'speech' – Human to Jinchuuriki
'speech' – Jinchuuriki to Jinchuuriki
Naruto frowned as he listened to the Godaime explain the new mission. Looking out the window of the office, he tried to calm the kyuubi. In two days it would be the anniversary of the day his friend was taken from him. The only child in the village who did not despise him for the beast sealed within him. With kyuubi calm, Naruto focused on the mission report. Once the godaime said they were headed to Sound and went on about how dangerous it would be, especially since only ANBU had missions there after Sasuke's return from killing Itachi, Naruto growled loudly. "Just tell us already. We all know how bad the journey is so just tell us what it is we need to do."
Sasuke opened his mouth to say his usual retort when a snarling voice beat him to it. "If you even think of calling me a dobe, Sasuke-teme, I will not be held back." Kiba looked down at Akamaru who was hiding inside his coat as Shino raised an eyebrow when his bugs literally cringed during the snarl. Iruka, one of the Jounin in the room, walked up behind Naruto and placed a hand on his shoulder calming him instantly.
"As I was saying, you're going to Sound to ask the Kage there for information on how to reach the family we sent away for protection. I want the whole family brought back. If that is not possible, I need their son. Duo Maxwell carries vital information about the Leaf Village. Neji, Kakashi, I want you to lead….."
"No. Duo will not answer to summons from either of them. Let Naruto and I lead," Iruka said as he felt Naruto tense. Raising an eyebrow at the normally complacent Jounin's request, the godaime nodded. "Fine, you leave in two days. Select your teams, two chuunin, one jounin, and a medic to each team. You are dismissed."
Naruto and Iruka were the first to leave. Wanting time to get their thoughts together, both men made their way home and packed quickly. Naruto moved over to his dresser and dug in the bottom drawer and pulled out a picture that looked like it had seen better days. In it three people were smiling brightly. One man with a spiked ponytail and two young boys covered in bright blue paint. Iruka had let them paint Duo's room that day. Putting the picture back in the drawer, Naruto closed the drawer and grabbed his bag hurrying to reach the gates that would lead him to his friend.
Iruka shook his head as he packed his bag. He hoped this trip would be easy. Thinking of all the things he wanted to ask his nephew, Iruka grabbed his bag and made his way to the gate. Seeing Naruto, he stopped next to the young man and waited for the rest of their team. Slowly but surely, Kakashi, Sasuke, Ino, Sakura, Shino, Kiba, Hinata, and Neji arrived. Without a word being said, Naruto turned and headed out of the gate not really caring if the others followed or not.
They had traveled through the night and well into the next day before calling the progression to a halt. Naruto and Iruka had been acting strange and the others of their group couldn't figure out why. Sakura and Ino made their way to the river to retrieve water as Sasuke and Kakashi were made to set up camp. Neji and Kiba were setting up traps around their rest site while Shino and Hinata scouted the area. In the highest tree in the middle of their camp sat the team leaders. Naruto's normally hyper expression was gone leaving behind a calm sort of tension no one would believe him capable of. Iruka stood behind him looking out over the horizon wondering how much his nephew had changed.
Only Naruto knew of his relationship to the Maxwell's and he was the one who encouraged the two outcasts to become friends. He remembered the laughter and the pranks the two would pull. He also remembered the tears the two shed when his nephew was forced to leave. Placing a hand on Naruto's shoulder, Iruka nodded and motioned to the ground. "We should join them," he said as he felt the rest of the teams returning to camp. Receiving a nod in reply, Iruka jumped down from the tree landing close to where the fire for their meal would be.
Naruto sighed as he stood from his spot on the limb. Deciding to take his time, Naruto applied his chakra and walked down the tree. 'Will you remember me, Duo.' Reaching the ground, Naruto motioned for the others to eat as he started digging through his bag. Grabbing a skin of water and a bag of dried meat and fruits, he snorted at the surprised sounds the rest of his team made as he sat away from them and started to eat. He did not feel like playing the jester anymore and with Duo coming back, he realized that it would no longer be an act depending on how much his friend had changed.
Looking around Naruto noticed that most of the group had finished eating. Standing he made his way back to his pack and put away the rest of his lunch before making sure no one knew he had been there. "Finish up and dismantle the camp. If you're really tired get a Soldier Pill from Kiba or Kakashi. We reach the Kage in Sound tonight." Ignoring the sounds of protest from the others, Naruto looked over his shoulder with eyes blazing red. "We reach Sound tonight."
