Part Eight

Satsujin

Shikamaru watched Temari run her hands through her long golden hair, which she wore down tonight in order to mask her identity . . . as odd as that sounded.

He reached out and brushed her long bangs away from her face and leaned forward, kissing her gently on the lips.

She leaned forward, kissing back far more aggressively. As they parted he whispered "You're supposed to act like a giddy school girl."

"Is that what that weak, nothing of a kiss was about?" Temari scoffed, "Even if we are just acting, when you kiss me you need to do it right."

Shikamaru smirked. Standing out in the moonlight waiting for the attackers disguised as a young couple breaking curfew for a chance to make out . . . it had been Ino's idea, but Temari supported it wholeheartedly.

Shikamaru supported it too . . . not that he'd admit it out loud.

Nonetheless it made them seem far less threatening and allowed Shikamaru to focus on sensing incoming chakra while appearing to be doing nothing more than focusing on his girlfriend's lips.

In fact Temari was there as something of a body guard, just in case Shikamaru detected the enemy ninja too late, or if the militia caught him off guard.

Normally that would be unlikely, or even impossible, but since he was focusing on sensing ninja . . . and kissing Temari . . .

So Temari's job was to keep an eye out for conscripts whose chakra would be unrefined while Shikamaru sensed for Shinobi, they would then radio Chouji and Ino, who would help them clear out the enemy before they reached the masses huddled together in the town hall.

Chouji and Ino were of course with the townspeople in case the "bandits" bypassed Shikamaru and Temari.

"I really like this part of the mission." Temari told him, kissing his cheek, he just hoped she kept the fact that it was a mission in mind and kept her eyes and ears open.

Matsuri cracked her knuckles and yawned as she got into a comfortable position in the tree hanging over the wrecked house.

Konohamaru didn't blame her for wanting to get comfortable; night watch was a long, boring business.

"Try to stay awake." He called up the tree.

"Mm." Was Matsuri's only reply.

Their squad had come out to investigate a disturbance, and the result was that they'd found the entire town they'd come to protect burned to the ground.

There was little or no sign of the people, that didn't mean they were all dead and it didn't mean they were all alive.

The Chuunin Konohamaru, Matsuri, Futaba, and Udon had decided to bunker down in an abandoned house for the night then Futaba would return to Konoha with news of the situation while Konohamaru led the rest of the squad in an attempt to track down the bandits.

They didn't have any messenger birds with them, so this was the best they could manage.

"If you see anything let us know, if it's a villager, if it's a bandit, wake us up." Konohamaru said.

"Or you know, you could just . . . sleep with one eye open." Matsuri called down.

"Don't make me come up there!" Konohamaru laughed.

"I'd tell Moegi of your unfaithfulness!" Matsuri shouted back.

"You'd what?" Konohamaru scoffed. "Unfaithfulness? Sounds like you think I'm going up there to date you!"

"What happens in the treetops stays in the treetops!" Matsuri laughed.

"Hey, I hate to interrupt you two while you're pretending to flirt for whatever reason two people who aren't interested in one another might come up with," Futaba said, appearing behind Konohamaru, an irritated look on her face, "But uh . . . well the thing is--"

"You want us to flirt with you too?" Matsuri asked.

"No!" Futaba shouted, "Gonta's got a scent, it could be the surviving townspeople, he's really interested in it . . . shouldn't we investigate that?"

"I just got into the tree." Matsuri complained.

Konohamaru folded his arms, "Matsuri stay in the tree, keep in contact with us using your headset, Futaba and I will investigate, you and Udon will stay here and we'll come back quick.

Matsuri shouted, "You can't see it, but I just nodded!"

"And quit yelling, you're going to get yourself killed." Konohamaru called up the tree. Of course he'd been shouting too.

"Okee-dokee." Matsuri shouted down very loudly.

Shikamaru smirked, "We have company."

"Ino . . ." Temari whispered into her microphone, "We have contact."

"Four ninja." Shikamaru whispered.

