Mission:

"Ladies and gentlemen!" A rather round short man announced gaining everyone's attention. "Tonight is going to be a special night. Returning to our auction house is the only mermaid that's been captured." Most the people attending cheered in excitement but a few only groaned that they'd never be able to afford such a luxury slave. "We're saving best for last so in the mean time enjoy our stock that includes many quality slaves and budget savers."

The place looked like an underground strip club and in fact there were naked poll dancers entertaining the crowd among other things like a bar and gambling tables. It was a criminal safe haven or even a hardcore party jumpers best dream. It was hidden away in Kiri itself with many officials and some shinobi paid off to keep the place running. If you need a liver transplant on the cheap or an assassin to kill your ex-wife/husband this was the place to go. They even had their own private band playing music and dark lights to set the mood. All the while the main attraction the auction was going off. Most the stuff being sold was expensive stolen goods that professional thiefs have acquired and this was the best place to fence it. In between the many items an occasional slave was sold. Anything from poor orphans with no family to beautiful men and women stolen from wealthy families.

At the back of the auction stage was a large water tank that held the mermaid. When the time to sell her came they would open the curtains as the tank was too much trouble to move. There was a special barrier placed on it to make sure their valuable stock wasn't stolen. It even came with an airpump to oxygenate the water. Couldn't have their prize stock suffocating in the sealed tank of water.

Pearl sat at the bottom of her tank wondering who she was about to be sold to and how she could be useful to them. They typically just kept her as eye candy though which made that her. If she could make herself useful then she might be able to avoid being sold again. It wasn't a fun experience being taken to the auction house. Pearl sighed as she examined her tail. Maybe she'll get lucky and her new owner would finally take this darn lock out of her fin that was trapping her in her mermaid form. Doubtful but one can hope. It discouraged swimming being an uncomfortable hindrance not that she had much room to swim but anything was better than just floating around. It was just a standard pad lock with a seal on it. In theory she could try ripping it off but that would hurt like hell and she would never be able to bring herself to do it even if it meant a chance at escaping.

Spoiler:

In all of the world this was the last place someone would expect to find the young Mizukage who hadn't even reached the legal drinking age yet. Sango could easily admit this was not exactly her scene, it was downright disgusting. However, she still stood among it dressed in a simple dress, wearing shades and all her blue hair pulled up beneath a mafia hat to disguise herself for now. Perhaps that wasn't necessary considering that she had not been the Kage for too long but she'd barely been allowed out of the office to make it to this. Particularly her father had tried to lock her inside of it when he heard what she was supposedly after with this stunt.

No matter how hard they'd tried? Once she heard the rumors that a 'mermaid' was among the slaves to be sold as had doubtfully been reported, the kage would be here every time. According to the announcement she was correct to be here! Well after today there would be no mermaids captured. Sure, some of these operations may be backed by shinobi powerful enough to protect them; It meant nothing when she decided to get involved. One day? She'd cure her country of this plague, certainly it was too grand a task for now, but the least that could be done with the power she currently had was rescuing one of her own. Much as she wanted to save the world rescuing the other slaves would have to be left up to the planned party crashers tonight. None of them had the skill set to save a mermaid if they'd taken all the proper measures to secure it.

Getting her lay of the land by walking around as if looking at everything on sale it became fairly obvious only one place existed to hide a container large enough to contain a mermaid and the amount of oxygenated water needed to keep it alive. Sure, they could have her in human form but allowing the captured mermaid to shift would be downright stupid and she doubted this organization survived this long by being stupid. It was evident she had to be hidden behind that large curtain. Now, what came next may have not entirely been the best choice, but no one claimed that Sango was any expert tactician.

Mist from one of her jutsu filled the area on her command, billowing up from the water surrounding the auction house, in from the windows to blanket everything. Silently she moved through the thick fog to make it behind the curtain and lay eyes on the giant fishbowl, scowling as she did. Glancing around briefly she put a finger over her lips in a 'shush' motion before pointing to the mermaids tail than to her own legs to imply something a bit too risky to say out loud if someone suddenly came upon them. "Can you still swim if you're not in the bowl?" The mizukage asked, eyes locked for a moment onto the padlock pierced into the pink haired girls fins. Could her tail even turn back with that in it? Sango wasn't sure, their only escape method may be beneath them in the form of the water surrounding the dock this particular warehouse was on. Carrying another mermaid it's tail on full display through the city may not be the best idea.

