A/N: Re-post note: I didn't realize that the additional spaces I add are disappearing whenever I save the document, so I'm going back through to add the line breaks. Sorry for any confusion this has caused. Again, just having fun with the story and the Naruto characters. And it is completely finished, I'm just working on uploading each of the chapters.
At 5:00 pm sharp everyone was at the gate except Kakashi, who was always notoriously late. Kinuko and Neji had their ANBU masks in their hands ready to adorn them, the face of a raccoon and a tiger representing them.
Naruto was impatiently tapping his foot, and Sakura blushed in embarrassment as the ANBU team stared at them silently. "We're really sorry about this, Kakashi is always late, but I know he will be here soon."
Kinuko nodded with a small smile and Neji snorted in disbelief, he had been on enough missions with Kakashi to know that he was never on time. Naruto stared unabashedly at Kinuko, to which Sakura noticed, and she gave him a sharp elbow to the ribs.
"OW! Sakura what was that for?" Naruto had everyone's attention now and Sakura giggled nervously at the attention, and she was relieved when Kakashi popped out of nowhere to save her from having to chastise Naruto for crushing on Kinuko in front of everyone.
"Oh great, Kakashi, you're here, let's go!" Sakura smiled in relief and everyone nodded their heads.
Neji spoke first, "Kakashi, take point and I'll head up the rear. We've got about a 3 day travel to intercept the Stone ninja." Everyone nodded in agreement and they took off, the ANBU duo donning their masks as they headed off.
It wasn't 30 minutes into their run through the trees that Sakura and Kakashi noticed Naruto gravitating towards Kinuko. He started running in sync with her, smiling like a love-sick fox.
"So, uh, Kinuko, I've never seen you around before. How come?"
Kinuko smiled as everyone silently listened in, "I was trained privately, away from the Academy you all went through."
Naruto's brow furrowed, "Ah, that must have not been very fun. What about your teammates, who are they?"
Kinuko smiled sadly under her mask, "I received specialty training without teammates, Naruto. Most of my missions are performed alone."
Kakashi, who was ahead of the group, was probably the only one who understood what she meant. He could only conclude that she was utilized for seduction missions, and received specialty kuniochi training from the few shinobi like her in Konoha. Konoha didn't publicize exactly who was used for seduction missions, but mostly what he knew of that branch of shinobi life from when he was in ANBU was that they weren't generally known to other Leaf ninja and their identities were usually concealed until they decided to move away from their specialty, or that their looks could no longer complete the mission.
He heard Naruto yelp enthusiastically, "Well you can come on missions with us anytime! You sure are pretty Kinuko, I wouldn't let any harm come to you, believe it!"
Sakura snorted in disbelief, "Hey Naruto, what the hell am I, chopped liver?"
Naruto groaned and rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly, lagging behind to fall in step with Sakura and apologize. Kinuko gave a small laugh and sped up to check on Kakashi's scouting.
She fell in to step with him, scanning the woods around her, "Anything interesting up ahead?"
Kakashi glanced around again, his Sharingan exposed. "Not unless you count trees, trees, and…more trees."
Kinuko huffed in amusement, "I'll check with Hyuuga. Maybe we've got some squirrel enemies ahead."
Kakashi smiled beneath his masked and nodded as Kinuko stopped momentarily to fall to the back of the group to fall in line with Neji.
"Any squirrel enemies ahead?"
Neji snorted in small amusement, "All clear."
Kinuko nodded and proceeded ahead in silence.
It was nearing nightfall when Kakashi brought them to a stop near a river. "We will camp here for the night."
Everyone stopped with Kakashi, nodding and taking their packs out of their sealing scrolls. Kinuko watched as everyone suddenly split off into a task: Naruto was fetching water, Kakashi started a fire with a Katon jutsu, Sai was gathering firewood, and Sakura was working on getting dinner set up. Kinuko felt a little useless as she stood behind the group, removing her mask and tying it to her belt sash.
