Esperwen- Sorry, guys; I meant to update last night, but some kind of internal error or something happened. Even now, the problem isn't resolved; I'm uploading using cut & paste with one of my older chapters. Anyway, enjoy!
-Chapter 9 ~ Once Upon an October Night-
(Kiba Inuzuka)
(One of Konoha's streets)
(Late October)
"You excited?"
"You hafta ask?! Hell, yeah!"
I didn't have to ask, actually, but it was still fun to hear Naruto say it. The guy was practically bouncing off the walls! He told me that ever since the Protectors started to patrol Konoha, he's wanted to join, but he never knew how to meet us. And that night was his first night on duty, wearing ski goggles to hide his face, and the Protectors' bandanna on his forehead. It was an exciting day for both of us; I got to go on patrol for the first time with one of my oldest friends.
"Kiba, this is freakin' awesome!" Naruto grinned at me, as we walked around Konoha City that night, looking for trouble, "Oh wait, we need to use our code names, right? T, this is freakin' awesome! I thought my training would never end!"
"You got it easy," I grinned back, before glancing down an alleyway, "You already knew how to use your ability well enought to fight and protect yourself. And I trust you, so Sand's willing to cut you some slack. That's all you need to walk the streets with us. And you don't need to use code names unless people are around."
"It took two weeks of training for Sand to let me leave the base-"
"Hey, it was two months for Sand to say I was ready. And Insect had to train for almost half a year."
I glanced down another alley. Nope, nothing happening there, either.
"Oh, then I'm awesome!" Naruto smirked, rubbing his nose, "I finished training faster than both of you!"
"No, you just have abilities that are easy to master," I smirked back, then dodged a punch from Naruto before looking into the next alley, "...things are quiet tonight."
"Yeah. I think maybe it's because there's two teams on the streets, now," Naruto nodded, crossing his arms as he marched down the sidewalk.
"Maybe, I agreed, still looking down alleyways and into dark corners, "But this means that we and Team Masque will need to start competing for work. And then the game really starts!"
"Yeah...Man, I still don't get that," Naruto said, and I groaned, knowing we were going to have an argument that we'd been fighting almost ever since Naruto had joined the Protectors, "Why do we have to fight Team Masque? Why aren't we allies?"
"Sand already asked them, Recruit," I said for the 5 billionth time, using Naruto's code name, "They didn't wanna join us, and this is our territory, so they're trespassing on our land! We've been over this!"
"But we're doing the same things they are! We could at least have a truce, or something," Naruto insisted.
"They don't want a truce. They want the city for themselves."
"Did they say that?" Recruit looked straight at me, "Did they? Are you sure they don't wanna work with us?"
He had a point there; they never actually came out in the open and said they would take over. But I shook the thought off; it was only a matter of time before they would.
"Trust me, man, they strut around in front of cameras and in stupid costumes. They want the city to worship them; they don't really care if Konoha City is safe."
"I wouldn't say that, Kiba. I mean, T," the guy said, shrugging shoulders, "The girl in pink, Speeder or something, ran into a house to save three kids and an old lady a couple days back."
"Big deal."
"The house had a gas leak. She could have been poisoned, or even worse, the house could've exploded!" Naruto gave me a narrow-eyed look, but I looked down the street, pretending I didn't see his expression.
"Speedy also has a helluva temper," I laughed, "She's freakin' fun to bother! She flips out every time!"
I liked getting Speedy angry, whenever we saw each other on the streets at night. I'd yell a few insults about her teammates, and before you knew it, she was rushing at me. Sometimes, a punch actually got me. She totally had no self control. It was hilarious.
"Oh, yeah?" Naruto made this weird smile, "You like teasing her? Sounds like you like her."
"What?!" my jaw dropped, at first, then I glared at Naruto and punched his arm, "You're out of your mind! Moron!"
"Am I?" Naruto grinned, showing all his teeth, "Or are you just embarrassed 'cuz it's true?"
"You are!" I snapped, showing my friend a clenched fist, "You know I like someone else!"
"Oh, yeah, whats-her-face...Hina, right?"
"Her name's Hinata! Hinata Hyuuga!" I yelled, punching at the guy's stupid face. I swear, punching his face was the only way to get Naruto's attention.
"I know! Dude, control yourself!" Naruto laughed, dodging and continuing down the street as if I'd never tried to hit him, "You've only liked her since kindergarten!"
"Third grade!" I corrected angrily, then added, "And it's not like you've never liked someone for a really long time, but who didn't like you back!"
