The Blood Angel
Part 1
By: Rob Allen
Naruto leaned against the door to Tsunade's office. He was upset about the mission that she had just placed before him. "What kind of crappy mission is this?" Naruto yelled at Tsunade.
Tsunade slammed her hands down on her desk and stood up. "You can't get out of this one! You have no choice in this Naruto!" She yelled.
Naruto grunted and sat down shaking his head. "Why are we chasing some guy in the Earth Country?" He asked.
Sai looked at him and said, "Are you that stupid? He's dangerous, and he needs to be destroyed."
Naruto punched Sai in the knee cap and Sai in return slammed Naruto in the head. "Stop it you idiots!" Tsunade yelled at the two of them. "Shikamaru, Ino and Choji and Kiba, Hinata and Shino and their leader Kakashi are going to meat up with you in the Earth Country just across the boarder from the Grass Country. They chased Mikiyasu Matsumoto into the Earth Country."
Sakura was confused by this statement. "So why are meeting them in the Grass Country?" Sakura asked.
Tsunade shook her head and looked at the five of them. "The government of the Earth Country is cracking down on foreign ninjas, so I told them to stay in the Grass County in a small village called Aomori." She said.
Just as the Fifth Hokage finished her statement, Rock Lee walked into the room, slamming Naruto into the wall. Gai followed closely behind rock. Gai struck one of his obnoxious poses and exclaimed, "It would be a crime against our country if you, Lady Tsunade, didn't permit my student to come on the mission with them."
Rock Lee smiled from ear to ear and watched his instructor speak. "Sure Gai. I don't mind it. You're on the mission Lee!" Tsunade said.
Naruto swung the door shut and frowned. "Why does bushy brow always end up on the missions that I am on?" Naruto pouted.
Tsunade glared at Naruto and said, "To bad, now get out on that mission."
Yamato bowed politely and then herded the others towards the door. The five of them left the Hokage's office and walked down the stairs to the ground floor. "Aren't you excited you guys?" Lee asked the others.
"Of course." Sai said in his own usual monotone.
Naruto grunted and looked at the two of them. "Yeah, I guess."
"Naruto," Said a voice from behind. "One small tip before you go on your mission. Don't get killed."
Naruto turned and saw Neji and TenTen standing upside down from a tree branch looking at the other five ninjas. "Neji, TenTen, are you coming with us?" Sakura asked enthusiastically.
"No, sorry to disappoint you." TenTen said. "But be especially careful of Mikiyasu. He is dangerous and has many followers at his disposal. Now, what Neji said, please don't get killed."
"Umm, thanks guys." Yamato said as he shook his head.
With a poof of smoke, the two of them disappeared into thin air. "That was an udder waste of my time. Lets keep moving." Sai said.
The group arrived at the gates to the out side of the city. Naruto told the guard to open the gate and it opened. They immediately jumped into the trees and headed to the northeast. After eleven hours traveling, the group came to clearing and stopped for the night. "Another two days of travel at this pace and we will get to the Grass Country." Yamato said. "That's not bad for a day of travel!"
Lee leaned up against a tree and looked to Naruto. "I am going to take a quick nap before we continue on."
Naruto looked at him and said, "You do that buddy."
Naruto plopped down at the base of a tree and looked around the clearing. "I don't know about you guys, but I am really hungry!" Naruto said.
"Fine Naruto, it is now your job to find the food. And oh yeah, watch out for bears." Sai said with a fake smirk.
Naruto grunted and walked back into the trees. "I think that I saw a creek a while back." He said as he walked away.
"Idiot." Sai said.
Sakura walked over to a stump in the clearing and laid her backpack down. She opened her backpack and dug around for the map. "Yamato, the map says that we are really close to the border town near the Rain Country. We are only a few miles away, so do you think we could go there and bunk for the night?"
Yamato took the map out of Sakura's hands and looked. "Sure, why not. I didn't think that we made it this far." He said. "So let's wait for Naruto to show up so we can head out."
"Yeah, let's just wait for a while." Sai said.
Sakura was slightly stunned by his last statement. "Why didn't you do your usual thing and say that we should have left him behind?" She said.
