It paid to be prepared.

White grey hair constantly blew in his face, spurred by the wind to their actions and stinging his eyes in the process. Already his eyes were wide from the adjustments made for the dark surroundings, the only lights left to betray him being the tiny campfire of the children and the half-waning smirk of the moon above. The very statues themselves seemed to follow his movements and chilled him skin and bone. These were watchers her could not evade and, if it had not been part of his contract and his pay was not of an exquisite value, he would have forsaken the mission altogether in search of more worthwhile tasks to accomplish.

And business has been rather slow since the end of the war...

The mercenary recieved little revenue in the peace-times preceeding the war. It had been only three years but it began to take it's toil on him. Indeed, as he had already confessed to the young ninja, he missed Mondo's cooking. To be able to miss any remenant of home was to be on the brink of desperation.

But I will not return.

Resolved with himself, leaving his thoughts behind with that single ultimatum, he darted off further into the shadows and began his hunt. The girl's leather bound book would help him much.

"I hope you know that this is all your fault," Millie stated, her back turned to the ninja boy she was addressing and her attention drawn to the empty space that once held the small leather bound book.

"What do you mean my fault?!" Sasuke would have reached the same effect crying 'bloody murder' for, even while they both knew Millie had fallen asleep on her watch, he also knew that she would never take the blame as long as he was around.

"I mean that it is entirely your fault," came the denial, "If you hadn't given me such a workout yesterdaa..." She stopped, turned around, narrowed her eyes and gave the blue and black clad boy ninja a slap, adding a color that complemented his clothing; a red hand mark on his right cheek.

"WHAT WAS THAT FOR?!" came the indignant cry, "I didn't say anything!"

"Yes, but you were thinking dirty thoughts, and I didn't mean workout as in that, you sick ecchi hentai!" Millie yelled, huffing and shoving her nose into the air, "If you didn't make me run yesterday I would have had the energy to stay awake!"

"You had plenty of time to rest when we got here!"

"Doesn't matter!" she growled, Sasuke instinctively backing off with a "Okay, okay, it's my fault..."

It's always my fault, he thought, If it isn't one thing, it's another, and another, and another! It's like she's devoid of fault, like I'm nothing but some second rate slave to her!

Sasuke sighed, a heavy deep sigh that was riddled with an underlying meaning of fustration and fatigue, a meaning Millie caught on to quickly, "WHAT WAS THAT SUPPOSED TO MEAN???"

The sound nearly rendered Sasuke deaf, and he covered his ears to protect his hearing.

"Aaaaah, why am I stuck with you? Why must all men be such sick perverts, why do I even bother trying to discipline you."

"DISCIPLINE?!" Sasuke yelped, pointing at his cheek, "This isn't discipline! It's torment and outright abuse!"

A smile crept slowly onto Millie's face as she allowed her eyes to again grow to their normal shape and size. Sasuke took his turn to furrow his brows and knit them together, forming a V-shape above his eyes, "And furthermore, I refuse to carry your bags and subject myself to your every whim, even preventing myself from doing you favors like the extra watch a few nights back!"

Pause.

Sasuke's breathing had escalated, became hard and hot, coming out of his mouth in a pant of rage, a fist clenched at his side to keep himself from exploding even more than he had just. His eyebrows inverted, forming a perplexed look as he found Millie's smile grow wider and wider, finally bursting into a laugh.

"Is that really how you feel, Sasuke?" Millie managed between breaths and stiffled giggling, "I had no idea... seriously!"

"Yeah right," he gave his cynical reply.

"Aw, c'mon!" she pleaded, her face stuck in a grin, "Look, if it makes you feel any better, I'll help with the luggage and I'll take equal watches and I'll try not to slap you all the time."

Sasuke didn't budge, "What do you mean, try?"

"Exactly that," replied the blue short skirted Highlander girl, "You have to be disciplined every now and then, if I'm to travel with you, we have to teach you manners."

The boy-ninja didn't reply. Is she so stuck up in her own fantasy world to think I still need disciplining?! Half the time I don't even do anything, much less think!

Millie remained adamant, the grin on her face growing wider and wider as she stared at Sasuke's face and studied his youthful features, something that made Sasuke very uncomfortable, "What?!" he finally let out.

"Nothing," Millie grinned, quickly moved up towards Sasuke and gave him a slight peckish kiss on his unslapped cheek, drawing back afterwards, "Just thinking of how I should repay you for being so mean."

Sasuke couldn't believe what he was hearing, or what he was seeing, or what he was feeling against his cheek. Maybe the aura of the ruins was just getting to her, there was no way, no concievable way Millie, the mean Highlander girl who had abused him from day one, was capable of being nice. This went completely against his moral code - she was cute but she was also meant to be a monster inside... beautiful inside and out...?

Her face changed after a while, "Well?" she inquired, stepping backwards. Sasuke didn't reply, too lost in his own thoughts to notice, too shocked by what had just happened to do anything. Millie's face changed again, becoming something Sasuke more readily recognized - a scowl.

"I DIDN'T MEAN REPAY YOU LIKE THAT YOU SICK PERVERTED ECCHI HENTAI OTAKU!@#$"

*Slap!*

*Slap!*

*Slap!*

Kage had found what he was looking for. In the heart of the Sindar ruins it lay, on the stone alter in the center of a large room. His employer would pay him handsomely for this.

Carefully securing the large Sindar tablet to a length of rope, tied as to allow him to lift and carry the large granite slab on his back comfortably on his journey to Gregmeister. All that remained was the actual lifting of the tablet and to do that he needed to shift it's weight a little bit to the right...

Click.

The worst possible sound the mercenary ninja could have come across in his mission. Darting his head around, he searched for what the trap had just released upon him. Sindar had the annoying and predictable habit of leaving great guardian creatures to protect their treasures and this wouldn't be any different. Quickly the ninja-to flashed out of his garments, a three-edged shuriken held in the other hand, ready to be flung. Then it came.

It was the most ridiculous guardian Kage had ever seen. Standing, across the room from him, was a small yellow freckled beady eyed groundhog, a sight which forced a smile upon the thin dry lips of the mercenary, "To think the Sindar, in all their infinite wisdom, thought that THAT could stop the acquirement of their treasure. Fools."