Insert Naruto OST Song Here - Self explanatory ain't it?
'xxxxxxxx'-thoughts
Confrontment
Katsuro stared down his adversary with a steely look. He went over his opponent with a critical eye, attempting to find a fault or weakness. Truly this man was impressive. "Hiashi, despite your young age, you make for an impressive clan leader."
"Why, thank you Katsuro but you still haven't answered my question. An alliance between our clans can only be solidified through an arranged marriage. We've already chosen acceptable candidates for your heir. Why do you continue to reject my offers?" Hiashi questioned.
The Hyuuga clan leader sat next to his brother on a blue tatami mat. They were in a medium sized room, in the west wing of the Hyuuga compound. They were the only ones in the room, save the bugs that were placed throughout it. Katsuro could easily locate them. As to why their conversation was being recorded was lost on him, Katsuro simply chose to ignore them. It wasn't as if he was planning anything.
"My son is...brash when it comes to things involving the clan. An arranged marriage would simply push him over the edge he's tiptoeing on."
"And why is that?" Hiashi questioned, retaining his stoic face.
"That is something you need not know. All I can tell you is that the elders seem to reject his standing as my heir and have been pushing me to conceive a second child despite my protests."
"From what I've heard you don't get along with your son, why do you not agree with the elders?"
"Our relationship is...complicated."
"Hmph, since you continue to reject my proposals for an arranged marriage, we have nothing to speak of. I would appreciate it if you showed yourself out the door," Hiashi stated, activating his Byakugan.
Katsuro gave the man a mischievous smirk before standing up and leaving the room. This had been the 6th clan leader in Konoha that he had visited. He was on good terms with the Akimichi, Nara, and the Yamanaka. He was on neutral terms with the Uchiha and Aburame, but he stayed the hell away from the Inuzuka. Associating with them was probably the last thing he would do considering the relationship between their clans.
He finally exited the Hyuuga compound and sighed in relief. He felt naked in front of the clan who could see through anything. It was disheartening to say the least.
A walk through the village calmed his nerves. Konoha had a much calmer atmosphere than Kumo. Maybe it was the police force that kept crime on a low level, or it was the less than hostile kage. Whichever the reason, it didn't change the fact that the others enjoyed their time there. He would do anything to keep his clan happy and leaving Kumogakure was the best decision to of have been made. Even the clan's elders agreed with him, which was quite rare considering they valued loyalty.
Soon he arrived at the district the Hokage had rented out to him and his clan. It was a set of houses tucked into a corner of the village that was strangely unoccupied. There were enough buildings to house his clan and soon they would own it when the Hokage made them full citizens of Konoha.
Unfortunately the Sandaime was beginning to pressure Katsuro for information he had on Kumo. Although he would love to oblige to the man there was a seal placed on him that would alert the Raikage. If he spoke then the man will attack Konoha with full force, as compared to the petty raids his shinobi were already performing and Katsuro wanted to keep it that way as long as possible. The Raikage was ruthless when he dealt with traitors and leaks. His clan would be marked as prime targets on the battlefield, so he needed to postpone the scenario for as long as possible.
He came upon his own house and when he entered his face hardened. Seiichi was sitting cross-legged, deep in meditation. The boy wasn't a gifted ninja like his father, but he tried as much as the others. He always used rigorous training methods, and he was glad that the boy was meditating.
"I'm impressed, your actually able to sit still for more than a few minutes," Katsuro said with a small smirk on his face.
Seiichi's face twisted in annoyance at the man's comment, "And I can stay still for longer if you left me alone."
"How's Reiko?" Katsuro was merely curious of the boy's reaction. Seiichi had begun to show interest in his cousin. It wasn't anything romantic of course.
"She's still mad at me for some stupid reason," he answered, a frown decorating his face.
While it didn't prove his theory correct, it still meant that the boy actually cared about the girl's opinion. Seiichi ignored the other clan members, including himself. He needed to learn more things about his son. Ignoring his heir for years was a bad move on his part but it needed to be done. An evaluation on the boy's state of mind was needed, hopefully before "that" time.