"Hey, that's different!" Naruto exclaimed, "I'm over Sakura, now!"
"Only because she's going out with your buddy, Sasuke!"
I still hadn't figured out how a rebel like Naruto, and Sasuke Uchiha, our grade's student council representative, ever got to be close buds. But they were, like Shino and me. I wasn't the only one who changed during the last couple years.
"Hey, at least I had the guts to actually ask Sakura out!" Naruto reminded me with a snap, his hands balling into fists.
"You calling me a coward, punk?" I growled, baring my teeth at Naruto; so what if I'd never gotten the guts to ask Hinata out?! I'm sure plenty of other guys were in the same situation as me!
We yelled some stuff that my mom would've grounded me for saying, if she'd heard it. Then I punched his head again. Naruto didn't like that, so he lunged at me. We probably would've kept fighting if Naruto had actually tackled me. But before we crashed into each other, two pairs of identical hands caught Naruto in the air.
"Hang on, man, we've got business," a second Naruto said to the first Naruto, while he and a third Naruto set the original Naruto down.
My man, Naruto, here, had an awesome ability. We called him 'Recruit', because not only was he the first recruit the Protectors had ever had, but also because he could recruit as many clones of himself as he could keep track of. When we were little, Naruto could only make two clones, but now, he could handle eight clones at once. On his own, he's twice the size of our original team!
"We're on a mission? Cool!" Naruto brightened up automatically as his clones put him back on the ground, "Where?"
"South side of town," one of the clones smirked, "There's a shoot-out that Sand and Insect need help with, and it's got our name written all over it."
~*~
(Gaara Suna)
(Naruto's first night on patrol)
(South side of town)
"Sand, get down!"
Hearing Insect's warning, I dropped to the ground behind a dumpster. Bits of old brick rained down on me as bullets hit the wall behind me; quickly, I used the pieces to make more sand for later use. I heard a grunt, and the sound of a body falling to the ground.
"I got him, Sand. It's safe; you can come out now," Insect said calmly.
I came out of my hiding place warily, lest I get ambushed again.
"How many is that now?" I asked, meaning how many gang members had been scared away or stopped.
"Seventeen," Recruit answered, grinning arrogantly as he adjusted the goggles that hid most of his face, "We got 'em all."
"You sure?" Teleporter asked, walking in and carrying another unconscious body over his shoulder. Dropping the thug, Teleporter recounted the bodies around us in the dark alleyway, then added the number of people he knew had run away, "Hey, yeah! We actually got 'em all, even with Recruit in the way!"
"Hey..."
Recruit moved forward, seeming to step out of himself, and suddenly there were two blonde loudmouths. Though he was loud and annoying, I had to admit Recruit was quite adept with using his cloning ability.
"Take that back; I did good!" Recruit grumbled, clearly not liking to be teased.
"C'mon, man, you rushed in too early!" Teleporter argued, recalling Recruit's earlier blunder that could have brought us to ruin, had we been a little less experienced with shoot-outs.
"I thought Shino said 'go'!"
"I said 'slow'! 'Move quietly and slow'!" Insect corrected, crossing his arms and frowning down at Recruit.
"...Oh," Recruit closed his eyes and rubbed his chin, "That makes more sense."
I could sense my other two Protectors getting antsy, so I decided to intervene.
"That was foolish, Recruit," I said calmly, gathering all their attention to me, "Premature starts are just as bad as missing a signal. I thought Insect taught you that."
"I did," said Insect, the same time as Recruit said, "He did."
"Then remember it!" I interjected, narrowing my eyes at Recruit, "This city is counting on us. If we can't even have one small, organized, unified attack, how can the city trust us with its whole self? I hope I have not made a mistake, allowing you to join our group."
"You haven't!" Naruto exclaimed, looking as if I'd just threatened to kick him off of some major league sports team, "I'll be careful next time, I swear!"
"Good," I nodded, quite satisfied with the fact that Kiba had found a new team member that was so loyal to our cause. I touched my face to make sure the paint over my eyes was still there before continuing, "It's well past midnight. I think it's time we all headed home."
"Yeah, I have math homework due yesterday that I still have to finish," Teleporter agreed, yawning openly.
"Aw, but we just started!" Recruit whined, his jaw dropping wide.
"Let's head home, Naruto!" Kiba growled.
"But I'm not tired!"
