Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, nor do I profit from this work. I'm merely using it as an exercise to improve my writing and for my own and others enjoyment. Please read and review!
Team Rin
Chapter 04: The First Mission
Ayano stood to the side of the hospital room, feeling helpless. Nurses and medical ninja bustled around the emergency ward, and Ayano had the distinct feeling that she and Naruto were not supposed to be there, but Rin-sensei had told them to stay put. Ayano kept her eyes locked on the two beds closest to the entrance. Rin-sensei was leaning over one, while a bearded jōnin was over the other. Their hands glowed green and sweat dripped from their brows. Ayano had never seen Rin-sensei look so focused before.
Naruto fidgeted beside her. She spared the excitable blonde a glance and saw that he looked as uncomfortable and out of place as she felt. A small sob drew her attention back to the beds. Natsuko was crying and clutching to her equally teary-eyed older brother, but her watery eyes were locked on the people unconscious on the beds. Ayano grimaced.
Ever since they became a team, Ayano had often wanted to wipe the grin off the overconfident girl's face, but seeing her look so broken at that moment made Ayano feel petty and childish. Nobody deserved to watch their parents in the condition Natsuko's were in.
"I think we're in the clear here," the bearded medical ninja said in an exhausted whisper. Natsuko sobbed in relief, and Ayano saw the bedridden woman's chest rise and fall at an even pace beneath the man's hands. The redhead was sure the Natsuko's mother had not been breathing when they had burst in the room.
"Then I can use your help, Iyasu-san." Rin-sensei's tone was calm, but short. Her kind brown eyes were locked onto her patient's leg. Ayano's stomach churned at the sight of the crushed limb. "The bones are completely shattered," she muttered. Iyasu spun on his heel, green aura sinking into Natsuko's father.
"There's no way we can save this," he said a moment later, eyes scrunched in effort. Rin-sensei shook her head.
"There's a chance, but…" Rin-sensei grimaced as the green aura around her hands flickered. "My chakra's starting to run low." The aura flickered again, and Rin-sensei stumbled.
"You're at your limit, Rin-sempai." Rin-sensei growled at the man's declaration. "I can handle this if we amputate. There will be much less risk, and-" Natsuko and her brother cried their protest, interrupting him.
"Naruto, get over here!" Rin-sensei's tone brooked no arguments, and Naruto raced over to their sensei. "Place your hand on the small of my back," she said, with a determined glint in her eye.
"You have to be kidding!" Iyasu argued as Naruto placed a hesitant hand on Rin-sensei's back. "He's just a genin! If you do this, we'll lose three lives instead of just one." H is face was drawn in a grim determination.
Rin-sensei grinned without humor. "Have some faith, Iyasu-san." Her hands flashed through a long series of seals. Ayano tried to keep up, but Sensei moved too fast to see each one. "Setsuzoku no Chakra," the jōnin declared, and Naruto gasped. Ayano watched, slack jawed, as Naruto was enveloped in a blue aura that flowed from head and toe toward the hand touching Rin-sensei. Their sensei's hands were glowing a vibrant green once again.
"He has that much chakra?" Iyasu had stepped back and was staring at Naruto in awe. Even Natsuko and her older brother were looking at the aura in wonder. Naruto, for his part, looked both confused and a bit afraid.
"Don't be afraid, Naruto." Sensei said in her kind voice. Ayano noticed that her hands were trembling. "Just need to borrow some chakra for a bit." She took a deep breath, and placed her hands on her patient's injured leg. "I never get used to this sensation."
It was a long process, but Ayano could not tear her eyes away from Sensei's work. As her hands inched down the man's leg, it seemed as if it ballooned back to life. By the time she got to the foot, the only thing that looked wrong about the leg was tender looking skin. Ayano was speechless at the transformation. Rin-sensei was amazing!
"There," Sensei said as her hands lost their glow. Only then did Ayano notice that the medical jōnin and Naruto were both gasping for breath. "It's going to take a long, long time, but his leg is safe."
"I… can't believe that worked." Iyasu was staring at Naruto with a focus that set Ayano on edge.
"Naruto-kun has the highest chakra reserves out of any genin I've seen," Rin-sensei said with a grin, despite her shaking and gripping the bed with all her might.
"That's right!" Naruto declared through gasping breaths, holding up a hand with two fingers making a 'v' for victory. "I'm the best, datteba…" The blonde suddenly wobbled and collapsed onto his rear. "I don't feel so good."
"You've gone pale," Ayano muttered, offering him a hand up. Naruto took it with that ever-present grin of his. Much to her annoyance, he leaned most of his weight onto her once she stood him up.
