Naruto got up at four o' clock and ate quickly. He was dressed and ready to head out. Suddenly there was a knock on the door. Naruto opened it to find Sasuke Uchiha at his doorstep.
"Konichiwa!" was the strangly cheery greeting. "S-sasuke? Konichiwa! What're you doing here?" he asked, shocked. Sasuke smirked and said, "I figured you would forget the mission, so I came to pick you up!" Naruto felt his face heat up and he spat back, "Whatever, teme, let's get going."
Naruto grabbed his pack and ran after Sasuke, wondering why he really came. They arrived at the gate and found Sakura and surprisingly Kakashi.
"What happened sensei? Usually you're late!"
Kakshi snorted and muttered, "THIS dragged me out of bed." He jabbed his thumb at Sakura, who blushed fiercly. "I'm going to be emotionally scarred for life after what I saw." she said quietly (yes, this is impliying that Kakashi was with someone…I'll let you guess who).
Neither Naruto nor Sasuke got to ask questions because three young men arrived.
"Yo!" Kuro-Tori said cheerily with a lazy wave. Haru smiled sweetly and Falcon nodded. "Okay, now that everyone's here we can start." Kakashi said. So they began the journey to the Village Hidden in the Trees.
#-#-#
After a few hours of walking, Naruto remembered Kuro-Tori's promise to tell them about the deal and piped up, "So, what's this deal about?" Kuro-tori looked a little surprised but got over it and said, "Our people have been falling ill and we don't have the materials to heal them. We don't have enough medicine and we don't use ninjutsu or whatever,"
"So we came to the Village Hidden in the Leaves to make a trade," Haru continued.
"Trade?" Sasuke repeated.
Falcon answered, "If they send a couple medical ninja to heal our sick we will, in turn, teach some of your people special skills unique to the Village Hidden in the Trees."
"Wow," Sakura whispered, "and your people are okay with giving away your secrets?" Haru laughed sadly and replied, "Just shows how desperate we've become…"
Falcon suddenly turned to his brown-haired friend and asked, "Hey Haru, I almost forgot to ask, how has your sister been doing?"
Haru looked to the ground and said gently, "Her condition had only gotten worse, last time I saw her." Kuro-Tori placed a hand on the boy's shoulder, looking concerned.
They continued their journey in silence; the group of ninjas not very alert for enemies; after all, who ever heard of a non-existing village having enemies?
The sun was getting close to setting when Falcon cried out, "STOP!" Naruto, who was dreamily staring at the sky, accidentily bumped into Sasuke.
"Watch it dobe!" came the sharp reply.
"It ain't my fault!"
"And pigs can fly"
"Say that again and I'll prove that's true!"
"Are you callin' me a -?"
"YOU GUYS!" Sakura yelled. Sasuke was just about to punch Naruto right in the kisser when both boys turned to see Falcon talking to some strange boy. The child seemed about ten years old, yet he held himself up with the dignity of an adult.
"State your buisness," he barked at Falcon. Even his voice was thick with authority. Falcon responded, "I have returned from my mission in the Village Hidden in the Leaves." The boy pointed to the group of ninjas. "They are?"
"Ninjas from said village; we have brought them along so that they can show the Medical Nin where to go." The child nodded to Falcon and stepped aside.
The group continued down the path, and as soon as he was sure they were out of earshot, Sakura asked shyly, "What was that boy doing over there?" Kuro-Tori answered, "His father's duty was to keep anyone who got close to the village perimeter away from the village itself. Since his father was one of the plague's victims, the boy must take his place." "How awful," Sakura said sadly. She and her two young companions looked back at the boy who was only a small dark dot by now. Naruto looked at Sasuke fleetingly and saw something that simply amazed him: Sasuke actually looked SAD. Naruto understood why; afterall, Sasuke had also lost his family, thanks to that evil monster of a brother Itachi. His thoughts were interrupted, though, as the group was stopped once more. Haru gestured with his hand before them and said grandly, "Welcome, friends, to the Village Hidden in the Trees!"