Tempest
Chapter Two
-Konoha-
"Do you accept this mission?" Shuhei asked from his spot in the Hokage's Office.
"Yes." Akito replied, already dressed in his Anbu uniform. He had joined as soon as they had gotten back from Suna five long years ago.
"You do realize that the party from Suna is going to arrive while you're gone." the young Hokage stated, raising a brow.
Akito sighed. He knew, but he would rather go out and do something where he knew the outcome, than what would happen when they arrived. He had missed Natsumi greatly, but he didn't want to push her. Their relationship had never been the same since he had departed after Toshiro and Minako's wedding, and it made him sad. So he did the only logical thing. He buried himself in his work.
"Yes." Then he walked over and grabbed a blank scroll and a pen, writing a short note. "Give this to Natsumi when they arrive." He ordered.
"Sure thing Akito-nii-san. Go get your team together. You need to leave by sunset." Shuhei said, rolling the scroll up and sitting it off to the side so that he wouldn't forget. He had mellowed out a bit over the years, becoming a bit more like his mother. It helped a lot when he had to do official Hokage stuff. He had just been appointed to the position a few months ago, and his father had told him that if he needed any help to just ask. So far nothing big had happened, and he hoped it would stay that way.
Akito disappeared in a puff of smoke then, off to fetch his team and prepare for the upcoming mission.
Gaara stopped once they were through the gates of Konoha. God he hated this place. "I don't understand why we have to make Yuki live in this awful village. I thought the alliance was solidified when Minako and Toshiro were married."
Natsumi sighed, her arms crossed tightly over her chest. "Because Dad, Minako is in Suna and its assurance for Konoha…plus Yuki loves Shuhei. So it's not like it's a big deal." She pointed out, continuing ahead towards the Kage Tower. Satomi followed silently, her long braid over her shoulder. The older redhead groaned and started his pace once more with a snickering Sakura right beside him.
"I kinda like it here anyways Dad," Yuki said with a smile. "It's like an adventure."
Once they had all made it to the tower near the large mountain, they went in and headed towards the Hokage's office. Natsumi was the first one to enter. Having inherited her father's traits, she didn't bother to knock.
Shuhei and Naruto had been in the middle of a discussion, but stopped upon seeing their friends. The young blonde stood and walked around his desk to greet them. When Yuki walked in, he went straight over to her and smiled. "Hey Yuki-chan. I missed you." He said, placing one hand on her hip and running the other one through her long hair that she now wore down.
The girl rolled her beautiful emerald eyes and allowed her stalker his simple pleasure. "I see you're still a creeper Shuhei." She laughed genuinely.
Gaara watched the younger Naruto wanna-be warily. "You really are a stalker."
"Where's Akito?" Natsumi asked, looking around the room. He had always been there when they came to Konoha. It was odd that he be missing this time.
"Who cares?" Satomi huffed. "Hopefully he died on a mission."
Shuhei looked over at the elder twin. "Well you're partially right. He's on a mission right now and won't be back for a few days.
She let out an exasperated sigh. "Well at least there's some hope left."
"On a mission where?" Natsumi asked, ignoring her sister.
"It's confidential." He said. Then his face lit up slightly. "That reminds me." He said walking back over to his desk and grabbing a scroll. "He left this for you." He said, handing it to Natsumi.
The pink haired woman rolled her eyes. She wasn't stupid, and the only missions a Kage would never spill about were Anbu ones. She looked down at the scroll and unrolled it, reading its contents.
Natsumi, and anyone else who cares,
I will be gone on a mission for a few days, and will try to return shortly. Sorry I couldn't be there to greet you.
-Uchiha Akito
Without another word she left the room, a curious gaze following from her sisters. Naruto walked over to Gaara then. "Hey Gaara, you know what we should do?"
"What?" Gaara asked cautiously.
"We should spar. You know, since you're an old man and all. I just wanna make sure you're not getting too frail." He said with a grin, putting his arm around his friend's shoulders.
"We're the same age moron."
"Yeah, besides, Gaara would win anyways, and I don't wanna have to heal your sorry butt." Sakura chimed in, smiling humorously at her friend.
Naruto let go of the elder redhead and ran over to his friend, hugging her fiercely. "Aw you don't really mean that do you Sakura-chan?! Have a little faith." He said, setting her down.
She rolled her eyes at him. "I have faith in you. It's just that I have more in Gaara." She said with a smile.
