Finally getting this story off the ground! XD So I wrote this chapter when I was starting to get tired and by the time I finished, I was ready for bed. So if you see ANYTHING that can be improved, please let me know! I will update this if I feel the need to, anyway. Hope you guys enjoy it! Keep an eye out for the next chapter!
NOTE: Seeking a beta reader!
Disclaimer - If I owned Naruto, there would be more than just humans in the story.
During the great shinobi war, a power struggle between two distinct groups of individuals fell beneath the shadow of the battle between nations. While country fought against country for supremacy, these two groups waged a war that went unnoticed by the rest of the shinobi world, with one fighting for control and the other fighting for freedom. Those who fought for their freedom were viewed as tools, much like the ninja of the hidden villages, but unlike ninja, they had little to no choice in such matters. Bound to their masters through their very chakra, they could neither flee nor attack, for they could not disobey their masters. Until the war came. When it descended upon the nations, those beings took the opportunity to rebel against those who held them. However, try as they might, they could not overcome their foes, and they lost the battle, returning to their lives of servitude. Over the years, unrest and rebellion continued. They rose up against their masters, fighting against the control that was had over them, until eventually, such beings that were once seen as tools were seen instead as a threat. No longer useful weapons, their masters eliminated them. Those who survived became hunted out of the fear that they would return to destroy their old masters. It didn't take long for their numbers to dwindle. Sightings of them grew fewer and fewer, and soon the world allowed them to fade from memory. Cast aside, they became nothing more than legends for elders to tell the younger generations. And with time, such stories became lost and were eventually forgotten. Like a broken knife that had been tossed away. After all, what good was a tool that could not be used?
Starting today, they were a team.
Naruto stared at the two others standing on the bridge with him while they waited for their sensei - who was always late - to show up. Today would be their very first day together as an actual team on an actual mission - or so he hoped. They'd already met their sensei and passed his dumb test. That had sure been fun. And they'd done tons of boring missions. It was time for something more exciting! Crossing his arms and looking back and forth between his teammates, Naruto wondered how well they were really going to work together once they finally started their real missions. Would they really be okay? He was pretty sure that he and Sakura would get along just fine. Even if she called him annoying and yelled at him for doing something stupid. She did it because she cared, right? Sasuke, on the other hand was such a know-it-all, stuck up jacka-
POOF!
"Yo." a silver-haired jounin finally made his appearance, and both Naruto and Sakura turned to point at their teacher in accusation. Sasuke didn't move, apparently having decided that it wasn't worth the effort to reprimand their eternally tardy teacher.
"You're late!" the blonde and pinkette chorused together.
Kakashi managed to look sheepish, scratching at the back of his head while spouting some nonsense for an excuse. "Sorry, there was this little kitten stuck on the roof of one of the towers, you see and I had to..." he sighed and trailed off, unable to finish his tale as his two loudest students began calling him a liar. Guess they weren't buying his excuses anymore. A sensei could try, couldn't he? "Alright, alright. Calm down, will you? We have a mission." That got them to shut up, but the quiet didn't last long. As soon as he revealed the typical D-ranked mission that all genin had to go through, Naruto squawked loudly in protest, which was to be expected, as he had been doing this every single time.
"What kind of ninja do ya take me for?! That's not a mission! We want a real mission!" he cried, waving his arms around in a rather comedic gesture. Neither of his comrades deemed it necessary to point out that Naruto had included them in his desire for a higher ranked mission. Had the whole thing not been so frustrating, Kakashi might have laughed. Except it wasn't really funny. In fact, the jounin was about ready to throw his student into the river.
"Naruto. How many times do I have to tell you this? These are standard genin level missions." he lightly smacked the back of his hand against the scroll he was holding for emphasis. "You're not ready for anything outside of the village. All new genin, not just you, must accumulate a certain number of D-ranked missions in order to progress to the higher levels." Kakashi began explaining again for what felt like the one hundred thousandth time, but Naruto wasn't even listening. He was borderline throwing a tantrum. Before either he or his teammates could stop him, the blonde proclaimed that he was going to see 'the old man' and rushed off toward the Hokage tower.
"Naruto!" Sakura tried - in vain - to stop him. Too late. He was gone. And while Kakashi appreciated Sakura's attempt to help, he knew that he was going to be the one taking the heat for this. Maybe he would punish Naruto later. Push ups were always a good way to go. With all that energy, the boy shouldn't have a problem doing over one hundred. Groaning, he ran a hand through his hair before waving his remaining students forward. "Come on. We better follow him." Perhaps if he pleaded nicely enough, Sarutobi would show mercy on him for allowing one of his pupils to run rampant.
