Naruko, Chapter 4: Attack Of The Vixens!

By Storychan

Hi, everybody! I know it's been….seriously forever….since I updated. *bows* I'M SO SORRY! College life has been keeping me busy as heck (in addition to my classes, I'm the director of advertising for my school's anime club, and now I'm on yearbook staff too…and I might be getting a work study job soon….I have no free time at all -_-). Plus, when I HAD time, I was working on my Yu Gi Oh fanfictions (Yu Gi Oh NC, Yu Gi Hime 5Ds, Too Much Work, Yami Kiryu) because I've been really obsessed with that series lately (if you're a fan of the series, go check them out!) (Oh, and I've also been working on my Fruits Basket genderflip…which you should also check out!) And I couldn't have updated Naruko even if I wanted to, because my dad sold my Naruto manga! So I didn't have the original material to work with. T_T But at last I've discovered something wonderful…SCANLATIONS! I'm using the one of volume 2 I found on to write this…I'll try my best to make it worth the wait!

And I want to thank everyone who surprised me by favoriting this, despite it showing all the signs of an abandoned project -_- I'll try and update more frequently for you wonderful fans!

This chapter introduces F! Gato and F! Zabuza! I decided to call F! Gato "Gatette", because Gato originally sounded like gauteau, which is a French word…and "-ette" is a common ending to French girls' names. (Besides, I felt like I'd been using "-ko" too much. Which is cliché -_- )

Enjoy and don't forget to review!

-Storychan

Women, thought Sakuro, should not be allowed to operate vehicles.

The woman Tazuko had hired to ferry them in her canoe across the waves seemed to have gotten them hopelessly lost. "All I can see is mist!" Sakuro complained.

"I know where I'm going, sonny!" the ferrywoman snapped. "We should see the bridge soon. The Wave Country is at the base of the bridge."

Sakuro peered into the distance and his eyes widened as he realized the ferrywoman was right: A titanic bridge of sturdy construction, obviously built by a fine craftsman – or, Sakuro realized, craftswoman – he couldn't believe a grandmother like Tazuko had the strength and skill to build such a thing - appeared out of the fog before them. In awe, he contemplated it silently.

Naruko, however? Not so much. "IT'S, LIKE, HUGE!" she cried cheerily. Sasune rolled her eyes.

Ditz, Sakuro thought.

"Shut your lips, girl!" the ferrywoman cried, looking not annoyed like Sakuro and Sasune, but afraid. "Why do you think we're hiding in the mist and not using the engine? Do you know what will happen if Gatette finds us?!"

Gatette…..

Sakuro, Naruko, Sasune, and Kakashiko all exchanged troubled looks as they remembered what Tazuko, who currently would not meet their gaze, had told them earlier….

"Tazuko-bachan," Kakashiko said coldly. "Those women who attacked Sasune-san? They were kunoichi of the Village Hidden in the Mist. You employed as to protect you from thieves and bandits. Those women were neither. Shinobi don't just randomly attack old women, even bridge-building, bitchy old women like yourself. Someone had to have ordered them to do that. And I demand that you tell me who."

"That's no way to talk to your elders," Tazuko smiled wryly, adding "And I told you not to call me ba-chan. But…" Her smile faded. "You're right about those kunoichi. The attack wasn't random. And this mission is probably above your paygrade. The truth is….an incredibly dangerous woman wants me dead."

"Who would want to kill a harmless granny like you?!" Sakuro interjected.

"DON'T CALL ME GRANNY, BOY!"

"Who is it that's after you?" Kakashiko asked, refusing to let Tazuko change the subject.

"You've probably heard her name before," Tazuko sighed. "Gatette. The black widow millionaress."

"The one who murdered her husband so she could take over his wealthy shipping company?!" Kakashiko cried.

"The very same," Tazuko scowled. "In addition to that poor man's company, she's started her own business kidnapping and trafficking women who come too close to rivaling her beauty as slaves. She uses powerful ninjas she's seduced into her service to take over companies and countries. She's a wicked vixen.

It was about a year ago that she set her sights on the Wave Country. Her brutal boy-toys quickly took over the place with their violence. Now, she has a monopoly on our shipping industry. The only thing that bitch has to fear is the completion of the bridge."

"I get it," Sakuro realized. "Your bridge jeopardizes her reign as the all-but Evil Queen of the Waves…so she wants to throw you a poison apple."

"Comparing me to Snow White?" Tazuko laughed. "I'm much tougher than some fairy-tale damsel."

"But you stil couldn't fight off those kunoichi from earlier," Sasune reminded. "Gatette sent them, didn't she?"

Tazuko looked away, confirming Sasune's fears.

"But what I don't understand, Tazuko-bachan," Kakashi began – and for once, Tazuko did not protest to the honorific – "Is why if you knew shinobi would be after you, why you did not tell us so when you hired us."