The redhead smirked and wrapped his arm around Sakura's shoulders. "I have an amazing wife." He stated.
"Well Hinata-chan's amazing too. She's just held up at some clan meeting." Naruto said.
"Are we done here? I wanna show Yuki-chan everything that's changed since the last time she visited." Shuhei asked, wrapping an arm around her shoulders.
Naruto shook his head. "Oh no. You still have paperwork to do. Being Hokage means that you have a responsibility."
"But Dad, I don't wanna finish my paperwork! Can't you do it?" the young blonde pleaded.
"Not on your life! I'm done with that crap!" Naruto exclaimed, laughing at his son's misery. "Come on guys, let's go get some lunch." He said, walking out of the room. Gaara and Sakura followed shortly after. Satomi left as well, saying something about finding her grandmother Tsunade.
Shuhei just looked at his bride-to-be. "Wanna play hooky with me?" he asked, a devious smile on his face.
"Well I was going to offer to help you, but that sounds like a much better plan." She laughed and took his hand, letting him lead her out of the room.
One of the tiles on the ceiling moved and Natsumi dropped down into a dark room filled with shelves. Silently, she moved around the room and searched for a light switch. When she found one, the room was illuminated with light and revealed all the secret Anbu scrolls for Konoha. The sand shinobi moved around, scanning for the most recent missions assigned. Once she found them and pulled one out and quickly read the assigned Anbu. None of the names were Akito's. She wrapped it back up and pulled out another. She went through a few more and finally spotted his name. She couldn't help but laugh. Of course he was the captain. She read the mission and where it was. The Land of Snow. Interesting, she thought with a smirk. It wouldn't take her too long to get there.
She put the scroll back and exited the room the way she had entered. She knew this was probably a stupid idea, but it had almost been a year since she got to see Akito. Despite her mixed feelings towards the Uchiha, he really was the only interesting thing about Konoha. She dropped back into the hall and glanced around. Seeing the coast was still clear she crept towards another sealed room, picking the lock easily. Inside were shelves with boxes containing uniforms for every rank of ninja. She found the box containing all the Anbu vests. She rummaged through them quickly, until finding one she wanted. It wasn't like the male vests, the straps were the same and it was white, but it came together in the front and laced up from top to bottom. She put the box back up and then found one with undistributed masks.
She pulled a couple out and then found one with the face of a raccoon. She smiled at the irony and took it as her prize. With everything she needed she left the room and locked it back up. In a swirl of sand she was gone and appeared in Akito's room. She didn't sense Sasuke in the house, which was a really good thing. She tossed her own bag onto his bed and began to strip her clothes off. She was going to go find Akito, since he wasn't here to entertain her, and like hell was she going to spend all her time with Satomi or Yuki and Shuhei.
When she was only in her underwear, she opened her bag and dug around for some black shorts. She found them and pulled them on. They were pretty short, not even reaching halfway down her thighs, but she liked to feel free. Next she brought out a black tank top with thick straps, almost the same size as the vest's straps. She pulled it down and loved the soft feel of the fabric. She left her knee high ninja shoes on, noting they looked good with the outfit. She was a princess after all, and no matter what she would look good.
Finally she grabbed the Anbu vest and put her arms through the holes, pulling it together and starting to tighten the string as if she were tying tennis shoes. Finally reaching the top, she tied the red thread into a bow and moved around to test the feel of the outfit. It was pretty similar to her own uniform back in Suna. She searched through her pack then and pulled on her black gloves. Quickly, she tossed all her remaining clothes and things in her bag, stashing it in Akito's closet. After she had gotten all her weapons on, aside from her sand gourd, she brushed her hair and made sure she looked perfect. And the final touch, her mask. She grabbed it and headed out the door, letting her gourd dissolve and follow her like small gnats.
Before she left she stopped by a ninja store and located the piece of clothing she was looking for. She pulled the white cloak from the hanger and tried it on. It was loose enough to be comfortable but small enough not to get in the way. She hurried to the register and paid the owner, who looked pretty confused. She headed for the gates and when they were in sight, she tied on the Anbu mask tightly. She fastened the cloak around her body, knowing she would need it to protect her from the cold country she would be venturing to. She lowered to the ground and took off, unseen by the two standing guards at the gate.
Natsumi bound through the trees with an intense speed, headed straight for Snow Country. Once she was close enough, she would be able to track Akito with no problem.