Pearl's eyes looked up from her aimless pondering as a thick fog engulfed the room. That was weird. A bunch of people decide to light up a bunch of big fat cigars or something? She couldn't really smell it being trapped in here. She quickly moved on from the momentary distraction her gaze aimed downwards once again.

She was distracted once again however when a young girl walked up within view distance and did some strange gesturing. Well young for this crowds demographic she was probably the same age if not a little older than herself. Or maybe a little younger? It could be hard to tell sometimes.

"Can you still swim if you're not in the bowl?" Pearl followed the girls gaze to the lock in her fin. This was all kinda strange. Than it hit her. This was a rescue or a rescue attempt anyway. Or a trick! Yea more likely a trick. There is no way someone that young could get past all the seasoned criminals in the room and ever hope to rescue her. Maybe this was a test from a potential buyer. They wanted to know if she would take the opportunity to take off if given the chance. They wanted someone loyal. Which meant they had more plans for her than to just be an ornament. This was it, this was her chance to be useful and actually belong somewhere again!

Pearl shoot her head which might seem like she was saying no to the question asked. "No I can't go. If I leave then I'll be a burden to them. I need to be useful." Pear said refusing to fall for this trickery.

Sounds of voices near their prized possession during a fog which disrupted things, set off a lot of warning bells in the minds of the other residents around. In only a couple moments it wouldn't be just the two of them behind this curtain anymore.

Spoiler:

It was actually shocking no one had questioned her presence with her apparent and true age. However, her city was an entire sink hole of crime essentially at the moment so it wasn't something which remained on her mind too much. Sango assumed they probably just assumed she belonged to someone or was sent in by someone who didn't want to attend themselves. Whelp, sucked for them that their error in judgement was going to cost them one mermaid!

As the words of the pink tailed girl settled in her ears the voices of those approaching also crept into her awareness. The window to do this without making it some bigger scene that it was already going to be was closing. Sango quickly cast a transformation Jutsu so she could ditch the hat and shades. Now she appeared older and bustier with midback length wavy brown hair, it wouldn't change her tails color if she hit the water but that was alright. Father was one of the very few who truly knew for sure what she was, considering she hadn't hired a complete new set of trusted staff for her reign, yet. Anyway it was clear she'd have to get this moving along due to them closing in.

"If you see yourself as burden than you must be imperfect, we'll fix that with time." Just from a few words it was clear this mermaid couldn't just go back to the sea singing shanty's and combing long hair on rocky outcroppings like nothing had ever happened. In that case, she'd be a ninja and Sango would accept nothing less than striving for perfect from those under her reign! "But, you can't truly be useful to me until you're useful to yourself. So lets blow this joint first and than work on that after making sure you can swim properly again." Why would she try to take a good work ethic from the other mermaid? It was only a simple matter of adjusting the girl to being free once they were out of here and transitioning her into the life of a proper ninja in Kirigakure's forces.

Party crash time, once she made some sort of big enough scene they'd be raided by the police force and the shinobi she'd assigned to aid them. However, she couldn't very well allow everyone to see the young girl like this! "Now, now, time to get back with the crowd if you want to buy her." the man was flanked by two mercenaries with large swords, perhaps she should have brought her sword.... Too late for that now! "Actually, not buying her and you're not selling either because she's coming with me for free." her statement had been laced with hand signs and thus was finished with a water stream that sent the ninja of the bunch flying back leaving only the mercenaries, for now.

Rushing forward screaming about how they'd make the boss proud. It was ironic they had no idea regarding the level of treason they were currently committing as they came at her with murderous intent. Sango dodged the first strike of the blade causing it to collide and get stuck in the fishbowl but she couldn't pay attention to if it broke the thing or not at the moment. Instead? The kage recalled where a large shard of wood had been laying earlier, backing up dodging attacks until she could grab it. Once 'armed' she used the long wooden shard as a sword of her own quickly disarming him by letting it slide down the opponents blade until it slipped under the hilt and pressed upward meaning if he didn't let go than he'd end up with a broken wrist. Hearing the blade fall to the ground Sango picked it up herself becoming doubly armed. Now, back to the issue at hand of getting the other mermaid out of here before the ninja could find his way back through the fog.

