If I owned Naruto...Well...There'd be fewer fight scenes...


Chapter Eight

Hold me and tell me we'll burn like stars. We'll burn as we fall...

Mikazuki Sakuya, newly promoted to jounin, ran up the broken stairs of Shimo's main tower. "Will you hurry up, Fuyu?" he called back to his friend. Fuyu was following at a more sedate pace.

"Go on, I'm right behind you," replied Fuyu. He was having a difficult time walking after being stabbed through the leg by an overzealous Yuki nin.

"Do you need to be carried?" came a voice from behind.

Fuyu jumped and spun to face Akuma, ignoring the shooting pain in his leg. "Dammit, that's not funny."

"It wasn't meant to be," replied Akuma. Though he had become a chuunin a year after the members of team Tsubasa, they had all taken and passed the jounin exams together three years later. Being four of Shimo's very few jounin, they were often sent on missions together as well. This lent the group a strange feeling of camaraderie. "I was perfectly serious. Rei and I can do a great fireman's carry."

Rei reached up and tugged gently on the ends of Akuma's hair. "Don't volunteer me for things. Go on with Sakuya so he doesn't hurt himself. I'll walk back here with Fuyu."

Akuma pressed a quick kiss onto Rei's lips and then dashed up the stairs after Sakuya. Fuyu, by this time used to the couples random public displays of affection, simply rolled his eyes.

Rei reached back and offered her injured teammate a hand over a particularly large crater in the steps. The stairs in the main tower had been almost totally destroyed when a large group of Yuki nin had descended on Shimo early in the month. It was during that attack that Fuyu had been injured.

"You don't have to stay back here and babysit me you know," Fuyu told the girl. "You should maybe catch up to the others and make sure Sakuya doesn't push Akuma into one of these holes."

Rei blinked. "Why would he do that?"

Fuyu shook his head. "Never mind..."

"No, really," insisted Rei. "What do you mean?"

Fuyu smiled. "I shouldn't have to tell you. Use that Kagemusha brain and figure it out for yourself."

"Whatever..." The two walked the rest of the way to Asahi's office in silence.

When they finally reached the office, Fuyu and Rei found that not only had Sakuya and Akuma arrived, but Megami Eien and Harusame Ayame were also waiting.

"About time you two got here," Eien said waspishly. "We were beginning to think that you'd both gotten lost."

"Or maybe fallen into a hole," added Ayame. "Chidarake there is probably klutzy enough to do something like that." She was ignored.

"How's your leg, Namida?" Asahi asked kindly.

Fuyu shrugged. "The medics say to stay off it for another week but I feel fine. Slow, but fine."

Rei sighed. "Fuyu, you have to do what the medics say to avoid further injury."

"But I feel fine!" Fuyu insisted.

Sakuya rolled his eyes. "You could be laying here on the floor bleeding and you'd try to convince us you 'felt fine.'"

"Only if I did!"

Akuma chuckled. "You'd probably try to convince us you were mission ready even if you still had the katana in your leg."

Rei looked at him. "He did, remember? He was at the hospital and they hadn't gotten to him yet."

Asahi joined in. "I'll bet he changed his mind real fast once they started pulling."

"All right, stop it!" snapped Fuyu. "It's not funny."

His teammates laughed again.

"Dammit, it's not!!"

"All right, that's enough." Asahi waved to bring their attention back to him. "I called you all here because there is finally a mission available that you can be paid for."

"Woo Hoo, money," said Sakuya.

"Oh, shut up, you rich bastard," muttered Fuyu. "Some of us have to work for a living."

"Rei doesn't," was Sakuya's reply.

Rei shrugged. "My parents invested well. I like to work, though."

"Weirdo." Sakuya turned back to Fuyu. "See? You could go mooch off of Rei like Akuma does."

"Akuma doesn't mooch," said Rei.

"I contribute my fair share," added Akuma.

"After all," interjected Ayame, "Chidarake and Shiroi get access to 'special missions.'" It was common knowledge in Shimo that Chidarake Rei and Shiroi Akuma went on more missions than anyone else. Most didn't make the connection to Kagemusha. Ayame definitely didn't.

"Perhaps it's best if Shiroi and Chidarake stay behind," suggested Eien.

"The client requested six jounin," replied Asahi. "You all are the only available six."

"So we have to go," said Akuma.

Asahi shrugged. "If you don't want Taki to get the contract."

"Why is the client offering to the small villages?" asked Rei.

"Who knows?" sighed Asahi. "But we may as well go with it. The mission is a simple escort. All you have to do is guide the client to Amegakure. Do you accept?"