"Four ninja and I hear a lot of militia. Seems like the whole force."

"Chouji is on his way," Ino reported, "I'm going to remain here in case you're wrong, or in case another force shows up."

Shikamaru nodded, that was fine. Ino was a competent combatant, she wouldn't be a Jounin if she weren't, but she was far more valuable as a medic and so it wasn't a good idea to risk her.

"Here they come." Shikamaru whispered.

Temari suddenly shoved him away and slapped him hard across the face, "How dare you!" She screamed, "Why, I agreed to come out here with you but I would never do that! My mother would disown me if I gave myself away before marriage."

This outburst wasn't planned, but Shikamaru rolled with it anyway, allowing Temari to swat him to the floor he came up with kunai knives in hand.

The enemy militia surged forward, spears at the ready confirming to Shikamaru their hostility.

He threw his kunai and then reached out with his shadows for the Shinobi.

Temari sprang into the throng of bandits with a pair of knives and cut them down left and right, this would be over quickly.

Quicker still if Shikamaru could catch all of the enemy ninja with his shadow.

Chouji barreled into the fray, wisely choosing not to use his human boulder technique, since of course it was dark and only the moonlight and the sound of the screams told him where his allies were.

Shikamaru shook his head, "Even though it was more than we expected it's still grunt work . . . what a bore."

"I'll show you a bore!" An enemy ninja shouted, appearing right in front of Shikamaru, which made capturing him with his shadow all the easier.

"Mission accomplished, you really did show yourself to be a real bore. Good job I guess." Shikamaru said, holding the ninja until Temari could finish him off.

It didn't take long before the surviving militia and the other three Chuunin decided they might want to withdraw, when Chouji sprang up to stand about thirty feet tall the decision was made and the enemy broke and ran.

Shikamaru wasn't in the mood for slaughter, but he did want some answers. "Take one of them Chouji!" He shouted.

His gigantic friend heard him and reached out with amazing speed for a thirty foot tall ninja and grabbed one militiaman in each hand.

He shrank back down as Shikamaru took control of the prisoners with his shadow, "Ino?" Temari asked into her radio, "How're things on your end?"

"Pretty good, nothing's happened but we heard the ruckus you just caused."

Shikamaru spoke into his radio, "We're returning with two prisoners. They know we're Jounin now, I don't think they'll try to attack again tonight."

Satsujin scratched his stomach lightly and glanced at the returning group of soldiers. "Back early . . . this ain't all of you, where's the rest?"

"Dead." One of the Chuunin scowled, "You should have been with us."

"Whipped by some Genin and their sensei? Must have been a real brawler." The teenage boy sat up from his laying position on the cave floor.

"Near as we can tell they were all Jounin." The Chuunin hissed, "They treated us like children."

"Really?" Satsujin raised an eyebrow. "Well that's too bad. Hey, I tell you what though; let's get some sleep, yeah?"

"What? What about the Jounin?"

"I'll think of what to do in the morning." The boy said, curling up. "They won't come after us tonight; they'll be too busy interrogating whoever you left behind."

The soldiers and the returning ninja all lay down in the cave, Satsujin waited, watching them in the dark.

Fear was the predominant facial expression and several of them failed to sleep.

How interesting, the young Jounin decided. Tomorrow he'd set out and find some ninja . . .

And if they were too dangerous he'd just withdraw, like his mission orders dictated.

But in the far more likely situation that they were a bunch of pansies that he could defeat, like everyone else he'd ever faced, he'd kill them.

Shikamaru watched the Ame survivor very carefully, Ino and Chouji were with the rest of the townspeople, Temari, being the most ruthless of the bunch had been the one he'd chosen to perform the interrogation while he watched and listened to what the man had to say.

But as it turned out ruthlessness hadn't been necessary, the instant the man saw Temari in the light he spilled everything out of the fear that her brother, the Kazekage might be nearby.

Shikamaru listened, and watched for any sign that he was lying. Temari watched him in turn and if he nodded slightly, indicating that he doubted a certain piece of information she pretended to get frustrated with the man and would proclaim that she'd leave the interrogation to Gaara.