"Are you sure I can't go on another mission?" Seiichi's voice was closer than it should be so Katsuro turned around, only to notice Seiichi right behind him.
His stealth skills had actually improved from the last time, or maybe he just wasn't paying attention. "Why should I change your mission just to accommodate your needs?" The boy's next words would decide his fate.
Seiichi cleared his throat and looked at him straight in the eye. "The mission objective is to infiltrate Kaminari no Kuni, and perform raids on the villages throughout, also eliminating any enemy shinobi we come across."
"And why is that a problem?" Katsuro bellowed, stepping closer to Seiichi while still giving the boy a glare. He didn't even flinch.
"Since our clan left Kumogakure, they refer to us as traitors. If we were to come across enemy ninja their main target will be me."
"So you're saving your own skin like a coward then?"
"No...Katsuro-sama," the boy forced out, "I merely have the clans best interest in mind. If I were killed on the battlefield, the clan will lose its only current heir. This will inflict a blow to the clan and cause a drop of morale among us, making it harder for them to complete missions. Our members will become prominent targets and in their state they may be killed."
Katsuro had to suppress a proud smile. Chances are the clan would actually prefer if he died on the battlefield, but the young Hara meant every word of it, or that's what his body language indicated at least.
"Not only that, but a few Inuzukas will be in the group along with Kakashi Hatake who doesn't get along with me. This increases chances of fatality and failure which makes the choice of appointing me on the mission unwise."
The boy had attacked his decision with that last one. Maybe there was still hope for him yet. "Fine, but know that this the last time I will acknowledge your decision on such matters. Do you understand?"
The boy's eyes widened momentarily but returned to normal quickly. "Y-yes Katsuro-sama."
"Don't worry, I'll deal with Namikaze. Once I explain your reasoning he'll see it unfitting to bring you. You may go back and meditate now."
The boy walked away (more like scampered) from the clan head in a hurry. Katsuro proceeded back upstairs, finally relieving the tension in his face by smiling. Finally the boy was learning to yield. One cannot lead without showing humility, and his son did exactly that. Instead of whining like a child he came up with an argument and presented it accordingly. Looks like he'll have to speed up his plans for the boy.
Morning
The skies were clear on the mission day. The village was mostly quiet, since it was still early in the morning. The sun's rays shined through the windows, illuminating the Hatake's home.
It was the day they would leave for Kaminari no Kuni. Kakashi sat down in his living room and looked over the supplies that were fully laid out in front of him. From weaponry to basic med kits, truly this had to be the best emergency layout he ever made.
He took out a scroll and unraveled it, revealing a storage seal (that Minato was happy to loan). He made the correct set of handsigns and effectively sealed everything. He rolled the scroll back up and placed it in his kunai pouch. He locked his door and began to walk towards the meeting spot.
Soon he arrived at the villages northern gates, noticing that some of the other shinobi made it before him. He recognized Minato among the group of shinobi who had already gathered. He was talking to another man who Kakashi didn't recognize.
They seemed to be arguing over something and Kakashi couldn't help but eavesdrop a little.
"Minato, I respect you as a fellow shinobi but it was a fool's choice to let that boy come with us."
"I understand your problem Mamoru, but it's not up to you to decided who goes on this mission."
"But the boy's father-"
"That is irrelevant Mamoru and you know it. This argument is asinine, and it's better you not embarrass yourself more than you already have," Minato chastised the man.
Mamoru and his animal partner gave the man a growl but Minato merely shrugged it off.
Kakashi already knew they were talking about him. Whenever someone's father was mentioned, it was most likely directed at him but he didn't care. Let them gossip all they want.
"Ohayo Hatake," Minato said, smiling sheepishly at the boy.
"Ohayo Namikaze," Kakashi replied. They always referred to each by last names while on missions. Kakashi couldn't remember the reason why, but he guessed it was just something that started during his genin days.
"Have you packed all of your supplies Hatake?" Minato questioned.
