, then? I see a fucker throwing a kid around. That tells me some fucker is about to be dead." He set the child down gently, taking that moment to make sure she wasn't bleeding or majorly injured. Satisfied she'd live, "Someone wanna tell me what the fuck is going on, before I start throwing flaming punches?"

WC: 179

179/3250 SPD B0-B3

Artemis had been pretty damn sure she was done for: there was no way she could have landed in that pile of broken pallets and splintered, pointed wood and not been seriously injured. But then, she didn't land in it: instead she was caught. Oh good, someone had noticed the shit that was going down – she sure as hell wasn't going to complain considering she was out numbered three to one and one of them was far stronger then she was. Yeah, definitely no complaining.

Before Artemis could open her mouth, attempt to explain anything, the big brute spoke up and responded, ”This bitch stole my monkey! And I want it back!” Haun cracked his knuckles loudly.

Right, of course he was going to leave out the majority of the detail: like exactly why he wanted the monkey back to begin with. She lifted her left hand, rubbing at her throat: nothing was wrong, but she knew she was going to be likely sprouting a bruise – oh well, it was worth it. ”So you can kill her, stuff her, and mount her on your shelf? Right, no. I think I'll take the ass beating before I allow that to happen...”

Haun let out a shout of outrage that had his two lackeys even backing up several steps. The monkey, damn near thirty or so feet further down the alleyway and still well hidden under the upside down crate, was watching through a hole in it: but otherwise staying quiet. Good monkey.~

”I've tracked that albino monkey for weeks! Weeks! Do you know how much it cost me in just gear alone! You damned thief!”

”Zero... fucks... given.” Artemis was pretty sure the guy didn't even have the proper papers to hunt the animal – and she was right. Getting the proper papers, the proper permits? Cost money. He didn't like spending it. So his poaching was illegal at best. Plenty of animals had likely suffered at the bastards hands, and Artemis wasn't about to let another one follow the same fate: even if it meant she got in trouble for 'stealing' something that didn't belong to him anyway.

The great oaf, obviously angered by Artemis' smart mouth response, and obviously not thinking, took several steps towards her....

Word Count: 381 + 4,986 = 5,367

Riiiiight.

He was the wrong person to say shit like that in front of.

I mean seriously, every tracker, hunter, and poacher for three countries had to know his face by now, after the incident with the circus, his work with the local wildlife centers, his rep as a spotter, and his ninja rank... yeah. This fucker was a moron.

"Uh huh. So she saved a rare monkey from getting turned into a literal trophy by a poacher? No wonder you've got a rage boner the size of the market, that thing's gotta be worth what? 10 years of what you normally make? Yeah, that sounds right. Soooo... I give zero fucks about your claim to that monkey, and if you're lucky I'll just turn you in."

He was gone in a flash, charging the man so fast that no one had time to blink before he hands where on his neck and he was shoving him to the ground so hard the hard packed ground cracked and buckled slightly. He stomped the ribs of the poacher hard, he had plenty of power to crack ribs, delivering enough for to crack but not send them into the lungs. That was that, really.

"You peons wanna try me?"

Security was finally showing up, and for once they had actual back up with them; in the form of a couple of Chunnin that must had heard the commotion and come to 'help'. Well, there went their escapes. "Try me, or tie yourselves up, I don't really care which."

leaning his head back so that he could look behind him, "Oi kid, you okay?"

WC: 278

457/3250 SPD B0-B3

Jutsu and Chakra:

Artemis wasn't worried any longer; Haun was big and tough when it was just her, but she doubted he'd be entirely the same with now that someone else was there. She could practically see the pissed off steam coming out of Haun's ears at the words spoken: he was not apparently getting sympathy from either of them. Not that the big bastard deserved any in her opinion: people like him were disgusting individuals who hunted not for food or even tools but for pure sport. It was people like him that fucked things up for everyone else.