The two incorrigible pests started bickering. Loudly. The alley we were in wasn't residential, and nobody's attention was on us, so I decided not to scold them for being nuisances. Instead, I watched Insect. He was looking up at the rooftops, with a finger rubbing one of his earlobes. Then he put a hand on one of the nearby walls; he was sensing for vibrations, I knew. I walked over to stand beside him, and also looked up to try and see what he was looking towards.
"Do you hear something?" I asked in a low voice, lest I break his concentration.
"Two girls are coming," Insect answered, his hand dropping from the wall, but his eyes never moving away.
"Team Masque?" I raised an eyebrow.
"What?" Teleporter asked, turning away from almost punching Recruit's face when he heard me say our rival team's name. I noted to myself that he seemed to try to punch Recruit's face often. I would have wondered why had I cared a little more.
"Team Masque is coming here? Cool!" Recruit exclaimed. He thought everything was cool.
"One sounds like the girl they call 'Matter'," Insect answered, still watching the dark rooftops as Teleporter and Recruit joined us, "But the other sounds new..."
"Why the hell are they coming here?" Teleporter growled, "The hell do they want?"
"Maybe they're surrendering," Recruit suggested. I doubted he was right, considering how adamantly their leader refused to join us.
At that moment, two airy girls came over the roof of the old factory we faced. One wore light blue, the other wore faded purple, and both wore masks; Matter wore a blue mask that covered her face around her eyes, while her friend wore a light purple drama mask that covered her entire face. Insect had been right again; there was a new Masque.
The two girls did not approach us at first. Matter whispered something to the other Masque, and in response, the Masque nodded.
"Whoa," Recruit flinched a little when the newcomer pointed at Recruit as she whispered something back to Matter.
"Whaddaya want?!" Teleporter barked.
The girls looked at Teleporter, then at each other, before taking a few steps toward us, until they were a polite talking distance away from us.
"Protectors of Konoha," Matter curtsied a little, though in mock or genuine respect, I was not sure; her voice's tone told me nothing.
"Team Masque," I nodded, eying our newest opponent warily; she was constantly just half a step behind Matter.
"Whaddaya w-!"Insect pulled Teleporter's mask tighter around his face so that it acted as a gag and Teleporter stopped speaking. I mentally made a note to thank him later; I understood that he hated Team Masque, but Teleporter always spoke too much when he was around them. One day, his voice was going to be recognized, and if one identity is discovered, all of us are lost.
"Is there something you needed, Matter?" Insect said smoothly, stepping forward.
"I have a message for your new teammate," Matter answered, looking at Recruit, "Mind if I speak to him?"
"My name's Recruit, and you can tell me in front of my team whatever it is you wanna say," the boy said loudly, crossing his arms.
"That's fine," the girl in blue nodded, "My friend here, Vision, just wanted to warn you that you are going to be shot-"
"What?" I raised an eyebrow.
"-very soon-"
Teleporter and Recruit started laughing. I thought it was a little rude, but I didn't stop them.
"-and you'll get very hurt, possibly even die," Matter finished, as her teammate stepped closer behind her.
"Your warning is late, and frankly, inaccurate," Insect said with a slight twitch at the corner of his mouth, "There is no longer any danger of Recruit getting shot."
"The gangs are gone, man," Teleporter laughed, shaking his head, "We just finished off seventeen people in a shoot-out! You're five minutes too late!"
But both Masques looked dead serious.
"At least one gunman is coming back," Matter insisted, taking a slow step forward.
"Hey, stay back," Recruit frowned, when he saw our enemy coming toward him.
"We may be rivals, but I don't want anyone hurt," Matter said, pulling her friend by the hand so they stayed close together.
"Stay back!" Recruit snapped, taking a step backwards.
The new Masque grabbed Matter's sleeve at the elbow. She tugged her arm three times.
"They're almost here!" Matter exclaimed.
"I hear somone coming," Insect said sharply at the same time.
"You do?!" Teleporter asked Insect, surprised. He glanced at the two Masques before teleporting to a rooftop.
"Trust us!" Matter said, still approaching Recruit; her friend's grip getitng tighter on her arm.
"Shit, eight people!" Teleporter yelled, popping back onto ground-level just as I heard a gunshot. It sounded like it came from the road.
"Get down!" Insect yelled, grabbing Recruit and pulling him behind a dumpster. To my surprise, Matter snatched my arm and followed after Insect, just as a bullet imbedded itself into the wall behind me, at the same level as where my head had just been.
It took a moment, but then the thought registered: A Masque just saved me from getting shot in the head.