"Even when they aren't fighting together, they seamlessly work as a team." Neji approached Kinuko on her left side to watch the group with her.
Kinuko nodded, her eyes lit with wonder and a hint of envy. Neji noticed her stare and, not wanting her to feel left out, assigned her a task as well. "I need you to set the barrier jutsus and traps."
Kinuko nodded, "Hai." And she took off.
When Kinuko arrived back to the group, Neji was in the trees on watch and Team 7 was gathered around the fire. The sun had finally gone down and the fire was the only light in the area save for the moon.
Sakura turned to Kinuko with a warm, welcoming smile, "Dinner is ready, have a seat."
Sakura patted the log next to her, to which Kinuko smiled and sat next to her. "Ariagoto."
Kinuko took the offered bowl of soup and began eating with the group. Everyone noticed how graceful she was, even with eating, and Naruto and Sakura both tried to clean up their act a bit around her. Sakura watched Kinuko from the corner of her eye, she had recognized the woman immediately. She was one of Tsunade's closest friends, but Sakura knew little about her personally other than her code name.
Sakura smiled and tried to make conversation, "So, Kinuko-san, I've heard Tsunade speak highly of you before but never about your work. I was wondering what your specialty is? Tsunade says you are so good at what you do that they call you the Black Widow."
Kinuko stilled, Kakashi noticing immediately a shift in her body language. From above in the trees, Neji looked down and saw a spike in Kinuko's chakra before it immediately disappeared.
Naruto, ever oblivious, nearly jumped out of his seat, "The Black Widow?! That's so cool, Kinuko-chan!"
Kinuko's form relaxed and she smiled softly, remembering that Tsunade had told her to trust these people if she was ever to leave her specialty. Tsunade said they wouldn't judge her, and that the group, especially Naruto, were among the most accepting and understanding shinobi she had ever met.
"I appreciate the enthusiasm, Naruto. But to answer your question Sakura, my specialty is with seduction missions. I think Tsunade likes to call me the Black Widow because…well…I've assassinated many men in the bedroom and because I'm a poison jutsu specialist."
Everyone was quiet for a moment and Neji, if he wasn't a ninja, would have fallen out of the tree at the initial shock.
Naruto pounced immediately back into the conversation, "Poison jutsu, that's awesome! What the heck are seduction missions?"
Kakashi actually slapped Naruto on the back of the head and Sakura face-palmed.
Kinuko couldn't help but laugh, the tension in the group had dissipated. "It's alright Naruto, I don't expect many shinobi to be familiar with the term unless they've spent a great deal of time in ANBU. There are only a few kuniochi who work the same missions that I do, and most of our Leaf ninja have no idea we exist. When we are young, certain families are approached for their daughters to enter the specialty if they fit the requirements for seduction missions and if accepted, they enter a private academy with training geared towards seduction missions."
Naruto's draw dropped and Kakashi was a bit surprised to find out that the women were chosen and trained from childhood.
Kakashi was curious, "What kind of requirements could they possibly impose on children to find them suitable in the future for such a career?"
Kinuko averted her eyes and looked to the ground, "Our family's skill set and our looks are taken into account."
Kinuko turned and looked at Sakura, "Sakura, you for instance, would have been recruited had your family not been civilians and well, if your hair wasn't pink. You are beautiful and talented, you are truly fortunate that you are so distinguishable."
Sakura was blushing as Kinuko turned to the group, "The women that are chosen can't have distinguishable features as we can't rely on a henge for a mission. Some women, their clan will not accept such a fate for their daughters and have the ability to fight the system. Hinata, for instance, is the Hyuuga heir and your friend, Ino, has a father who would never allow his daughter to do something so…disgraceful."
Neji landed without a sound next to Kinuko, "What you do, Kinuko, is not disgraceful. You serve as a ninja just like the rest of us, and you had no choice as a child for the decision your clan made for you."