Artemis watched as Haun was brought to the ground; and hard at that. He was definitely going to be sprouting some broken ribs and there would be no sympathy coming from her: she herself was going to be rocking a few bruises come morning. Haun of course had no intention of fighting back now that others were arriving; he didn't want his ass handed to him worse then what it just had been – of course, that did little to stop the slew of cursing that was coming from his mouth.

At the question directed towards her she nodded. ”I'm fine ---” Her sentence was suddenly cut off by the loud screech of a monkey: the albino creature had finally come out of her hiding spot and was all by throwing itself at Artemis.

Artemis caught the animal on reflex; arms going around to keep the poor dear from falling. The monkey suddenly looked around her, peering over her shoulder and pointing while screeching more. Frowning Artemis turned slightly, tilting her head to look at the back of herself: oh, there was blood. As she lifted the back of her pant leg and got a look at the back of her calf she saw a cut; not deep and certainly not the worst injury she had ever received, but it was bleeding. The monkey screeched again, pointing at it some more.

More worried about the monkey then herself she focused her attention onto her and not the wound on the back of her leg. ”Shh now. Shh. It's alright. It's just a scratch. Calm down...”, her voice was soothing and the monkey stopped screeching and simply wrapped an arm around the back of her neck and hung off of it, still pointing.

”Hooman hurt! Hooman!” Artemis froze, had the monkey just talked? She blinked, shocked and stunned: oh she knew the monkey had seemed smarter then the average, but this kind of intelligence went above a normal animal – this was into the ninja pet intelligence, even if the talking was babyish at best for now.

Word Count: 446 + 5,367 = 5,813

Oh, look at that. It could talk. Well, there went his evening. That was gunna be some fun paperwork. Gods, Sato just loved seeing him walk in with that packet all the time. Oh well, Coen had a new friend. He left the whimpering mess of poacher on the ground and moved over to the girl; he didn't know how he hadn't recognized her at first, but his brain finally kick in and he realized he'd just saved his student from getting killed. Awesome.

"Trouble seems to like you, eh Artemis? Well, your little friend is staying with you now, but you'll be coming with me as soon as I get this guy hauled off. I'll get you cleaned up, and him checked out. Don't worry, I was serious when I said I work for the wildlife centers, my direct boss is the head of the exotic center up the road. He's on shift tonight, too; and Sato is the best vet in the country. We'll make sure he's in good shape, then go from there. I have a feeling I'mma be teaching you how to take care of a monkey." He patted her shoulder and produced a banana chip from his sleeve; he always had dried fruits and such on his person for Coen, and he offered it to the baby as a peace offering, and one of friendship. He'd wait a moment for the baby to take it, if he wanted to, then moved off to talk to the other ninja arriving.

He picked out a random Chunnin, "Oi, you're now in charge. Mr Bleeding over there is a confirmed poacher. Bag and tag his piss-stained buddies. Make sure a medic checks him during processing, I know I broke his ribs when I slammed him into the dirt. The monkey stays with the girl. She stays with me. If anyone has a problem with that, take it up with Temaki and Sato. They'll both tell you I have authority for this." Not even a lie, he really did at this point. He rarely used it, but he really was basically the man in charge of all this shit; he was running the teams tracking the poachers, as well as high ranking enough in the military to do shit like this when he needed to.

That healing ANBU tattoo under his sleeve didn't hurt either.

"Right, got it."

"I'll have a report in the morning. Get working."

"Understood."

Karu walked back to Artemis and handed her a small clean rag from his pocket, he didn't have his medic kit on him, but that wouldn't be a problem in a bit. "Can you walk okay, or should I call a car?"