"Of course," Kakashi replied dryly. He didn't want to deal with the man's doting right now. Minato should already know by now that he always came prepare for a mission.
Minato yawned. "Glad to know. We head out in 10 minutes, and we'll be going non-stop until we hit Yu no Kuni, so I suggest you stretch out a bit or get something in your stomach."
Kakashi gave the man a blank stare before he walked away and found a spot to settle in, underneath one of the trees that were scattered throughout the village. He sat down cross-legged and began to mediate. He already ate when he woke this morning and he stretched around the same time.
He took slow and deep breathes and began to exercise his sensor abilities. While he wasn't as skilled as the specialist ninja sensors, he could still trace chakra signatures. Having an advanced sense of smell also helped a little. It was impressive to say the least considering he was already skilled in many other fields.
In total there were 15 ninja in their group. If the fatality rate was applied, only 8-9 would make it back alive. They all had the mindset that this mission could be their last and as pessimistic as was, it had its benefits. Everyone would be alert, less mistakes would be made, and no one will hold back. What other way to die than after you've used all the jutsu in your repertoire and pushed your body to its very limit? Even Kakashi agreed with that way of thinking, especially if the mission called for it. Ninja may operate in the dark, but no one wanted to leave this world and not be remembered. Although it was almost unnoticable he could pick up a strange chakra signature that suddenly appeared next to Minato's. And just like it appeared the signature disappeared. Seeing it as nothing, Kakashi returned to his meditating.
It was now time for them to go and Kakashi stood back up, brushing himself off. He saw Obito who was assigned to the mission at the last moment. 'That idiot Seiichi dropped out of the mission at the last moment. Although that I'd prefer Obito being on this mission, why did the Hara drop out?' Kakashi thought solemnly.
"Remember, nonstop until we're near the border between Hi no Kuni and Yu no Kuni." Minato yelled out to the others. After that he turned around and took off into the trees, and everyone trailed after.
Everyone already knew of the positions they would take. Kakashi was in the rearguard while Minato and Obito took up the vanguard. Mamoru was also in the front, most likely arguing with Minato. He couldn't help but chuckle a bit when he heard Minato reprimand the man.
He began to scan the rest of the group and only a few looked familiar. There were shinobi from some of the prominent clans in Konoha, like the Akimichi, though orphaned ninja took up the majority.
After what had to have been at least 4 hours of straight running the group of ninja finally stopped. Kakashi's legs felt like lead along with some of the others.
"We'll rest here and then leave for Shimo no Kuni. We'll be leaving again in the next 3 hours, by then I expect all of you to be ready," Minato pronounced to all of them, "I advise against leaving the group. We're about to cross into enemy territory, seeing as Yuni no Kuni and Shimo no Kuni have allied with Kumogakure."
Kakashi, in his exhaustion induced state, could only nod in acknowledgment. He knew better than to complain in front of the other ninja. People already breathed down his neck constantly, and he'd prefer it if they didn't have any ammo to use against him. While everyone found their spots on the ground below Kakashi decided to stay up in the trees. That way he wouldn't be a sitting duck like the rest.
"Kakashi," a lone voice called out.
"What is it Obito?" Kakashi breathed out. Of all the people who approached him, it had to very well be the Uchiha.
The goggle wearing boy sat on a branch nearby and gave him a questioning look. "On the way here, some of the shinobi were talking about you. They said some things and I was just curious. What happened with your dad?"
Kakashi narrowed his eyes at the Uchiha. Since their first mission together he knew that the boy had no tact, but this was ridiculous. Kakashi closed his eyes and sighed in annoyance, "I don't need to tell you anything."
"Tch, whatever. I just wanted to know is all. Everyone else kept calling him a traitor and I was just curious," the black haired boy said before he dropped from his branch and rested on the ground like the rest.
Kakashi went back to resting, closing his eyes slowly, with the wind cooling him off. He could feel some of the glares being directed toward him. People still judged him on what happened with his father but he didn't mind. He could already tell that today was gonna be a long day. Hopefully it wouldn't be his last.