Neji and Shino exchanged a look before moving to take apart the parts of the camp they had set up and urging the others to do the same. The last thing they needed was for the Kyuubi to break free. Seeing the others get to work, Hinata moved over to Shino and tugged on his sleeve. "I....I'm worried. Na....Naruto's been l...like th...this all week." Seeing Shino nod in agreement, Hinata tried to think of what could cause the normally hyper ninja to become so hostile toward his friends. Once everyone had settled their packs and it looked like no one had been there, the ten man team took off for Sound.
Pushing on with as little chakra use as possible, the retrieval team made it to Sound with no problems. Heading straight for the Kage's office, Naruto instructed the others to wait outside while he and Iruka retrieved the needed information. Returning not five minutes later, Iruka instructed the team to meet them at the hotel closest to the outer border. Happy for the rest the team immediately followed orders while trying to decide what was wrong with the Kyuubi holder. Returning to Naruto's side, Iruka helped him plan the route ahead before forcing the jinchuuriki to rest.
The next morning dawned too early for the rest of the team as Naruto burst into their rooms waking them from their slumber. "We're a days travel from the extraction point and I've got a lock on his chakra signature so let's go," he called as he ignored the looks of annoyance his team sent his way. As everyone finally gathered at the gate, Naruto handed those who seemed extremely depleted a Soldier Pill before starting out of the gate. Counting down the time it would take to make it to the point, everyone watched as Naruto bounced between the serious man who started out the mission and a little kid meeting his best friend for a play date.
Stopping as the sun set, Naruto smiled back at his team and informed them that they were to camp here for the night and would meet their target around mid-day tomorrow. Hearing the cheers from the team, Iruka instructed them to set up camp and he and Naruto would take care of the rest. True to their word by the time the tents were set up, there was water, firewood, fish, rabbit, and vegetable set up near the pit as well as the traps set. Setting Hinata and Shino to cook, Neji and Kiba were to do a check of the traps before everyone settled down. As the food finished the men returned and claimed everything satisfactory. Setting several Kage-bushins to keep watch the team settled down to sleep for the night.
Duo frowned as he walked into headquarters. Three missions in two weeks with no downtime in between had left him exhausted and now instead of going home, he had to go upstairs and meet with Lady Une. From gunfights over mobile suits, to busting new drug rings, to stopping a serial killer from taking out the 'Queen of the World', Duo felt he finally deserved a little rest. Stepping into the elevator, Duo gave his access code and leaned against the wall. Closing his eyes, the braided Preventer agent allowed himself to relax marginally. As the elevator stopped at the appointed floor, Duo tensed as the door opened and sighed as he stepped onto the floor. Walking past the desks of the few Preventer's allowed on this floor, Duo groaned as the secretary in front of the door he was supposed to go in to handed him another folder. Shaking his head, Duo started reading the folder as he made his way back to his desk.
Sitting down at his desk, Duo picked up the phone and dialed the extension for Une's office. Hearing her voice, Duo sighed tiredly. "Hey Une-babe, that meeting is gonna have to be put off a bit longer, I just got another case in. It's looking like maybe a week if not two tops. Alright, clear my schedule for a week after and I'll try and make time for the meeting. Okay love ya buh bye." Hanging up before she could reply, Duo sighed and looked back at the case in front of him. It was an easy case, but he'd figured out that the easier a case seemed the harder it would be to complete. Picking up the phone again, Duo called for his usual team for cases like this and standing slowly he gathered the case file and made his way to the briefing room. Walking into the room, Duo smiled slightly at his team. Having had to work with the other Gundam pilots during the war had been unnerving. He had been so used to three man teams and solo's that having the added one or two people meant having to re-plan every mission before he would accept it. He was grateful that Une had understood and let him have only three other people working with him at a time.
Closing the door behind him, Duo nodded to his team and spread the folder out in front of them. "Lords and Ladies, we are gathered here today to help fix a grevious error in judgment." Dodging the pencils and random wads of paper, Duo sighed and sat down. "We have less than two weeks to figure out what this group is up to and why they seem to be gathering weapons and gundanium. The answer is obvious but we're supposed to scout the area and come up with a plan for tactical to use to bring them down. There are two people who we need to get close to meaning this is a partial seduction mission. Nelson and I will handle that. I need you two, Roberts and Takashi, to be our scouts. Once we have the location, its your job to get the overall layout of the base. After that, we'll need to get prints on the two songbirds, any objections." Smiling faintly at his team, Duo stood and left the papers on the desk. "You have two hours to study this stuff then meet me in the hanger. I'll have the rest of the supplies ready to go. Oh and Roberts, don't leave the file on the table this time."