WC: 469

926/3250 SPD B0-B3

Artemis grinned a bit, shifting the monkey so that she could properly hold her with one arm in such a way that was comfortable for both of them. She used her free hand to scratch at the back of her head, grinning slightly at Karukaya sensei's question. “I suppose you could say that... I come for some groceries for my mom and end up dealing with this... Never a dull day.” She grinned fully when she heard that Karukaya was likely going to end up teaching her how to take care of a monkey: this was definitely going to be an interesting situation to explain to her parents – they were used to her sneaking home small animals, nursing them back to health, and finding them good homes elsewhere. But a monkey? Weeeeee!~

“This is definitely going to be an interesting story to tell my parents.... “ The monkey took the chip after staring closely at Karukaya: when Artemis nodded to the whitish-blue creature that was all it took, and that trust... oh god that trust so early on? It caused Artemis' heart to soar.

And then Artemis was watching Karukaya work; giving orders that weren't questioned in the slightest. When she was handed the cloth she adjusted the monkey again, who was all but hanging from her neck for a moment, as she took the time to press it against the bleeding before tying it off. She gave a nod to her sensei's question. ”Yeah, I'm good.” She shifted the monkey back so that she was holding her with one arm like one would do a child.

“Hooman! Hurt!”, the monkey repeated, staring blankly at Artemis. Artemis just chuckled softly and shook her head. ”It doesn't feel nearly as bad as it looks.” Ah yes, still more worried about ensuring the monkey stayed calm and happy – though she wasn't lying. It really didn't feel all that bad, and she had received worse injuries then that sparring.

Word Count: 330 + 5,813 = 6,143

"I can help explain to them, if you want." If anything, having a ranked teacher and certified animal trainer 'helping' would make it easier on them; and he was already forming plans to get her into the classes and such she'd need to take to be able to keep her little buddy; primates in general needed highly specialized care, even ninja primates, so she'd need to get a lot of learned done very quickly.

Satisfied that they faceless ninja and police could handle the circus from there, "Come on, let's get moving. It's not far, and I'm pretty sure I can find you a change of clothes there. We've got spare uniforms all over the place; they're not much, but they're comfortable, and clean." They only had to g a few blocks, really; not even two miles, so a short walk. It wouldn't take that long to get there, and he was mostly silent for the walk. He was working over paperwork and such in his mind, and it would give Art and the little monkey time to talk and such if they wanted.

The doors where locked when they got there, but that was normal; this late at night the only unlocked doors where at the clinic entrance around the other side. Even that wasn't really true, cause it was a separate building entirely, and it was less of the main clinic and more of an emergency waiting room. He had keys to everything but the administrative records; and even that was just because he wasn't a supervisor or administrative; he was a field scout, vet tech, and team leader, so he needed to be able to get into places at all hours of the day any night. Inside was dimly lit for the night shift, but not entirely dead, a few people came and went, hung out at the water coolers and snack machines peppering the facility. Down the hall and through a set of double doors (with a flash of his ID, of course), and they where in the main indoor barn, where the animals that where too sick to leave outside, in quarantine for whatever reason, or couldn't handle the weather this time of year where kept.

Around the right side of the room, past the caged of herbivores with young babies and a few new residents fresh off the plains; a half blind water buffalo, a few injured emus, etc; and they where at another set of doors, this time held wide open and leading into what was obvious a vet exam room. Said room was mostly empty, just a small leopard cub that was sleeping off the anesthesia after getting it's teeth cleaned in a cage against the far wall. "Saaaaato. I have a patient for you."

"Oh Gods, what did you find now, Karukaya?"

"Saved a little albino monkey from a poacher in the market. Or rather, my student did, and I brought them in to get checked out."

"Delightful. Albino, you say? I'd been hearing rumors someone was trying to sell one of those." He finally appeared, he'd been almost buried beneath paperwork piled almost to the ceiling on his desk. With all the herb tracking and such, the entire vet staff was loosing their collective minds under the paperwork load. A slightly older man, Sato still looked good for his age, most of the time; no grey in his hair just yet (although rumor was he dyed his hair), straight spine, and a quiet, but firm, voice that carried across any space easily. He looked tired as hell, though, and that was understandable. "You... look like you've been through hell. Karukaya, did you let her get this hurt for a reason?"