Sakuras Theme
The air was littered with the smell of antiseptics and blood that managed to get past the air conditioning system. She was in the break room that was for well...breaks. It had a mini-fridge that was situated in the far corner of room next to a medium-sized counter. There was a window that let in the sunlight and next to it was her target, a white leather couch. The healer couldn't help but notice the emptiness that was evident throughout the room.
Rin plopped herself down on to the couch, sweat beading her forehead, and her ragged breathing communicated that she was obviously tired. A new patient had rolled in earlier and all the other better medics were already busy, leaving her and couple of other novice healers to deal with it.
What made her feel even worse was the burning sensation of her lunch wanting to exit out the way it came in. When they called her she wasn't expecting the patient to be in such a critical condition.
He was missing one of his legs, the poor limb was burned right off leaving a simmering hump of flesh behind. A large gash had decorated his chest and the skin around it was obviously burnt. It had taken all of her self control and training as ninja to not faint at the sight. It was hard to count how many times one of the others had stopped during the operation and just stared at the body. There was a lot of yelling and close calls.
It was an utter miracle that the man had lived through it all. His career as a ninja was over, that was a definite, but it could have been a lot worse. He would have gone into an eternal sleep, but considering his current condition, it may have been better if he died.
Rin leaned back into the couch and closed her eyes. She couldn't fall asleep yet. This was merely a break and soon she would have to go and heal and take care of more patients. There was still more chakra left in her reserves, but chakra exhaustion was still a possibility and the hospital needed all medic-nin on command.
When she opened her eyes she was met by a relieving sight. A hand was held out to her and it had a soldier pill. Without even thinking she grabbed it and popped it into her mouth and swallowed it. The effects were almost instantaneous as the extra energy washed throughout her body.
"Watch it there. We don't need you getting addicted to the stuff do we?"
Rin could only roll her eyes. "I know better than to rely on them Kushina-senpai."
The redhead gave the girl one of her fox like grins TM . "No need with the formalities Rin. Only Kakashi has to do that. You don't have a stick up your butt do you?"
"Kushina-senpai, you know I don't like it when people talk about Kakashi.". It was true. She hated it when people talked about Kakashi or any of her teammates behind their backs. If your going to insult someone you should do it right in their face.
The grin melted off her face only to be replaced by a soft smile. "You know when I was little I always used to get teased because of my red hair."
Rin raised her eyebrows in curiosity and surprise. "B-but you're so pretty and your red hair makes you look exotic and I heard boys liked that kind of thing."
"Believe or not I used to be kinda pudgy when I was little," Kushina chuckled, "I beat up the kids who teased me and because of my temper and the color of my hair I got the nickname 'Red Hot-Blooded Habanero."
Rin chuckled slightly. Minato always used to talk about how much of a temper Kushina had and how many times she pounded his head whenever he made her angry. "Minato-sensei always did talk about how rowdy you were sometimes."
A tick formed on Kushina's head as her face grew a light blush. "Maybe I should remind him about what happens when he talks about me in such a way dattebane!" Kushina sat down next to Rin, her voice becoming a whisper. "I always used to pull pranks of everyone in the village for fun. Though that was because I wanted attention. No one understood me and because of that I acted out.
"I was kidnapped by Kumo shinobi once because of my special chakra. After sometime I thought I was a goner."
Rin looked down as though in guilt. Now that she thought about, there were still people in the world who were less than fortunate then her. Her earlier patient was a prime example. It just didn't seem fair, especially when people like her had an easy life.
"I had given up all hope...until he came and rescued me. Minato actually managed to see the trail I left with my hair. He even took down all of the shinobi who kidnapped me, all in a few seconds."
"Kushina-senpai, while that story is heartwarming I don't see how it relates to Kakashi-kun."
"What I'm saying is that after he rescued me, things changed. I now had someone who actually cared about me, who wouldn't reject me. He even loved me for the thing I hated the most; my red hair. What you need to understand is that right now, Kakashi is in the same position I was in back then. He just needs someone who would care for him and who knows, maybe that person could be you."
