Rain's Truth Part II (Rain Part ) 6- New Mission
"I can't believe you kissed Naruto. Did you finally get up the courage to confess? And top of it all, you wore yourself out so much that I had to practically carry you back." I nod and stick out my tongue at Neji.
"He kissed me. And you didn't have to carry me back!"
"Oh, so he likes you too. That's funny. And I did too."
"Is not! It's great!"
"You're such a girl."
"No duh, Sherlock. And it's not my fault that you're the only one tall enough to comfortably support me." Neji laughs and nods.
"So, was it the same dream?" I nod.
"Exactly the same."
"Have you figured out who the two strangers are yet?"
"Sai and Yamato? I'm not sure. I know that Yamato looks like Tenzo, the guy I went on that one mission with."
"The ANBU?" I nod.
"Yea. But Sai…I'm clueless. I've never seen him before."
"Except in your dream right? Why won't you ever say what happens? You just give me vague details."
"Because…" Neji laughs slightly.
"Well?"
"Because…you don't need to know. That's why."
"Oh come on. I'm sure you told Naruto."
"That's different. It involves him."
"Oh yea, I figured that because every time you wake up from that dream, you scream for him. You realize that you scared the crap out of me when you woke up in that hospital?" I stick out my tongue and look up. "What? Oh, who's here? Why do you always keep your eyes like that?"
"You forgot that my eyes are even blue right now, so I don't want to hear it. And it's easier to use it all the time than to concentrate on using it when I actually need it."
"Lucky."
"Yea right, even when you're not using Byakugan, you can practically see through walls. And it's Sakura. I'll be back." I leave the room and go out to the street. "What's up, Sakura?"
"Oh, there you are. We're about to head out for the Bridge. Tsunade-shishou want you to come with us." I nod.
"Team Kakashi, right? Is there someone to take Kakashi's place?"
"Yea, I'm not sure who though. Tsunade-shishou said that she already had someone picked out. And there's going to be a person…"
"Filling in for Sasuke." She nods. Mentioning Sasuke is taboo for all three of us, but it's even worse for her. "Let's go then." She nods again and we walk towards the gate.
"Oh, Kiro-kun. You're coming as well?" I pause and stare at Tenzo. The other guy…that's Sai! From my dream! No way.
"Hello again."
"Y-you!"
"So…um…starting today…I'll be filling in for Kakashi…"
"Naruto, you know this guy?"
"Sorry about our earlier encounter. I was just curious to see how strong my future teammate might be…and whether or not I'd eventually have to come to the little boy's aid." That pisses me off, but I control myself. Naruto however…isn't as calm.
"What?!" Sakura holds him back.
"Hey! We have to work together! So don't fight right from the get-go!"
"Um, is it always like this, Kiro-kun?" I nod slowly.
"Yea, Tenzo-kun. Oh, sorry. What are you going by today?"
"Yamato." I freeze. Yamato…and Sai…no way. There's no way that this…this mission to the Tenchi Bridge can't lead up to the event in my dream.
"What did you just say?!" Oh crap. I grab Sakura's shoulders to hold her back.
"Easy, Sakura-chan! Follow your own advice!" She calms down and I let go of her shoulders. Finally, this is calm.
"Anyway…since we're going to be deploying immediately…we really don't have time to socialize."
"Anno, guys, we should go ahead and get the introductions over with."
"Right. And since Kiro-kun is also a Jounin, she will be sharing command on this mission." I nod. That's how it usually is in cases like this. It was difficult sharing command with Neji and Gai-kun.
"Uzumaki Naruto."
"Haruno Sakura desu."
"I'm Sai."
"Izuri Kiro desu."
"All right, now that that's over with…let me explain our mission. The five of us will head to Tenchi Bridge…capture the Akatsuki spy who has infiltrated Orochimaru's organization, and bring him or her back here. This is our best chance…to gain intelligence on Orochimaru and Uchiha Sasuke…information we can then use to plan Orochimaru's assassination…and Sasuke's retrieval. So keep that in mind!" I sigh.
"As soon as everyone's gear is all packed, rendezvous at the main gate. Then we'll depart!" Sai, Naruto, and Sakura nod and the three of them leave.
"You're troubled by something, Kiro-kun." I nod.
"Yes. The last time we worked together, Tenzo-kun, I warned you of my frequent dream."
"Yes. Try to get used to calling me Yamato please." I nod. "Is that dream troubling you?" I nod slightly.
"Yes. Mostly because of the people involved in it. Before today, I only thought it was a simple dream depicting my fear of what will happen when we finally get the chance to bring Sasuke back to the village, but now, it worries me."
"Who was involved?"
"The current team Kakashi. Including Sai, who I have not seen until today."
"That's strange." I nod and turn around.
"I'm going home to notify my roommate that I won't be returning home for a while."
"You don't need to pack?"