"I don't feel like it. I am tired from the travel of the day." Sai said as he let out a long yawn.
After about twenty-five minutes, Naruto showed up with five large fish slung over his shoulder. "Here's your food guys, wait, why is there no fire?" He asked
Sai looked up and said, "Didn't think about it."
Sakura looked at Naruto. "You should have said something before you left!" She said.
Naruto walked over to the stump in the middle of the clearing. He gently pushed Sakura's backpack off and onto the ground. Naruto then laid the fish on the stump. Rock Lee then came into sight carrying a pile of wood. "When did you wake up Lee?" Sai asked in his usual calm manner.
Lee dropped the wood on the ground and said, "I was never asleep. I was to excited about this mission, so I got the fire wood." He said enthusiastically.
Naruto thanked Lee and then used a jutsu to light the wood on fire. Naruto grabbed several sticks and fashioned them into a holder for the fish. After about fifteen minute, the fish were ready to eat. Sai took a bit of his fish and sat down under one of the trees. "What kind of fish is this?" Sai asked.
Naruto looked at it and replied, "The kind that lives in the creek, now eat it, or I'll eat it for you."
Sai looked at Naruto and frowned, then took another large bite of fish. Naruto took a large bite of his own fish and then sat down next to Lee and Sakura. "Oh, Naruto, we decided to go to the Border Town near the Rain Country for the night. That okay?"
Naruto nodded and hungrily went back after the fish in his hands. Sakura smiled and took a bite out of her fish, then turned to Lee. "So…" She said.
Rock Lee looked at her and smiled. "This trip is fantastic, don't you think so Sakura?"
"Yeah sure, but aren't you worried about Shikamaru and the others?" Sakura asked as she looked back at Naruto.
"Sakura, you must be more trusting of the other's skills. They are just across the boarder, so let's hurry up and meet up with them!" Lee said.
"Oh, bite me." Naruto muttered.
Lee glared at him and polished of the last of his fish. After a few minutes, the four of them were ready to continue on with their journey. "You all ready to go?" Lee asked as he got pumped.
"Let's just go! I am tired and I want to sleep for a while!" Naruto yelled.
After an hour or so of travel, the five of them came to a hill that overlooked the Border Town. Smoke billowed from the rooftops of all of the homes in the town, and from where they stood they could see people wandering the streets, passing from restaurant to restaurant. "Let's get down there so we can get some rest." Sai said.
The four walked down the streets until they found a small inn that the group could sleep in. Yamato walked up to the front desk and rang the bell. The cheerful looking clerk came out from behind a curtain. "How may I help you, Yamato?" she asked.
Yamato pulled out a small sack of money and placed it on the counter. "Five rooms please." Yamato said.
"I assume that you have been here before, Yamato." Sakura said.
"Yes. In my time in training for work as an ANBU, I came through this town many times, and have stayed here about forty times. Now when I get a vacation, I come here."
The woman opened the bag and took twenty of the coins and handed the sack back to Yamato. The woman handed Yamato five keys and said, "Here are your keys, and I hope you enjoy your stay here."
Yamato bowed respectfully and lead the group up the stairs to the rooms. "Take your key and get some rest." Yamatp said.
Sakura, Sai, and Lee snatched their key first and then walked to their rooms. Naruto walked up to Yamato and held his hand out to take the key. "What do you want?" Sai asked.
"The key stupid!" Naruto yelled.
"This one?" Sai said as he waved it in Naruto's face. "To bad."
Naruto pushed Sai over and yanked the key from his hand. "I am too tired for your crap Sai! Go to bed!" Naruto said as he walked to his room.
Naruto studied the key and saw the number 14 inscribed on the top. He stopped at his door and opened the lock and swung open the door. The bed looked nice and clean and the room was nicely kept. "No wonder Sai likes this place." Naruto said as he plopped on the bed.
Sleep was brought to Naruto quickly due to the intense traveling. After some time, Naruto was awakened by a loud bump down the hall. He jumped out of the bed and swung open the door. Sai was squaring off with two assassins dressed in all black. The Earth Country's ninja emblem was etched into their forehead protector.
