Gah! Lines do not work! Bad lines! Fot the previous chapter, I mean...

Ah, gomen about the sudden randomness of my part for the last chappie…(giggles maniacally) but I was in that kind of mood then. Dunno why. It totally spoils it somehow…(still giggling, then blows head up from it)

'Niway, thanks for your reviews again! Uh, this chapter is basically like the calm before the storm? It's kinda boring but stuffed with info…

Well, sorta. Hm, just read.

I mean, please.

Dozo.

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CHAPTER 8

The villagers of Konoha were ablaze with rumors and strange sightings. They had just seen – and heard some incoherent screaming from them too – the group of infamous chuunin 'rookies' barreling through the streets at a high speed. They were said to be heading towards the Hokage tower. The reason was yet unknown.

Shizune was even aware of their looming presence as she proceeded with her paperwork as the Hokage's secretary. Thinking quickly, and not wanting anymore costly damaged products of the tower hanging from her neck; she swung open the door to the Hokage's office. She wasn't really caring about her Tsunade-hime's secrets right now; and the Uchiha could take it somewhere else for once. It was going to be broken to the chuunin 'rookies' sooner or later anyway, so taking it forward a bit should not make a difference.

"Your guests Tsunade-sama," she announced to the calm interior and stepped aside neatly in time to allow the barreling teens past her. She allowed a small smile to leave her lips when she noticed Sasuke pull the ANBU mask over his face and step back by the – apparently fainted – Hokage on the floor. It was quite impressive how the teen could do it in a single fluid movement. It was as though he had had a lot of practise.

Wait. He had had a lot of practise. Shizune snickered before closing the door behind the bewildered chuunins. She bowed slightly to the two generals – really, she would never have thought of Shikamaru and Neji – and let the ominous bang of the heavy doors resound around her.

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"Eh?? Neji— Shikamaru! You're here?! But why– How—?" Naruto spluttered uselessly as the two said teens stared back eerily. Their strange eyes seemed to swim with a deep knowledge of something too old and dark for them to know. It freaked Naruto and even Kyuubi out. In fact, Kyuubi was growling non-stop about them.

They return! It does not bid well! It does not bid well at all…

Naruto wasn't going to ask what was so grim yet. There were too many questions rushing around his head like a loose bullet train. It was tearing his thoughts up into mindless strands. It was confusing him! And that was currently the reason his mouth was on a rant then. His brain just didn't seem to be functioning properly.

"Where's Hokage-sama?" Ino – newly revived from her short fainting spree a while before (please read previous chappie) – demanded steely. Her voice trembled slightly from a certain fear of the mystical aura that seemed to exude from her teammate and the cold Hyuuga. It seemed as though she didn't know the two teens anymore. They didn't answer her. They didn't even turned her way. Although she was miffed by it, her shock overwhelmed that feeling when they bowed to Naruto.

"We welcome you again, Kyuubi-warrior," Neji spoke for Shikamaru as well and locked eyes with the shocked blonde. Sakura tugged at Naruto's hand. The unasked question in her eyes was clear in everyone's minds. Why are you called the Kyuubi-warrior, Naruto?

Naruto's mind was swimming with another set of thoughts. He remembered being called that just yesterday, when he had gone out with Sasuke and Sakura – and when he was in the small argument with Sasuke—

He was with Sasuke! But did that also mean that the raven was going to be as strange as the two teens before him? He seemed normal enough, albeit definitely more open compared to the past…

"Your Hokage fainted," a cool voice broke through the confused silence that gripped the room. The teens –with the exception of Neji and Shikamaru – started at the voice that was heard out of nowhere. Sasuke crossed his arms as they looked at his shadowed form. He pouted beneath his ANBU mask. I've been standing here for so long and only now you notice me? Pssht…

"Where did you come from?" was Naruto's obvious question. Sasuke took his time rolling his eyes. It was hidden behind a mask, after all. And he wasn't going to bother answer the painfully stupid question worthy of Naruto. Instead he kept silent. Of course, the blonde had to mumble about egoistic bastard ANBUs later, but that was beside the point. He didn't bother answering any other questions thrown at him either. They were too bothersome.

Chuunins were just so bothersome.

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Tsunade awoke to a faint slapping on her face. She opened her brown eyes to see the two medic-nins of the 'rookies'. Worry and sincere concern were plastered on their faces. She couldn't help but flash a smile at the two girls. Her head throbbed. That meant that she had hit the floor because- because—

She growled suddenly. Then she surprised the two medics by jumping from her position on the floor. Her finger pointed to the silent ANBU leaning casually against her desk.

"You! Y- You—!" her hanging accusation of 'You didn't catch me!' and 'You scared me on purpose!' wasn't allowed to leave her tongue. It was too degrading for a Hokage like her. To her utmost annoyance, the ANBU knew what she had wanted to say and even smirked – smirked! She bared her teeth at him. It wasn't fair! He could read her thoughts! As though to confirm it, his cool voice whispered into her mind, Yes I can…

Tsunade bristled. "Ooh, why you little—"

"You almost broke my arm," was the smooth interruption. Tsunade's eye twitched in that threatening way that meant she was about ready to smash an unfortunate piece of matter. She narrowed her eyes instead and turned to the unfortunate mortals that she could vent her anger on. They shuddered under her glare. Ooh, it felt really good to be a Hokage. It made her wonder at times why she had chosen to run away from it previously. "What are you all doing here?"

"Uh, we're just wondering about Neji and Shikamaru…uh," Ino paused as she glanced at Tsunade cool stare. She had never quite thought of how intimidating the Hokage's glare really was. "Um, they vanished suddenly, you see…we thought it was something that we should report?"

