The Mission

Sand… everywhere, there was sand… Kidoumaru had quickly deemed this mission one of the worst ones yet. It was just the five of them this time, because Kimimaro wasn't there, with them. Initially, he was supposed to have been part of in too, but he had had to pull out at the last minute. He was sick again, and they all tried to ignore the aura of death around him.

He was pissed about missing this mission too, because for the first time ever Lord Orochimaru was leading the team. Kimimaro would definitely be resentful when they got back.

Not that there was really anything to envy. So far, the mission could be summed up in exactly three words: hot, dry, and dusty. There was a chalky feel to absolutely everything, because of the perpetual sand blowing in their faces. In most places, it was grainy and coarse and got in your hair and when the wind was really sharp, it scratched at your face, but sometimes, on more elevated spots, it was a fine powder that stuck to your skin, mixing with the sweat to form a thick, heavy coating. It embedded itself in clothes, bypassed lips to settle on the tongue, and irritated the eyes.

It was in one such area that they had set up their ambush… several days ahead of schedule. It was going to be a dreadfully long wait.

Kidoumaru hadn't yet decided if he preferred the scorching days, or the frigid desert nights. He had quickly discovered that to survive one such night, you had to dress in multiple layers and use many covers, despite the elevated temperatures during the sunlit hours. To top it all off, Lord Orochimaru wouldn't even let them light a fire, in fear of being noticed. The only consolation for Kidoumaru in the whole situation was that if they had a fire the sand would probably stifle it anyways.

To make matters even worse, it was incredibly boring in the camp. Lord Orochimaru was gone most of the time, almost making it seem as if there was actually something to do in the desert. When he was around, he would mostly just drill them on absolutely everything pertaining to the roles they would be assuming if the mission went according to plan. Names, identity, speech-patterns, biography, ties, favourite ice-cream flavours – everything was included in Kabuto's meticulously detailed profiles, and Kidoumaru had quickly come to hate the man he was to become. Honestly, who lists eating as an activity of choice? Isn't this more Jiroubou's kind of thing?

It was then that Kidoumaru's attention suddenly shifted from self-pity to Tayuya, who had just returned from another one of her hunting expeditions. The task had been wisely delegated to her by Lord Orochimaru, seeing as she was the only one capable of actually catching dinner in a seemingly uninhabited desert of all places. Besides, being stuck in one spot for too long made Tayuya irritable, and Kidoumaru was sure that secretly, that was just as much motivation for Lord Orochimaru as her uncanny deftness when it came to hunting. They hadn't even finished half of their provisions after all, and honestly, nobody, not even Lord Orochimaru, wanted to face an irritable Tayuya.

"Hey fruit-loop, stop fucking gawking at me and help me roast these things!" Of course, with Tayuya, irritability was always a rather relative concept.

"What are 'these things'? Some kinda squirrel?" Kidoumaru couldn't tear his eyes from the furry things that were to be their dinner. "You sure they're not poisonous or something?"

"Shut up, you idiot. How can a squirrel be poisonous?" Kidoumaru wasn't certain whether he should be relieved by her reasoning, or disgusted by her admittance of dinner's species. He opted for a bit of both and set to helping her roast the things over the scorching, flameless ambers that happened to be Lord Orochimaru's preferred method of cooking as they involved no smoke and minimal light-emission.

It was just as a ravenous Sakon, finally having returned from his water-gathering mission with Ukon, was sneaking closer to the ambers, blissfully unaware of just what dinner was, that Jiroubou ran into the small camp, all sweat and determination.

"He's here!" he gasped breathlessly. Jiroubou had been keeping a look-out for the past eight hours, ever since the sun had come up. "The target is approaching our position!"

The effect of his words was immediate. Everything, roast squirrels included, was abandoned, the ambers hastily covered by a generous heap of sand, and the five of them, silently led by Lord Orochimaru, assumed their ambush positions. Nothing was said. Nothing needed to be said. They had prepared for this days in advance, running every possible scenario over and over in their heads, until the plan became pure instinct. Lord Orochimaru, closest to the pass the target was about to take, cast each of his followers a meaningful look before turning back to the road ahead.

Kidoumaru's muscles tensed and ached with anticipation. This was probably the most important mission he had ever undertaken. If he succeeded in this, if he brought Lord Orochimaru's dream that much closer to realisation… He almost sighed in exhilaration, catching his breath just as it was about to hiss past his clamped teeth and into the still desert air.

And just like that, there he was, coming towards them at a leisurely, almost regal pace, just as Jiroubou had announced, just as Lord Orochimaru had described him. It was a vision of red hair and billowing white robes that so willingly glided over the sand and into their trap, accompanied by five Sand jounin. The Kazekage had just rounded the corner into their ambush.


Author's note: Wow, it's been a long time! Sorry, I've been terribly busy lately, and there's always a lazy factor when it comes to me. Anyways, I'm not going to promise quicker updates, because I honestly don't know if I'll have the time (or energy) any time soon. As soon as I do, there'll be an update, believe me, and no, I will not abandonned this series. I do plan to finish it. Eventually...