Sai clashed with the two of them and then sweep kicked one of their legs out from under him. "Naruto, get back! These assassins were sent by Mikiyasu Matsumoto!" Sai yelled.
The one that was tripped swung himself up and was standing after several seconds. He then took a swing at Sai, who drew his kunai and plunged it into the assassin's neck. Blood spurted onto the wall and the second assassin ran towards him.
Naruto ran forwards and blocked the kunai. Sai took incentive and slashed the assassin's neck. The assassin fell over backwards and disappeared into a poof of smoke. "That's not good." Sai said as he drew a second kunai.
Naruto looked up and saw the assassin clinging to the ceiling directly above Sai. "Above you Sai!" Naruto yelled.
Sai looked up and caught the assassin in midair with his kunai in his chest. The assassin struggled for several seconds, and then fell on the ground, dead. Sai looked at Naruto and nodded. "The assassin killed the clerk and her family." Sai said as he shook his head. I'm just glad that they came after me first." Sai said.
A loud clatter was heard from Yamato's room as the two had finished. "Great." Naruto said.
The two of them bolted towards Yamato's door. Just as the two got there, the door busted open from the inside. Yamato slammed against the wall and the assassin quickly followed him. Yamato punched the assassin in the head and then in the chest. Yamato then stood up and drew a kunai and stabbed the bewildered assassin in the stomach. The assassin fell over and Yamato jumped on top of him.
Yamato swung the mask off the assassin and there he saw the face of a young boy, no older than twelve. His face looked pail and Yamato rolled off and looked at Sai. "This boy is young. I think that this was a training exercise for them. If the young ones are this ruthless, I am kind of afraid to find out what the older ones are going to be like." Yamato said.
He lifted his flak jacket and revealed a large cut across his stomach. "Yamato! You are injured badly! We need to get you help!" Naruto said.
"Wake Sakura and get her to help me. The tips of the blades were tipped in poison." Yamato said with a slight wince.
Naruto knocked on Sakura's door and told her that Yamato was injured. Sakura came running out of her room and took a look at Yamato's wound. "This is really bad. I don't think that we will be able to finish the mission."
"What's this "we" business? You four are still going to finish the mission. I trust you to get across the boarders to the Earth Country to take out Matsumoto. Just take me to the hospital and then get on with the mission." Yamato said.
"What's all the commotion?" Rock Lee asked as he opened his door.
"Yamato is injured." Sai said, not even looking up.
Lee quickly walked over to Yamato and saw the long wound. "I will take Yamato to the hospital and you make sure that all of the other assassin ninjas are dead." Sai said.
"Sounds good. Naruto, Lee and I are going to go check the clerk's family." Sakura said.
"The clerk and her husband are both dead." Sai said as he helped up Yamato.
"Dang," Yamato said. "That's disappointing. They were good people. They had three children. Please go check on them."
Sai nodded and then took Yamato down the stairs and out the front door. Lee looked at the bodies on the floor and shook his head. "Why did you not wake me?" He whined.
"Lee, now is not a good time. We need to find the clerk's children." Sakura said as she made her way down stairs.
The three of them walked behind the curtain behind the counter and saw two dead bodies.
There was a large hole in the ceiling leading to Sai's room. "Man, no wonder they woke up Sai." Naruto said.
Sakura nodded and looked around the room. "Kids, it's okay to come out." Sakura called. "The bad people are gone now."
Three sobbing children stepped out from behind a desk. "Are you here to save us?" The oldest asked with a slight sob.
Sakura nodded and opened her arms and hugged the three children. "These guys are really twisted. We have to stop Masumoto and quickly." Naruto said.
Sakura turned over her shoulder and said, "What do we do with the children? We can't just leave them here."
Naruto kneeled down next to the oldest and looked him in the eye. "Do you have any relatives in the town that can take care of you?"
"My gamma." Said the youngest of the three. "My gamma!"
Naruto nodded and looked to Sakura. "Do you think that will work?" Naruto asked.
Sakura nodded and let go of the children. "Where does she live?" Sakura asked.
The oldest sniffled and said, "Eight doors down from here to the left."