"A bit of a side effect." Rin-sensei sat down on an open bed. Her entire body was still quivering. "Though, I guess I've got it worse than you." She grinned and fell back onto the bed.
"Rin-sensei!" Natsuko snapped out of her stupor and ran toward the collapsed jōnin. The short girl enveloped the downed woman into a hug. "Thank you so much!" Ayano could hear the tears in her teammate's voice. She still could not wrap her head around seeing Natsuko so vulnerable.
"It's nothing…Natsuko-chan." Sensei's voice was faint. "Iyasu-san, could you?"
"Right," the bald, bearded man said, finally breaking out of his stupor. "Rin-sempai will need to rest for a few days," he declared. "As will you." He pointed a stern finger at Naruto.
"Eh? What for?" Ayano narrowed her eyes at the blonde and took a step to the left. Without her support, Naruto fell forward before she stepped back and caught him again. "Oh…" Ayano grinned at his now sheepish tone.
"I guess that means it's time for us to go Natsu-chan." Natsuko's older brother's soft voice broke his silence. "Mom and Dad will be fine now." Natsuko rose from Rin-sensei's bed and nodded while wiping her eyes with her sleeve.
"I don't think so." Iyasu interrupted, the light from the setting sun glaring off his glasses. "You, Chūnin-kohai, have at least a separated shoulder." The chūnin looked to his arm in a sling almost in surprise.
"I…actually forgot." He said with a humorless chuckle. Iyasu shook his head with a sigh, but turned his attention to Ayano and Naruto. He led the blonde to an open bed, which Ayano was grateful for. The boy was heavier than he looked.
"M'not sleepy…" Naruto drawled as Iyasu lowered him onto the bed.
"Of course not," the man said in agreement, but Naruto was already passed out. "You two," he then said, turning to Ayano and Natsuko. "Should go and get some rest. There's nothing left for you to do here.
"Right…" Ayano said, and waited for Natsuko to finish hugging her brother.
"As soon as I come back tomorrow, you're going to tell me everything that happened Mako-nii."
"Yeah, yeah." The boy said in a long suffering tone, but held Natsuko tight with his good arm.
"C'mon, Natsuko." Ayano put a gentle hand on Natsuko's shoulder. She felt guilty for breaking up the moment, but Iyasu was giving them the evil eye. Natsuko disengaged from her brother with her head hung as Ayano led her away. The girl was quiet until they exited the hospital and the gold and orange light bathed them in its warm glow.
"C-can I stay at your place tonight, Ayano?" Ayano snapped her head toward her teammate at the out of the blue request. Natsuko's grey eyes were locked on the ground in front of them, and a faint blush crept on her cheeks. "I…don't really want to go to my house…" Ayano was put off by just how fragile her teammate sounded at that moment. It had to irk the girl to appear so much different than her normal self.
"It wouldn't be a problem. It'll be noisy though." Ayano warned her. With sunset came the dinner rush, and the nonstop noise that always came with it.
"I won't mind," the brunette said with a genuine smile. There was no trace of her usual haughtiness at all. Ayano felt more at ease around her teammate than she ever had before. It was funny how seeing someone so open could do that.
"So much better," Ayano said with a contented sigh. She ran her hands through her hair, enjoying the damp sensation. After a long, tiring day, there was nothing better than a hot bath. She hummed to herself and slid open the door to her room to find her teammate poking around Ayano's bookshelf with a curious eye.
"See anything you like?" Ayano said, not expecting an answer. Natsuko did not strike her as much of a reader. The brunette's finger paused on a thin book that stood out from the rest by the simple fact that the cover was neon orange. Ayano's heart skipped a beat. She had forgotten that she had put that there!
"Icha Icha," Natsuko read. She bit her lip in thought. "Sounds familiar. I swear I heard Ino and Sakura mention this before…"
"It's…it's a romance series!" She hated the heat that was rising in her cheeks. "Kakashi-sensei let me borrow it that day." To her unending relief, Natsuko did not pull the book off the shelf before she turned to Ayano, finger tapping her chin.
"That's right. You were pretty chatty with him. Hm, if he reads it too, that's probably why Sakura and Ino talked about it." Ayano let out a quiet sigh of relief. Her guilty pleasure was still a secret.
"So, what now?" Ayano asked, flopping down on her bed. Despite the long day, she was not that tired. Natsuko sat, cross-legged, on the futon they had set up and gave Ayano a serious stare. Ayano started to feel self conscious under the girl's gaze.
"Girl talk," Natsuko said, deadpan.
"Eh?"