Kinuko looked up at Neji and smiled, "Hai. I am just surprised that you all have reacted so calmly."
Sakura grabbed Kinuko's hand and squeezed it, "We understand the ninja way, and everyone's path is different."
Naruto, who had been taking all of this in, finally stood up in a dramatic fashion, "So you are telling me that Tsunade has sexy Leaf kuniochi trained in the art of seduction as her friends and she isn't telling anyone?! Wait until I tell Jiraiya-sensei about this!"
Sakura punched Naruto into a tree, "You pervert!"
Kinuko was laughing so hard she was doubled over and even Kakashi couldn't contain a chuckle. That was the only thing Naruto had gotten out of listening to Kinuko.
She wiped the tears out of her eyes, prepared to settle Naruto down once and for all, "This is too much. Naruto, Jiraiya-sensei WAS one of our senseis. He is the pervy sage after all."
Everyone's eyes nearly fell out of their head. It took a lot of effort to shut Naruto up, but that did the trick. Soon enough, everyone had dropped the subject and quieted down enough to get some rest.
The next day turned out to be just as quiet as the first, the run was filled with idle chit-chat. Kinuko noticed that Sakura kept stealing glances at her, but she couldn't quite figure out why. Every time she neared her to talk, Sakura would blush and speed up her pace. Kinuko, wanting to try and make friends with Sakura, decided she would pull Sakura aside when she had the chance and see why she was suddenly acting strange.
After running the whole day, the group found a small cave to set up in. Before Sakura could start with a meal, Kinuko grabbed Sakura by the elbow, "Sakura and I are going to the stream nearby for a bath, we will be back shortly."
Everyone mumbled their acknowledgment as Kinuko led Sakura off. They disrobed quietly and entered the warm water.
Kinuko started scrubbing her hair, "Sakura, is everything alright? I've noticed you seem uneasy around me now. I don't want to make you uncomfortable, I'd like for us to become friends."
Sakura's eyes widened and she shook her hands in front of her "No, no, it's nothing like that, Kinuko. I want us to become friends as well."
Sakura took to scrubbing her hair as well while Kinuko let her continue.
She started to blush and stutter, "Well, it's just…you know…what you do is very interesting and I can't help but imagine how Jiraiya-sama was your sensei and all. He is quite the pervert…"
Kinuko laughed softly as she rinsed her long hair and then her face turned serious, "Sakura, do you really want me to tell you? Your ears may literally burn off and your nose bleed. You do seem quite innocent regarding the topic, though I mean no offense."
Sakura blushed furiously, "I haven't had any experience with men, but I think I can endure. I want to try and understand what you've had to go through a little better. I think it's safe to say that it's quite an intriguing career and I can't help but have a million questions. I'd like you to tell me a bit about it, if you feel comfortable."
Kinuko smiled and put a hand on Sakura's shoulder, "Alright. Well, I complete missions based on my ability to seduce men, as you know. Sometimes, though, Sakura, men have certain desires that aren't exactly tender or loving or…pleasurable to their partner. The targets I have on missions aren't exactly prince charming. And sometimes, well, before I can subdue them they've taken things too far or there even might be an audience and… I have to endure."
Sakura's face went from blushing to pale in horror, "Kinuko…I had no idea…I'm so sorry."
Kinuko squeezed Sakura's shoulder and then continued washing, "It's alright, we all have to endure as ninja in one form or another. But that's why we have people like Jiraiya-sensei in our lives. They don't just teach us how to seduce men as our careers, Sakura. We were taught that before we ever went on a mission, we had to learn, frankly, to enjoy sex. And there were male shinobi who helped us along the way, to learn to love ourselves, to learn how to be in control of sex, and to learn how to give up control without breaking. We had to learn that sex in our personal lives isn't the awful experiences we have on our missions."
Sakura's face was cherry red again, "I'll never be able to look at Jiraiya-sama the same again."