Sakura nodded and then signaled for Lee to come over. "I'll take the oldest one." Lee said.
The three ninjas took the children on their backs and then took them down the street a ways. The three dropped the children off their backs and Sakura knocked on the door. An old plump woman opened the door after them waiting for five or so minutes. "This better be good, I was asleep." She said.
Sakura moved out of the way and let the children pass to hug their grandmother. "My daughter's children? What happened?" The woman asked in a concerned tone.
Lee shook his head and looked at the woman. "My squad and I were staying at your daughter's inn, and several assassins came in the night to kill the five of us."
"That doesn't answer my question!" The woman yelled.
"Your daughter and her husband are both dead. They were killed because they were trying to protect us and our sensei who was friends with your daughter and her husband. We are deeply sorry." Sakura said.
The old woman dropped to her knees and then began to sob. "I… I can't take care of these children."
Sakura let a tear roll down her cheek and then she turned and walked away. "Sakura, wait!" Lee said
Sakura turned around and faced Naruto and Lee. "We can't do anything else but to do that. She will most likely going to contact another relative. There is nothing we can do." Sakura said as she wiped away another tear.
She turned back around and then took off towards the hospital. "Sakura…" Naruto whispered.
Lee nodded to Naruto and they left the sobbing woman behind. The two of them found Sakura waiting for them in the lobby of the hospital sitting down next to Sai. "He'll be fine. Guys, we need to get out of here and try to avoid another attack." Sai said.
The others nodded and they walked out of the building. They walked to the outskirts of the city and paused because of a loud blast from one of the buildings. "That's not good." Naruto said. "I bet that it's another group of assassins from Mikiyasu."
Sai nodded and drew his swords. The four of them jumped onto the roof of a building and started to run towards the explosion. Black smoke rose in the moonlight from a four story apartment building. They jumped across the ally and then onto a balcony. The four landed silently and then scouted out the room. Several dead bodies lay on the ground. "Hello." Sakura said.
"Hello." A voice said from the darkness. "I knew the blast would attract you four."
The person stepped forward and then they could see her in the moonlight. A female with large metal claws stepped forwards. She had a long scar running vertically from just below her eye. A brown sash with the Earth Country's ninja symbol shone and her flak jacket and skirt were splattered with blood. "You are messing in dirty business, and now I am going to kill you." She said with an evil grin.
She stood in a wide stance with her hands out stretched as if ready to fight. "You guys get out of here." Lee said. "I'll take her."
"Is that so? Well, I am not opposed. I'll kill you one at a time." She said as she lunged towards Lee.
Sai stepped in front of her and blocked her attack. "Oh, so you are first?" She said. "It's a pity."
Sai looked into her eyes and said, "Are you so sure?"
"Yes, yes, I am" She said. "I am going to kill you and then your team."
Sai shook his head and slashed at her with his sword. His sword slashed across the claws and cut into the brown flak jacket. The sash fell off her shoulder and clattered on the ground. She cocked her head to the side and then frowned. "I underestimated you. Hmm, you could be a fun one." She said with another evil smile.
She took a stab at Sai and he blocked a second time. He countered and kicked her in the chest. She flew backwards and slammed against the wall. She propped herself up and wiped some blood from her lip and dashed at him. He swung his sword, taking off the ninja's head. Black liquid sprayed all over and the head and her body melted into a pile of silvery liquid. Sai kept his guard up for several seconds and then turned to the others. "That was Metal Clone Jutsu. That is a rare jutsu." Sai said. "I have only seen one other who could use that jutsu."
Lee looked out the balcony and gasped. "There she goes!" He said as he watched a silhouette hop from roof to roof.
"Let's go after her! Come on guys!" Naruto said as he jumped onto the balcony's railing.
Sai lunged forwards and grabbed Naruto off the rail. "Don't do that! She is getting reinforcements! We have to keep moving!" Sai yelled.
Naruto struggled and broke free from Sai's grip. "Fine, but we don't stop until we can get to Kakashi." Naruto said.
