A/N: Really impressing myself with how fast these updates are coming. Watch it though, I probably just jinxed myself. I really appreciate everyone who's been following this story already; please feel free to drop off a review while you're here, let me know how it's going. And tell your other SasuSaku friends to read as well!
Paper Hearts
Chapter 3
Team Seven had been anything but thrilled to get a C ranked mission tossed into their laps. It was well below their capabilities and threatened to be a colossal bore, borderline torture if you will. All three of them had protested incessantly for the two days prior to their departure but Kakashi had remained firm, insisting it never hurt to get back to the basics of working together.
"Becoming too cocky in your abilities is dangerous; you might think you're hot stuff now but it's easy to screw up on the easiest tasks. Besides, if it's going to be that easy, then I expect you three to finish in a third of the time,"
And that had been the end of the discussion. The task at hand was simple; there was a woman who needed escorted from Konoha to the nearby Village of the Flowers. It would only take a couple of hours to walk at a leisure pace; in Naruto's opinion it was such a short walk there was really no need to escort her at all, but the woman, ironically named Hana, was terrified of the thought.
"Why do we have to escort this crazy broad again?"
The demon wielder whispered in misery, earning a thump on the back of his head from Sakura.
"Shut it Naruto! She'll hear you! You know exactly why she wants protection getting home!"
The pinkette growled, lowering her fist and sending a glance up ahead. Sasuke was leading the group through the forest path, his hands resting comfortably in his pockets, keeping several yards away from the rest of them. Kakashi and Hana were chatting casually in the middle in attempts at assuaging her fears, leaving Naruto and Sakura to bring up the rear.
"But Sakura, she's sooo creepy!"
Naruto groaned under his breath, flinching as Sakura made a sudden movement; she was only brushing a strand of hair from her face but he had taken it as an attack.
"Yeah, and you're annoying! She isn't creepy!"
Sakura lied smoothly, her orbs flickering in the client's direction for a moment. Hana was an odd woman, to say the least. Her short, spiky black locks were cut and styled much like those of a little boy, giving her round cheeks a childish appearance. She wore a flowing black cape that was many sizes too big for her small frame; not only did she keep stumbling over the hem but she had, hidden under the inner folds, a small box that was the reason for the mission in the first place.
Hana claimed to possess the ability to speak to ghosts using a special jutsu; it was a top secret technique passed down from father to son through the previous eight generations of her clan, but as she was an only child, she had finally been entrusted to the technique. Her cousin on her father's side of the family had finally come of age and it was time for him to learn it as well, but first he needed to obtain the scroll. There were branch members of the family who were, by tradition, forbidden to learn the jutsu, and were willing to take drastic measures to get their hands on Hana and her box.
It was easy to see why everyone felt so uneasy around the female; she kept jumping and muttering to herself, or more accurately to the spirits she claimed to see. She fidgeted and constantly glanced around with wide, haunted black eyes. Sakura wouldn't admit it out loud but she thought creepy was the perfect word to describe the woman. It would have been unprofessional to say otherwise though since Hana's clan was paying the mission fee and, in general, a hateful and judgmental assumption.
Up ahead, Sasuke was doing his best to ignore the herd of morons behind him, finding their conversations as uninteresting as the actual mission, if not more. He just wanted to get this mission over with and the client home successfully; after that he could focus his energy on the painful chore of figuring out how to get out of the bet with Naruto. He had no intention of getting Sakura a Valentine's Day gift, that much was certain. The woods around them were uncommonly still; not a bird could be heard chirping through the empty sky, nor was there the cracking of twigs beneath pawed animal feet.
"Have you noticed them as well, Sasuke?"
Kakashi asked as if he were commenting on the weather, his tone light and untroubled. Sasuke stopped walking, effectively halting the group as he strained his ears and listened, his expression blank yet rigid in concentration. Slowly, he jerked his head, his eyes daring to the side just in time to see an array of kunai flying towards his torso. Hana screamed in a high, shrill octave that sent shivers down the ninjas' spines. In a flash Sasuke had jumped backwards and avoided each one, huffing only slightly. From behind a set of bushes burst five muscular men, their masked faces protecting their identities, although from Hana's reaction it was easy to guess who they were.
"Hand us the secret technique willingly or else we'll take it by force!"
One of them demanded as they circled around the shinobi group, their weapons drawn and ready.
"No way we're gonna let that happen, believe it!"
Naruto dashed forward, his top bent over slightly to gain speed as he ran and aimed a fist at the nearest opponent. Sasuke followed suit, his composure still calm despite them being outnumbered.
"Sakura, protect Hana!"
Kakashi ordered as he raised a kunai to block an oncoming attack.
"Right! Stay close to me, okay?"
Sakura took a fighting stance in front of Hana, who was cowering behind her and whispering curses. One of the men turned to face her, his kunai raised in a hostile manner. Kakashi was busy fighting two on one; their movements were so quick it was almost hard to watch. Sasuke and Naruto had one man each to deal with. The sound of metals clashing drowned out Hana's whimpers as the battles around them heated up; it looked like she was on her own this time.
"Bring it on- I'm not afraid of you!"
Sakura declared as she raised her fists, her eyes narrowed.
A/N: Sorry to cut it off here, but if I keep going with what I have planned, this chapter will drag on forever. Be patient dear readers!