Kinuko laughed, "Trust me, Sakura, once you've had your go around the bedroom, it will be hard to look at ANY male ninja the same again without wondering what exactly they could possibly do to you."
Sakura's eyes widened, "Seriously?"
Kinuko chuckled, "Trust me, it's not as awful as you think. Have you seen your fox-friend with his shirt off? I mean, seriously hot abs. Kakashi takes point and you don't stare at his firm ass? Neji has the face of a prince with hair to die for and you don't just want to reach out and touch him? And let's face it, they're all shinobi, you know they are completely ripped underneath those clothes, kind of makes a woman wonder what it would be like to undress them, yeah?"
Sakura blushed to high heaven and Kinuko smiled, nudging her ribs.
"I'm not going to jump any of your friends, I promise, although I work seduction missions I'm not that kind of woman in my personal life. I don't mess with people's feelings like that or my own. But if you've wondered why so many kuniochi glare daggers into your back, it's because they've probably had those same thoughts I have, I'm just giving you food for thought and maybe open your eyes a little bit."
They both got out of the water and begin dressing. Sakura stared off, lost in thought a bit and then blushed again, "I guess I never thought of it like that before. I've always been around Naruto and Kakashi since I was little, I guess I really never had that perspective before. And frankly, no one besides Ino has ever told me anything like that, and I just thought she said those things because, well, she's Ino and she chases after every guy."
Kinuko smiled knowingly as she brushed out her wet hair, "I can imagine being on a team like yours you see Naruto and Kakashi for the people they are, superficial things like their looks would be overlooked for a long time."
Sakura sat on a rock as she brushed her short locks out as well, staring off into the water, "Sasuke was the only one I'd ever thought of like that before, it's hard to look past him, even though he isn't here."
Kinuko knew all too well Sakura's unrequited love story, it was one thing Tsunade had hoped that Kinuko could help her apprentice move on from and realize what was in front of her before it was too late.
"I can only imagine your pain, Sakura. But can I say something in all honesty from an outsider's perspective?"
Sakura looked up with saddened emerald eyes and nodded, "Hai."
Kinuko moved to sit next to Sakura and put a hand on her knee, "You deserve happiness, Sakura, and you deserve someone who would love you and you would be the center of their world. Life is too short to worry about what-ifs and what could have been. We are shinobi, Sakura, live your life to the fullest and take and enjoy everything you can from it now, because we never know what day will be our last."
Sakura let the words sink in. Kinuko was still a stranger to her, but for some reason, she felt so much sincerity and honesty in her words.
"Ariagoto, Kinuko. I will think on it."
Everyone continued with their tasks until it was nightfall and they were all gathered around the fire eating dinner in the small cave.
Kinuko reached for her pack and pulled out a map. "Since we will be intercepting the Stone ninja tomorrow, we need to go over the layout of Chitori's compound."
Everyone gathered close to Kinuko as she spread the map out on the ground in front of her and started pointing out the layout, "The compound is three stories with a basement and surrounded by a 6 foot stone wall. There are generally three guards stationed at the entrance inside the wall and two guards stationed outside. Two guards walk the grounds, and it's unknown how many men he keeps inside. During my recon, I counted about twenty different shinobi coming in and out. Chitori's room is located on the second floor and this is his balcony here," Kinuko pointed to a spot on the map. "When you meet for the exchange, I should already be inside the compound with Neji on watch. I don't imagine that this should take too long, once you've completed the exchange I should have him down by nightfall and be ready for extraction."
Everyone nodded and Neji pointed to a spot on the map, "I'll take up watch at this point and scan the building before you enter. I'll let you know where he is storing the forbidden scrolls. I imagine we won't be involved in taking down the Stone ninja if you plan to be inside before the exchange?"