Rin's face turned the shade of crimson at the implication. Sure she usually thought about how it would be if both her and Kakashi were together but this was the first time somebody actually (subtlety) suggested it to her. "A-alright Kushina-senpai. I-I'll try," she stuttered out.
"Good to hear. You should probably get back to your station. They still need you there." Kushina stood back and walked away, leaving the brunette alone to ponder her words.
A beeping noised sounded throughout the room, pulling Rin from her thoughts. It looked like her break was finally over. Sighing in resignation, the brunette lifted herself up from her chair and walked through the white hospital doors into the treatment room next door.
'He just needs someone who would care for him,' the words repeated themselves in her head. 'I already care about him,' she thought, 'He just doesn't realize it.'
Survival Examination
Kakashi stood right back up as the signal to continue was sounded. Well it wasn't really sounded, god forbid they drew the attention of some scouting squad. It was more of thing that everyone knew what to look for. It just showed how everyone was in synchronization.
The group took off into the trees again, everyone falling in line. He was fully rested now from their earlier trek. Right now he had his entire mind focused on the mission. It would begin soon and this time no mistakes will be made. Any enemy ninja who got in his way, would be cut down without hesitation.
"Doesn't it feel strange?"
Kakashi shifted his eyes towards the source of the voice. Two of the shinobi were speaking with each other. Those idiots weren't even paying attention to the surroundings. Shinobi rule #6, Always be vigilant. No matter where you were on the battlefield, even if you've found the safest place, always be on your guard. Clearly they'd either forgotten or didn't care. Kakashi was about to interrupt their little conversation until a few words made him stop.
"When Minato was talking to that Anbu earlier I heard something about a second mission," the older of the two said. He wore the standard chuunin uniform. His hair was the same shade of brown as Rin's but his was shorter.
"You've got to be kidding," the younger one stated. He looked identical to the other except for slight difference in their appearance. They might as well have been twins.
"Look I'm not kidding Saizo, I swear I heard him."
Saizo simply rolled his eyes. "Chances are you misheard him. If there was another objective to this mission, Minato would definitely tell us."
Kakashi remembered the chakra signature that appeared next to Minato but he had chose to ignore since it didn't seem important, but from what he just heard; he was wrong. The gears began to turn in Kakashi's head until it clicked. He wouldn't tell anyone because it didn't involve them. It was another test, like last time. Except this time, things wouldn't be some complicated genjutsu. No, it'll be real and now that Kakashi thought about it, he welcomed the test. This time he'll prove himself. Nothing will go wrong.
Now if only he could figure out what the second mission was. With the secrecy it was most likely a trial by fire. They'd send him in to deal with whatever needed to be dealt it, hoping that he'd return stronger, sharper, smarter.
Trapped in his thoughts, he almost didn't notice when the group finally stopped. He looked ahead and focused his attention on the blonde man, his eyes narrowing in preparation for anything.
"Alright then. What all of you know is that the goal of this mission to use guerrilla war tactics in order to warn Kumogakure to back off." The blonde man ran his eyes through the crowd of shinobi before him, seeing their looks of confusion, except on the face of a certain Hatake.
A smirk formed on Kakashi's lips but it was hidden away by the mask he always wore. Minato was revealing the second mission right now.
"What you don't know is that our team was also assigned a second mission," the blond paused, waiting for it settle in. "It's come to our attention that Kumo has hired a rogue Suna shinobi to assist them and our second mission is to eliminate him. It has also come to our attention that he is also assisting the Iwa Shinobi. We already have a general idea of where he is but not the amount of ninja he currently has traveling with him."
"How about we split up," an all too familiar voice spoke out.
"And why would you suggest that Obito?" Mamoru, the Inuzuka from earlier, questioned.
"Since the mission we were first assigned is time sensitive, coupled with the fact that the rogue shinobi could move at any minute, we're at a crossroads."