Making his way back to his office, Duo winced as his tired muscles started complaining. Looking around as he entered his office, Duo closed and locked the door before making sure the curtains were secure. Once he was sure it was safe, Duo sat down on the floor and closed his eyes. No one other than Lady Une had been in his office, and he knew the others would be shocked if they had seen how much he had changed. Allowing his chakra to expand and heal the torn and damaged muscles, Duo thought back on his friend and only living family left behind. No longer feeling the stiffness and strain in his muscles, Duo picked up the phone and called the necessary departments for all the equipment needed for the mission. Thanking whatever deity was listening for the break he would have after this mission, Duo hung up the phone and stood. Soothing the beast within him, Duo stretched unlocked the door to his office. Stepping out of the room, Duo turned and locked the door behind him before placing his hands behind his head and began whistling a lively tune as he made his way to the hanger.
Using the time ahead to mentally prepare for the mission, Duo took the time to look inside himself and search for his long time partner. 'Shinigami, you feel them just as I do. Iruka-niisan and Naruto are on their way. Perhaps this is what Une wanted to talk to us about.' Stepping into the elevator, Duo allowed the doors to close and closed his eyes in order to see his partner. Sitting in an armchair with one leg wrapped in bandages slung over the arm, Shinigami sat with his eyes half closed staring at the lit fireplace before him. "Yes they are. Things must have gone bad if they are sending for us, especially with Akatsuki after the jinchuuriki. I've almost finished with that scroll we were given. I'll use the time after the mission to complete it, but first I think it's time I got to play." Duo smiled, though for those who knew him well they knew Shinigami was ready for the hunt. 'I'll work on the scroll during the mission, just try not to get hurt.'
Stepping out of the elevator, Duo's grin grew even more as he bounced over to what he playfully called the "props" department. "Lucy, I got a job for you," he sing-songed as he laid his hands on the counter. "You get to do the one thing most men and women in Preventer's have dreamed about. You get to play with my hair." Smiling as the violet-haired beauty popped her head out of a bin of clothing, Duo pulled the hair tie off the end of his braid and stepped into the room, closing and locking the door behind him. Looking through the clothes bins, Duo started telling her exactly what was needed for the mission. "I don't care what you do to my hair but no cutting or excessive heat. It's hard enough to take care of, I really don't need split ends." Lucrezia Noin looked at Duo as if she had never seen him before. She knew he was protective of his braid but to actually hear him speak of split ends was an extreme she wasn't expecting.
Lucy shook her head as he stepped behind the curtain to change. She frowned slightly as she wondered why he never worked with the other pilots. Hearing a knock on the glass, Lucy turned and handed the agent the packages Duo had put together and told them he would meet them at the plane. Turning around again at the sound of footsteps, Lucy barely held in her gasp. Where once there stood a 21 year old male there was now a 21 year old female with brown wavy hair. Duo smirked and walked over to the shocked Preventer and closed her mouth. "Darlin, I know I look good but you don't have ta stare." Shaking her head to rid herself of the shock, Lucy spun the man around and started brushing his hair.
"Duo, when are you gonna take a break. You've done more missions this week than any of the other Preventer's combined," Noin asked as she finished with the curling iron. Setting the iron down, Noin turned the young man to the mirror and couldn't help but grin at her own work. Having pulled Duo's hair into a French twist, she pinned the base of the twist to his head and left the rest of his hair free. From there she curled the ends and was now putting pins in place to hold the curls to his head. Between the hairstyle, the light splatter of rouge, pale pink lip gloss, and a formfitting black leather dress with an black trench coat, Duo was the woman of every mans dreams.
"I'll take a break when they quit handing me missions, you know that as well as I Lucy. Now, shall we go see who I can confuse today?" Picking up the trench coat, Duo hung it over his shoulder and slipped his stocking covered feet into a pair of black stilettos. Unlocking the door, Duo and Noin made their way to the hanger. Duo kept his head down and let Noin lead the way smirking at the catcalls he could hear from his coworkers. Stepping into the hanger. Hearing the other pilots who had apparently been called in for some mission, Duo couldn't help but grin.
"Noin, you know you're not supposed to bring civilians down here. Who knows who she could be working for."
"Nice to know you think I'm a civilian female, Wu-man but I assure you I am male and am allowed to be here," Duo said as he looked up then made his way over to his waiting team. Motioning them onto the plane, Duo turned to face the other four pilots and blew then a kiss as the bay doors shut.
(Authors Note: I'm gonna skip the mission. It'll be its own separate story later )
A week and a half later, a plane touched down inside the Preventer's hanger. Stepping out of the plane, all laughter and smiles, Duo and his team waved bye to each other and agreed to meet at a later date that hopefully wouldn't involve a mission. As his team left Duo let his exhaustion show, it had been bad and two of his team had almost died. They got what they needed that was the main priority. Handing the folder to the waiting secretary, Duo pulled his hair into a loose braid and made his way to the elevator. Stepping inside, Duo vowed that no one was stopping him from seeing what Une had wanted. Shinigami was exhausted as well and had retreated to his room inside Duo to rest and work on the scroll that was almost complete.