Knocking the disarmed mercenary in the back of the head to knock him out the female gave the same treatment to the other one who had given up trying to get his sword out of the fishbowl. "This thing is such poor taste, just kinda scoot to the back of the bowl alright?" She grinned slightly, kicking the blade so it punctured the glass completely making small cracks along it. Next, the ninja added the second sword in one of narrow fissures at the end of the webbing causing cracks to cover a good portion of the bowls front. "Time to get out of here." Sango chuckled it as she spit a small but powerful bullet of water from her mouth shattering the cracked portions of the glass into the tiniest of shards and reaching her arms in to help the mermaid out if the pink haired girl needed.

"If you see yourself as burden than you must be imperfect, we'll fix that with time." The girl said after she had transformed herself into an older women with different everything bust size included. All Pearl could think was what? "But, you can't truly be useful to me until you're useful to yourself. So lets blow this joint first and than work on that after making sure you can swim properly again." She continued and again all Pearl could think was what? Useful to herself, Pearl couldn't comprehend that. It didn't make any sense. Again the girl turned woman tested her resolve and tempted her with escape further. As if any of that would change her mind. Pearl shook her head again.

Some of the venue's guards arrived to put an end to this. And what followed was.....the woman kicking the shit out of them? What the heck? Whoever this potential buyer was would not be forgiven for this. Not only would they refuse to sell her to them but their career whatever it was might as well be over as well. Probably a rouge ninja judging by the jutsu she'd been using.

"This thing is such poor taste, just kinda scoot to the back of the bowl alright?" What? The strange woman then kicked the sword into the bowl. Pearl yelped quickly flicking her tail to back away which sent a shock of pain along her fin from the force of the lock trying to escape with the sudden momentum. The woman jammed a another sword in adding to the webbing of cracks along the glass. Was she going to steal her? Ohh that all made sense now. She was a strong rouge ninja judging by the two guards she'd taken out. Why buy the mermaid when you could just steal her. She supposed this made this woman her new owner if she was successful. She'd better start behaving and listening to her. Then with a projectile of water she shattered the glass causing all the water to start pouring out of the opening. Pearl yelled as she was swept along with the current and crashed right into waiting arms. She really hoped this woman could hold 400 pounds cuz Pearl couldn't shift into her legs with this lock and was pretty much helpless without any water. Dragging 400 pounds with these tiny arms was impossible.

Spoiler:

As the sound of shattering glass rose the Ninja she had shot back earlier was finally nearly back to them. With water flooded on the floor time was quickly ticking down on them. "You'll never get her through, she's far too heavy for you to carry and get away, give it up!" He clearly wasn't happy about any of this, but he was also kinda stupid. The mizukage tsk'ed like he was an idiot as she fired a shot of water right through the nearby floor making a big hole in it. "You know for someone who runs a criminal power? You're awfully dim. What idiot would try to walk out with a mermaid." Seriously that was the worst plan that she'd ever heard and sango had come up with some stupid ideas in her day. It was much simpler and efficient to just swim away.

Lifting the other mermaid on land? Probably would be difficult to impossible, but supporting and aiding beneath the water was fully possible. "There's no other way out!" He seemed exasperate and she rolled her eyes in response with a scoff. "Yes there is, we're leaving now and I'd worry more about the raid." Laughing she kept hands on pearl backing her feet up to the edge of the hole before spitting another directly at the ceiling without any bracing to help her pull the heavier mermaid down with her as she fell back into the shallow laping water beneath.

Long smooth blue tail now formed she started moving holding the hand of the other mermaid. It wasn't the easiest swimming in water barely tall as them. However, a sheer drop was clear ahead that would give them access to the deep water. "Once we reach deep water stay above me and keep hold on me I'll swim for both us to minimize any damage to your fins." Than it would probably be best to find some large see creature to help move the younger mermaid so they could get close to the aquarium. She was going to need to get an aquatic vet to remove that padlock.