"I just realized that we never really talked about anything not ninja-like." Natsuko explained, a slight frown gracing her features. "And after tonight, I don't really want to hear about ninja stuff."
"Oh. Right."
"Come to think of it, I haven't really talked to Naruto outside of training either, have you?" Ayano shook her head with a vague feeling of guilt. They had never done anything as a team outside of training. Natsuko hugged her knees to her chest, eyes downcast. "But you both were there today anyway…" Natsuko's eyes dulled as she lost herself in thought.
"So what did you want to talk about?" Ayano was quick to stop her teammate from going down that line of thought. Natsuko perked up and her eyes refocused.
"Hm, where to start?" Natsuko tapped her chin, eyes cast upward in thought. "I know!" Natsuko held up a finger with a mischievous grin. "Is there anyone you like?"
"Wh-what?" Ayano fought back the rush of heat to her cheeks at the sudden question. A victorious glint shined in Natsuko's eyes.
"You do like someone!" Ayano lost the battle against her blush, and faced away from her teammate. Had she figured it out? "You're embarrassed about it? Who is it, Naruto?" Ayano snorted and Natsuko giggled. Naruto was not exactly attracting girls left and right. "Is he strong?"
"They're one of the strongest, I think," Ayano muttered, her hair falling to hide her eyes.
"Then what's to be embarrassed about! Tell me who." Natsuko was leaned forward and rested her chin on Ayano's bed. The angle let them lock eyes despite Ayano's hair shield.
"What's it matter?" Ayano asked, turning away. She crossed her arms over her chest, feeling exposed.
"Well, you know I like Sasuke-kun." Ayano heard the plop that meant Natsuko fell back onto her futon. "I was just trying to make conversation."
"Why?"
"Well…because we're teammates and all…"
"Not that," Ayano said and spun to face her teammate. "Why does everyone like Sasuke? I never understood."
"Well…" Natsuko chewed her bottom lip. "He's Sasuke, you know?"
"I don't." Ayano deadpanned. Natsuko furrowed her brow.
"He's just so mysterious, I guess," The petite girl said. "It makes you want to find out all about him." Natsuko cocked her head. "I mean, he's the strongest ninja in our class, and almost everybody likes him. But ever since that happened,he always looks lonely." She was quiet for a moment. "I guess I can kind of understand now…"
"So you want to fix him." Ayano summarized. She had read about similar situations in her books. Jiraiya-sama used that plot a lot, actually…
"I…guess?" Natsuko flopped back onto the futon, looking a bit irritated. "I don't know. Why do I have to explain it when you won't even tell me who you like?" Ayano blushed faintly.
"Er, well…" Ayano started, but a knock on her door interrupted her.
"Aya-chan, could I talk to you for a minute?" Her mother's neutral voice was muffled by the heavy door. Ayano sighed at both the nickname and her mother's tone, but hopped over Natsuko and slipped out of her room. Ever since their fight, they had been nothing but cordial to one another, but never kind.
"Who were you talking to?"
"One of my teammates, Natsuko. She asked to stay the night."
"Oh." Ayano felt a brief sting of hurt at her mother's surprised tone. "When did you plan on telling me?" The events of the day flashed through her mind, and Ayano felt a sudden rush of exhaustion. Without warning, Ayano felt herself step forward and wrap her arms around her mother. The older woman immediately responded in turn. After seeing Natsuko's parents almost die, and what that did to the brunette, Ayano's fight with her mother seemed so stupid.
"What brought that on?" That taller woman asked as Ayano let go
"Just felt like it," the redhead explained. She thought it best not to let Mother know that she had seen the grim reality of the ninja world. Her parents were already terrified for her as it was.
"Ah, well. Sleep well then," Mother said with small smile and stepped back toward the front door. Ayano glanced at the clock, and saw that there was still awhile left before closing. She sighed and went back to her room.
"Sorry about tha-" She stopped short when she saw Natsuko curled up, asleep and snoring quietly. She smiled at the sight, flicked off the light, and climbed over the slumbering girl to get into her own bed. As she snuggled beneath her blankets, Ayano could not help but feel hopeful for the future. She rolled over, watching her snoozing teammate for a moment.
Despite the bad things that happened during the day, they had come together as a team. With that happy thought, Ayano closed her eyes and let sleep wash over her.
"Ayano, jump! Natsuko, low right block!" Naruto shouted with sweat beading down his brow. Both his teammates reacted instantly. Ayano leapt over Rin-sensei's leg sweep and Natsuko caught the jōnin's follow up punch with braced hands. Both girls were blindfolded.