"Hai," chorused the jounin.

"Very well." Asahi pulled out mission scrolls, one for each of the ninja. "All the information you need is here, as always. You will meet the client at the Phoenix Gate at noon tomorrow. Dismissed."


Rei was sleeping on her couch, the scroll she had been reading clutched in her hand. Akuma smiled when he walked into the room and saw her.

"Come on, Rei." He shook her shoulder slightly. "Even if you're not going to eat, you need to go sleep in an actual bed."

"I want to eat," protested Rei sleepily. She sat up. "What are we having?"

"The usual before mission at Sumire's with your teammates if you'd come on." Akuma pulled the girl to her feet. "Let's go if we're going."

Akuma half pulled, half carried Rei out the door. Fuyu, who had moved into the building for month before, was just passing when they left the apartment. The silver haired boy snickered at the sight of Rei hanging limply on Akuma.

"Tired, Rei?" he asked. Rei mumbled something incomprehensible.

"She fell asleep reading a scroll about Ame bloodlines," translated Akuma.

"Well, we're never going to get there at this rate," commented Fuyu as Rei stumbled along, propped up by Akuma. "Do you mind?" he asked them both.

Rei gave him a blank look.

"Mind what?" asked Akuma.

Instead of answering, Fuyu scooped Rei up and began carrying her. Rei yelped and Akuma laughed.

"Fuyu! You're going to mess up your leg," protested Rei.

"Rei, you'd have to be one hundred pounds heavier before I could hurt myself carrying you," Fuyu told her with an eye roll.

"Akuma!" Rei looked at him with pleading eyes.

"Well, you were walking awfully slowly," said Akuma thoughtfully.

"I'm awake now!" exclaimed Rei.

The three continued to Sumire's, Fuyu carrying Rei and both of the boys picking on the girl. They actually messed around like a bunch of teenagers, a rare moment of peace in the blood soaked life of a ninja. Sakuya smiled as he watched his teammates approach.

"Hey, guys," he called.

"Sakuya!" Rei sounded relieved. "Help me out!"

"Okay." Sakuya held his arms and Fuyu handed the girl over. Rei gave him an expectant look and Sakuya gave her an innocent, questioning look. "What?

"SAKUYA!!"


The kids finally finished playing and entered the restaurant. Sumire looked up and smiled at the sight of them.

"You guys finally have another mission?" she asked, excited on their behalf.

"Sure do," was Sakuya's cheerful response. "A simple escort for some paranoid rich guy."

"Don't knock it," Fuyu told him. "It pays the rent."

"I don't need to pay rent," said Sakuya.

"I don't need to pay rent," mocked Fuyu.

As the two boys fell to arguing, with Akuma egging them on, Rei turned to Sumire. "How have you been? I heard your father was..."

"...Killed in the last attack." Sumire nodded with a sad smile. "It's true. I'm in charge alone now." There was a moment of silence, then Sumire gave the redhead a huge grin. "So if any of you four decide to quit the ninja work..."

All of the ninja gave her doubtful looks. Sumire laughed. "The usual for all of you?"


The four jounin sat at their usual table in the back corner of the building. Sumire had long since left the building, tossing Rei the spare keys on her way out. "Lock up before you leave, please." The kids waved.

They all sat quietly, the joking atmosphere for earlier completely dissipated. They were drinking, a bad habit many teenage ninja picked up. Sakuya was a lightweight and had long since passed out on Rei's lap.

"Anyone other than Sakuya drunk?" Fuyu asked after they sat for another half hour.

"Just slightly buzzed," replied Akuma.

"I'm fine," Rei said. "We should head back home before the rest of us wind up like Sakuya, though."

It took some maneuvering to get everyone out of the booth. Rei propped up Sakuya since he refused to release her.

Once the whole team was outside, Rei passed Akuma Sumire's keys.

"Come on, Sakuya." Fuyu attempted to pry Rei out of Sakuya's drunken death grip. "You need to let Rei go."

"Don't wanna walk home alone," murmured Sakuya. "You all live over there." He indicated the direction of the apartments the rest of the team lived in. "An' I have to go way over there." He pointed in the opposite direction.

"Yeah, you're definitely too drunk to walk home alone." Fuyu jerked his friend's arm about twenty-five degrees west. "You live in that direction."

Sakuya didn't reply, just wrapped his arm back around Rei's waist. The girl gave a resigned sigh. "I guess I'm walking him. I'll be home in a minute."

