Welcome to the time skip! Where my ideas have been since chapter seven! It goes kind of fast, but overall, I'm pretty pleased with the outcome. Let me know what you think! Constructive criticism is always welcome!
"Minako!" Someone shouts and I turn around to see Naruto running straight at me. "Hey! Minako!"
"Naruto!" I greet with a bright smile. "Wow, the past couple of years have been good to you! You've gotten so tall!"
"I know!" He exclaims proudly. "I just got back! Do you know where Sasuke and Sakura are?"
"Sakura was training with Lady Tsunade and Sasuke should be at the training grounds." I say and he grins. "You're going to be disappointed though…Sasuke got taller too."
"That asshole!" He yells and then he takes off after him. I chuckle before I continue heading towards the shopping district…then I see Shikamaru and Temari. I take a step back and run into someone.
"Oh! I'm sorry!" I gasp as I turn around. Then I realize it's just Kiba. "Oh thank god, get me out of here." I throw an arm around his neck and leap. He's a bit confused as he catches my legs.
"Well, who am I to argue?" He deposits me onto Akamaru's back before he climbs on behind me and we're off. "So what was that about?"
"Uh…I could come up with an excuse, but I'm feeling lazy so just roll with it." I say and he chuckles. Akamaru leaps across the street…we go right over Shikamaru and Temari. Avoidance achieved.
"You're avoiding him, why?" He asks and I turn my head to give him a withering look. "Hey, it's none of my business. That's good news for me." He winks.
"When did you become such a flirt?" I ask and he laughs. "Or is it only when you talk to me?"
"I get jealous because of how much you flirt with Ino." He says and I laugh. "And I could do worse than talkin' to a pretty girl like you. Anyway, where are we setting you down at?"
"You can set me down anywhere really. I was headed for the market to buy some groceries." I say and Akamaru barks before he heads in that direction. "You don't have to take me all the way."
"Eh, we've got a little while before we've got to meet up with the others. I figured I could be your body guard at the market." He says and I shake my head. Akamaru lands at the beginning of the street and I climb off, scratching him behind the ear. He kicks his leg and Kiba falls off. I laugh. "You're always so kind to your rescuer. I'll remember this next time you're avoiding Shikamaru."
"I'm not avoiding Shikamaru." I say and he regards me skeptically. "Oh shut up." I step into the butcher's shop. "Good afternoon, Mr. Tanaka."
"Minako! Just the young lady I was hoping to see today! I have your usual parceled and ready to go." He says and I smile brightly.
"Thank you so much." I say, handing over our normally agreed upon price. "How is your wife doing? Did that salve I gave you help any?"
"She's doing much better now." He says and I smile, glad that I was able to help. "You have a talent. If being a kunoichi doesn't work out for you."
"It's definitely a great back up plan. I'll see you next time!" I say and he nods and smiles. I head back out. I remove my folded up canvas bag from my pouch and deposit my parcels into it.
"I can carry that for you." Kiba says as he pushes off from the wall that he'd been leaning against.
"Okay." I say with a shrug, handing it over. "They mostly have things prepared for me, so it shouldn't take too long."
"We're not in a hurry." He says and I shrug again, beginning to walk down the street. The baker's apprentice runs up with my usual order.
"Miss Uchiha! The Old Man had to close for the day, but he sent me with your stuff." He says, holding it out to me.
"Oh, thanks Shinji. Here…and here's a little extra something for you. Take that girl from your class out for ice cream or something." I say with a wink as I hand over the money. He blushes.
"I-I'll do that! Have a great day!" He says before he runs off again. I put my bread into the bag and Kiba regards me skeptically.
"What? I've been buying my groceries from these people for eight years." I say, putting my hands on my hips. "If you're gonna judge me, you can carry on."
"I'm not judging you. It's just cute." He says and I roll my eyes. "Even when you make faces like that."
"I've been told I make young men have domestic thoughts." I say and he shrugs. "You'd wanna marry me, Kiba? You'd really want to put up with my sassy ass for the rest of your days? I can't even stand myself most days." I laugh.