Kinuko nodded, "I will be moving into the compound with the women that visit weekly from the local brothel. However, you'll have to relay the whereabouts of the scroll library to Team 7. The owner of the brothel and I have an arrangement, and I'll be meeting the group 5 miles out from the compound to travel amongst them. I have to be careful that I blend in with the group in case any of his men are watching. Once we arrive, Chitori will handpick the woman he wants and the rest will stay for his men. Kakashi, Sakura, Naruto, I expect you to arrive shortly after before we have a chance to head back to his room, so timing is important. The rest will play out from there."
Everyone nodded in understanding except Neji, "And what if he doesn't select you to accompany him, what's the contingency plan?"
Kinuko smirked knowingly, "There isn't a need for a contingency plan, he will choose me."
Neji started to retort in argument that in fact, she couldn't know and there was a gaping hole in her plan, but Kakashi cut him off, shaking his head. "Neji, you forget that this is Kinuko's area of expertise. You would do right to trust her. If she is certain of this, so should we be."
Kinuko smiled at Kakashi with a nod of respect, "Thank you Kakashi-sama. I've done my homework on our target and I know what type of woman he's after, I'll play the part convincingly, you needn't be worried about that. Our biggest concern is extraction, especially since it's our mission to recover the library of forbidden jutsu and get out of the compound without been seen or heard. My target is just a piece of the puzzle."
Kakashi sat back with a hand under his masked chin, "If we can get inside during the exchange I can replace myself with a clone and make it to the library to work on getting the scrolls altogether and putting them in a traveling scroll. After you've taken care of Chitori, you can meet me in the library and we'll work out an exit from there. If we tip off his men, Naruto and Sakura can be standing by ready to attack. Sakura, we would need you to take down the wall, it would be enough of a distraction to help us get out while Naruto overwhelms them with clones."
Naruto was gleaming with excitement while Sakura flexed her fist, "No problem."
Kinuko began folding the map up and handed it to Neji, who stored it quickly in his pack, "At the first sign of trouble I'll give a signal and we will all move in to get you out. Understood?"
Kinuko nodded but took Neji by the elbow, "I need to speak to you in private."
Neji gave a curt nod and they disappeared into the trees, Team 7 sitting around the fire wondering what was going on.
After they reached a safe distance from the group, Kinuko found a quiet spot under a canopy of trees.
She turned to Neji, "I did not want to speak in front of the others for fear of getting them worked up over nothing. But since you will be watching the exchange, you need to understand exactly what may constitute real trouble and what is an act."
Neji nodded slightly for her to proceed. "Chitori likes to break the new girls in, and he isn't exactly gentle about it. If he hits me, or I'm crying or begging, don't think that he's suspected me and you need to move in. Remember, it's an act on my end. If I'm truly in danger, I'll make the sign of tiger and bull. If my hands aren't free, I'll spike my chakra and you'll need to move fast. Otherwise, just sit back and please let me do my job."
Neji's face turned into a slight frown, "So if he's beating you, degrading you, or forcing himself on you, I'm expected to sit back and just watch?"
He scoffed and crossed his arms. Kinuko smiled softly and placed a hand over his crossed arm, catching his eyes, "I know that it's not easy to watch a comrade be treated as such, but sometimes it's what I have to do Neji-sama. It's not as if I enjoy it, or find it honorable, but it is…necessary sometimes. I trust that you will watch my back, trust that I am a capable kuniochi."
She watched as Neji clenched his jaw and uncrossed his arms, her hand falling to her side. But he quickly placed both hands on the sides of her shoulders, "I shouldn't be the one complaining about what may happen when you are the one who has to endure such treatment. I know that you have done this alone for many years, but when you come out of this mission, you will have teammates to support you. If you need to talk…"
Neji let it hang in the air and Kinuko smiled sweetly, leaning up and placing a kiss on Neji's cheek, "Thank you. Come on, let's get back before they all start wondering what we may be doing out here in these woods."
Kinuko turned to leave but not before she saw Neji break out into a blush that he tried to hide by speeding ahead of her. She chuckled lightly, wondering how someone so handsome could be so completely innocent.