"Good!" Rin-sensei called and resumed stalking in a circle around the sightless girls. Naruto, meanwhile, was standing on one leg on the small pond in their training ground while also keeping two heavy rocks attached to his outstretched hands. His breath was heavy as he studied Rin-sensei's movements, trying to guess where she would strike next.
"Natsuko, high right! Ayano, center block!" The girls defended Rin-sensei's attacks once again, and the jōnin called the end of the exercise. Naruto breathed a sigh of relief and let the rocks fall into the pond with a solid plop. Over the past month this had become one of Rin-sensei's favorite things to do. They would rotate, with two people blind fighting and the other calling out orders while working on chakra control.
It was hard, but they had gotten the hang of it after the first week. Now they only ever let one of Rin-sensei's attacks through every once and awhile. Granted, the attacks were never at full speed, but that was not the point of the training.
"I'm proud of you three," Rin-sensei said, a smile on her face. Naruto grinned and slumped to the ground between his teammates. They were all sweaty messes, but they had stopped caring about things like that a long time ago. "You're finally trusting each other without hesitation."
"It's no big deal, Sensei," Naruto said, scratching the back of his head. Not listening to Natsuko or Ayano during the blind fights usually meant getting punched in the face. It did not take long to learn.
"It is a big deal," Sensei countered. "And that's why I've brought you three a couple of gifts." All three of them perked up at the mention of gifts. Rin-sensei reached into her flak jacket and pulled out…paper?
"Eh? You're giving us paper?"
"Is that chakra paper?" Natsuko asked, wide-eyed. Rin-sensei nodded and handed each of them a small square. Naruto flipped the blank sheet over, wondering what was so special about it.
"I thought that only chūnin or above learned elemental manipulation?" Naruto blinked, feeling lost. He hated when he was left out of the loop.
"That's true," Rin-sensei said. "And it is probably too early for you to learn how to create elemental chakra." Ayano opened her mouth to say something but Sensei held up a finger. "But this will tell me what jutsu you will have an easier time learning. Naruto looked at the square with a newfound respect. If it would tell Rin-sensei to finally teach them an actual ninjutsu, he was all for it.
"Now, all you do is put the paper between your thumb and forefinger." She held up her own piece to show them. "And channel some chakra into the paper like your chakra control exercises." Sensei's paper burst into flame for a second before dying out and leaving a pile of ashes. "However it reacts is your chakra affinity. I have a fire affinity, so I can learn those jutsus more easily than others. They'll also be more powerful, but that's only once you've mastered the element itself. Understand?" Naruto bobbed his head along with his teammates. He stared at the paper in his hand, wondering what kickass element he was.
"Ayano, why don't you go first?" The redhead nodded and focused her eyes on the paper. A few seconds later, her paper caught on fire just like Sensei's had. "Ah. A fire affinity like me!" Sensei said with bright smile. Ayano grinned and blushed.
"Me next!" Natsuko said with a cheery smile. Naruto pouted. Why did he have to wait until last? After a few beats of silence, Natsuko's paper crumbled into dust.
"Earth, hm. Not all that uncommon in Konoha, and deathly useful." Sensei said with a faraway look in her eye. Natsuko looked please as she shook away the paper dust. "Go on Naruto."
Naruto grinned and focused on pushing his chakra into the paper. He held his breath in anticipation until; finally, the paper reacted by splitting into two pieces. He frowned for a second when it did not catch fire and looked to Sensei for an explanation. She looked startled.
"I didn't really expect you'd have a wind affinity, Naruto," Sensei said. Her eyes glazed over as if she were seeing something from a long time ago.
"Wind? Why couldn't I get fire or something cool?"
"Wind is really strong, Naruto," Ayano said with a sigh. Naruto perked up and grinned at his teammate with a hopeful look.
"Really?" He was still a bit skeptical.
"Just think hurricanes or tornadoes," Natsuko chimed in. Naruto let that sink in for a bit before grinning. He had not thought of that.
"This is going to be fun," he said. Natsuko and Ayano shot each other a worried glance and Naruto's grin widened.
"Anyway," Sensei said, returning to the present. She reached into one of her flak jacket's many pockets and pulled out a scroll. She unrolled it on the ground and slapped a hand on it with the other forming half of the ram seal. "Kai." There was a puff of smoke, and when it cleared, a small pyramid of scrolls was sitting there.
"How'd you do that?" Naruto asked, wide-eyed.
"Hm?" Rin-sensei muttered, fingering through the scrolls. "It's a sealing scroll. It stores things." She picked out three of the scrolls before making the half ram seal again. "Fūin." There was another puff of smoke, and this time the scrolls disappeared.
"That seems really useful," Ayano said.
