Sasuke's body was limp, his limbs were almost numb. His eyelids felt heavy, he couldn't get them to open.
"Why?"
He was slipping into unconsciousness as he felt his willpower leave him. Things weren't suppose to go this way.
Not everyone is as they seem.
The Last Mission
In the village of Konoha, in the Land of Fire, is where this fateful story begins…
It was the month of May; the sun was shining brightly in the early morning. Two teens were in a clearing just outside the village. The trees were full of leaves as a slight wind blew making the branches dance.
"Do you know where Naruto is?" a teen girl turned her green eyes to a boy next to her. She was 17 years old; her birthday was back in March. Her pink hair just brushed her shoulders. A pink sleeveless shirt with a small white ring on the back clung to her athletic build. A weapon pouch was tied to her right leg, just below a tan skirt, with a pair of black shorts underneath.
"No idea," the teen responded to the girl who was talking to him. He had black hair that stuck up in the back. His grey eyes were almost black as they just continued to look ahead. Black shorts and a black t-shirt was his way of looking "cool." He also had a weapon pouch tied to his right leg. He would be turning 17 in July; even so he stood taller than her.
Both teens seemed to be waiting for someone. Three posts stood on the opposite side of the clearing, and just behind them was a triangular stone. You could see the light glint off of the engravings that were on the black surface.
"Sorry guys!" a blond teen ran over to the couple, with his hair sticking up in all directions. He had on orange pants and an orange jacket with black stripes on the bottom, sleeves, and up the zipper. Again, like his friends, he had a weapon bag tied to his right leg. His blue eyes shut as he smiled at the pair. He was a few months older than the girl being born in October the year before; and like the other boy was taller than her.
"Naruto, your late!" the girl yelled at the blond.
"Sorry Sakura," He apologized to her.
"Come on, the Hokage has a mission for us." The black boy said tonelessly. He had turned on his team mates and headed for the exit of the clearing.
"Hey Sasuke, wait up!" Naruto called after his friend as he ran to catch up. Sakura followed after them.
Konoha, the Hidden Leaf Village of the Land of Fire; a powerful ninja village. Many come to seek help from the ninja that reside there. Approaching the gates, an ordinary man in ordinary clothes walked. Someone in a black cape, with a hood over their face, followed close behind the ordinary man.
They made it inside the village's boundaries. The man turned to the pair of guards at the post there. "Can you tell me where the Hokage's office is?"
One ninja, with a scar on his cheek, responded to the man. "Do you see the tall round building in the distance? It has the marking of Fire on it. On the top floor of that building you will find Lady Hokage's office."
"Thank you," the man said.
The other ninja spoke up, "may we ask why you are coming to see Lady Hokage?"
"I am in need of her help." The man said plainly as he continued on his way into the village. Still the strange person in black followed him without a word.
The three teen ninja's walked into the Hokage's office. They stood in a line before a woman who was sitting behind a desk. She was young (or so she seemed) and beautiful. Her blond hair was long, tied at the base of her neck. A blue diamond sat in the middle of her forehead. Her auburn eyes looked on at the team before her.
"What is it Lady Tsunade?" Sakura asked.
"I have a mission for you three," she said.
"Finally!" Naruto called happily.
"You three are to show an important client around the village and make sure they have a good time. In two days you are to protect her as she goes back home."
"Where are they?" Sasuke asked, curious.
"Shizune," Tsunade asked. Her assistant came out from an adjoining room. She had short messy black hair and dark brown eyes. Her sleeves covered her hands as she led the person in the black cloak into the room.
"Here is the client, my lady." Shizune bowed to the Hokage.
"Why are you wearing a coat like that? And covering your face?" Naruto asked, cocking his head to one side.
The cloaked figure shook their head. It seemed they wouldn't speak.
"You have your mission," Tsunade ordered.
The four of them left the Hokage's office and entered the street below.
"So what should we do?" Sakura asked.
"We just need to keep her occupied for two days until we leave." Sasuke answered.
"Let's go eat!" Naruto suggested.
There were four bowls of ramen at Ichiraku Ramen Shop, the favorite (and practically only) spot to eat for Naruto. He cracked his chopsticks apart and dove into his own bowl of food.
Sakura and Sasuke weren't as obsessed over ramen as Naruto. Sakura turned to the new girl. "You can't eat ramen with your hood up."
The girl lifted her arms from the long sleeves. The hands that came out were long, elegant, and almost white in color. They reached up to the hood and lowered it.
Sakura gasped, and Sasuke was in shock. "What is it guys?" Naruto asked, tearing himself from his ramen. When he looked at the client he dropped his chopsticks, which fell to the floor soundlessly. Even the owner of the shop and his daughter were staring at the new girl.
