Title: Undercover Lover
Disclaimer: Why, of course I don't own Naruto. But Sanaaki Minaho is all mine. :)
Author's Note: This chapter is a mixture of light and heavy material. This is set way before all the MANY changes. Members of Team 7 are all still 12-year olds. :D . Enjoy!
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Chapter One: Operation Infiltration
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"NOOOOOO!"
"Would you please stop screaming, Naruto!?"
"Would you please STOP PINCHING MY NOSE!?"
"Would you both just shut up," Sasuke muttered.
Kakashi sighed heavily as he listened to Minaho and Naruto shout at each other. Glancing beside him, he saw that Sasuke had on a frown that would probably both scare and allure the whole female population out of their wits. He looked back at the two loudmouths. "Oi, Minaho. Don't lag behind."
"See, sensei?" Naruto said aloud. "We should have brought Sakura-chan with us, instead of this obaa-san!"
"OBAA-SAN!?"
And then they were at it again.
So much noise so early in the morning, Sasuke thought, feeling his annoyance grow by the second.
When they finally quieted down, Minaho caught up with Kakashi. Sensing his irritated aura, she tested him, "You should've brought Sakura instead of me."
"SEE!" Naruto piped up readily.
Next time I'll bring a boy. Girls are too difficult, Kakashi thought wryly. But as they walked on, his mood improved. Since they were already all together in the mission, there was no sense complaining about it. It was in his best interest to just simply tolerate the situation.
But it was Minaho who was frowning majorly now. "OI! Don't come to me the next time you need help, Kakashi-niisan."
"What? Sensei, you're obaa-san's older brother?"
Sasuke glanced at them in curiosity.
"Of course he isn't!" Minaho made a face and stuck her tongue out at Naruto. "Can't you see I'm much, much cuter than he is?"
The yellow-haired genin pretended to gag. Yeah the female was cute, but there was no way he would admit that.
"Don't you agree, Kakashi?" Minaho went on, tugging at the jounin's arm. "Say it! Come on, tell me I'm cute!"
Kakashi grinned and obliged. "You're cute."
The boys were mortified as Minaho chortled with glee. Was this woman really twenty-one? Even Sakura must be better than this, Sasuke thought. At least their pink-haired teammate still knew how to act in a civilized manner, especially during a mission.
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Two days ago, the Hokage had asked Kakashi to form a team for this mission, hinting that it would be a good idea to involve his students. Naturally, Kakashi wanted team 7 to improve, so he chose Naruto and Sasuke to join him in the mission. Sakura had been a bit hurt that she wasn't included, but she decided to get over it, especially when Kakashi explained that the mission was too dangerous for a young girl like her.
She wasn't what Kakashi needed for this assignment.
He needed a woman who was hardy but who still knew how to work the charm. That was why he had approached Sanaaki Minaho. She had been his junior back when he was still with the ANBU. He had always known her to be rough and manly, but she had her fair share of breaking hearts. That was exactly what Kakashi was looking for.
But of course, it meant he also had to deal with Minaho's childish side that amused as well as exasperated him.
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It was a good thing Naruto had hushed up, because they were approaching the denser parts of the forest. Who knew what awaited them there? It really wasn't wise to make noise so far into the woods. As Naruto apparently had something on his mind, Minaho entered into one of her cold moods, so the ruckus problem was out of the way. As for Sasuke... he was silent as usual.
They had all already been briefed about what they were supposed to do. Once they would be three miles outside the Mist Village, Minaho was to go on on her own and stay in a certain apartment once she got in. It had already been arranged by their contact in the Mist Village. While Minaho was within the Mist territory, Kakashi and the boys would be camping out at where they separated with Minaho. After four days, they would enter the Mist village but would make no contact whatsoever with her in public. Only Kakashi was allowed to meet with her in designated places at designated times. And that, he would have to do with utmost caution.
"Obaa-san, do you think you're gonna be OK?"
Minaho grinned at Naruto. "Of course, as long as you kids won't get in my way."
"We don't even have all the information about this mission. That obaasan Tsunade wouldn't give us the details."
"Good for her. Such dangerous information in the hands of such a doofus would put us all in danger."
"YOU-"
Kakashi stopped Naruto with one hand as the boy was about to attack Minaho. "Don't waste your energy. We still have some distance to go."
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By nightfall, the team arrived at their stop. They were all tired out, so there wasn't much talking, and even Naruto had no inclination to make any loudmouthed comment. Besides, they didn't want to create any unnecessary sound that would make traveling shinobi suspicious, if there were any about the place.