"It is. I'll teach you guys the basics of it at some point." She stood and stretched, and the three of them did the same. "In the meantime, I want you three to study one of these tonight." She handed each of them a scroll. Naruto's was fastened with a label that held the kanji for "wind" as well as the letter "C." Naruto grinned when he realized it was a jutsu scroll.
"Remember to only read it tonight." She gave them her stern gaze and they all nodded their understanding. "You'll have plenty of time to practice on the road starting tomorrow."
A brief moment ticked by in silence, and then her words clicked in Naruto's head. "The road?" He asked, a mixture of excitement and hope pooling in his belly. Sensei nodded with a grin.
"The second surprise was that I picked out our first C-rank mission this morning. We leave at eight o'clock tomorrow." Naruto shared a thrilled look with both his teammates. "So go get yourselves a good meal and a good night's rest."
"You aren't coming with us tonight?" Ayano asked with a slight hesitation. Ever since the hospital incident, all of them had been spending much more time together as a team.
Sensei patted Ayano's head. "Not tonight kids. I have to take care of a couple things." She smiled and waved. "See you bright and early?" A second later she was gone, leaving only a whirl of leaves behind.
"She really has to teach us that," Naruto complained, crossing his arms behind his head. He started towards the exit path.
"She will eventually," Natsuko said as the two girls fell in step beside him. "So where do you two want to go eat?" Naruto opened his mouth to reply, but Natsuko smacked a hand over it. "And not Ichiraku's! Sensei said to get a good meal." Naruto narrowed his eyes and poked out his tongue. Natsuko immediately recoiled with an "Eww!"
"Ramen is a good meal." Naruto did not know why the three of them kept having this argument. More often than not they ended up eating at his favorite ramen stand anyway.
"I could actually go for some, for once." Ayano chimed in. Naruto shot her a winning grin and Natsuko hung her head in defeat.
"Fine," Natsuko huffed. Ayano gave the shorter girl a light shove.
"Quit pouting." She deadpanned.
"You never let me have any fun, Aya-chan." Ayano twitched at the nickname and gave Natsuko an incredulous glance.
"Pouting is fun?" The brunette hummed and shrugged, reaching into one of her pouches and pulling out the scroll Sensei had given her.
"Doton nebari no numa," she read, narrowing her eyes at the paper. "Supplementary? I thought Sensei was going to give us cool techniques." She harrumphed and stuffed the scroll back into one of her pouches.
"Maybe Sense knew weren't awesome enough for a real jutsu," Naruto teased. Natsuko flicked her hair and turned her nose up at him.
"Like you're that far ahead of me, Naruto-baka." Naruto grinned, knowing there was no actual anger behind her words.
"Katon, gōkyakyū no jutsu," Ayano spoke and glancing through her scroll. She grinned. "Offensive!"
"See, even Ayano gets an offensive technique!"
"That's because she's Sensei's favorite," Natsuko declared. Ayano blushed and denied her. Naruto tuned the two out and opened up his scroll, eyes locking onto the rank and classification.
"Eh? Supplementary?" Naruto's face fell. The two girls stopped their bickering to read the scroll over his shoulder.
"Fūton, daitoppa? You don't even use ranged weapons that much." Naruto sulked at Ayano's correct observation.
"You do, though." Natsuko noted, poking Ayano. The redhead swatted the girl's hand away.
"Guess Sensei planned for us to work together, then."
"Like always." The three nodded to each other, and the smell of freshly cooked ramen soon wafted into Naruto's nose.
"Let's go!" He grabbed the two girls' hands and dragged them along behind him, ignoring their squealing protests.
Natsuko jogged along the rooftops at a steady pace, enjoying the feel of the soothing morning wind against her skin. Her overstuffed backpack slowed her down some, but it was well worth it to be prepared. An unprepared ninja is a dead ninja, Sensei's voice echoed. Natsuko adjusted the heavy bag with a small yawn.
In the streets below, the people of Konoha were just starting to rise and begin their day, but Natsuko had been up for hours already. She was far too anxious about going on her first real mission to get any sort of restful sleep. After what happened to her parents, she was well aware of what could happen on missions. Despite everything, her family had seen her off with smiles and words of encouragement. Her father, supporting himself with a cane, had given her his full confidence.
"The first C-rank mission is a milestone in a young kunoichi's life," he had told her in his deep, soothing voice. "I'm sure you'll make us proud Na-chan." A gentle smile crossed her features. Nothing ever seemed to get him down.
"Morning Natsuko!" Natsuko almost tripped at the sudden voice. She narrowed her eyes at the blonde in front of her, who only grinned back to her in his usual mischievous way.
