Chapter 2
A red-eyed child raced through the mahogany corridors of a Konoha inn. The seven-year-old ducked behind a wall and tensed his small body as an imaginary enemy almost spotted him in the devastated war ground. The boy drew out a long roll of paper, which served as his mighty sword, from his belt and took a deep breath. In his mind's eye he could see his enemy passing the battle field and searching for him, the single most powerful soldier to ever live.
Jumping out from behind wall he prepared himself to battle his opponent only to be met with the kind face of his loving care-taker. "Dear me, Rei. Didn't you just give me one hell of a fright?" The chubby woman laughed, her bright red curls of hair bounced on her shoulders.
Rei's fabricated battle field faded away like morning mist. His enemy fell into the shadows cast by the inn's lights. Rei smiled; slightly disappointed his game had come to an abrupt end but happy to see Miss Shouta's smiling, pink face.
"Sorry Miss," Rei replied looking slightly sheepish, "I was given orders from Papa to rid the land of ninja and everyone knows that only the quietest warriors can sneak up on a ninja."
"Is that so? Well, a soldier cannot fight on an empty stomach so why don't you eat some supper? Your father should be arriving soon." Miss Shouta replied rubbing the boy's soft hair. She led Rei down the corridor to take him to the dining room.
"What's for dinner?"
"Well Rei, I heard it's meant to be roasted fish and salad."
Rei grimaced and pouted as he continued to follow the chirpy woman.
Rei Cretus was son and only child of Masaru. The boy held a son's pride for his father and aspired to become like him when he grew-up; a great man who selflessly removed ninja from lands in order to save the inhabitants from oppression.
Rei's mother had died when he was very young. He wasn't sure why she died; he only knew it was forbidden to talk about. Heart-broken and over-protective, Masaru took Rei and Miss Shouta to every land he ventured to. Unable to make true friends because he moved so often, Rei had developed an advanced imagination to keep him company.
The boy walked down the wooden staircase until he felt a strange prickling sensation at the back of his neck. The child paused in mid-stride and turned to look behind him. The halls remained still and undisturbed like they were supposed to be but Rei continued to stare behind himself.
"Come on child, the food will not eat itself." Miss Shouta chided when she realized the brown-haired child was not following her like a shadow as he usually did when food was mentioned.
Rei glanced once behind his shoulder before shrugging and told himself the feeling was his imagination trying to get him to play soldier again. He smiled brightly at Miss Shouta and hopped down the stairs like an unsteady colt and jogged into the dining room for food.
"The inn on Main Street." Ino said strongly tapping her slender finger on a map of her home village. "That's were Masaru is residing this week."
Naruto leaned over the map, his hair falling into his face, "How reliable is your information?"
Ino grinned at the male when he looked up to study her face, "As certain as I am that you like ramen."
Naruto stared at the girl for a bit before bursting out laughing, "Well I can't argue with that."
Sasuke continued to glare at the map for a bit, "Masaru only returns in the evening?" he asked.
Ino nodded, "His family stays there as well and the guards rotate after every hour giving us a window period of three minutes to get in there, grab a hostage and get out."
"This is the biggest opportunity we've had in months so we must take it, as troublesome and risky as it is." Shikamaru muttered standing, next to the Uchiha, with his arms behind his head.
Naruto nodded sobering up from his laughing fit, "Tonight. A team will hit the place. Grab a hostage and leave," Naruto turned to his friend, "Who is best suited for that kind mission, Shikamaru?"
The brunette sighed loudly unhappy with having to work but closed his eyes and grabbed his chin as the other three occupants of the room watched him with varying degrees of intensity. The Nara frowned as he thought of endless scenarios, complications and able-bodied ninja. His mind submerged itself into information on each possible team member's weakness, strengths and adaptability. The base's supply of ninja was too small for casualties and he had to guarantee each one would survive and be capable to fight again the next day if the need should arise.
"The team should be," Shikamaru spoke, his eyes still closed, "Inuzuka Kiba and Akumaru, Rock Lee and Uchiha Sasuke."
The latter cast his harsh gaze onto Shikamaru, "Why me? If I die Base is insecure."
The two blonde occupants of the room nodded in agreements. Sasuke was irreplaceable at this point in time. His extra precautions while occasionally unnecessary and overzealous, is what had kept everyone at base safe so far.
"But you won't die." Shikamaru stated simply, "You adapt easily to any battle situation. Should you encounter a fighting style we don't know you can report back on it flawlessly thanks to your damned sharingan. You also have enough power to be able to get away from any of the Avalon guards. Akumaru and Kiba can tell you if you are going to be ambushed thanks to their sense of smell and like it or not your Taijustsu style is in sync with Lee's because you have memorized his style. Also the team cannot be large because it might attract attention. So you'll fit perfectly on the team."
"hn." Was the only reply to the strategist's monologue.
Details of the plan were worked out carefully over the next hour after Ino collected the previously nominated team members. Operation Hostage capture, its name curtesy of Rock lee, was to be initiated immediately. The team was ordered to get ready for the worst-case scenario and be at the entrance of base in twenty minutes.
Naruto followed Sasuke to his room to get ready for the mission. "Hey bastard, how we meant to know if it's really you guys coming back and not some impostors without your sharingan to say?"