She was extremely beautiful. The tone of her skin was the same as her hands; the color of a porcelain doll. It was flawless and had a slight glow emanating from it in the indirect sunlight. She had wavy white hair that cascaded down into her robe, the actual length was undeterminable. She had bangs that hung just to her eyebrows and side-bangs that clung to her face.
Her amber eyes looked from one face to another. Her soft lips were open just slightly. She looked like she either didn't care, or didn't have any emotion at all about the current situation. She looked young, but could be around the ninja's age.
"Wow…" Naruto commented, completely forgetting about his ramen.
Sasuke was still speechless. Sakura was the first of the three to speak a full sentence, "So, what is your name?"
"Kaori," she spoke, and her voice was surprising to hear. It wasn't as high-pitch as one would think with the appearance of the girl. It was about the same tone-level as Sakura. It was beautiful, however, just like the exterior.
"Well Kaori, how old are you?" Sakura asked. The boys were still lost, Naruto still forgetting about his food.
"16," she responded bluntly.
"You guys should eat your ramen before it gets cold," the owner spoke up. He was back to working as his daughter bustled around him.
"Oh yea!" Naruto turned to his ramen, but he didn't have any chopsticks in his hands. "Where did they go?" he looked around but couldn't find where he placed them. He reached out and grabbed another pair, broke them, and stared right back to eating like nothing happened.
Sakura took her own pair and began to eat as well, just not as vigorously as Naruto. Sasuke ignored the hot food before him and continued to stare at Kaori.
She was looking back into his dark eyes. Something was different about that girl, but Sasuke couldn't put his finger on what that thing was. Maybe he just wasn't used to seeing someone that…beautiful. The girls in the village were good looking, but nothing like Kaori.
He finally turned from her gaze and started on his own bowl. By that time Naruto was on his third already and Sakura was just finishing her own. After everyone was satisfied the four teens left the shop.
"What now?" Sakura asked turning to her teammates, to find them staring at Kaori again. She was even more amazing in the sunlight. She looked like she was absolutely shinning under the bright sun. 'No wonder she wore that hood,' Sakura thought, a bit jealous of the new girl's beauty. Kaori would defiantly incur stairs wherever she would go without hiding herself.
"Don't know," Sasuke finally spoke since back at the Hokage's office. He couldn't take his eyes off the white-haired girl before him.
"What does Kaori want to do?" Naruto asked, he was transfixed by Kaori just as Sasuke was.
"Hey guys what's up?" a girl asked as she walked up to the group. She had blond hair that was in a high ponytail and still touched her lower back. Her midriff was bare with a tight indigo top and a "skirt" with shorts underneath. Her weapon holder was on her right leg, like the others. Her build was a bit bigger than Sakura, as she stood a bit taller than her friend. She looked to be the same age as Sakura. Her blue eyes looked to each team member, then the new girl. "Who's she?"
The two guys that followed behind her were just as speechless as Naruto and Sasuke when they first saw Kaori.
The first one had black hair in a ponytail that stuck up. He had black pants and a long black shirt with a green vest over it. His weapon pouch was on the right side like the rest of his group. He was tall and thin.
The second one had a large brown mane. He had red swirls on his cheeks. A red long shirt with armor all over it and black pants, he was heavier-set. His hand was full of chips that were half-way to his mouth and his other hand had an open bag of chips. He forgot that he was eating as he stared at Kaori.
"Hey Shikamaru, Choji..." Sakura greeted her friends. They didn't acknowledge her at all.
"Wow, I have never seen those two act like this," the blond said.
"Don't worry Ino, Sasuke and Naruto have been like this too," Sakura commented.
Ino snapped her fingers in front of her teammate's faces. They blinked a few times and shook their heads a bit.
"What?" Shikamaru asked.
"Let's get going, we have training with Sensei," Ino said quickly.
Choji finished moving his chip-hand to his mouth and talked with his mouth open, "right, Asuma-Sensei is waiting."
Shikamaru sighed, "Then let's go already – so annoying."
The trio left, waving as they walked away.
"They aren't training at the training grounds, maybe we should hang out there for a bit," Sakura suggested.
The four teens walked the same path that the team had just a few hours previously. When they got to the familiar clearing they all sat under the shade of the trees, relaxing with the cool breeze.
Naruto yawned, "I could see taking a nap here."
Sakura rubbed at one of her eyes, "yea it is the perfect day to just relax."
Sasuke just made an audible noise, agreeing with his friends.
The three ninja leaned against their own trees and closed their eyes to take a nap.