"You surprised me." She accused, chiding herself for not paying attention to her senses. Naruto shrugged, hands in his pockets as he ran just ahead of her and kept staring at her. Wait…
"Why are you running backwards?" The blonde was keeping pace with her and jumping all the bumps and gaps with apparent ease.
"You're going too slow." Her jaw went slack at his brash answer.
"You try lugging this thing around!" She shouted, jerking a thumb at her backpack. Naruto only pointed to his own stuffed pack.
"Showoff," she grumbled. Naruto laughed and rubbed the back of his head. Natsuko rolled her eyes and pushed some more chakra into her feet, jetting past the blonde. Naruto yelped and raced to catch up with her. Natsuko shared a smile with her teammate.
At some point during their time as teammates, Natsuko had started to consider the blonde a friend. It helped that he had proven that he was actually serious about his goal of becoming Hokage by going lights out in training every day.
The main gate of Konoha soon loomed over the duo, and they found that Ayano was already waiting next to the watch station, and she was not alone.
"Yo!" The silver-haired jōnin said with a cheery wave. Natsuko and Naruto gave each other a confused glance.
"Er, Kakashi-sensei? Where's Rin-Sensei?" Naruto asked.
"Oh, I'm sure she's on her way," the jōnin sensei replied, eyes returning to his book. He flipped a page and offered nothing more. The three genin shrugged at each other and resigned themselves to wait for their sensei.
"Sorry to keep you all waiting!" Their sensei's voice echoed from around the corner a few minutes later. "I had to meet with the client, and he had some last minute…" She trailed off as she turned the corner and caught sight of Kakashi-sensei. A dark haired man trailed behind her, looking anxious.
"What are you doing here?" Sensei asked with some heat in her voice. The man behind her flinched while Kakashi-sensei shrugged with an air of indifference,
"I just happened to see a black cat and had to go the long way around," he explained, snapping his book shut. "I ran into Ayano-chan here and figured I'd wait to see you off." His eye closed in a smile while Sensei's narrowed. Natsuko glanced to her teammates, but they looked just as lost as she felt.
Sensei spun away from Kakashi and looked to the three of them. "Anyway. Naruto, Natsuko, Ayano, this is Motoike Atsuo. We'll be escorting him to Takigakure, the village hidden in the waterfall." The man behind Sensei fidgeted and bowed to them.
"Pleased to meet you!" He said in a bright tone. He wore a chūnin vest and a Konoha hitai-ate, but did not look the part of a typical ninja. He had short, well tamed black hair and a thin face with a long nose. He did not hold himself with any sort of confidence.
"Motoike-san is part of the International Relations Department," Rin-sensei explained. "We're going to be his guard while he tries to get Taki to agree to send genin teams to the upcoming chūnin exams."
"It shouldn't be too difficult," Atsuo spoke up, smiling. His voice was soft and almost hesitant. "Taki has always had a good relationship with Konoha."
"Even so," Kakashi interrupted, placing a hand on Atsuo's shoulder. The chūnin started in fright. Natsuko looked on, incredulous. This was a Konoha ninja? "You never know what to expect. My team and I just returned from Kusagakure, and they almost didn't agree to send teams."
"What? Sasuke-teme already finished his first C-rank mission?" Naruto shouted in his brash voice.
"It was our third, actually," Kakashi noted, tapping the first three fingers on his left hand.
"No way!" The blonde yelled. Kakashi shrugged, his eye still closed in a grin. Naruto scrubbed at his head in frustration. Natsuko looked on with a raised brow. Did he care that much about keeping up with Sasuke? "Come on guys!" He said, a determined fire glinting in his blue eyes.
"Naruto, it's not a-"Ayano was cut off as the blonde grabbed both her and Natsuko and started to run. Natsuko fought to keep her balance as Naruto dragged them forward.
"We have to wait for the client, Naruto!" She shouted at the blonde, who came to a sudden stop. Both her and Ayano stumbled, barely keeping their feet. "Honesty," she muttered, straightening her jacket. Naruto gave them a sheepish grin.
"You four go on ahead," Rin-sensei said with a half smile. She would be entertained by Naruto's antics. Natsuko gave a half-hearted sigh. "I'll catch up in a minute."
"Come on then, Motoike-san," Ayano said, taking the lead. "Naruto will take point while Natsuko and I will guard the flanks." The redhead glanced to them, and they nodded their agreement. The chūnin nodded his understanding and took his position a couple steps behind Naruto. Natsuko stepped to a spot a step behind Atsuo, just to the left, and Ayano did the same to the right.