After setting up camp, the team ate in silence. Sasuke watched, a bit fascinated, as Minaho and Naruto devoured their food hungrily. It was the first time Sasuke saw a woman eat that way, he couldn't help but notice.
Half an hour or so after eating, the two young genin turned in to sleep, while the two jounin remained awake for a while. Kakashi went over to where Minaho was sitting on the grassy ground. "What's on your mind?" he asked, leaning against one side of the tree she was leaning on.
"Do you really want to know?" Minaho smiled at him.
"Hm."
Suddenly turning serious, the younger woman looked at Kakashi with a blank expression. "I'm thinking about what I could literally lose on this mission."
Kakashi understood what she meant. He shifted uncomfortably.
"Don't worry," Minaho said quickly. "I'm not planning to back out or anything. It's just that this is the first time I actually considered something of that sort happening to me."
The words 'that sort' caused the silver-haired jounin to cringe inwardly. The whole thing was no picnic for him either, but he knew Minaho was tough enough to handle whatever came her way. He just hoped things wouldn't reach worst case. "This is a high-risk mission, and the kids don't even know it. We better not tell them, especially Naruto. He might have a hard time accepting reality."
"I agree."
"Are you ready for it, though?"
"You bet I am."
"Good. You should get some sleep. You need it."
"What about you, Kakashi?"
"I'll keep watch for a while."
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The night had brought no trouble for the group, and early the next morning, Minaho changed into civilian clothes and tied her Leaf forehead protector around her waist, hidden under her T-shirt. "I'll put it somewhere safer when I get there," she told the others. "Well. how do I look?"
Kakashi, Sasuke, and Naruto studied her appearance from top to bottom. She was wearing a grey shirt, which was one of Kakashi's old shirts, and a pair of scruffy black jeans. Her pair of old sneakers replaced her sandals.
"Not bad," Sasuke commented calmly.
"Not bad?" Naruto didn't bother smothering his laughter. "You look like an idiot, obaasan."
Sasuke raised an eyebrow at his teammate. "You know nothing about civilian clothing."
"What do you know about those things, ZA-ZU-KE?"
"It was discussed in the academy, which is why I'm sure you know nothing about it."
"Well, maybe I don't know much about it, but at least I can clearly see and say that she looks weird!"
Sasuke ignored him.
"You'll have to drab up if you want to get things done," Kakashi reminded her.
"I know, Kakashi. I'll do that once I'm in there. I don't want to catch too much attention at the gate, since my excuse is going to be job-hunting." She smoothed her messy and uneven black strands and grumbled, "more like bounty-hunting." She kind of felt cool wearing shirt and jeans. Well, she was always cool, but in a different way.
Her usual attire consisted of a black jacket with sleeves that she pulled up to just above her elbow, and underneath the jacket she wore a plain white sleeveless cotton shirt. She had bought a lot of those shirts, that way she wouldn't have to worry about what to wear. All of her shorts were six inches above her knees so it won't get in the way of her weapon pack, which she wrapped around her right thigh.
Now that she was in shirt, jeans, and sneakers, she really felt like a different person. The only weapon on her was a senbon, and this she used as an ear ornament. It felt strange to be without her usual weapons, but since she had to pose as a civilian, she needed to be convincing. Besides, civilians weren't supposed to be involved in battles.
"All right, you're all set. Let's eat before you leave." Kakashi grinned. "You look great, by the way."
Naruto rolled his eyes. "Let's eat already!"
Sasuke grunted in agreement.
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As soon as she was done eating, Minaho stood up and lifted her large backpack. "I'm off."
Kakashi nodded. He looked at her grey eyes with his one visible eye and held her gaze for several meaningful seconds. Then he grinned from behind his mask. "You take care of yourself, Sanaaki-kun."
Minaho readily grinned back. "Of course I will, Hatake-sempai. I'll see you guys again in four days."
Then she walked off, finishing up the last three miles that would take her to the hidden village most known for its violence. As she went on her way, the three men she left behind fixed their gaze on her moving form.
You take care, Sanaaki.
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Well! I know my other stories have sorta been short-circuited, but I don't intend to leave them that way. In the meantime, here's a new one to read. Hope you all enjoyed it, even just a bit. There's not much here, since it's still the first chapter. Anyhow, feel free to comment or criticize. You guys know I don't mind receiving negative comments :D