"I saved her life the moment I showed up. Things happened before i got there, and it was random luck that I did."

"Of course it was. Well, anyway, let's see the monkey. I'll make sure he's alright, and start on vaccinations. You want to get her a change of clothes? She's about the same size Megumi was when she first started, so we should have something that'll fit."

"Yeah, I as thinking that too. Staff shower's open?"

"Mhmm. They finished cleaning them an hour ago."

"Awesome." He walked over to the wall and grabbed a set of keys that was supposed to always hang there during the night shift; the staff showers and such where normally closed at night since they didn't run night ops often, and the maintenance crew could be dickish about being interrupted mid-clean. "Go ahead and let him have your buddy. He'll have him checked by the time you've cleaned up and changed."

WC: 843

1769/3250 SPD B0-B3

The fact that he was willing to help her explain the situation to her parents eased some of her overall tension; though she wasn't quite sure that they were going to be okay with her bringing home a monkey either way. A small kitten? A puppy? Even a rat or other small creature? Sure. Those things were tiny, didn't take up much room, and usually weren't in the house for more then a week tops. Her father had only ever drawn the line at snakes: he hated them, and he refused to allow them in the house, period. But permanently bringing home a monkey that was at best the size of the average child? That was going to be a tough one....

Artemis followed Karukaya sensei quietly, her attention mostly on the monkey – though she paid enough to ensure she didn't trip over anything or run into anyone or anything thing. The monkey had stopped pointing at her injured leg and was instead examining her hair quite closely; going so far as to take some of it and put it on top of her own head. Artemis couldn't help but laugh, something the monkey instantly tried to mimic much like a child would.

Artemis fell quiet while allowing the monkey to continue to examine and familiarize herself with her, wondering and pondering about a name for her new friend: she wanted something meaningful, something that had history and character behind it. So far though she was coming up stumped.

When they reached the building she noticed, as they entered inside, that the monkey began to cling far more to her then she had been. Her hold had become tighter, and it was clear she was uncomfortable. Artemis shifted her slightly as they walked so that she could dedicate both arms to her. By the time they got to the room that Sato was in the monkey had hidden her face beneath Artemis hair. Artemis listened to the conversation between the two of them, grinning a bit. ”My injuries are kind of my own fault... I was a bit brash in how I refused to tell him where I hid her...”

The monkey was peaking out from her hair at this point, curiously. When she went to hand the monkey over however the monkey made it quite clear she wasn't so willing to go. ”My hooman! My hooman!” Okay, so that was a thing then. Right. She belonged to the monkey. She was the monkey's 'human'. She should have saw this coming, but either way she didn't mind in the slightest.

She turned her focus onto the monkey; she knew she was going to have to try and calm her down or else she was never willingly going to let go. ”I have to get my leg cleaned up while he makes sure you're okay.”

The monkey looked down at her leg, pointed at the blood, and said ”Hooman hurt. My hooman hurt.”

”That's right. So I need to go fix that while you go get checked over to make sure you're not hurt.”

Reluctantly the monkey loosened her grip and then reached over and went to Sato willingly enough, allowing Artemis to follow Karukaya so that she could get out of her blood covered clothes and cleaned up.

Word Count: 556 + 6,143 = 6,699

Karu was patient, and he knew enough about primates to know that a clingy one wasn't going to be happy to leave it's friend; but any primate was smart enough to sense a safe place, even if they didn't want to believe it could be safe because of treatment at the hands of people. Hopefully by the time Sato was done, the little primate would be calmer, and they could start the long process of getting it and Artemis settled down and ready. Karu lead her through a door on the far left side of the room; it lead to the staff break area, a large lounge with several small alcoves branching off. Some of the alcoves where smaller sitting areas, some led to doors into bunk rooms, some where locker and storage rooms, one was even a fully functional (and thankfully well stocked) kitchen.