"I can see us having a couple of pups." He says with a wink and I roll my eyes. We arrive at Mr. Kobayashi's vegetable stand.
"Minako! I was beginning to think that you'd taken your business elsewhere." The man says, folding his arms across his chest.
"Come on Mr. Kobayashi, you know I'd never buy from anyone else. Not unless I have absolutely no other choice." I put a hand over my heart.
"Yeah, yeah. So what kind of week is it?" He asks as he picks up one of the baskets used for his costumer's convenience.
"A heavy week. Sasuke and I are both home and training like crazy people." I say and he hums, picking out what I normally get. "You know I can do that myself."
"I also know that you broke your wrist just yesterday. You think you can hide these things from me?" He asks and I bend both wrists to show him that they work. "Just let an old man express concern for his favorite customer."
"Oh alright, only because you're being so sappy. Mr. Kobayashi, I'd like to introduce my friends Kiba and Akamaru." I say and he gives me a sly look. "Oh you're terrible."
"I'm only joking. It's nice to meet you Kiba and Akamaru. It's always nice to meet Minako's shinobi friends." He says with a friendly smile. He leads the way to the counter where he begins ringing everything up. I take out my money and he reaches over and takes a couple of bills. Our silent interaction leaves me glowering at him. "You're so adorable with your withering looks. It's the special birthday discount. You don't turn sixteen every day, you know."
"Yeah, well I feel about forty. Thank you though. I really appreciate it." I say and he smiles, patting me on top of my head. He hands over the bag, but holds it back as I reach for it. "Oh come on."
"Thank you." Kiba says, giving me a shit eating grin as he takes the bag from Mr. Kobayashi. "And I'll do my best to keep her from carrying this stuff, but I don't know if you realize just how violent she is."
"I'm sure I do. You should see her shopping with Sasuke." Mr. Kobayashi says and I shake my head at the memory of the last time I ever went shopping with my brother. "Stay safe, kids."
"Thank you, Mr. Kobayashi. And take care of yourself…you know where to find me if you ever need help. I know that your arthritis has been acting up. I hear stuff too." I say, tapping my nose.
"Yeah, yeah. Get out of here." He says and I smile before I lead the way out. Kiba shakes his head again.
"You're mean. I'm never taking you grocery shopping with me again." I say and he laughs.
"You love spending time with me though!" He exclaims and I roll my eyes. "Even if only because of Akamaru."
"He's definitely the reason I keep you around." I say and he sighs. "I mean…at least I do keep you around."
"You wound me deeply." He says and then Shino steps into our path. "Crap, I got the time wrong, didn't I?"
"Yeah." Shino says and then he looks between the two of us. "What were you even doing?"
"Minako was avoiding Shikamaru and so Akamaru and I decided to take her grocery shopping." He explains and I punch his shoulder.
"I wasn't avoiding him." I say and then I take my bags. "Go meet up with your team. Sorry for keeping him, Shino."
"That's alright." He says and then he adjusts his sunglasses. "But if you ever need someone to go grocery shopping with, as your friend I would be more than happy to."
"I'll keep that in mind, thank you." I say smiling. They leave then. I go to take a step and my body stops responding. "Let's see, I only know one person who enjoys annoying me that is a Nara."
"And you've been avoiding me." Shikamaru says, releasing the jutsu. I don't bolt…but I seriously consider it.
"I don't know why people keep saying that." I say as I turn to face him. Why am I being so stupid about this?
"So you didn't leap into Kiba's arms and request that he get you out of there?" He asks and I just regard him blankly. "Did I make you mad or something?"
"You piss me off daily. If that were something to make me avoid you, we wouldn't be friends." I say as I begin walking. "I need to get my groceries home."
"I'll walk you." He says and I shrug. I don't say anything as he falls into step with me. "You know…I've known you long enough to know when something's wrong."
"Nothing's wrong." I say and it's true. Nothing is wrong…I've accepted that he likes Temari, but I don't like her and so I'm not going to subject myself to her presence unless I have to. "I'm a busy woman, you're a busy man. We're just too busy for each other now."
"Right. Except you haven't had a mission in about a month." He says and I raise my eyebrows.