Hours later, the team found themselves waiting - yet again - for their sensei to show up. Naruto had gotten what he wanted, much to Kakashi's dismay. A C-ranked escort mission. Nothing too hard. It would be simple, really, but it was going to finally get them out of the village. Naruto was literally bouncing with excitment, and while Sakura was shouting at him to settle down, she herself was actually pretty psyched that they were going to be venturing beyong the village walls into the outside world. She had never been outside of the village. As far as she could remember, anyway. There were parts of her childhood that weren't quite clear. Before she could sink fully into her thoughts, Sakura mentally shook her head. It was time to focus! This would be fun! All they had to do was take their client home, so there wasn't much to worry about except potential bandits, which was the whole reason that he or she had hired ninja in the first place. Just when Sakura thought that Naruto was about to explode from impatience, Kakashi and their client appeared, who was introduced as Tazuna, a bridge builder from the Land of Waves. It didn't take long for Naruto to try and pick a fight with the man, who was obviously drunk. Sakura wrinkled her nose at the smell of booze, which clung to him heavily like a cloud.
"Can't believe I 'ave to rely on these brats to protect me." Tazuna grouched, eying the trio before him. What was this ninja village thinking? Sending kids to protect him? Seriously? The loud one was sure to annoy him, but he might offer some entertainment, too. Tazuna watched with hidden amusement as his teacher scolded him, then took a moment to look at the other two. The dark haired kid hadn't said a word, but the expression of disdain on his face made the bridge builder snort. Must be one of those clan brats, he assumed. The final member of the group cause him to pause in surprise, and he almost dropped the bottle in his hand. "The hell?" he couldn't help the words that spilled from his lips. Was he hallucinating? Kakashi turned his attention to their client.
"Something wrong?" he asked. Tazuna didn't reply at first, amazed with what he saw. The girl was not human. And it wasn't just her unusual hair color that told him so. A pair of pale pink wolf ears sat atop her head. Behind her, he caught a glimps of a tail that flickered in and out of sight from behind her legs. She was giving him an irritated look, but before he could decide on what to say, Kakashi spoke up again, prompting the man to fumble for a reply.
"A tamashi!" was all Tazuna could utter at first, bringing one hand up to his head. "Am I seein' things? Or do ya 'ave a tamashi amongst you?" he glanced down at his drink, wondering if just maybe he'd had a bit too much. He heard the girl heave a sigh and looked back up at her. Nope. The ears and tail were still there. He wasn't seeing things.
"Ah, about that." Kakashi drawled, stepping over to his female student and placing a hand on her shoulder. "Sakura here is a tamashi, yes, and she is also my student and a graduate of Konoha's ninja academy, so there isn't any need to worry."
Naruto nodded vigorously when he caught on to the conversation and said, "Yeah, Sakura-chan isn't dangerous or anything! Right, Sasuke?" The other boy didn't respond, only making a little sound of agreement and watching Tazuna's reaction carefully. While he wasn't exactly fond of either of his teammates yet, they were still his comrades and he didn't like the idea of anyone viewing them as a threat. Especially Sakura. Even with her wolfish features, he could hardly imagine the petite girl as intimidating.
"That's not what I meant." the bridge builder said quickly and frowned, shaking his head to clear his thoughts. Sure, some of the stories he'd heard in his youth had painted the tamashi as vicious, dangerous apparitions or yokai, but that's certainly not what he had been thinking when he saw the girl. She was too tiny to pose much of a threat, anyway. Besides, he'd also heard plenty of stories about benevolent tamashi. Good spirits who helped people. He would much rather believe those legends over the tales of evil spirits that tormented, tricked and even sometimes devoured humans. "Sorry. I didn't mean...gosh, 'aven't seen one of 'em in such a long time." he cleared his throat and corrected himself, "Well, never seen a real live one, actually. Only seen 'em in drawings. Just startled me, is all. I thought they were all wiped out a long time ago."
"Clearly, some of us survived. And I have a name." the pinkette stated flatly with a scowl, miffed that they were talking about her as if she wasn't even there. Jeeze, what was so surprising about seeing a tamashi? She was convinced that she couldn't be the only one left. It was a big world. There had to be others. Right? And there was Ino's family to consider. According to the Hokage, the Yamanaka clan were the descendants of Hoji-sha. If they were still around, then there must be more tamashi out there, as well. Again, Tazuna apologized awkwardly, and Sakura felt her annoyance begining to fade. The poor guy had been drinking and he probably assumed that he was seeing things at first, so she gussed that could cut him some slack.
"Hey! Can we get going now?" Naruto piped up, finally running out of patience, and all eyes turned to look at him. With his fists clasped around the straps of his backpack, he made a funny sight as he jogged in place. Sauske snorted, but the blonde was too excited to start bickering with him over it as he usually would. "Let's get this thing started already!" Kakashi chuckled and ruffled his student's hair. As often as the kid frustrated him to no end and caused trouble sometimes, he was still an amusing ball of energy. He had only known Naruto and the other two for a few short weeks, but Kakashi was already quite fond of them. They were his pupils, yes, but they were also his comrades.
"Yes, Naruto. We can go." And at that, team seven and their charge set off, with Naruto dashing ahead, out into the world beyond the village and into the unknown that lay beyond.
Phew! There we go. As mentioned at the start, feel free to send me some constructive criticism! And you see that review button down there? Yeah. That. C'mon. You know you want to. ~