A Lethal Warning

Raiden and Katsuro sat under the shade of the 4000 year old Sakura tree. The tree had stood in the garden since the times of the palaces creation. It had seen love, heartbreak, pain, death, blood, happiness, sadness, good times, bad times, but it had always been there. The same, unchanging. Katsuro and Raiden were enveloped in a game of Shogi. Raiden seemed to be loosing badly, Katsuro was acting as if it was no big thing. Shinjiro lay down beneath the tree, and Kimiko sat beside him playing with the grass. "Ugh" said Raiden "You beat me again!" Katsuro smiled "Well I'm smarter" he said "Simple." Shinjiro chuckled as he started to smoke "Katsuro, stop" he laughed "You're gonna make him look weaker than he is." Raiden jumped and faced Shinjiro "I AM NOT WEAK!" he said defensively. Katsuro laughed at his counsins hot headedness.

Kimiko sat nearby, casually playing with a few long tufts of grass. She attempted to weave them into something, but her hands were clumsy from her lack of concentration. Eventually she grew bored with it and lit the long stalks aflame in the palm of her hand, watching them burn up before her sweet blue eyes.

Her long hair was still slightly damp from the swim she took earlier, the vibrant strands looking akin to burnt rubies. She'd settled to watch her cousins play their game, and couldn't suppress the giggle that rose in her throat. "It's just a game RaiRai," she told him, smiling widely.

Raiden turned around "It's more than just a game!" he said "This is a test of mind strength!! I got plenty of mental fortitude...and physical fortitude for that matter!!" Katsuro sighed and put his hand to his temple, he rolled his eyes "Will you just calm down and accept defeat for once?" he asked "It's just a bloody game of Shogi. If it makes you feel better you'd kick my ass on the battlefield alright?" Raiden straightened and smiled curtly "As a matter of fact it does help" he said. Shinjiro rolled his eyes and flicked his cigarette "Hey didn't Uncle Kaji say he wanted to see us after we were done this Shogi match?" he asked his cousins.

Kimiko stood, wiping her hands and sweeping hair off her shoulders. "Yes," she replied. "He was pretty specific about it. You guys shouldn't be so forgetful," she smiled as she said this, eyes shining.

"Come on; I'm curious to find out."

As Katsuro and the others reached the throne room, Kaji looked hard at them. He had a hard and serious look on his face, he rarely smiled these days. Sasavi looked at her husband and gave a faint smile, he took his hand and gave it a gentle squeeze trying to cheer him up. Kaji lowered his head and closed his eyes, he gave a forced smile. Sasavi sighed, it was a start. She really couldn't blame him though, the incident 19 years ago changed her too, but not as much as it had her husband.

Kaji cleared his throat and looked at Katsuro and his cousins. "I've received word that a criminal organization known as the Lethal Corps, has stolen blueprints to Fire Nation Weaponry. These weapons are secret and are prototypes, however Lethal has managed to break into the warehouses and factories and stolen the plans we've used to create them" said Kaji, he paused letting the kids take in what they needed "Now, as you can discern, this organization is dangerous and highly powered. As to what they can do, we're not completely aware of yet. However we do know that they are capable of not being caught."

Raiden looked at Katsuro with a challenge "Let's kick some ass!" he whispered to his cousin. Katsuro rolled his eyes. Kaji continued "Your mission is to find a few members of this organization. And bring them in for questioning. Alive."

Kimiko gave a faint smile. Her body suddenly burned with energy, lusting after the sweet adrenaline that thrilled her mind when she battled. She hoped there'd be a fight soon -- one she could get involved in. "Do you have a general location? And are all of us are going to go?" she inquired mildly, large baby blue eyes hiding the aggression pounding in her mind.

She'd never heard of Lethal before and -- based on what she'd just learned, assumed they must be pretty skilled in both tactics and strength.

"Yes" said Kaji "You will all go. We have a location, however it is not definite. Last reports say they were seen in the Fire Nation Colonies, however they've been known for moving fast. There are many other teams from Lethal out there, however we have deduced that the ones we found are the most active as well as some of the higher ups." Kaji stood up and walked towards his son, he put his hand on his shoulder "Son" he said proudly "I'm placing you in charge of this mission." Kaji pulled up a rolled up scroll and handed it to Katsuro "This map shows where they were last spotted" he said. Katsuro nodded and motioned for his cousins to follow as he started to exit. Katsuro turned to Hitanami and Raiden "Grab the Dragons. Bring me Kaji. Raiden you're taking Hebi I presume. Hitanami you are taking Takamagahara I would assume?"

Katsuro pulled out a pair of thick mail gloves from his pack and slipped them on as Raiden returned with 2 dragons. One was large and black with piercing green eyes. The other was long, blue and very regal. He seemed well aged and walked slowly but still with a slight sense of dignity and power. The dragons soft eyes seemed to warm to the look. Katsuro jumped on the back of the blue dragon. Shinjiro looked up at Katsuro, he asked "Who should I take? I have three dragons remember?" Katsuro thought "Bring them all" he said "Rai, Sai and Ryoku, I've heard that hostages have been taken by mysterious figures in the area we're headed. If that's true they'll need a ride out of there." Shinjiro nodded and ran to the stables "Go on" he yelled back "I'll catch up." Katsuro nodded as Raiden returned with Takamagahara, Hitanami mounted and Katsuro reared the dragon. "We're heading to the colonies. We're going to land on the outskirts of the town though, we don't want to attract too much attention. Also we'll be flying at a much higher altitude in order to avoid detection. Once we land, Raiden and I will head the main attack team, we'll break in and engage the Lethal Members. Shinjiro will back us up. Hitanami, you will be responsible for getting the hostages to safety. Understood?"

(Btw, I made a mistake. Her names Hitanami, not Kimiko. Sorry)

(( lol, I knew it! I saw the app and got kind of confused, but I had just decided she was like really young at the moment. And then I just rolled with it? ^_^' ))

Hitanami nodded slowly, gripping the reigns of her dragon. "I'll do my best!" she promised.

The group lifted off, the majestic beasts tearing through the sky. Hitanami was comfortable, liking the wind flowing through her hair, but a prickle of anticipation plagued her for the battle to come. Takamegahara flew a good distance from Hebi, but they were still close enough for Hitanami to easily communicate with her cousins.

She focused on her breathing, making sure to stay relaxed in the air so she wouldn't get dizzy. "How long will it take to get there?" she asked. It'd taken her a long time to get used to flight, but it still made her sick when she had to stay in the air too long.