Exiting the elevator Duo steeled himself for the confrontation he could feel coming as he read the chakra coming from the other room. Not bothering to hide how tired he was, Duo walked into the room where the rest of the pilots and Lady Une sat waiting. Being the last to arrive, everyone was expecting a cheerful outburst. Heero, Quatre, and WuFei, were surprised when all they received was a nod.
Shaking his head at Une's motion for him to sit, Duo walked over behind Zechs and whispered in his ear. "Where are you hurt," he asks as he places a hand on Zechs shoulder. Nodding slightly when he places an arm around his ribs, Trowa and Une watch with a straight face as Duo's hand takes on a vibrant green glow before the color seeps into Zechs causing him to close his eyes.
Clearing her throat, Une raised an eyebrow and proceeded to start the meeting. "The reason I have called you here is the six of you have managed to rack up at least six months of paid sick leave and another years worth of vacation and I feel that it is about time you use it. The world is at peace, for the moment, and should anything occur we have a way of reaching you all. Rest easy and return in nine months and we shall see if an extended vacation is necessary."
Raising her hand to stop the protests, Une glared at Heero and WuFei. "You two need this the most. You are falling asleep at your desks and setting a bad example for other recruits. I strongly advise you take this nine month vacation before a longer one is imposed," she said as she waved her hand in a dismissive gesture.
Quatre nods and stands pulling Heero and WuFei with him. "Are you coming guys?"
"In a moment, I need to speak with Lady Une and Zechs about some new policies," Trowa said as he nodded to his love.
"I gotta give my mission report Q-bean, but I'll meet you at the doors," Duo said as he kept his hand on Zechs' shoulder.
Nodding, Quatre proceeded to pull the reluctant vacationers out of the office. Trowa stood up and closed the door locking it behind them. Turning to face his comrades in arms, Trowa raised an eyebrow. "Could someone tell me what that was," he asked watching as the glow faded and Duo rubbed his wrist.
Duo sighed and sat down in the chair next to Zechs, then after nodding at Lady Une, curled up into a ball and fell asleep. Zechs sighed and pulled Duo into his lap and rocked him back and forth.
"Duo is not what he appears to be. When he first came to work for the Preventers, he brought his true history with him. The one the doctors fabricated is not entirely correct. His family did indeed die on L2, but he was born on earth. Japan's forests are littered with hidden villages. These villages contain ninja, shinobi who can wield energy or chakra. Duo and his family were sent away to prevent certain knowledge from ever being known by other villages.
"His family fled to Sank then to L2, where they were killed. I received a message from the Godaime Hokage, leader of the Leaf village, wanting Duo to return home. They are supposed to send two teams of shinobi to escort him home."
Trowa nodded and looked to Duo. "So explain to me what that green glow I saw was and why the others couldn't see it," he said as he sat next to Zechs, who was caressing the sleeping Preventers braid.
Clearing his throat, Zechs answered him. "That green glow as you call, it is a healing chakra. When Duo walks into a room he automatically knows who is injured, and will heal them if allowed. However, if the damage is extensive, it will leave him as you see him now."
Suddenly Duo startled the others by sitting up and pulling a set of papers out of his boots. "They're here," he said as eight puffs of smoke appeared in various spots around the room. Tossing them in the direction of the new additions to the room, all but one group got hit by theirs and ended up stuck to the floor with glue. Iruka and Naruto, who had appeared close toghether, stepped to the side and looked down at the puddle of glue that would have pinned them to the floor then looked to the others who were stuck, before looking at the original occupants of the room and smirked. "Still up to the same old tricks Duo," Iruka said as he stepped over to the other groups and started cutting them loose.
"Only when I know they work. Not my fault they didn't move," Duo said as he stands and moves over to Une's desk raising an eyebrow in question. Seeing the lady nod, Duo sat down on the edge of the desk and started cleaning his nails with a kunai. "At least it wasn't kunai." Turning to the other free moving person in the room, Duo smiled brightly. "Hello Naruto-nii-san."
Naruto, who had looked down during the exchange, raised his head at the greeting. "Duo-nii-san, we have a lot of catching up to do." Moving over to help Iruka with the others, Naruto looked back over his shoulder and smiled as his eyes turned red. 'Ohayo Otou-sama'. Seeing the slight nod at the greeting Naruto went back to freeing the others.
A.N. I did it again guys I got a massive plot bunny who fled once part of it was written. If you have any ideas of what I should do next leave me a message. I know where I want it to go but I need help with the where they go next or if they tell the other pilots.