They'll put a pin in it, then, and not dawdle too much more getting back.

Fair enough. Shinrei's bed is cozy enough to wait for.

Best to avoid rocks sticking into your back when you can. 

Very true.

Laugh, and another quick kiss, and zoom on to Kiri (they did have a nice long rest so Sayuri could stare at her girlfriend, after all).

Zabuza and Haku go with Shinrei to report to the Mizukage. The genin won't be needed at this point.

"Want to go see if anything interesting's happened while we were gone?" Amajina asks her friends.

"Sure. See what the catch of the day is at pier two?"

"A good place to catch gossip, at least." She grins at Elaise, and - off, then, to reacquaint themselves with their village friends.

Getting Zabuza and Haku handed off - and giving the full report to Mei - doesn't take too long, at least. The team gets a bonus for handling the sudden mission upgrade successfully, and a minor commendation for handling international relationships well; Shinrei says that's the type of thing that gets considered with advancement.

Speaking of - they're still months out from the next Chuunin Exams, but Shinrei would like her team to be fully ready to advance by then. Can't have Sayuri and her girlfriend unable to reunite. She's stepping up their training, of course, but mostly in the same track she's already been - more, she wants to step up their missions. Get them to where they're learning to function as a leader within Kiri's system, and to where they have a much better understanding of the Land of Water and its neighbors. This means better mission pay, at least, and a wider variety of missions - not always things her students will be interested in, but they have much more flexibility and responsibility here than they do on the sorts of 'go here and build this' missions newbie genin get. More challenging cases, and they can start specializing, too.

Her students' mix of abilities and interests does mean that a lot of the missions they take all together (rather than with one or two being attached to a different team for a rotation) are often far-ranging, frequently courier and broad patrol missions. Fast paced, no client to insult, but Amajina and Sayuri still get to be social, and all of them still get chances for combat. (Shinrei does encourage them to get better at resolving fights with no fatalities among their enemies - or often even serious injuries, especially when facing those with no or minimal chakra training somewhere with a functioning justice system.)

Their most recent mission is one of those - a patrol mission towards and slightly past the southern extent of Water's current zone of control. They're to stop in significant population centers (one major part of these missions is talking to the populace, extending Water's reach and identifying and handling far-flung problems early), and to look out for signs of organized criminal or enemy activity. They have a pretty good recent update on the area - and, also, some highlights of areas of concern, courtesy of a jinchuuriki Kiri very recently re-recruited who had been staying in the region.

It goes well, at first. They all have some applicable skill or another (and Amajina's ability to monitor and help reverse environmental damage has meant she gets these more often than her other teammates, frequently bouncing into other teams) - and they all do well even when nudged outside their comfort zones.

It isn't until they're at the farthest flung reaches - a nearly uninhabited stretch of rocky atolls and thick mists that the Rokubi's jinchuuriki, Utakata, had been living in - that things go significantly wrong.

An imposing figure bars their way. A bandaged- club? on his back and a black robe decorated with red clouds on his shoulders.

...Shit.

"Hoshigaki Kisame," she says, evenly, signaling her team to be alert and ready for a possible fight. "I must say, this is a bit of a surprise."

He grins. His teeth are pointed, serrated, and possibly just a bit too numerous.

"I heard there was an amnesty." Chuckle. "Even for us irretrievable reprobates." A stray bit of sunlight glints off his forehead protector, the Mist symbol on it marred by a deep slash.

"There was," she says, "Of course, it doesn't extend to future actions - but Kiri will welcome anyone interested in working together with us."

Shrug. "Might be I'll have to kill you here, then. Arrange my first meeting the new Kiri some other time."

He doesn't finish his sentence before she begins her attack - subtly, at first, but Samehada will feel her chakra moving - summoning a tornado of wind and sharp rock, flaring immediately with fire - and to Amajina - "Clear the field."

The ocean around them pulls away, Amajina firming it under her control; it'll be harder for Kisame to reach any water for his techniques, at least.

And - there's something tingling in the back of her head, hairs raising - "There's an- "

Her ears pop, and she's dizzy suddenly, oh so dizzy, and her perceptions of the water and rock and chakra are just a hair off from what they should be - 

She makes a small noise, report interrupted.

"Amajina?"

Elaise is going into Spiky Battle Mode.

Kisame swings Samehada in a vertical arc, cleaving through Shinrei's attack.

He can spit enough water for most of his jutsu too, if he still can't get at the ocean effectively.

Amajina can steal even water under other people's control, sometimes - when she has more chakra than them - 

But she's dizzy and Isobu's whining and scared and - 

The water comes rushing back in, a massive tidal wave - a whirlpool - submerging everything that isn't them, someone's fucking with her head and she wants them to DROWN - 

Shinrei puts a hand on her shoulder, flushes chakra through her system - 

And creates several clones, sends shards of rock thrusting up at Kisame and their potential genjutsu user - 

The fuzz clears.

She's angry, now.

And she can sense both enemies perfectly - "Genjutsu user - " she snaps, then locations - but - 

Their opponent moves faster than she can talk, though, landing silently behind the team, sword drawn.