"That's some low key stalking there, Buddy." I say and he shrugs. "I guess a shinobi will always find a way to gather the information that he wants."
"You're absolutely right." He says and I pick up on the underlying threat. He thinks he'll find out what's been bothering me. He's wrong.
"You should know better than to threaten me, Shikamaru." I say and he gets that clever smirk on his face. "I'll end you and you won't even know what hit you."
"You're the only person who ever surprises me." He says and I hate how that makes my heart flutter. I roll my eyes. "What's that?"
"My people call it an eye roll." I say and he glowers at me. "Is the only reason you left your girlfriend so that you could follow me because you thought I was mad at you?"
"She's not my girlfriend." He says, tone very adamant. I call bull shit. "And no. When you ran off, I was walking her to the gate. She's headed back to Suna." Good riddance. "I thought I'd confront you anyway. I don't have anything to do for the rest of the day."
"How do you know I'm not busy?" I ask and he raises a single eyebrow at me. Like he knows my habits THAT well.
"It's Wednesday, one of your light training days with Lady Tsunade. Even so you'll probably spend the rest of the day doing nothing but read up on the latest medical journals." He says and I shake my head.
"The first part is right, but the second part is wrong. I finished catching up on what I have yesterday and so today is going to be my first lazy day in about a year. Amazing, isn't it?" I ask and he hums.
"Do you want to hang out then?" He asks and I'm honestly a little surprised. We haven't spent much time together lately. Mostly because I have been avoiding him. "After we get the groceries back to your apartment of course." Then he takes the heavier of the bags. "I also heard about your broken wrist."
"But you know what? By some magical power, or medical ninjutsu, it was healed and it's perfectly fine now." I say dryly. "I didn't think I'd have to explain that to you…Mr. Kobayashi is a different story, but you should know better."
"You'll teach me one of these days." He says and I roll my eyes. We reach my apartment and I take the steps up. As I suspected, Sasuke isn't home. I unlock the door and head inside. "Something is different."
"Yes…while you've been a busy bee chunin, I've been a restricted chunin who has been going insane with boredom." I say and he hums.
"If you're too bored, the lady who teaches the kunoichi classes is going on maternity leave. You're good at that kind of stuff." He says and I raise an eyebrow at him. "Teaching young girls how to deceive men…"
"Teaching young girls how to take advantage of the stupidity of man." I say, grinning at him. "If Lady Tsunade wants me to, I guess I can."
"Never mind that you could be a jonin." He says and I regard him skeptically now. "You mastered fire before you were fifteen and you're half way to mastering wind. Then do I need to start on you about your medical techniques?"
"You're chatty today." I say as I begin putting things away. "If anyone thought I was ready for that sort of thing, I'd be taking the exam. As things stand, I'm too inexperienced."
"I'll go ahead and call bull shit." He says and I make an annoyed noise to warn him to stop. "Minako." I turn and he's right there. We're too close. "Talk to me."
"Bossy too." I say as I go about tidying up now. "Naruto's back, did you see him?" I ask and he hums. "Why is it that everyone got tall? Hinata is even taller than me now."
"You're not that much shorter than she is." He says and I glare at him. "She's about…five-two and you're what? Five foot even. That's hardly bad."
"Come here." I say, leading the way back to the kitchen. I open the cabinet and point at the top shelf. That's where everything I normally use to cook is. "That fuckhead that I call a brother put all of the things up there. You can reach it no problem. This is what I have to do." I say, climbing onto the counter and standing up. "And this is how I broke my wrist. I didn't tell him it was how I broke my wrist. I, a Hidden Leaf kunoichi, broke my wrist from climbing on the counter tops because my brother is an asshole. I'm lame as hell."
"You're not lame." He says with a roll of his eyes. I go to step down and he steps forward, grabbing me by the waist and lowering me to the ground. My eye is twitching angrily. "That's probably how you broke your wrist."
"I slipped on the dish towel." I say and he smirks as he reaches up and begins moving the things to a more reasonable shelf. "Thanks."
"No problem." He says and I go back into the living room and flop down onto the couch. "So what kind of break was it?"
