Autumn was coming to an end; the red leaves surrounding the Hidden Leaf Village gone. As the days grew shorter, the nights became colder and the missions harder. Young shinobi dread the winter months, their bodies not fully accustomed to the harsh elements.
As December hastily ends with Yule, missions begin to dwindle. Shinobi do not want to miss that special chance to be with friends and family, so they try their best to get all missions done before the twenty-fifth.
Other shinobi would much rather be out of the village during observances. Uzumaki Naruto is one ninja who is torn. He has no family, yet doesn't want to miss Yule. His teammates have warmed up to him over the years, but they have their own families… Haruno Sakura does. Uchiha Sasuke does not, but he isn't even around any more.
Cucumber eyes glared at equally angered blue orbs, a staring contest never to end. She was angry. Angry that he wanted to risk his life on a mission rather than stay at home on Yule, "It's my choice!" he yelled. Dark worried eyes gazed between the two teammates, "Sakura, if Naruto wants to take a mission, it's his choice…" Sai, the replacement for Sasuke, tried to calm his colleagues. The pinkette frowned, "But it's Yule!" Sai could only shake his head, "I know, but it's his decision." His gaze moved from the girl to his blond counterpart, "You sure you'd rather do that than hang with us?" Naruto's saddened expression made him tense.
"You have other people you can rely on for fun. I hate Yule anyways… I'm going to take a mission… Besides, all shinobi can't be off. We need to stay alert!" he held his fist up with confidence. He waved them goodbye before heading off to Hokage tower to accept a mark. "I'll go with him… That way you don't have to worry. So you can go have fun with your family and friends, okay Sakura?" Sai smiled at her. She shook her head, "I want to go too! He's my teammate as well! Beside, if one of you gets hurt who'll be there to heal you?" she added a giggle to the end of her sentence. Sai shrugged, knowing he couldn't stop her.
"How are we going to infiltrate?" a breathy question pierced the almost silent winter air.
"Join and transform into an old injured woman?!" a giggled response.
"Rika, be serious… But transformation might be a good idea." Rika giggled again, "I am being serious, Mai! Hey!" she called after the other who had moved onward.
Mai held her hand up to stop Rika in her tracks, "Someone is coming… Can't you feel their chakra?" Her voice was stoic as always. Rika nodded, even if the other could not see, "Three of them, one female." Mai growled, "Two males huh?"
"You guys didn't have to come with me, you know…" Naruto drawled out, the others shrugged. "Why should you be the only one to not have fun on Yule?" Sai stated bluntly. "It's not even Yule! It's next week! Sheesh!" He always seemed angry around this time of the year. Sakura let out a gasp when she heard the branches around them crack.
The group paused, looking around while tensed, ready to attack. While they were distracted, Sai was hit in the gut, knocked down.
"I'm so sorry!" the thing shouted out between pants. Sai blinked, realizing it was a civilian that ran into him. "Are you okay?" the three shinobi asked her while helping her stand.
The girl seemed frantic, "I can't stay here! I need to get away from 'it'!" everyone was hit with a bout of confusion, "It?" Sakura asked in a small voice. The girl nodded, "'It' is after me! 'It' wants to hurt me! Save me, don't let 'it' kill me!" she began sobbing as she clung to the other girl, Sakura shocked at her hysteria. "What is 'it'?"
Before the hysterical could reply, a monster came from the trees. Sai was the first to react, his sword out and in its mouth. The girl screamed, pushing past the group and running away. Sai growled, "Go after her! Make sure she's safe!" Naruto and Sakura nodded before dashing off after the girl.
"Where did she go?" Naruto's gaze darted around the area, trying to find more foot prints or even a clue to where she would have gone. Sakura pointed ahead where the snow was distressed, "Look!" the two dashed over and found the girl's body. Teeth and claw marks riddled her body, all signs pointing to the beastie that had attacked prior to the chase. "Is there two? There is no way that thing could've gotten away from Sai and gotten to this girl in time!"