"Okay." Akuma gave Rei Sumire's keys and a kiss.

Fuyu rolled his eyes. "Come on, lover boy, she'll be gone twenty minutes not twenty years."

"But the parting is such sweet sorrow, no matter how short it, it feels like a thousand years to my heart," said Akuma dramatically.

Rei giggled. "Akuma, you stole that."

Fuyu stared at him. "You had more to drink than we thought, didn't you?"

"I am perfectly sober," Akuma said, insulted.

"I'll see you in a little while," Rei told Akuma as she lead the mostly limp Sakuya away. Akuma waved as he continued arguing with Fuyu.


It didn't take Rei long to get Sakuya back to his home. She unlocked his door with her copy of his key. When Sakuya's aunt looked through the living room doorway, Rei waved and half carried her mostly sleeping teammate upstairs to his room.

When Rei deposited him in his bed, Sakuya woke up a little more. "Rei? Where are we?"

"I took you home," Rei replied. "You need to go to sleep, we have a mission tomorrow."

"Yeah, I remember." Sakuya flopped back on his bed and watched Rei walk toward the door. Suddenly, he called out, "Rei, wait a second."

Rei turned back from the door to give the dark haired boy a questioning look. He waved for her to come back over. She obeyed. When she was once again standing beside the bed, he gestured for her to sit down.

Rei perched on the edge of the bed. "What it is, Sakuya?" She was beginning to sound concerned. In response, Sakuya reached up and pulled her down so that her ear was level with his mouth.

"I love you, you know," Sakuya whispered.

Rei sighed with relief. She pulled back and smiled into the boy's hazy midnight eyes. "Of course I know. And I love you, too." She stood up. "I need to get home. I'll see you tomorrow."

Once Rei was gone, Sakuya tossed his arm over his eyes and sighed.


When Rei got back to her apartment, the first thing she did was call for Akuma. No answer. She got back to the bedroom, where she found her partner already asleep. She quickly got ready and crawled into bed beside him.

Akuma tossed an arm over her and pulled her close. "Did you get him home okay?"

Rei yawned. "Yeah. He was drunk as hell. I practically had to carry him home and then he had to tell me he loved me like it was some big deal."

Akuma's arm tightened a little. "He said he loved you? What did you say?"

"That I love him too, of course." Rei seemed to surprised he'd ask.

Akuma choked on air. "You told him what?"

Rei looked back at him. "That I love him, too. Why wouldn't I?"

"Jeez, Rei..." Akuma shook his head and tucked Rei closer to his side. "And people say guys are dense."

Rei lay awake while Akuma's breathing evened out. She just stared at the clock for a long, long time, just listening to the ticking...


The escort mission went off without a hitch, no bandits, no sneak attacks, not even a group of Yuki or Mizu nin looking to show their superiority to a bunch of Shimo nin. It was, quite simply, a breeze. But they got paid full price so they weren't complaining.

They sat up camp, quickly and efficiently, Ayame and Eien standing by uselessly. Fetching food? Simple. Getting firewood? Easy.

The attack came as a complete surprise.

The scariest part of the attack was the clothing of the attackers.

"Kagemusha?" whispered Fuyu. He slid a questioning look to Rei and Akuma. They just gave him confused looks.

The six jounin put up a good fight, but they stood no chance against eight of the word's most highly trained assassins.

Ayame fell first, sent flying across the clearing into a row of trees.

Eien went next, caught in an illusion and dropped bonelessly to the ground.

Out of the corner of her eye, Rei saw the Demon Mirrors fall before a powerful fire justu. "Sakuya!"

Akuma turned when Rei shouted. Fuyu saw Akuma move and looked over. It took only that one quick moment of inattention for Tsubasa to be overpowered and dropped to the dirt with the others.


Eien blinked her eyes open. All she could see was earth. She lifted her head and coughed. "Report," she called hoarsely.

"Here," came Ayame's croaking voice.

"Here." Akuma was off somewhere to the left.

"Here." Where Akuma was, you could usually find Rei.

"Here." Sakuya sounded dazed, as if he weren't sure where exactly 'here' was.

Several long moment passed. "Namida, report," said Eien insistently.

No answer.

The rest of the team stumbled to their feet.

"Fuyu?"

"Namida? Namida, where are you?"

"Hey, Fuyu!"

"Namida, report NOW!!"

"FUYU!!"

It didn't matter how loudly they called or how far and wide they searched. There was no sign of their teammate. Namida Fuyu was gone.


...Sorry, don't really have much to say about that...Probably should...but I don't...