"But wouldn't that divide our forces and make them weaker?" one of the other shinobi in the group asked. He got nods of agreement from the others.
"It's the only option we have this point. And we can improve our relationship with Suna if we capture one of their rogue shinobi" Kakashi said, backing up Obito's plan. The others shot a wary look towards him but he simply ignored it as though it didn't happen.
"Alright then. Now that we've decided on a course of action, we need to select teams," the Yellow Flash said, surveying the potential candidates. In truth he had already picked them out from the beginning. "Kakashi, Obito, Asami, and Takumi."
All ninja jumped on to a branch in front of Minato, serious looks decorating their faces.
Now that Kakashi noticed it, the other two were also around the same age as him. Was the village testing all of them? 'You are the next generation. The village expects great things from you' a voice whispered in his ear. Kakashi had to try his hardest not to look surprised. That voice...it was so familiar. It...was his father's voice. B-but why?
"Now, we believe that the target is somewhere in Ta no Kuni, masquerading as a merchant. We've received reports of caravans being attacked on a trade route but we simply dismissed it as normal bandits. When we learned that the attacker had a Suna headband then we began an investigation and it came to our attention that he was being employed by Kumo. Here's the map of the route of where the attacks took place," Minato said handing over a scroll to Kakashi. "You'll be the leader for this four-man cell. I expect your group to meet us here in 2 days." The four shinobi saluted the Yellow Flash.
Minato signaled for the rest of the shinobi to follow him, and so the rest took off, leaving the young shinobi to contemplate their mission.
Kakashi opened the scroll, unveiling a storage seal. After retrieving the map he took a long at it. He recognized the route as Hebinomichi. It wasn't a popular route due to the snakes that surrounded the area, but that's what made it advantageous. The snakes acted as a natural detergent to bandits who camped out in the forests. Only a shinobi could stay there and still be alive, or at least not bitten.
He activated the storage seal again, revealing a small box. When he opened he smiled. It was an array of different vials in small glasses with different names of snakes on them. Anti-venom. In one corner there was a few syringes. It had the words Cure printed in clear letters on them. Rin's explanation of the body's from days ago flashed in his mind and he realized their purpose. The missing-nin was using poison so they made a cure for it.
He turned a look towards his makeshift team and examined the new faces.
The boy was taller than all of them and he had a weird glint his green eyes. His short brown hair was untidy and disheveled. He wore the standard chuunin uniform vest with blue pants and sandals. He had a rough chin with a small scar.
The girl had long black hair that stretched to her waist. Her eyes were a deep shade of blue and her chin was sharp. She wore a long loose sleeved zip-up jacket with a camouflage patter. She also wore a black cargo pants.
"The enemy is located somewhere around the Hebinomichi trading route, however, since he's accepting missions from other countries we have to acknowledge the fact he may not be there when we find him or that he has back-up," he spoke, loud enough for them to hear.
"So we should all stay completely aware of our surroundings and be prepared for any variables. Sounds like another day of being a ninja," Obito spoke nonchalantly.
"Don't screw this one up Uchiha," Kakashi spoke.
Obito directed a stare at Kakashi, which the white haired ninja ignored. "Whatever Hatake," Obito gave in.
Sensing the hostility between the two, the boy, Takumi, spoke up. "We should go now since he might be on the move. We're gonna have to watch each others backs from now on."
Kakashi nodded sensing the boy's hidden message. They were supposed to be a team and he was causing the problems first. Maybe he should try to be at least civilized.
"Tch, whatever." Obito jumped into the trees and took off. Kakashi sighed in annoyance. Maybe being civilized won't solve any of their problems after all.
A/N: Well I'm finally here with chapter 7. Entering the end of the semester and I can't wait till summer vacation. Too bad its being shortened. I plan on rewriting some of the earlier chapters or I'm gonna at least try to improve them. I might start putting up dates and chances are I'll name the chapters. Expect some action next chapter. Don't mind the the OC's Takumi and Asami. They're just there to fill the four-man cell. Seiichi won't be showing up for a few chapters as well. Well, please read and review.