She caught the sight of Naruto falling to the ground in her peripheral vision, her body frozen as she saw a small arrow in his back. Tensing, Sakura realized there was more than just a beast to worry about. Just as she turned around to react to a sound behind her, she found a similar arrow in her gut.
Her blank eyes starred at the clouded skies beyond the trees, her gaze catching her shooter, their face covered by an ANBU mask. She heard the sound of Naruto screaming, the sound of snow crunching beneath the weight of the shooter, and then heard her own screams as she felt the arrow being pulled from her abdomen.
"Shh… You will live. My intent was not to kill you…" That voice echoed through her mind as her consciousness slipped away.
With one flick of the wrist, the beast was slashed in two by Sai's blade. He almost relaxed when the animal's body fell to the ground, but tensed yet again when the body dissolved into water. The replacement spun on his heel, his blade coming in contact with another, the clashing sound of metal making both of their ear drums pound.
Sai pushed off of the other, jumping back a few feet, his body ready to react to whatever would come next. "ANBU?" Sai asked out, his voice a low whisper. Before him stood a female figure in dark clothing, a mask covering their face, and long black hair falling around their form. In the predator's right hand was a double bladed katana, the other clenched bloody arrows that belonged to the crossbow on her back. Sai knew what that meant, "Naruto? Sakura?" he questioned himself, running through countless possibilities.
Biting his lip, he lunged at the ANBU. Being one himself, he figured the other would trick him. He was right. The figure before him melted away into water as his blade sliced through it. Gritting his teeth, he growled, running back toward the village knowing that is where Naruto and Sakura had chased after the girl from before. "Was this all a trap? Shit! I should have seen right through it!" he cursed at himself internally.
He saw the woman again, this time hovering over his friends. Being careless he lunged again, angry and blind from the sight of Sakura and Naruto. The woman swirled around, slashing Sai across the abdomen. He was thrown back, his body colliding with a tree before falling into the cold, wet snow. The last thing he saw was the tip of her sword as it pressed against his face.
Mai and Rika ran toward Konoha, their forms changed into that of two nins from Konohagakure. The two were halted by two men at the gate. "Oi, what's the rush?" Mai glared, "Don't act so casual! Something terrible has happened!" the two men looked at each other then back to her, "Naruto, Sakura... and Sai too! they're down! They've been injured!" Rika added in.
"Izumo! Report to Tsunade-Sama about this!" Izumo nodded, his brown hair waving slightly from the gesture. "Kotetsu, what about them?" the other, Kotetsu had a silly thing of cloth around his nose, "Take them to see her too. If they are witnesses, then she needs to talk with them." the men nodded to each other and took off, Mai and Rika following after Izumo.
Before the three could even get close to Hokage Tower, Izumo pinned Rika against him, a kunai to her throat. Mai tensed, "What are you doing?" she demanded. "Who are you two?" he snapped back, knowing that they were not of Konoha. "Mai! Don't let him push you around!" while Mai and Izumo were having a stare down, Rika was able to slip a hand into her kunai pouch. Her fingers curled around a blow dart of hers. Her thumb pushed the protective cap off of the tip, her movements after that were quick.
Izumo released Rika when he felt a sharp pain in his thigh. He grasped the dart, the walls caving in, "Shit! Poison? I should have known..." He looked back up to see the girls were gone. "FUCK!" ripping the dart out to run, Izumo only got about five feet before the drug kicked in and paralyzed him.
The twins split up to carry out their mission: Obtain Konohagakure's Scroll. The village went on high alert after Izumo was found poisoned by another shinobi. Naruto, Sakura, and Sai were found immediately and taken to the hospital in haste.
Rika transformed into a crow, one of the birds that frequented Konoha. Mai chose a cat, the village was crawling with them. Rika perched herself among other birds atop a building while Mai walked about on the street.