Sai nodded and jumped across the ally and signaled for the others to come as well. The others jumped down next to Sai and then they dashed off towards the town limits. The guard let them out and they ran west. They then jumped into the trees and then jumped from tree to tree for about five minutes. "We may be able to hide in the Rain Country for the night." Naruto yelled to Sai.
"Not a good idea, but we need an unexpected place to hide so we can't get attacked." Sai said as he paused on a branch. "The boarder is about another half mile ahead."
The others stopped as well and took a quick breath. "Why are we stopping Sai?" Lee asked.
"The clearing ahead is the boarder, and I see some Rain ninjas." Sai said. "This could be trouble. Naruto, let me do all the talking, and don't do anything to screw us up."
Naruto scowled and then rushed forwards. The others also dashed forwards and came to the edge of the clearing. The Rain ninjas did not realize their presence until Sai spoke up. "Excuse me. We are on our way to the Earth Country and we need a place to stay. We are being hunted by assassins as well." Sai said.
Several glanced up and came over to them. A blue haired man stepped forwards and drew a sword from his umbrella. "Why should we believe you?"
"Please," Sakura said. "We need to hide. The man hunting us is Mikiyasu Matsumoto."
The man lowered his sword and said, "His men killed my father when I was seven. He cannot be forgiven."
A second looked down and sniffled. She was one of the most beautiful girls that Naruto had ever seen. She had long teal hair and wore her ninja headband on her arm. "His men killed my love." She said. "I'll take you in at our village if you allow me to come with you. My name isAmatsu Arashi."
The one that spoke before her nodded at them and said, "I am Haran Kyuutan," He said. "And the person to my left is my friend Soukou Rein."
Soukou nodded and shook Sai's hand. "His men killed my brother. He was one of the head Jounin of our village."
The three Rain ninjas lead them to their village. "Welcome to Ame." Amatsu said with a flick of her beautiful hair.
Sakura caught up with Amatsu. "Hello, my name is Sakura." She said with a cheery smile.
Amatsu smiled and introduced herself and then lead them to a small home near the northern wall of the city. The seven of them sat down around a table and then Amatsu said, "Make yourselves at home. Get some sleep. We need to leave in a few hours."
The seven fell asleep and then they woke up as the sun started to rise. "Wake up everybody. We need to leave now." Amatsu said.
After a while, the others were all awake and Amatsu had cooked breakfast. "Eat up. We must leave." Sai said.
The others nodded and continued eating. Naruto wolfed down his rice balls down quickly. "Wow Amatsu! You are a fantastic cook!" Naruto exclaimed. "Those rice balls may be one of the best things that I have ever eaten!"
Amatsu nodded in thanks. The others agreed and then gathered all of their gear. "Let's go guys! Kakashi is counting on us!" Naruto yelled, hurrying the others.
Soukou, the person who Naruto had heard the least from, said, "Who is this Kakashi fellow?"
"He is a Jounin that we were supposed to meet up with in the Grass Country. He is accompanied by six other Chuunin."
The Rain ninjas were taken back by the statement of other Fire ninjas. "Don't worry about them." Lee said as he polished off his last rice ball. "Since you are with us, the seven of them will not attack you."
The Rain ninjas looked skeptical and they left the small home. Haran informed the guard about their mission and the group left the city. Haran lead the group through the trees north. "Are you meeting anywhere specific?" Haran asked Sai.
"Not specifically." Sai said. "We should go to the capital and ask around."
After several hours of travel, they reached the city and began to talk to the guard. "Yes, a grey haired Leaf ninja asked for entrance to the city three days ago."
"And what happened? Did you let him in?" Sai asked.
"No, I didn't. It is policy to not let any foreign ninjas without diplomatic proposes." The guard said.
"Did he tell you where he was going, give you a message for us or anything?" Naruto asked.
Sakura was suddenly hit with a wave that nearly knocked her off her feet. "Where is Aomori?" She asked the guard.
"Go directly south of here. Why?" The guard asked in confusion.
"I just remembered that the village that we were going to meet him in is Aomori." Sakura said as she dashed off to the south.
The others followed and after another hour of travel, they reached the outskirts of a small town. "Well, this is where the real mission begins." Naruto said.