What they'd gathered so far was that Rain was indeed raiding, so far as the man knew this was the only raiding party. They had not taken any of the townspeople prisoner, though they had allowed some of the children to escape out of compassion--Shikamaru had nodded to Temari about this because he doubted it, the villagers hadn't said anything about children escaping--and as it turned out there was a squad of Chuunin and a Jounin with them, the soldier suspected that if the children weren't surviving the attacks the ninja were responsible.

Their number was around fifty, led by a trio of Samurai instead of just the one that Shikamaru had seen.

"I don't know why we were sent here." The soldier said. "The Samurai told us to follow them, gave us weapons, uniforms."

"Whose idea was it?" Temari demanded, "The Daimyo's or are the Samurai acting independently?"

"I . . . I don't know." The soldier said evasively.

Shikamaru guessed it would have been the Samurai acting independently, but then they'd have had to hire the ninja and Samurai had a tendency to believe that they didn't need ninja.

So it could very well have been the Daimyo, a raid like this wouldn't be enough to go to war over, and it would allow the Daimyo to feel like he had real guts, which would make him look good in front of his people.

He nodded to Temari and she grabbed the soldier by the neck, "You'd better tell me the truth, because I've had it up to here with your lies! My brother won't like it either, so if you don't tell me everything I'm going to have to leave you to him, and he might just splatter you!"

"No please!" The soldier wailed. "I really don't know whether or not the Samurai decided to act alone or if it was the Daimyo! I assumed it was the Daimyo, but how can I be sure?"

"So basically what your saying is that either some Samurai decided to go relive the glory days of war before Shinobi, or your Daimyo wanted to burn down a little village? For what, because it makes him fell tough?"

"I don't know!" The soldier pleaded.

Temari glanced at Shikamaru; he said "I think we're through here. He doesn't know anything more."

"What then?" Temari asked. "Do we let him go?"

The soldier gave Shikamaru a hopeful, pleading look.

Shikamaru shook his head, "He's going to have to go back to Konoha and be interrogated there . . . unless . . ."

"Unless what?" Temari asked.

"Unless we managed to get a prisoner who knew more, then this guy would be useless to us and he could go free." Shikamaru said, eyeing the soldier, "I mean, if we could somehow lay a trap and capture one of the Samurai, or one of the ninja we wouldn't need this prisoner at all."

Temari folded her arms, "Hmm . . . if only someone could help us stage such a capture, someone who might know when and where we should strike . . ."

The man seemed to realize what they were offering him and what the price was, he nodded slowly and said "Y-yes, I mean I can help you! I know where the base is."

"So do we." Shikamaru said.

"I know when the group leaves to attack!" The soldier cried.

Shikamaru put his hands on his hips, "Better than giving us single snippets of information, tell us everything that might help us capture one or all of the Samurai so that we don't need to drag you in to Konoha, or Suna, and then when the Samurai are dead the army will be able to abandon this raid and go home."

Shikamaru didn't mention that with the Samurai dead or captured the ninja's reaction would reveal whether or not the Samurai were their clients, or if it was the Daimyo who arranged this.

If the ninja kept up the raids or tried to assassinate the Samurai then obviously the Daimyo had given the order. If they simply withdrew then they had just been hired by the Samurai.

Shikamaru tilted his head towards the door, "Take a break Temari and let him think of what to tell us."

"You coming?" Temari asked him when she reached the door and saw that he wasn't following.

Shikamaru considered for a moment, leaving the prisoner under someone else's care and resting himself. Chouji and Ino were already probably asleep; the ninja would need all of their strength in the morning when they attacked the bandit base.

But he wasn't so sure he wanted the townspeople guarding their only prisoner.

"I'll stay here, you go get some rest." Shikamaru whispered.

"The townspeople can guard him, and they won't hurt him if they know he might give us the information we need to take out the Samurai," Temari whispered back. "You and I should unwind."