Team 8 was called into action. Akamaru, Kiba, Hinata, Shino, and Kurenai. Other teams were called in as well, each clan member helping out with their abilities, families bringing their children inside to hide. Akamaru stopped halfway to the gates where Team 8 was called to. Kiba scolded him but when Akamaru started barking the team paused. "Something down there, boy?" Kiba asked his canine counterpart, "Go after it!" at Kiba's words, Akamaru shot down the alley he sensed something in.
A few seconds later a cat shot out, Akamaru on it's tail. Kiba blushed with embarassment, "Akamaru! It's a cat! leave it alone, we have other things to tend to...wait a minute..." his nose twitched as his high sense of smell kicked in, "That stray smells awfully fresh to be homeless..." the feline darted off and Akamaru was about to chase after it when Kurenai snapped, "Kiba! Akamaru! you have to get to the gates! they need your noses! now get to it!" she growled, the two melting from fear before rushing off toward the gates. "Hinata, Shino... you two chase after that cat! I want to know if it's a real cat or a shinobi in transformation!" her two pupils nodded and headed off toward Mai.
Shinobi were jumping around the roof tops causing all of the birds to scatter. Rika followed suit, flying up into the air in a panic. Rock Lee was far ahead of his two teammates, his eyes burning and his heart a hole from the knowledge that his Sakura was injured. Rika became interested and followed silently after Lee like any curious bird would do. Besides, she figured Mai would get the task done.
They came to a halt near the gates, Rika taking position in a nearby tree. Lee was crushed, the sight of his beloved killed him, but he didn't show it. I vowed to her at the hospital -- though she was unconscious -- that he would take down who ever did this to her. So here he, Tenten, and Neji were. Alongside other shinobi, Lee received his instructions to scout the area, look for any clues, and then report. He'd rather be looking in the village for the culprit, but there was half of the village on that.
While he was picking around the snow where Sakura and Naruto were, he noticed a crow above his head, peering at him. Tenten and Neji freaked out when Lee attacked a bird, but tensed when the bird shot him back down. Smoke moved away and there on the branch was a ninja. She held a wooden flute to her lips and began to play a soft melody, causing the young shinobi to become stupid and enthralled by the music.
Rika stood on the branch, grabbing for the crossbow on her back. She held aim at the ninjas, releasing a rain of arrows. Rock Lee was able to snap out of it in time as the thought of Sakura flooded into his mind. He dodged the arrow and saved his teammates. Rika cursed, Lee had not only helped Neji and Tenten dodge the arrows, but he knoced them from their trance. This time she played another tune, only this time it was more rough.
Tenten gasped for air, Neji was next. Lee jumped toward her, snatching up her flute and punching her in the face. Rika crashed into the next few trees, branches snapping as they met her body. Soon shinobi surrounded her. Rika only smiled. Taking the tip off of one of her arrows revealed that she had a second flute. The tune she played caused all of the shinobi within a 5 foot radius of her to lose air. They suffocated for as long as the melody played, allowing her to retreat safely.
Shino and Hinata lost sight of their target. Shino wasn't even able to place a female destruction bug on the animal so they could track it. After a few moments of rest, the two started up their search again, this time cornering the thing. Mai swallowed, her back arching as she hissed at the two. "Oh, Shino... do you really believe this cute little cat could be the one that infiltrated us?" Hinated sighed. Shino kept his eyes on the feline, grabbing it by it's nape. "Yes... I do..."
Mai was in a bad spot. she hid her chakra away, hissed and flailed acout as Shino held her by her nape. Hinata yelped, "Don't do that! you're hurting the poor thing!" she grabbed for Mai, cradling her in her arms. Mai was tense and shaking, but calmed as Hinata coaxed her. She set the cat down, Mai deciding to throw in a bit of playfulness by attacking one of Hinata's coat strings as it dangled before her.