Yes, she ended in a question because she couldn't really make up her mind whether she should have reported it in the first place. The 'ever-talkative' Neji thankfully spared her further awkward silence on the Hokage's part.

"We apologize if we had shocked you of our sudden leave. We had been unexpectedly summoned," was his quiet explanation. The chuunins took this in thoughtfully. Neji hadn't specified who had summoned him and Shikamaru – and this meant that whoever had called for them actually played a large part in the whole thing. All that was left was to figure out who it was…Ino was cut short from her thoughts by Neji. "For now, we have to leave you with your own thoughts. Your doubts will be cleared soon. Now, if you please Hokage-sama."

Tsunade started at Neji's sudden reference to her. Was she supposed to say something now? Because she had no idea what to say. The familiar cool voice whispered into her mind. Do you mind being my mediator for now, Tsunade? 'Cause I can't keep up my cover and tell them the plan at the same time…

Tsunade smiled slightly and straightened her shoulders. Shoot away.

"As you may have been aware, Konoha is not really at peace for now. Sound and the Akatsuki are poised to strike. It just depends on when they do. That is why we need to prepare as early as now. The plan has been set. I will use the 'rookie nine' – and this includes team Gai – for the main part of the missions. As some of you have deduced, I will ask for the other smaller Hidden Villages to band under our force. I trust Gai's team to do this? Neji, if you may?"

Neji nodded his head slightly. "To my shinobi teammates, you will follow me. I will ask Gai-san to help. I am sure we can persuade the villages enough to band, Hokage-sama."

At this, Neji's pale eyes seemed to glint in a slightly threatening way. The chuunins shuddered to think what he would do if any of the villages ever thought of declining the banding. Shikamaru tilted his head and finally spoke. "Hmm, I think this means that I will take teams Kurenai and Asuma to stay in Konoha for information gathering and setting up the defense? Hn. At least it's not as tiring."

"Lazy as always, Genbu," Neji allowed a small smile and crossed his arms, his strangely soft glowing eyes looking towards Shikamaru as the lazy jounin merely shrugged.

"You know me, Byakku. As my current self likes to put it, 'Everything's so troublesome.' – and I agree very much with it," Shikamaru opened his equally strange sea-blue eyes that glowed mystically from within. He turned to the quiet, newly formed couple from team seven. "And thus, team Kakashi takes on the special mission…"

"W-Wait a minute! Why do they always get the most interesting missions?!" Kiba suddenly spoke up. He knew it sounded whiny, but he had to try. His team had barely the attention of the other team – what with the 'special case' at least one of the other team members had. He was vaguely aware of Hinata pulling at his hand.

"Silence," a voice, threatening and dangerous in its quiet, replied him. Kiba shivered at the tremors that Neji's voice was creepily giving him. His heart was thudded hard from it. He was scared. Neji's gaze was cold. "What Suzaku-sama says, stays."

The 'rookies' started. Suzaku-sama? Who – or what – was Suzaku-sama? And despite Hinata's and his mind's best regards to his safety, Kiba pressed on. "But wh—"

Kiba clammed up when Neji growled. The other chuunins froze. It was unnerving how the growl – and the large fact that Neji had growled – could rival even Naruto when he was angry. Tsunade clapped her hands and smirked when she saw that it caused some of the teens – this, of course, didn't include Sasuke, Neji, Shikamaru, and the still rooted Kiba – to jump. She grinned almost slyly at them.

"Mission begins."

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"So…"

Golden, hazel-brown eyes looked calmly at the two teens standing hand in hand. The girl stood slightly behind the boy, her pink hair falling over her eyes to hide the calculating green eyes. The boy stood tall and proud before her, blue eyes bright and alert for the slightest sign of danger, and golden hair seeming to glow in the dimming office. The woman watching them sighed. He looks so much like Arashi…

"What is the 'special' mission you wanted to give us, Tsunade-baasan?"

Tsunade stretched from her desk languidly and waved to the quiet ANBU. The slim figure nodded back – though it seemed that it was more in acknowledgement than respect – and vanished in his unique gust of warm air. The office seemed even more emptier than it had been before. "The details will be told later by Kakashi. You will meet him tomorrow, at seven at the bridge just by the forest."

"But what are we going to do in the mission?" this time, it was Sakura who asked.

Tsunade glanced at her young student. She smiled softly when she realized that in the short week that the Uchiha had returned, the girl had made her phase into a maturing young woman. It made her warm inside to think of it. Nothing stirred the settling silence. Tsunade decided to break it in her answer. "You just have to go to a village, ask them for help, then escort the messenger. Easy as that."

Naruto snorted at the simplicity. "And you call that a 'special' mission?"

"Ah, but Naruto, you haven't heard the history of the Hidden Villages before…"

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It was seven in the morning. The sun was rising almost lethargically from the horizon as the two chuunins of team seven made their way to the bridge. For the first time in so long, Kakashi was punctual. In fact, he was early. It didn't surprise the pair, however, after the grueling lesson about the Hidden Villages' past the day before. What surprised them was the sudden and unexpected whirl of warm wind and the appearance of the Hokage's 'personal' ANBU.

Kakashi seemed to smile kindly at the ANBU as he pocketed his perverted orange book. "Shall we?"

And without another word, they set off.

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I'm so excited, brother…to meet you again…

to be continued…

BLEARGH

:watcheva:

So yahr…sorry the chapter's so short! The real action comes in the next one, I think? You'll get to know the 'hidden voice', either way. Took me long enough to type such a bloody...short...chappie...damn...fingers...!

Fingers: We're sorry! Please don't kill us! If- If you kill us, you won't be able to type your story!!

Hm. Still;

Ja.