It was to one of these alcoves he took her, it lead to the storage room full of the spare uniforms and such. He'd have to mix and match her something; or else find a set of vet scrubs that would fit.   The latter would likely be easier, but eh, whatever worked.

A door on the far end of the room would lead to the shower areas; not directly into the rooms, but into the secondary locker area where people using the showers could store their shower bags and belongings while they where cleaning up. He flipped through a few keys on the ring and opened up a cabinet; revealing neatly stacked uniform pieces. Shirts hung, pants where folded on a lower shelf. Classical set up, really. "You'll find something your size in here. Take anything you want, there's plenty. Once you've found a set, go through the door down there. There'll be towels in a basket on the counter, if not they're in the cabinet behind it. Again, take anything you want. Get cleaned up and change. When you're done, come back this way. We'll get'm checked out and cleaned up for you. So long as it's not carrying parasites, you'll be able to take 'm home tonight. So long as you have local fruits and such at home, you'll be able to feed 'm just fine; I got a look at those teeth, it's definitely old enough to be eating normal foods." He hung the keys on a hook near the original door, "Everything locks when you close it, so just be sure to take the keys with you. Bring them out with you, too. I'll be working with Sato, two hands will make this go faster."

If she had any questions, now was the time to ask; cause once he went back into the main room he wouldn't be able to hear anything; the theater was sound proofed due to the nature of many of the tools they used being extremely loud; when in use they'd highly disturb the animals in the main barn and they didn't want that. With all the doors closed and the sound proofing engaged, nothing got out of that room. Literally.

WC: 540

2336/3250 SPD B0-B3

Artemis followed Karukaya: she knew her sensei wouldn't have brought her and the monkey here had Sato not been more then capable. So, she wasn't worried, especially given how willingly the monkey had gone to him, at least not with her being safe. However, she was worried if the monkey was healthy or not – there was no telling what sort of trauma she had been put through at the hands of those poachers and she had a feeling they hadn't taken the best care of her.

As they walked she looked around, surprised to see that this place was so huge. Though, it made sense as to why: animals needed constant care, especially when ill or injured. When they came to a stop she listened to everything Karukaya sensei said and nodded in understanding. “Alright, sounds good: we always keep the house well stocked on all sorts of fruit so that's not an issue. I don't plan on taking too long.”, she said, making a mental note about the key.

She would wait for Karukaya to leave while gathering up a towel, and an outfit – deciding on a set of scrubs as that was the first thing she found that would fit properly – her short height tended to make it hard to find things that fit properly. She headed into the locker room area, her mind on Fa Mulan the whole entire time. She made quick work of stripping off her blood stained clothing; there was no point in even keeping them because of how ruined they were. Bandages and the like were removed from around her hands and arms.

While she was in the shower she made quick work in cleaning herself up; washing herself off and ridding herself of blood. By now the spot that had been cut was tender, and she slowed when cleaning it up to ensure she didn't agitate it further. She was no baby when it came to pain, but she knew what would happen if a wound got too badly irritated.

When she was done in the shower she got out, towel dried off, and made quick work in changing into the scrubs she had chosen. She sat long enough to fold the pant legs of the scrubs up to her knees; keeping her pant legs from rubbing on her cut. When she was situated she exited the locker room; making sure to grab the key as she made her way back: all the while still wondering if there was anything wrong with Fa Mulan, and hoping that there wasn't.

Word Count: 432 + 6,699 = 7,131

In the main room, things where going about a smoothly as possible, given they where working with what was essentially a wild money child with just enough extra intelligence to start to speak, but not quite enough to fully know what was going on. That made administrating the tests they needed difficult, because the baby was extremely afraid of anything sharp. Not surprising at all, really. Sato barely needed to speak, even though Karu wasn't on the main vet team, he had worked a few rotations with them, and he'd gotten the rhythm down well enough to work with him effectively, so long as there weren't too many people in the room.