Sasuke didn't even lift his head as he scrutinized his kunai before placing them in his holster, "The Sharingan can't be faked so as long as I show you the Sharingan you can be certain it's us."
Naruto handed his friend a bunch of throwing needles, which were promptly concealed in the bandages and sleeves of Sasuke's uniform. Naruto let out a dramatized groan before flopping onto the Uchiha's bed, "It's unfair you guys get to go out and do a mission while I'm stuck in here."
The raven haired male 'accidentally' dropped his word on the blonde's head causing Naruto to grunt and sit back up to yell half-thought out insults at his friend. Sasuke smirked and tied the offending sword onto his belt, "You must stay safe. You're the only one keeping these people from losing their minds to fear."
Rock Lee, Kiba, Akumaru and Sasuke bounded through the trees that Konoha was named after. They swung from the branches with practiced grace and power.
Kiba and Akumaru sniffed the air constantly to keep tabs on anyone nearby who might try to ambush them. If the plan went well, Kiba would stay outside hidden into the trees as a scout to alert the others, who were to go and collect a hostage, if there was any danger near-by.
As the team came to rest in the trees outside the mission's target building, Lee's body shook with barely suppressed anticipation of being able to go on a mission after such a long time of being cooped up at Base.
Sasuke, the elected team leader, crouched low on a swaying branch as he studied the guards standing outside the inn. The sentries of the building remained stone-still for another twelve minutes before glancing up at the sun.
The guards relaxed their stance and walked away from the doorway like well-programmed robots. Sasuke's eyes followed them until the disappeared around the corner of the building. He waited for another several seconds before giving the hand signs to tell his team to start the mission. The team nodded before leaping off the trees' branches. Kiba remained hidden and kept watch, praying that this mission would be successful.
Rei jumped happily into his wooden seat at the end of table and inhaled deeply. The familiar scents of spice and fish wafted through the doors that lead into the spacious kitchen. Although he did not care for fish or salad for that matter, he was famished and knew he had to eat all his supper if he wanted chocolate cake for dessert.
Miss Shouta placed a frosted glass of water in front of the boy and waddled into the kitchen. Sipping contently at the cool liquid, Rei watched the wall opposite him in fascination as the shadows of the branches outside, cast from the sunset's glow, danced elaborately to the wind.
The front door of the inn opened slowly, casting a river of cold sunlight on Rei as his heart leapt around in his chest. The child rejoiced internally that his father was home early and would be able to eat with him. The sparkle in Rei's eyes flickered out like a candle in a blizzard.
While the man that entered through the door was as tall as the boy's father, he most certainly was not the man who had been wished for. Rei stared, captivated by the poppy red eyes that locked onto his duller ones.
Rei opened his mouth to scream for help but his body wouldn't move, it was as if he was locked in a spell. He gulped as the man took another for steps closer, his eyes never leaving the younger's face.
A crash of porcelain reached Rei's ears but the sound was muffled as if travelling over a long distance.
"Get away from him!" Miss Shouta's shrill voice shrieked from behind Rei. The raven haired man did not move nor did he give any sign he had even heard the desperate woman's cry. A massive canine appeared from behind the man and walked into the middle of the room. The hound walked around the male and lowered its head, baring its massive teeth for everyone to see.
The white dog snarled when Miss Shouta shouted again and moved to stand in front Masaru's son, his lean muscle vibrating with the sound. The hound bolted forward and snapped at the screaming woman's legs before jumping to the left to avoid being impaled by a butcher's knife.
The cook who had thrown the knife stepped back when the dog growled at him and snapped his jaws in a threatening gesture.
Rei's eyes began feeling heavy and dry from staring at the black-clad male standing in the doorway for so long. He questioned his sanity when a green figure whisked around the room punching and kicking with unrestrained fury. Rei became faintly aware that the screaming had stopped and that the red-eyed man was walking towards him. A whistle sounded from outside, and before Rei could react he was picked up by the man and falling into the caring, black hands of unconsciousness.
Miss Shouta squinted through her hazy vision to watch her young charge and the two ninja and the dog vanish into the trees just outside the inn. She became aware of the shouting of guards who had run into the room to see what the commotion was. Miss Shouta looked to her side to see the cook lying on the floor, his neck shredded and oozing blood onto the floor.
A guard came in line with her swimming vision. He looked like he was trying to tell her something but for the life of her, she couldn't bring herself to try and understand the words that were reaching her ears. Miss Shouta closed her eyes as a wave of vertigo washed over her and she vaguely wondered if her eyes would ever open again.
Disclaimer: I do not, sadly, own Naruto or any of its characters.
Firstly, thank you so very much to everyone who Favorited and followed this story it means a lot to me. Secondly, I apologize for any spelling a or grammar mistakes. I've tried my best to find and fix all of them but I'm not sure I have completed that task successfully. If you have anything to say about this story, whether its good or bad or how to improve my writing please review.
Also I will use mainly English terminology because I do not speak Japanese and do not wish the butcher the language. I hope to be able to update soon but life does not always let me so I'm not sure when chapter three will be put up.
Thanks to everyone who is reading this fic.
See you next time, bye
