(Four days later, with Sakura)
"Sakuraaaaaaaaa." The voice was familiar and I couldn't help but smile.
"What's up, Pak?" The little dog was grinning in a way that shouldn't be possible for a canine.
"Kakashi and Ibiki sent a message." With a wink the little dog curled up on my pillow again. I half heartedly threw a kunai over his head as a reminder about the fleas. He held up a small paw, and I poked his pads halfheartedly.
"Fox.
Fire burns grass, the brightest flames have returned. They know the story of the mask, but not the tale that follows. Meet where the tears fall in two months, to discuss revival and collaboration.
The pug has been freshly washed in a flea shampoo, your pillow is safe.
Fang"
The brightest flames have returned… So Naruto and Sasuke were back in the village. They had surely been filled in by now. On my ANBU career and death. I scratched Pakkun's stomach and ignored the strange half snort noises he made. "You let Kakashi get at you with flea shampoo?" Judging from the narrowed eyes and attempted nip, the dog had not enjoyed it much. Where the tears fall…. The monument? Konoha? They wanted me to come back? No. Two months from now was too soon, too soon to go back, and too soon to solve this. I needed more time, particularly if they expected me to even think about dealing with the two idiots.
"I'm going out to follow up on my lead, I'll bring you back dinner if you want to stick around." Pakkun just curled up tighter on my pillow. I was stepping out of the entrance when his voice sounded.
"I do expect you are going to tell Kakashi and Ibiki about this man you've partnered up with."
I turned back and raised an eyebrow at the little dog, "I'm way outside of the wire here Pak, I don't have to get any of this shit cleared." With that I was out and moving through the forest to meet my lead, and I thought back to the first time I had met my current informant.
Flashback.
I stood at the border between the grass country, and earth country. A lot had gone into my mission so far. I had tracked down one of Jiraiya's informants, and had to implement some of Ibiki-sensei's teachings to get him to open up to me. I felt low for resorting to that, but I had to know what he knew. Instead of resenting me, or being upset, the old man had burst out laughing and told me I had passed his test. I suppose being a spy for the pervert allowed him a small measure of insanity. Not many people giggled after being interrogated…
Perching on a wide tree limb, I couldn't help but miss the forests of Konoha. The trees here belonged in an ancient jungle, with giant mushrooms sprouting everywhere. I let my long black hair fall free, falling over my shoulders. I hadn't been able to wear my ANBU uniform, and was forced to pick up clothes on the way. I had on a mesh tank top, a black halter top that left my midriff exposed, and tight black pants tucked into my thigh high boots. Black on black, Ino would cry tears of shame, but it worked. The clothes were definitely an indicator of my shinobi status, even if the katana across my back didn't give it away. The lack of a forehead protector raised only a few eyebrows, after the war many shinobi had grown bored with the peace enforced by their villages, and had struck out as mercenaries. Not everyone subscribed to the idea that we are all allies after the war, and very muchly longed for conflict. It was simple enough to me to disappear in their ranks. Just like Ibiki said, a nameless, faceless, ghost to take down the threat to the peace.
A flicker of movement caught my eye, just to the left, behind a tree. Instead of moving on it, I relaxed further, hoping I could draw whatever it was out without resorting to violence. I scratched the side of my nose lazily. A fight so soon after I crossed the border into the grass would be unfortunate, I really didn't need to bring any extra attention to myself. My patience paid off, and a figure dropped to the ground and looked up at me with his hands spread wide, a small smile pulling at his lips. I stared back down impassively, a kunai reflexively in my left hand. That left my sword hand open if I needed it, and an untrained enemy instantly assumes my left is my dominant hand, and they attack accordingly. Often to their downfall. The man standing below me was about average height, with ice blue eyes and shaggy black hair falling into his eyes. He, like me, was dressed like a shinobi, but there wasn't a weapon in his hands, and there wasn't a headband marking his allegiance.
"Hi there," he smiled slightly. I raised an eyebrow and slipped the kunai back into my holster.
"What are you doing? Trying to get yourself full of holes or something?", in response to my question he grinned fully and shrugged.
"Nah, I'm just a curious little guy. There hasn't been the need for many rogues around here, but that's obviously what you are. I am too, and I'm wondering why you've suddenly decided to show up and add some competition for my clients," he was careful, standing totally still and not dropping his eyes from mine, even while I scanned the trees habitually, "can you come down and we can talk about why we both are really here?"
I turned my eyes back to his and smiled coldly. "I'm here for mushrooms."
"These mushrooms are useless, so unless you have a passion for decorating with overgrown fungi, you're here for something other than the scenery," the rogue dropped his hands, "you might not want to work with me, but this is a big forest and it wouldn't hurt to at least talk to me."
I dropped down to the forest floor and shrugged, "What do you know that you think I'll care about?"
"The usual, civil unrest, a camp of dissidents a few miles from here, plots to shatter the new and shiny world peace," the rogue paused and smiled. "Doing anything for you yet?"
"Well it's never a bad idea to source local information," I smiled back at him, "and I can always kill you later if you stop being useful."