"Vision, never let go of me!" Matter ordered, gripping her friend's hand, "We're bullet-proof now and I intend to keep you this way." Silently, the girl in lavender nodded.
Gunshots rang out into the night, and I heard the ping of bullets glancing off of the dumpster we hid behind. Insect leapt overhead and out of sight, and Matter winced at a curse and then a crash that she heard; she knew one guy was taken out.
"Seven shooters left-" Insect started, speaking though the headset that my entire team was equipped with.
"No, six," Teleporter corrected, and we all heard a thud, "They're all blocking the way out of the alley."
"We could use a little help," Insect added, "T and I are the only ones fighting, right now."
"Here, I can help," Recruit said, and with a puff of smoke, suddenly there was five of him.
"Wow," Matter and Vision said at the same time, then Matter added, as four Recruits ran out to fight, "Impressive."
"Hell, yeah!" the real Recruit smirked as he stayed where it was safe, wiping his nose proudly.
Then I noticed that Matter was still holding my arm. Casually, I tried moving out of her grasp, but she held on tight.
"Three left!" I heard over my radio. I glared at Matter, knowing I should be helping with the fighting, but she only slowly shook her head at me before looking towards the alley's entrance, where the fighting was.
...Then I understood.
"Recruit wasn't the target," I said, gathering the new Masque and Recruit's attentions, "It was me. You came to protect not Recruit, but me."
And when Matter refused to meet my gaze, I knew that I was right.
~*~
(Pooriin Chatora)
(Recruit and Vision's first night on the street)
(Speeding down 13th Street)
I'm the only one of Team Masque who can drive. This meant that I got the job as getaway car. It used to be Temari's job, but she's still in Oto City. Michiko and Hinata were still too young to apply for licences, and Deniizu still hasn't gotten hers (she can drive, just not legally), so like I said; it's my job to drive in like a hero if someone needs rescuing.
I don't mind driving; in fact, I think driving's fun, but when I'm in a hurry, cars seem way too slow. Especially if Michiko sends me a text like:
()Stayed supersolid for too long, out of energy, can't move. Pick Vision and I up at 13th St. and Onsen.()
Honestly, messages like that are just scary. Seriously. You can die from using your powers so much that you use up all your energy. And Michiko's almost killed herself from trying too hard during a mission more than once.
So there I was, almost speeding down the street to rescue my friends, hoping that I didn't get pulled over. I was really, really worried! Bad enough that I knew my friend could die if I didn't get there soon enough; imagine my panic when I screeched my brother's car around the corner, to see that Michiko and Hinata were surrounded by four Protectors! All four of the Protectors! I didn't even know there were four Protectors until that moment! I thought there were only three! If my friends weren't standing in the middle of them, I might've freaked out and tried to hit them with my brother's car! That's how jumpy I was.
But instead, I just pulled up to the curb beside them. I also was glad that I'd remembered to cover my brother's license plates before heading out. If the Protectors had seen those license numbers and tracked down my brother, Team Masque would be screwed.
"Get away from them!" I yelled, honking the horn for good measure.
"Could ya calm down? We're guarding them for you!" T snapped at me. That guy was so rude.
I was going to yell something witty and insulting back at T, but then Michiko stepped out of their circle. She looked so pale, and she had almost no energy...the new Protector guy and Insect were holding her steady, and Hinata had to open the car door for her. I noticed that Michiko made Hinata go in first, and she never let go of Hinata's arm during the whole thing. I realized that Michiko was keeping the both of them bulletproof.
"What you did changes nothing," I heard Sand say in a low voice to Michiko, as she sat down in the back seat, "We are still enemies. I will do you no favours. You and your team still do not belong in my city!"
"I know," Michiko said at a normal volume through clenched teeth, "I'm doing this vigilante thing because it's right; not because it's fun."
"Don't touch my car," I added sternly, turning around in my seat and glaring at Sand.
Sand gave me a cold look before leaning away from Michiko and shutting the car door. As I drove away, I watched the Protectors in my rear view mirror. All four of them were just watching us leave, standing together under a dim street light. The scene was creepy...and yet, kinda cool. Like four dark superheros in the night. ...Except Team Masque is the real superhero team, of course!
"Rini..."
I winced at how drained Michi's voice sounded; I didn't need to ask what she needed.
"Vision, there's a cooler on the floor there," I said over my shoulder, keeping my eyes on the road, "Pass Matter one of those energy drinks. The windows in this car are tinted, so you can take off your mask, but remember to put them back on when we enter HQ." It was a rule with Team Masque: your mask stays on while you're in your uniform, unless you are in the safety of headquarters or one of the team's cars.