The physical exam was simple enough; Karu held the baby while Sato checked the movements of fingers and toes and elbow and knees and such; he had her, that was established pretty quickly, walk around a bit to see that her balance was good, and her hips worked and all that. Eyes where checked with the annoying pen light; good reactions and clear lenses signalling her perfect sight. Ears where clear, and she could obviously hear just fine. No major wounds, no broken bones. Teeth in good shape, all things considered; they'd need to get cleaned eventually, and a regiment of regular cleaning would need to be followed, but they where solid, and not damaged like he often saw.

Drawing blood was... a pain; but it they didn't need much. A single vial was taken, and while Sato ran tests, Karu brushed out the baby's fur with a fine toothed comb, checking for parasites and the like. A few fleas, the occasional tick, but no lice. That was a good thing, too; they could wash out the fleas and ticks, but not lice. She didn't have to be shaved, and that would make this easier. The fleas and ticks that came off in the comb where collected for further testing, and a specially formulated dry powder was worked into her fur; it smelled like tropical flowers and would almost instantly kill the parasites in her fur without harming her in the least. It would wash out when she was given a bath later, and she'd be fine after that.

"Blood tests are clear. Start the vaccines."

"Right."

They'd tested for everything from heart worms to cancer, and she'd tested clean for all of it. There where more in depth tests that would check for thinks like hormone imbalances, kidney and liver problems, etc; but those would take more time. For now though, the test they did have results for told them she was clear to be given vaccinations for the common things; rabies, worms, leukemia, and the like. They had a special parasite repellent that was given via injection as well; it would buy her a solid year without having to worry about bugs and such again, and inoculate her against the more common diseases spread by them.

They where just about done when Art reappeared, Karu was brushing out the baby's fur, and Sato was stuffing the last of the pills and medicines that they would be giving her into some banana chunks for her. "Everything looks good so far. We'll know for sure in a few days when the rest of the tests come in, but from what we can see, she's completely healthy. You can take her home as soon as she's taken these last few medicines."

WC: 595

2931/3250 SPD B0-B3

As Artemis walked in the monkey instantly reached for her; her hands opening and closing in the classic 'pick me up' way that human toddlers often perfected. Artemis couldn't help but smile as she walked over to Fa Mulan. She looked to Karukaya sensei, listening to what he said, as Fa Mulan took her left hand. She seemed to realize that they weren't quite done here, so she remained where she was for the time being – however, she also felt that contact with Artemis needed to be maintained, thus the hand holding. Artemis didn't mind of course, and lightly brushed her thumb across the monkey's much smaller fingers.

”Good to hear. Hopefully the rest of the tests will come back good, too. Still dont' know how well my parents are going to handle this; but I'm prepared for it.” Translation: she fully expected them to say no to Fa Mulan, in which case she was prepared to pack her stuff and find another place to live. She might be only fifteen years old, but she was a certified Genin with a decent bit of ryo saved up: if anything she could at least afford one of the cheaper one bedroom apartments in the village of it came to that, or perhaps try and find someone to stay with. Either way, she was prepared to take care of Fa Mulan: it was a responsibility she was more then willing to shoulder.

”My hooman!”

Artemis turned her attention to Fa Mulan and smiled. ”I think I have a name for you: Fa Mulan. After the female warrior who was brave enough to take up her aged father's sword and fight in his place.”

Fa Mulan let out happy sounding screech. ”Fa Mulan! Fa mulan!” the monkey mimicked. Artemis grinned, glad that she seemed to like the name.

"I'll put that down on her records, then." Sato finished making a little fruit salad of hidden pills for the baby and brought it over just in time for Karu to finish his brushing; "She's clean, now. She might drop a few more dead fleas and the like over the next day or two, but right now she's not contagious. The powder will need to be washed out sometime tomorrow, preferably before she goes and gets crazy dirty."

