"Okay, now that you've arrived, here's your mission. Kakashi Hatake, Naruto Uzumaki, Sakura Haruno! You are to stay with a wealthy noble family who own the land on the borders of Chiyomizu Caves. This A rank mission is to be under cover live-in bodyguards during the rest of the summer, stretching into autumn and maybe the winter months, depending if you are still needed…"
"EHHHH?!"
"WHAT?! But … but …"
"Oh boy …"
"DO I HEAR COMPLAINING?! You ungrateful little …"
The silver haired jounin slumped defeated as the Hokage gave the stunned teenagers a look of seething wrath
"(Sigh) Not at all Milady. Please continue"
"Hmph! As I was saying, although this mission may seem very long, the client has insisted on some of our strongest ninja for the job. You are to protect the Lord and his underlings from threats who have they're eyes on his land in order to obtain access to the hidden caverns containing the forbidden Angel waters. Because his business gets lots of wealthy clients who require safety when staying in the residence, he insists you be inconspicuous during your stay, acting as distant friends on a holiday"
Naruto tilted his head in confusion
"Hey wait a minute. Angel water, what's that?"
The pink hair medic-nin next to him gritted her teeth in irritation. Kakashi spoke up before the two females could have a chance to attempt to deafen him with their enraged screaming at Naruto's idiocy.
"No one really knows Naruto, that's why so many powerful people are after it. The legend is that it can heal any wound and even bring people from the brink of death back to life, maybe even prolonging it or taking it away all together. The earth around it also contains special properties that are said to be impossible to extract"
"That's right, but there's also a folk tale linked to that area. It says that there was a small but extremely powerful clan that used to guard the caves through the centuries using an ancient and extinct Kekkei Genkai, but they were cruelly massacred and executed by the soldiers of nearby towns, who became jealous of their abilities to harness the water and the land's power to it purest capabilities, but even now they say that there is a spirit left over from the family that still guards it today using the water to heal those who are pure of heart or to use it and the land that surrounds it as a physical weapon to protect the forest that hides it from prying travellers"
"Supposedly it appears as a huge white wolf right?"
"Correct Kakashi, but on the night of a perfect full moon it is rumoured to transform into a beautiful white haired Yuki-Onna who coats the forest in soft snow no matter what the season. If anyone enters the illusion with destructive motives, let's just say the stories say that they become lost and some are never seen alive and those who manage to escape emerge robbed of their sanity, leading to many suicides. The few people who have entered the forest to be healed have told of witnessing the spirit in either form, touch them or whisper to them, returning them to full health and safely leading them out of the forest. They have been heard to have found inner peace, some have even became hermit monks around the huge forest borders in order to help the spirit protect its home"
The two young teens stared wide eyed as they listened closely to the older shinobi tell the story. It was always interesting when a mission involved an old legend but Naruto was uneasy about the fact that there was a spook involved, however at the mention of it being a gorgeous woman his unease slowly became curiosity.
"Well well well. Looks like that little tale shut you up huh? Just make sure you're careful around that area, especially if you're feeling like snooping around …"
The Hokage stared at Naruto. Sighing loudly she sat back in her chair glancing at Kakashi who was gazing into space. Tsunade's eyebrow rose as she recalled something.
"Oh yes, of course! I forgot you had a mission close to that area when you were a teenager am I right Kakashi?"
Kakashi looked up startled as all three ninja looked at him with surprise. He didn't realise that the Hokage knew about that mission, it was only a B rank after all, nothing special.
He had been in his late teens on a mission to spy on a group of rogue ninja acting as thieves for a local slave trader. He was to shadow them until they led him to the culprit and take him out and to rescue any hostages that he may have taken to trade for ransoms.
At the time, he was camping just inside the forest's border having nearly been spotted when a bird attacked him for almost standing on its eggs as he ran through the trees. While he sat reading his mission scroll he had felt a cold breeze hit him that seemed to come from deeper into the forest, he had been puzzled as it was the middle of summer and the day had been ridiculously hot. He had looked up to see a clear sky with a huge full moon beaming into the trees, yet as he sniffed the air, the familiar smell of a snowy winter entered his brain.
Slowly unsheathing his katana he crouched into a defensive position taking a few steps forward when he came to an abrupt halt. About 6 metres away he saw a large white creature staring at him with hypnotising eyes.
At first he had thought it was a lion until his eyes managed to adjust to the darkness around him. He noted that the lean muscles, long legs, spiked ears and long muzzle meant he was looking at an enormous wolf, not at all a lion. The huge mane around the animals head and neck was unusually long for a wolf explaining his mistaken identity of the animal. The next morning he had been lucky as his target had practically given himself to Kakashi after being careless in a slave trading to a group of traffickers. Crossing through the forest on his way home, he had looked for the wolf purely out of interest. The man did love his dogs after all yet it never appeared. He had returned home with his thoughts filled of questions about the creature. Was it native to that area? How old was it? Why was it so big? Why did it have a mane? Was it a summoning?
A soft cough brought him back to the present. Looking up he saw two faces looking up at him oddly, the two young ninja closed in on him as if silently asking him to tell them all about it. Rubbing the back of his head he chuckled.
"Oh …err … yeh, a B rank I think. Nothing special"
"LIAR!"
Naruto and Sakura pointed accusingly at Kakashi. They knew their sensei all too well, they had heard the stories of his youth, always managing to make a boring mission exciting whether it being a fight or something amazing happening close by. Although the story about him delivering a woman's baby was a bit hard to believe, they just couldn't see him doing something like that in this lifetime.
The Hokage glared at him.
'Smooth Kakashi, totally unconvincing … but smooth'
Kakashi coughed into his hand awkwardly signalling the youngsters to back off out of his personal bubble. Huffing like children they turned back to the Hokage sulking.
"Well Lady Hokage, now that we have our mission. When do you want us to leave?"
Tsunade rolled her eyes. That man always managed to change the subject when people wanted personal information.
"(sigh) Alright. You're setting off first thing in the morning. The client wants you there within 2 days"
All three sets of shoulders dropped simultaneously
'2 days?! This guys gonna be high maintenance isn't he? Urgh'
Being dismissed from the office Kakashi, Sakura and Naruto scraped out to prepare for what was going to be a long tiring mission.
In 2 days they were going to be spending the rest of their summer, autumn and winter in the least kind of place they expected to find near sacred healing caves.
'I guess it was best not to tell them what this guy does. I just hope they can tough it out, especially Naruto with his strong devotion for human justice'
--
Two days later the three shinobi had arrived at a large residence with several housing blocks, the home of Lord Daiki Nori, owner of Chiyomizu Hot springs.