"The Wave Country is a poor one," Tazuko explained. "Even the daimyo's wife, who has ruled as regent since his demise, has no money. I certainly do not. I could not afford the expense of a B-rank mission.

If you abandon me now, a helpless old lady, I shall be killed – but that's quite alright. My granddaughter, a defenseless little girl ,will just cry for a few days. It's no big deal if you make a little girl cry, right? And my son will swear vengeance like an action-movie hero upon you and the entire Leaf Village for allowing the murder of his beloved mother. But it's NBD!"

"I guess…" Kakashiko decided with a sweatdrop, "we'll just have to continue protecting you for the duration of the mission."

"It's the chivalrous thing to do," Sakuro agreed. "We're not that heartless."

"I win!" Tazuko cackled witchily.

"We'll be there soon!" the ferrywoman called, stunning the passengers of the boat out of their apprehension-causing memories. "Tazuko, ma'am, we've avoided detection thus far, but, to be on the safe side, we're going to take the route shielded by vegetation. It will make us harder to spot."

Tazuko nodded nervously. She's too old for this, Sakuro thought. She should be knitting by some fireside right now.

He heard Naruko giggle and looked up to see why cute sounds like that were coming out of her glossy mouth at a moment like this. It was then he saw the beautiful Land Of The Waves stretched out before them. It was a picturesque fishing community: Hand-hewn boats bobbed peacefully on the water as old men fished. Mangrove tress stretched up towards the sky, and behind them were historic houses in a traditional style that had sadly fallen out of popularity back home in Konoha.

"WOW!" Naruko trilled, grinning.

"This is your stop," the ferrywoman smiled. "And it's the last time you'll see me. I wish you luck, Madam Tazuko."

"Thank you," Tazuko replied sincerely as the group exited the boat. "Now, get me home safely!" she commanded the shinobi as the boat sailed away.

If we get attacked again, Kakashiko realized with a sigh, it won't be by Chunin. It will be Jounin.

00o

Ok, Naruko decided. I'm not going to let Sasune become Queen Bee of this little group. I've got to be a bigger star than her!

So thinking she heard a noise, she immediately threw a shuriken.

"Oh…" she blinked. "It was just a rat."

"STOP THROWING SHURIKEN EVERYWHERE, YOU ATTENTION WHORE!" Sakuro cried.

"It's seriously dangerous," sighed Kakashiko.

"Don't be such a dumb blonde!" Tazuko scolded. "I hate it when stereotypes are true."

"I thought I saw a shadow!" Naruko protested.

"Shut up!"

"No, seriously, someone's totally after us!" Naruko threw a shuriken into the brush again.

Out popped a rabbit, speared.

"OH NO! POOR BUNNY-CHAN! I'M SORRY! DON'T DIE!"

"AGAIN, NARUKO? IF IT DOES IT'S YOUR OWN DITZY FAULT!"

"That's a white rabbit." Kakashiko noticed calmly.

"Oh yeaaaaah….what's with the color? Don't rabbits turn brown this time of year?"

Rabbits change color due to exposure to different amounts of sunlight, Kakashiko realized suddenly. This rabbit must have been kept in a dark cage for the purpose of body switching! That means….they're here already!

In the shadows, a woman with dark, pixie-cut locks, a tight, black bodysuit, a pale veil shrouding half her face, and eyebrows plucked to extinction watched the rowdy group, waiting to strike.

No wonder the Oni Sisters didn't stand a chance, she considered. It's Konoha's famous Copy Kunoichi…The Sharingan Kakashiko.

00o

"EVERYBODY GET DOWN!" Kakashiko cried suddenly. She pinned Naruko to the ground, saving her from the slash of the great sword - How does a woman even lift a weapon that big? Sakuro wondered for a split second – of the mysterious woman, who had finally struck.

Said woman lept out of the shadows, landing on the hilt of her blade. Her kohl-lined eyes, as Kakashiko stared up into them, were cold and cruel. Her lace-gloved hands were clenched tightly into fists.

No….this woman is…. Kakashiko's eyes widened.

This is my time to shine! Naruko told herself. I'll prove I'm the baddest bitch around…let Sasune be the stupid damsel this time!

"Well, well," Kakashiko smirked. "If it isn't The Village Hidden In The Mist's nukenin, Momochi Zabuna-chan."

"Is that her name?" Naruko giggled. "I'll take her on!"

"No," Kakashiko insisted, grabbing one of Naruko's pigtails to hold her back. "She's….on a whole 'nother level, Naruko-chan."

This will be a difficult battle, Kakashiko supposed. Unless, of course….

She tugged at the veil that concealed half her face.

I use this little "accessory" of mine….