Shikamaru folded his arms. Is she tempting me or toying with me? He wondered.

Temari smiled seductively, "Come on, this is still supposed to be our time together, lets not spend it on separate watches."

Shikamaru sighed and nodded, "All right then."

Temari grinned viciously, then turned to the prisoner and spoke loudly enough that he could hear her, "When you're ready to tell us everything, let one of your guards know, they'll come get us. Just hope they remember to get us, not Gaara."

"Y-yes . . ." the soldier said.

When they were out of the room Temari smirked, "Do we even need to question the other prisoner?"

"Yeah, to verify if nothing else." Shikamaru sighed.

"Blast. I was hoping we could turn in early." Temari said, "A lady needs her beauty sleep."

"Yeah, no kidding." Shikamaru taunted.

Temari turned around to shout some no doubt clever and derogative retort but Shikamaru shut her up with a kiss.

When their lips parted Temari just said "Now that's the way you ought to be kissing me."

"To shut you up? I agree." Shikamaru said, heading for the other prisoner's room.

"Th-that's not what I meant! Hey! That's not what I meant, Shikamaru!" Temari said.

Oh no, Shikamaru thought, now she's talking even more so I'll shut her up again. He shook his head and smiled slightly, "Enough, act professional now. We've got work to do . . . you troublesome woman."

Temari smirked, "You know you're going to owe me big for all this interrogating."

"You wanted to come along. You're going to have to work if you want to be included." Shikamaru said dismissively.

"Oh we'll just see." Temari threatened, then kicked the door open, "All right prisoner, Gaara-kun is in an incredibly bad mood so you'd better just tell me what I want to know, maybe it'll cheer him up and he won't kill you!"

It did not matter at all that neither prisoner had seen the Kazekage, they still showed great fear at the mention of his name.

Impressive.


Satsujin woke up and stretched. He jumped up and cracked his knuckles, "All right, time to kill us some Konoha Shinobi."

"One problem, sir." One of the Chuunin said.

"Hmm?" The boy raised an eyebrow.

The Chuunin tossed him a small rolled piece of paper, "From the second team," The Chuunin said, "Letter for our enemies. Another Konoha team is moving in towards group four, it's a pair of Jounin and a Genin squad. If they link up with the group in the village we won't stand a chance."

Satsujin yawned, "So there's more Konoha ninja. Big deal. We pull out and go home."

"What? That's not the mission." The Chuunin said.

"The mission is to not get caught, we've probably already been exposed, I'm sure someone survived from the group you left behind." Satsujin shrugged, "Don't get me wrong, I like a good fight as much as anyone, but I'm not out to get killed for this nothing of a mission."

"If that's how you feel why didn't you go with us for the attack?" The Chuunin demanded.

Satsujin shrugged, "I'm not interested in killing weaklings. If I'd known the whole ninja squad was made up of Jounin you can bet I'd have been there. Nevertheless I'm not about to get this entire platoon killed because I'm stupid enough to think I've got a chance against a whole Jounin squad."

"But we have to silence them!" The Chuunin shouted.

"No, we don't. It doesn't matter." Satsujin said flatly.

"I beg to differ." A new voice said, Satsujin spun around to see a man standing at the mouth of the cave.

There were so many reasons and ways that Satsujin should have sensed him, the fact that he hadn't left him mildly afraid. "Who're you?" Satsujin demanded.

"The Jounin team outmatches you, it's true, but the Genin squad should be attacked." The hooded man said.

"That so." Satsujin scoffed.

"I, your employer, command it." The hooded man said simply.

Satsujin scoffed, "You're straight out of luck buddy, I'm calling the shots here."

"You will move the base, you will request that the second team abandons their post and rendezvous with you at the new location, that will give you a seven Chuunin and yourself, enough to overpower the Konoha menace."

"Possibly, the cost might be more of us than them though." Satsujin said.

"Battalion Eight has completed their mission, I've already ordered them to your position. Hold out for one day and you will be reinforced. Go back, destroy the town, kill everyone, kill the ninja." The hooded man ordered.