Behind them, Rin-sensei rounded on Kakashi and glared at him. The silver haired jōnin only looked back at her with a neutral expression in his uncovered eye.
"Set a quick pace for the first mile or two. I'll catch up," Sensei said without taking her eyes off her fellow jōnin.
"Let's go!" Naruto shouted and took off with chakra enhanced speed. "The world better be ready for Team Naruto!"
"Team Naruto?" Ayano asked with a scoff as the four of them settled into a comfortable pace jumping from branch to branch.
"If anything, we're Team Rin," Natsuko said with a roll of her eyes. Naruto deflated a bit, but was soon smiling again.
"Either way, we still kick ass!" Natsuko could not help but to grin at Naruto's enthusiasm. Even Ayano was smiling at the blonde's antics.
"You sure are confident," Atsuo spoke up for the first time. "You must be pretty strong." Naruto gave thumbs up.
"You bet! After Rin-sensei's training, we're probably the strongest genin in all of Konoha." Natsuko shook her head at Naruto's confidence.
"I wouldn't go that far, Naruto," she said.
"Why not?" The blonde asked, sulking.
"There are people who've been genin for years, Naruto." Ayano said in her patient voice. Natsuko wondered how she always seemed to be so composed. "We've only been training for a couple months."
"So?" Naruto countered. "I bet we could take on any of those teams and win!" Ayano sighed and looked to their client.
"You're a chūnin, Motoike-san. Tell him how much time it takes to become one." The chūnin looked startled and waved his hands with a sheepish grin.
"Oh, I can't really say anything!" He said with an awkward chuckle. "I was only promoted because I have a knack for politics. I'm not very strong myself." Ayano harrumphed in annoyance.
"Ayano's right, Naruto." The redhead gave her a grateful glance. Natsuko smiled at her. "It took Makoto-nii two years before he got promoted."
"Oh, you have shinobi in your family Natsuko-chan?" Natsuko raised an eyebrow at the honorific, but decided not to question the client.
"Everyone in my family is a shinobi." She informed him with only a slight hesitation. Really, her father was technically still active.
"That's great!" The chūnin said with a kind smile. "I'm the first ninja from mine. I bet you get to hear all sorts of exciting stories from them, yeah?"
"Well," Natsuko said. "Usually there isn't a lot to talk about." She crossed her arms and looked to the sky in thought. "We're all sensors, so they're all only called out on tracking missions, usually."
"Oh, sensors?" Atsuo asked, looking intrigued. "That's a rare ability!" Natsuko hummed in agreement. A moment later, something looked to click in the man's mind. "Were they part of the tracking team for the escape a month back?" Natsuko's heart sped up at the memory of her parents in critical condition and her teammates looked at her with worry etched in their faces.
She waved them off with a deep breath. "They were," she said in an even voice. "They each were a head of their own team, but…" She grimaced. "They were overpowered," she finished quietly.
"So the nuke-nin got away?" Their client summarized. Natsuko nodded. "What was his name?"
"What?" Natsuko asked.
"I'm not all that strong, but I do know a lot," Atsuo said, serous. "I may know something that will put you at ease." Natsuko furrowed her brow, frowning.
"Er, I don't think-" Naruto started with a glance back, but Natsuko interrupted.
"Korutoku Satoshi." Atsuo's eyes glazed over in thought. "Dad said that he had the most sinister chakra he'd ever felt."
"I'm sorry, Natsuko-chan," the chūnin said after a few moments of tense silence. "I don't think I've ever heard of him before."
"It's alright," she said with a sigh. It was not like she would be able to do anything about it anyway…
"Anyway…" Ayano spoke after a moment. "What exactly is it you're going to be doing at Taki, Motoike-san?"
"Well, like your sensei said before…" The chūnin gave Ayano an admonishing glance. Natsuko gave the girl a grateful look, knowing the redhead was just changing the subject. She received a slight nod in return. "I'll be assuring Takigakure's participation in the chūnin exams."
"Why wouldn't they?" Naruto asked. "Aren't they our allies?"
"Yes, but…" A sudden rustling of the trees put them all on edge. Natsuko's hands twitched towards her staff as her heart tripled its pace and a light panic overcame her. Both Ayano and Naruto had pulled kunai and were scanning the surrounding foliage with keen eyes.
"Down!" Naruto barked, his joyful demeanor gone as he grabbed Atsuo and dragged him down. Natsuko and Ayano did not hesitate to follow the order, and dropped from the treetops to the ground below. As soon as they landed the three of them formed a protective triangle around Atsuo, weapons at the ready.