Sato returned to his desk long enough to pick up what looked like a set of tags, and a folder full of paperwork. "Ninja pets aren't required to wear vaccination and registration tags like civilian pets are, but you need to have the records on hand when you take her to be registered. This has everything you'll need, including the forms you need to have ready beforehand. Karukaya can help you fill them out. Once that's all done, her headband will act as her 'tags'; so that you won't have trouble with the civilian police or the poacher patrols in the market."

"We've gotten everything, so we should be good to go."

"Indeed, I'll have results from the last few tests tomorrow, maybe the day after. I'll let you know, anyway."

"I'm got a shift tomorrow night anyway, so I'll see you then."

"Alright."

"Artemis, you ready to head home? We should get this done quick as we can. The faster she's able to settle in somewhere, the better for her. And you, really."

WC: 289

3220/3250 SPD B0-B3

Fa Mulan reached instantly for the fruit, eating it rather quickly: as Artemis watched it made her wonder how long it had been since the monkey had last eaten. Something told her that those poachers hadn't been too keen in keeping her healthy and fed. She then focused her attention on Sato as he explained about the fleas, and how she wasn't contagious. As well as how the powder would need to be washed out sometime tomorrow: that was going to be an interesting endeavor.

She listened closely as well as Sato explained about the paperwork, and the tags. She then nodded in understanding, keeping it all to memory. The sooner that Fa Mulan got a headband the better, but until then she'd make sure she kept the information on her as to avoid trouble.

Her attention shifted to Fa Mulan who had by now finished eating and she held her arms out to the monkey who instantly moved into hers. The trust the monkey had for her was still a bit overwhelming and baffling, but enjoyable none the less. Fa Mulan shifted herself onto Artemis' back, which seemed the best position for the both of them anyway, and wrapped her arms around Artemis' neck loosely. With the monkey on her back she looked to Karukaya sensei and nodded.

With everything they would need, she would exit the building, and lead the way back to her parents house. If they weren't stopped or bothered along the way it would take only about ten minutes on foot; and Artemis' anxiety sparked with every step. Artemis was just beginning to wonder if she should have Fa Mulan wait outside or not as she attempted to break the ice with her family when she noticed that her parents were both standing outside in front of the door.

Her mother caught sight of her first and her voice cracked like an angry whip, ”I send you to the market for food and you come back with a monkey! Do you have any idea how worried we've been? I sent your father out looking for you! When he starts asking around he gets told you got yourself into a fight and caused all sorts of havoc!”

Artemis opened her mouth, prepared to defend herself when her father spoke up next, cutting off anything she would have said, ”You've really disappointed us Artemis. And for the record that monkey is not coming into this house. Now, go take it back where you got it.”

Artemis was stunned as she looked back and forth between her parents. Yet, that was nothing to the anger that filled her heart and mind as she heard the monkey on her back make the saddest sound she had ever heard an animal make. Great, Fa Mulan had understood at least enough of that to know she wasn't wanted. Artemis, always quick to temper, closed her hands into fists. ”I didn't mean to worry you. I was in the market with the stuff for supper when I overheard some poachers. I tried to get Fa Mulan out of the market when their boss spotted me. He demanded to know where I put her and I refused to tell him.. he knocked me around a little bit before Karukaya sensei showed up. I can't take Fa Mulan back to where she came from: and even if I could I wouldn't.”

”You named her? You can't honestly think we're going to let you keep a pet in this house...”

God, Artemis wanted to bash her head own head off of the wall...[/color]

Uh-huh. Well, that made way too much sense. Like, entirely too much sense. He'd seen this before; parents that gave two flying fucks about the cares and interests of their kids because said interests cost money; and even when the kid was able to cover those costs, they still felt the need to crush their hopes and dreams because they weren't what the parent wanted.

Delightful.