Kurenai and Kiba caught up to Shino and Hinata. Akamaru was stuffed in Kiba's jacket and was asleep, tired from the work they had to do. They found them playing with that cat Kurenai instructed them to follow. "So it's a real cat huh?" she asked. Shino shrugged, "Seems so...Kiba?" he gazed at his tired comrade, "We came so close to the culprit!" Mai wanted to stop what she was doing when she heard those words, but ignored them and continued her cat act. "What do you mean?" Hinata asked while still playing with Mai, "It turned out to be a she. She had been a crow for the entire time it seems like... well after the whole incident with Izumo."
Mai sat down and decided to lick at her paw, rubbing it across her head while listening. "She used a strange attack... with a flute! it caused people to suffocate, but after she ran off everyone was fine! Thank God to that!" He rubbed at his dog's head, an indication that Akamaru was one of the shinobi near the criminal during that time.
Kurenai sighed, "Well... I guess that's all for now. We have ANBU on guard so you guys can go home and rest." Hinata looked up at Shino with a pout. She grabbed the cat and held it before him, "You should take the cat home!" Shino stared at her, a bit shocked her her words, "Why?" Hinata's pout made him sigh, "Because you were mean! So you have to make it up!" Before he could protest, he was stuck with the cat.
"...Shino... Why do you have a fiflthy animal in my house?" Aburame Shibi questioned his son as he came into the house with said cat. "Hinata wanted me to take care of it... Said it was to make up for me hurting the thing..." Shibi chuckled, "A challenge huh?" his son sighed, kicking his shoes off as Mai ran freely up to his father. "Male or Female?" he picked the cat up to check it out when his son shrugged. Mai struggled slightly, like any one would do. When she was put down she ran back over to Shino. "Female..." as Shino walked to his room, the cat on his feet, he heard his father adding onto his sentence, "She needs a name..." Mai meowed loudly, the sound making Shino stop. "Mai? Did this cat just say Mai?" he looked at his father who shrugged in response. Mai did it again... and again... and again... "It sounds like she's saying 'Mai' but she's really meowing... how odd..." Shino nodded, "That should be her name." His father stated.
Rika bit her lip as she saw her sister being taken away. There was nothing she could do about it. With a heavy sigh of defeat, Rika retreated into the forest for the time being, "I'll save you Mai... Count on it!"
Shino removed his coat, revealing a dark blue shirt and pasty white skin. Mai jumped onto his mattress, making herself comfortable, her eyes watching him undress. He set his glasses on his desk, his hand going for a scroll that he hadn't finished reading. He removed his headband as well before taking the scroll with him to his bed, "I didn't say you could get on my bed..." his eye twitched as she mewed again.
He was able to make himself comfortable enough to share the bed with Mai and still read his scroll peacefully. After an hour and a half, Shino fell asleep, the scroll between him and his bed partner. When Mai was sure Shino was asleep, she tried to sneak away, but was caught by the destruction bugs.
She was forced to hide in the open against the wall near his bed, the bugs coming ever so close, scaring her more that she's ever been. Shino's right eye opened, his tiredness melting away as he saw his insects surrounding the cat. He jumped from bed, remembering what his bugs had done to Akamaru. "Mai!" he yanked the cat into his arms, not realizing the smoke surrounding it.
The insects dispersed and Shino sat on his floor, eyes wide and mouth open. He was right all along! He noticed that Mai was unconscious; an effect from the attack. Seeing as it was still dark out, Shino didn't bother turning her in quite yet. He stood, Mai in his arms, and walked back to his bed, letting her rest there. In case she woke and darted off, he placed a female bug on her before leaving the room.
"Shino, you're awake? You should rest..." Shibi was sitting in the kitchen reading some documents when his son entered. "...I..." the stutter cause Shibi to put his work down and look at his son, "...Mai... is asleep..." that's all he could say. His mind was racing with questions like, "why didn't you tell him?" or, "Why can't you turn her in?!" and even, "What are you thinking?!" Shibi nodded, "That's good... Now what is it?" his father saw right through him, "...nothing important..." he lied, turning on his heel to head back to his room.
-chapter 1 end-