Natsuko scanned the thick forest around her, but could not pinpoint the source of the rustling. She felt Atsuo trembling behind her back, which did nothing to put her at ease. A whistling in the air caught her attention, and her staff was moving before she fully registered the shuriken flying at her.
"South," she told her teammates, voice no more than a hiss. The metal projectiles all bounce off her swinging staff to fall the ground, harmless. Ayano and Naruto threw a volley of kunai and shuriken in response, and a figure blurred out of the bush to avoid the weapons. The enemy landed in front of Natsuko and turned to face them. All three of them cried out in shock when they recognized their sensei's face.
"Good job!" She said with a half smile. Natsuko glared at the woman, a hand holding her chest above her fluttering heart, and tried to slow her breathing.
"What the hell, Sensei?" Naruto questioned, angry. "We could have killed you!" Rin-sensei placed her hands on her hips.
"You definitely tried," she said, deadpan. Naruto grumbled, stuffing his weapon back into its pouch.
"That wasn't funny, Sensei," Ayano said, breathless. Natsuko was glad she was not the only one to have panicked, even if only a little.
"No, it wasn't." Their sensei agreed, turning serious. "It was a perfect opportunity to test your reaction time, though. You three did well." Natsuko glanced at her teammates, sharing a proud smile. A sniffle drew her attention, and she found their client rubbing at his eyes with his arm.
"Er, Motoike-san… Are you okay?" Naruto asked, looking as uncomfortable as Natsuko felt. The chūnin waved him off with a slight smile, but Natsuko could see the puffiness in his eyes.
"I'm just fine, Naruto-kun." The man's voice was shaky. "Now I know for sure I've got capable protectors!"
Sensei laid a reassuring hand on the man's shoulder. "Sorry for startling you, Motoike-san. Rest assured that you are perfectly safe in my genins' and my hands."
"Oh, I know, I know! It was just sudden is all."
"Right, well…" An awkward silence fell on them while Sensei looked through the canopy toward the sun. "It's just about noontime, so we can take a bit of a break." Atsuo nodded and said down on a nearby rock. He was still trembling.
"Are we sure he's a chūnin?" Naruto whispered to her, but Natsuko just shrugged and plopped down to the ground to rest.
"So what did you and Kakashi-sensei talk about, Sensei?" Ayano asked a moment later. Natsuko listened with a curious ear, having almost forgotten about their eventful exit from the village.
"It was nothing for you three to worry about," the jōnin said, looking off into the distance. Her voice was harder than normal. "Do you three have the scrolls I gave you last night?" The three of them hastened to pull out the documents. "Good, start practicing the hand seals." She instructed. "But don't put any chakra into them yet." She gave Naruto a significant look, and he pouted at the unspoken accusation. "You'll need to save your energy."
Natsuko looked to Ayano and Naruto, but if they had noticed their sensei's unusual impatience, they did not show it. With a quiet sigh she unraveled her scroll, hands automatically forming seals as she read.
It was going to be a long mission.
A/N: So there's Chapter 4! Some team bonding and the beginning of Team Twelve's first C-rank! I know this chapter leaned pretty heavily on Natsuko and Ayano, but I felt I had to finish establishing the beginning of their character arcs. Next couple chapters will be much more Naruto based with some Rin POV mixed in for good measure, I promise.
That said, do you still like the two OC's, or are they getting on your nerves? I'm doing my best to make them believable, but I've never been a teenage girl, so any feedback is really helpful!
So what lies in store for Team Twelve as the move onwards toward Takigakure? Will the talks go smoothly, or will something interesting happen? Find out next time!
Please review! They help bring joy on even the darkest of days!
Jutsu Glossary:
Setsuzoku no Chakra (Chakra Connection)
A-rank – Medical Jutsu
User connects one person's chakra network to their own, turning one into a literal chakra battery to boost a ninja's reserves. The technique is extremely draining to both parties, and can lead to death if not controlled perfectly.
Doton: Nebari no Numa (Earth Release: Sticky Swamp)
C-Rank – Ninjutsu – Short Range Supplementary
User funnels their chakra in the ground around them, turning the land into a boggy swamp that will immobilize opponents. A sufficiently strong opponent can break away from the clinging earth.
Katon: Gōkyakyū no Jutsu (Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique)
C-Rank – Ninjutsu – Short/Mid Range Offensive
User converts their chakra to fire and releases it from their mouth as a large burning orb capable of burning through anything in its path.
Fūton: Daitoppa (Wind Release: Great Breakthrough)
C-Rank – Ninjutsu – Mid/Long Range Supplementary
User creates a large, powerful gust of wind capable of leveling anything in its path.