"You are well aware that I am ready to leave the village at a moment's notice." Tenzo, no Yamato, nods and I walk home. I'm worried about Sai, in the dream, he had an ulterior mission. I turn into a secluded alley and create a wood clone, which I turn into a cat. "Follow Sai; find out if he has a hidden mission along with this. Hurry." The cat nods and disappears. I walk home, setting up a mental link to my clone cat.
Sai pauses while packing, to pick up a book. He puts it in the bag and turns at a noise in the room, drawing his sword and blocking the attack of the ANBU that just appeared.
"Very nice reflexes. But remember…never let your guard down."
"What do you want…sir?" The ANBU holds out an envelope, which Sai takes.
"From Danzou-sama…your top-secret mission." Sai opens the envelope and glances at it. "Listen, this secret mission you are on…is directed by Danzou-sama. The future of Konoha depends on your success." Fun, I direct the cat to emerge, to make noise. I get to the house and go to the room.
"What's up?"
"I'm going out on a mission, I figured I'd let you know that I won't be back for a few days."
"Thanks for the warning. Have fun." I laugh.
"Yea. Sure. See you." I leave the house and start for the gate.
"Just a cat…in any case…mistakes will not be tolerated."
"I understand." The ANBU glances at the book, still halfway out of Sai's bag.
"You…still carry that thing…?"
"This is…"
"Those of the foundation…have no names…no emotions…"
"No past…and no future…there is only the mission."
"We are the roots that support the great trunk of Konoha, invisible, from inside the earth…never forget that."
"Yes, sir." I'm satisfied now. I just need to find out exactly what his mission is. I release the wood clone and wait at the gate for the others. They get here shortly and I straighten up.
"Okay guys, let's go!"
"Go team Kakashi!" I roll my eyes and we head out.
"Hey, Kiro, I only just noticed. Aren't your eyes green?"
"Yea, they change color when I'm using my ability. I'm surprised you didn't notice before, Naruto." He shrugs and glances at Sai. When I think about it, he sort of reminds me of Sasuke.
"What?" Oh great, here we go. "If you keep looking at me…I will hit you."
"What? You think I'm scared of you?" This has trouble written all over it. I glance at Yamato, who nods slightly. If it gets out of hand, one of us will handle it with Mokuton.
"Look, I really don't have anything personal against you."
"Yea, right…"
"I'm just trying out…a certain personality type."
"Well…you're sure doing a crummy job! We don't need someone like you on this team! In fact, I bet we'd be a lot better off without you…jerk!"
"Naruto, calm down! Sai is our teammate now, whether we like it or not! We have to find a way to trust each other. Kakashi-kun taught us all better than that."
"Kiro-kun is right, so please, for Kakashi's sake…lose the attitude, huh?"
"No! He's not one of us! The fifth member of Team Kakashi is Uchiha Sasuke! Even on his best day…all this loser is…all he could ever hope to be…is a Sasuke wannabe! He will never be our teammate!" I touch Naruto's shoulders.
"Calm down."
"Fine by me. The last person I'd want to be compared to…is some traitorous cockroach…who abandoned his village for Orochimaru just because…he wanted to become stronger…"
"How dare you…" I sigh and step in front of Naruto, blocking him and Sakura.
"Listen. Regardless of any of our opinions, since we're on the same team, we shouldn't fight. Naruto doesn't know you all that well yet. But that's no excuse for him to judge you. I'm sorry, please forgive Naruto."
"Kiro…"
"Like I said…fine by me."
"Really? That's good." I gather chakra into my fist and punch him in the face. "Because…I don't care if you forgive me."
"Ah…your smile was a fake."
"While we don't know you very well yet, you know nothing about Sasuke. Don't speak of him like you do. And never speak ill of him around me. Next time, you'll find that you're dead. Now, that's settled. Let's go."
"I'll take care to remember that. That clever use of a fake smile…I'll have to remember it."
"What are you talking about?! How stupid are you?!" I sigh and transport myself to stand beside Yamato. We both use Mokuton. Four Pillar Prison!
"We only have five days to get to Tenchi Bridge."
"Keep it up, you guys, and we'll throw you in a cage!"
"What about you, Kiro?!"
"I'm in charge of this mission, along with Yamato-kun. My actions a moment ago were simply to defuse the situation at hand. And also because Sai pissed me off with his words against Sasuke. Now, I suggest we all shut up and get moving, before someone ends up dead."
"Now, you have two choices. Spend the rest of the day crammed inside a wooden box reacquainting yourselves with the meaning of teamwork…or enjoy a night at a comfortable inn with a hot spring. You don't really know me either…I prefer the kind and gentle approach, but I'm not against using more draconian methods when necessary." They nod quickly and we release the jutsu before heading out again.
"Hey, Kiro-kun, you've worked with him before right? What's the deal?"
"The deal is that he's got about as short a temper as I do, but he's less violent. And he really will resort to shoving you three in a wooden box if that's necessary." Naruto and Sakura nod and we get to the inn.