Satsujin scoffed and waved his hand, "Fine then, I don't care. We're staying here men, we're probably going to be discovered and killed. Move the base to this location," Satsujin pointed to another cave location on the map, "Near enough that we can move without attracting too much attention, far enough that they won't find us. I'm going to investigate the new Shinobi squad."

"Alone?" The Chuunin asked.

"Heck no!" The teenager laughed, he glared at the man who'd so easily snuck up on him, "You, your stealth skills will help me get close and observe them."

"I am the client, you do not order the client about." The hooded man said.

"I do actually," Satsujin said, "move the legs old man, lets go."

"You have no idea who I am . . ." The hooded man marveled, sounding more amused than offended.

"Or I don't care," Satsujin lied, not wanting to back down, actually he wanted to observe this man and learn exactly who he was and what he was capable of, and if he was the client who'd ordered this raid and the dozen others Ame had launched against Konoha then he wanted to see if he couldn't find out why, and why the man wouldn't let him pull his battalion out before they got creamed.

He'd watch him very carefully indeed.


The sun rose in the sky and Naruto smiled at his team. They'd make it, somehow he'd make them the best there was.

He wouldn't tell them yet how similar they were, he doubted they'd believe it.

He watched the kids, they were a little tired after spending so much time awake the previous night, really only he and Hinata seemed to be well rested.

It wouldn't matter, he and Hinata could handle the mission alone if necessary. True missions were meant to be learning experiences for young Genin, but Naruto felt like the team had learned enough for the time being that if he and Hinata needed to do most of the work over the course of this mission they could without babying the Genin too much.

"We'll be there pretty soon, maybe Shikamaru already took care of our bandits."

"I doubt it." Hara said, "You probably don't know this, sensei, but Nara Shikamaru is considered Konoha's Legendary Lazy Ass Ninja."

Naruto couldn't help but laugh, he'd heard Shikamaru called that, if he recalled correctly it was actually Temari who'd called him that for the first time and the title just stuck.

So Shikamaru already had a reputation, a title, albeit a negative one. Naruto wasn't known as anything other than 'Jounin Uzumaki' or perhaps, in some circles 'The Konoha Nuisance'

Hinata however said "N-Naruto-kun and I were in the same class as Shikamaru, he's one of our friends. W-we consider him to be Konoha's Genius."

"Well he's got a point, Hinata-chan," Naruto laughed, "I doubt Shikamaru would do any more than he's been ordered. Especially if Temari is with him."

"I gather that Shikamaru must be a Konoha ninja, probably a Jounin, but who is Temari?" Hitomi asked.

"The sister of Sunagakure's Kazekage. She and Shikamaru have kind of a thing going on. We've known her since we were rookies, she's kind of an honorary Konoha ninja."

"That's dangerous." Miyuki scoffed. "You can't consider a foreigner an honorary anything, if there's a war between Sand and Leaf she'll betray us without a second thought, Sensei."

"True, but we all know that." Naruto said with a shrug.

"Hey-hey!" Hitomi said, "You see that?"

"No, Hitomi, we don't." Naruto said evenly, watching the girl shudder with the knowledge that only she could see whatever she was seeing.

Until Hinata said, "I . . . I think I see it. The horizon?"

"There's smoke." Hitomi confirmed.

Naruto scowled, why could he not see smoke on the horizon? Where were the girls looking?

Not that it really mattered, if Hinata said it was there he had to accept that it was. "Move it, team!" He shouted.

To Be Continued . . .

Note: I technically owe you guys a bonus chapter for reaching 100 reviews (yay!) but it's not ready just now. I'm hoping to get it prepared by Tuesday, in any event since this chapter itself is also late I do not want anyone to worry, the update next week will be on time.

Also, I appreciate the great response to the previous chapter. I actually expected a stony silence and lack of reviews. Well anyway if you enjoyed it I am glad, and if you did not, well hopefully the story gets better for you down the road.

In any event enjoy!