End Flashback.
Now I was on my way to meet him, Isamu, the other "rogue". He had quickly filled me in on his suspicions and in the week that passed since first meeting him he had in fact proved useful. The hidden grass village had two factions constantly warring within it, the Grass Flower which had been pushing to use the ancient weapon rumored to be hidden in the village long ago, and the Grass Fruit which opposed its use. The ancient weapon had never been actually confirmed to exist but the two factions had been at each other's throats for years Grass Flower was the faction that we cared about. Isamu was there to take down the leader of the faction, in an effort to destabilize the whole movement. He tried to play it off as taking the bounty as a rogue, but there was too much about him that screamed village shinobi. The willingness to approach a total stranger and ask to work together for one. I had already started a list of tips for him, so the next time he went undercover he wouldn't get himself murdered eight different ways. I wasn't sure what village he was from exactly, but his mannerisms and the way he griped about the "great bloody trees blocking out the sky", lent me to lean towards Suna. In any case we had reached an agreement. He gave me information, I'd be there to lend a benevolent helping hand when he made his move against the leader.
I reached the preset meeting spot and crouched on a tree limb.
Not even five minutes later Isamu dropped onto the limb next to me, catching the shuriken I threw at him out of habit. "That's rather rude Ino-chan." As always hearing Ino's name from him was strange, but I had never chosen a specific name for myself as a rogue, and it least it got my attention.
"That's him. We'll move in an hour when they change the guard for lunch." He pointed out a nondescript ninja in the center of the camp, with mud brown hair and a waxy complexion he was just the type of person to never stick out in a crowd. I had learned long ago to not judge someone by their looks. Settling in to wait out the hour, barely brushing shoulders with Isamu. He wasn't a teammate, or even a comrade by any stretch of the word, but he was all I had in this sodden jungle hell. I'd take the human interaction where I could.
The hour passed quickly, and soon enough I was crouched low in a thicket bushes at the edge of the camp. I scanned the area to the right where Isamu was hiding, and watched for some sort of signal. He burst through the undergrowth into the camp and half a second later I was behind him. The two guards on my side went down in twin sprays of crimson, chakra scalpels glowing on my finger tips. Isamu took his two down easily and we crouched waiting for the four replacements. When they came, it was silent. They didn't even catch sight of the bodies of their comrades before I rammed a kunai through one's temple and the other through the next one's throat. In less than two minutes, we had cut their forces in half. All that remained was the leader, his two personal guards, and the other six roaming the interior. At least that was the best case scenario for personnel, there could be more, and a good shinobi prepared for the worst.
Initially I was surprised at the lack of people in the camp, but as Isamu had pointed out they were running a coup, gathering intelligence, and causing political unrest in at least two nations. At times the base was full, fifty to a hundred people, but there were times like now that the forces stretched thin, leaving the boss and his personal entourage. Sixteen shinobi, chuunin and jounin level. The eight we had just taken down were the chuunin. The ones inside would be more of a challenge, and the two that stayed with the target at all times were supposed to be passably good. I briefly entertained the idea that this might be similar to that long ago disaster in the Wave.
Isamu and I dove into the base. This was where our intel got sketchy. We had no idea of the layout, but in general the leader would be at the deepest part of the base, behind multiple layers of protection. Slipping into my old hunter-nin habits was easy as usual. The chill in my bones of absolute focus and the desire to shed blood. I swerved down the first right and Isamu went left.. I came up on my first shinobi on the inside. A breath of wind on his back was all the warning he got, and he died before he could turn to look. A simple medical jutsu stopped his heart in his chest. I was five steps down the hall when his body hit the ground. The pattern repeated for the next two targets, silent kill, quick death. I rounded a corner and nearly killed Isamu on reflex. His teeth flashed white in the dark as he shook his head at me. Judging by the blood spatter across his face, he had been successful too. That left at least three people in the base.
Everything planned ahead of time there wasn't a pause as we ghosted down the last hallway. The guards were my problem, distracting both of them while Isamu took the leader down. I idly thank whatever gods might be listening that Orochimaru didn't design this base.I'd had my fill of ridiculous mazes and shit lighting. I took the lead at the last second and kicked the door in. The shabby piece of wood splintered into a hazardous rain of shrapnel into the room. The guard closest to me caught a sliver of door to the face making it entirely too easy to plant a kunai in his eye socket. The final guard shoved his boss behind his back and faced me with a snarl. I didn't dignify that with a response outside of launching a fleet of poisoned senbon towards his face. Isamu took the opportunity for what it was and a flash step later had the leaders head separated from his body.
A prickle of dread made the hair on my neck stand up. That was all entirely too easy. I ignored Isamu's victory grin and rammed a kunai through the poisoned guard's throat. Something was about to go wrong in the most monumental of ways.
And woe to the shinobi who didn't listen to a gut feeling like that.
A/n: I am so sorry to the people that read the first edition of this chapter jesus lord have mercy my tenses were fucked. But thats all better now and I'm a lot happier with the chapter now.