"If I may interrupt. Your daughter showed some serious skill and ability there. Whether you approve of her love and care of animals is beyond the point. She was very nearly seriously injured doing what is her ninja duty, and all you care about is that she brought home a monkey? Did either of you actually notice that she is injured, or are you the types that only give her a place to sleep out of obligation, and put up the face of actually caring?"

He had zero tolerance for people like this; if you where so stuck up your own ass that you couldn't take the ten minutes to look up the volunteer programs and such to allow your kid a healthy outlet for their abilities and interests, then you're a shit parent and really don't deserve any sympathy or respect. He'd been lucky, his parents had been supportive, and they liked animals enough to let him have a series of small pets growing up. The only reason he hadn't had a pet before he found Coen was because 'his' dog had stayed with his parents, so that they wouldn't be alone in that big house when he was too busy to visit, or out of town.

"Beyond that point, there is 'no where to take her back' to. A poacher was trying to sell her off in the market, this extremely rare and extremely valuable monkey has no home to go back to, likely. Her species lives out on the border with Hanagakure; and their forests just got burned out by worse than average wildfires. Even if we took her 'back', she'd die within a week of starvation, exposure, and the starving predators roaming the lands. She's not even old enough to have left her parents, normally. So, you'd rather watch an innocent animal; that your daughter valiantly saved; die, than let her take care of it? It's not like she can't afford it, she's a ninja for fucks sake; she makes more than enough even as a Genin to do that. I was raising a kangaroo at her rank, and they're more difficult than any primate."

WC: 451

3671/3250 SPD B0-B3

421 remaining

There was a very long pause of silence after Karukaya sensei's words to her parents. Both of them seemed utterly and completely shocked into silence, but it wasn't to last as he and Artemis were about to find out. Her father often had a short temper, and it was going to show regardless of who he was speaking to – nor what rank that individual was. Heat rose to his face as his blood pressure began to boil, and soon enough his face was the color of an apple: ”How dare you! Of course we care about our daughter. We never said we didn't. When she chose her life as a shinobi she knew there would be dangers she had to face, and that's what she did today. She did her job. Nothing more, nothing less. But, that will not change the fact that that monkey is not coming into my house. Period.”

Her mother on the other hand didn't look angry, she instead looked between a mixture of scared and irritated. ”I agree with your father. There are too many things in our house that could be broken. I understand that the monkey cannot be taken back to where she came from, yet I'm sure there has to be somewhere she can go. She's not coming inside.”, her mother spoke with a firm tone of voice.

Artemis was stunned. ”....” She couldn't believe that they were being this hard headed about something as important as this. They weren't even going to give Fa Mulan a chance, and she knew it. She also knew that there was no point in attempting to argue further. She had already made her decision and it was simply time to act on it. Very slowly and gently she unhooked Fa Mulan's arms from around her neck and carefully set the monkey down near Karukaya. The monkey looked at her puzzled and slightly hurt but she offered a reassuring smile which seemed to please Fa Mulan. Artemis' gaze hardened as turned back to her parents. ”You've made your choice so I guess I'll have to make mine...”

”I'm glad you're seeing this our---”

”I'm moving out.”

”What?! Where will you go at this time of the day?”

”A hotel, a boarding house, somewhere. You no longer need to concern yourself about that. I'll go pack my things, and I'll leave. I'll take Fa Mulan with me and you won't have to worry about her being in the house.”

Her father's face went from red to purple. ”You can't just up and leave when ever you want!”

”Actually, considering my job, my age, and my ability to take care of myself, yes I can do just that.” She knew it too; there were plenty of genin even younger then herself living alone. She moved passed her shocked parents who staring at each other utterly stunned: they had no argument to make against this – there was none. Artemis didn't give her parents a chance to come up with one either as she went straight into her room, grabbed a dufflebag, and began to pack what she would absolutely need – everything else could be replaced later on if her parents wouldn't allow her to come back again...