I could hear some rummaging, a can popping open, a "Thank you," and then the faint sound of Michiko gulping down liquid caffeine and sugar.
"...so what happened?" I asked, when the gulping finished.
"...someone needed saving," Michiko said quietly.
"And you brought Hinata along?" I asked, sharply, "Hinata is Deniizu's apprentice, not yours. You know that."
Hinata's traning was still incomplete. Deniizu had arranged to be Hinata's teacher, because she had the strongest fighting ability, and Hinata had the weakest. This meant that Hinata was supposed to train with, get advice from, and patrol the city with Deniizu. Michiko knew that Hinata would be safest with Deniizu; it was too dangerous for Hinata to go out with anyone else until she had more experience.
"Yeah...I'm sorry. I made a mistake," Michiko admitted apologetically, "But we didn't have much of a choice."
"Yeah, sure," I rolled my eyes, "There's always a choice."
"Hinata needs to be there if she has a vision of someone getting hurt, remember?" Michiko said, and I could see Hinata nodding beside her, "She had to be there. She went to headquarters early, and I was the only one there when she had her vision. We had to leave right away, if we wanted that person saved, so we went for it. You didn't get my message?"
"Oh, is that so?" I shrugged, calming down now that I understood what was going on, "I got your text on the way to HQ, so I never saw if you left a note. At least Hinata isn't hurt, right?"
"Yeah, you're ok, right?" Michiko asked, looking at Hinata tiredly.
"Um...um, y-yeah," Hinata nodded, meeting Michiko's gaze, then looking at her feet and playing with her fingers. I drove silently for a moment or two.
"...Who was the target, anyway?" I asked, trying to make conversation.
Neither of them answered me for the longest time. In that moment, I remembered what Sand had said to Michiko.
"...You rescued a Protector?!" I exclaimed, horrified.
"...not just a Protector," Michiko mumbled, "More like the Protector..."
I slammed the brakes and spun around in my seat to face her. I couldn't believe my ears!
"You rescued Sand!" I yelled, making Hinata flinch.
Michiko looked dully at me, then out the car window.
"Deniizu is going to kill you!" I exclaimed, starting to hyperventilate.
"Not if I don't tell her. Deniizu doesn't have to know."
"But she will! What if she heard your fight on the wind?!" I wrung my hands, breathing so fast I was starting to feel dizzy, "Deniizu always knows! You really think you, of all people, can keep a secret from Deniizu? No offense, but you're a terrible liar, and Deniizu's the one who hears everything that goes on in the city! You are so dead! You're gonna get kicked off the team!"
"It's not Michiko's fault!" Hinata gasped, putting a hand on Michiko's arm, "I told her to go! If anyone's going to get kicked-"
"You're not at fault, Hina," Michiko interrupted, shaking her head, "It's all on me. I could have ignored you when you told me about your vision. I could've kept you from going. Pooriin, you're gonna pass out; take deep breaths."
"I am taking deep breaths! Why didn't you keep Hinata from going!?" I yelled, gradually getting my breathing under control, "Deniizu would probably let things go if you hadn't taken her apprentice with you!"
"We just said!" Michiko exclaimed, making a frustrated motion with her hands.
"I have to be in the area, otherwise the vision will definitely come true," Hinata added, taking Michiko's empty can before she threw it, or something.
I groaned out loud, flopping back into my seat. This was a mess. A big mess. Deniizu was not going to be happy when she heard what Michiko did. I took some more deep breaths so that I could calm down and clear my head. Then I hit the steering wheel a few times.
"This is bad, guys." I moaned, getting ready to drive again, "When Deniizu gets mad..."
But I never finished that sentence. I heard a loud clap, like thunder, and looking forward, I saw things like trashcans tipping over and telephone poles shaking...like an invisible wave was coming toward us.
"...Oh..." I could only stare for a moment, "O-ok, um, guys? I'm sorry for yelling...but what is that?" I asked, pointing at the road in front of us.
Michiko looked at me strangely, wondering why I changed the subject so suddenly, then looked outside. She frowned at it, not knowing what the invisible wave was, but I saw Hinata's hand fly up to her masked face.
"It's a shockwave!" she gasped, and I could hear panic in her voice, "Hide!"
Esperwen- Ok, the chapter isn't that long. But it's action-y! Please review! They are like food to me. And if you give me food, I will give you food! ...ok, it's just internet food. But to get that, you still have to review!