"Compound. It was disgusting." I say and he shakes his head as he walks over and sits down on one of the arm chairs.
"I know it was bad if you thought it was gross." He says and I look up at him. Why'd he follow me? I was trying to not imagine what it'd be like to live with him.
"I had to go and ask your mom what she recommended for getting the blood off of the wall." I say and he looks at me. "I told her not to tell you because I was trying to keep it under wraps, but apparently everyone in this village enjoys gossip. How'd you hear anyhow?"
"Ino." He says and I narrow my eyes. "She also thinks you've been avoiding me." I groan and turn over so that my face is in the cushion.
"I'm not avoiding you." I totally am avoiding him. "I wish you people wouldn't talk about me behind my back. I'm a delicate flower."
"If you wouldn't avoid me, I wouldn't have to ask about you." He says and I growl before I launch myself at him. The chair falls over and he looks very surprised.
"I'm. Not. Avoiding. You." I enunciate each word. "If you miss me so much, you could make more of an effort to see me." We're both right. I've been avoiding him, but he hasn't been especially trying to see me. The door opens then.
"Oh jeez." Sasuke says and I laugh, getting up. "What the hell were you doing?" He asks, but I'm still laughing.
"He was being annoying, so I scared him." I say, hauling Shikamaru up. He fixes the chair. "What are you doing home?"
"That's not suspicious at all." He says as he goes to the kitchen. "Did you put these down here for her?" He gives Shikamaru a look. "Kiss ass."
"Don't you have a date with Naruto?" I ask, leaning against the archway to the kitchen. "Or with Sakura." I sing her name.
"Team Kakashi is meeting up for a re-do on the bell test." He says and I raise my eyebrows. "I was grabbing some food before."
"Hmm…okay. You need a haircut." I say, reaching up and running a hand through his hair. "I can do it tonight if you want."
"Okay." He says with a shrug. "I'd better get going." He grabs a couple of the ration bars I keep out on the counter. "What are we doing for dinner?"
"I don't know, but I went grocery shopping so it'll be something good. Now go." I say, kicking his butt. He shakes his head before he heads back out. I turn so I'm facing Shikamaru now. "So what do you want to do?"
"I've got an idea. Let's go." He says, leading the way towards the door. I follow him…feeling a little skeptical, but when have I ever not trusted him?
"So the Akatsuki problem has gotten worse?" I ask Lady Tsunade as I close the door behind me. She looks thoughtful. "If you wanted…you could place someone else on the inside."
"What are you implying?" She asks and I look away. "Absolutely not." She stands and looks out her window. "He told me that he told you. How come you never said anything?"
"Because we didn't need to talk about it." I say, going over and standing beside her. This is how we usually talk. "I've come to peace with what happened…Itachi saved the village from civil war. I don't know how Sasuke would react…I haven't figured out how to tell him yet."
"I'd recommend waiting for a while longer…until we've dealt with the Akatsuki threat." She says and I nod. "Once they've been eliminated…if he survives, I am going to pardon Itachi."
"Thank you." I say, pushing back the tears. "So before I gave you a heart attack, what were you calling me in here for?"
"A mission." She says and I raise my eyebrows. "I'm going to be sending you along with Shikamaru, Sasuke, and Ino."
"What are we going to be doing?" I ask, trying to piece it together with the information I have. A four-man team? Why specifically us?
"It will be more like a vacation really. Something that the four of you could use after the sort of month we've had." She says, smirking a bit. "You're going to be meeting up with an informant of mine at a hot spring in the mountains. You'll be incognito. You'll be squad leader."
"And so I'll be handling speaking with the informant." I say and she nods. "And the three other people are for…."
"You are more than capable of taking care of yourself. I've seen to that. However, I can't send just you and your brother because that looks odd. Ino is good to add in, but then it doesn't appear very symmetrical. Shikamaru evens it out and you have the added benefit of the Ino-Shika combination." She says and I nod. "Intelligence gathering isn't something that you and Sasuke are used to and so this will be a good opportunity. You'll be leaving tomorrow morning. Go ahead and gather your team." She turns and grabs a folder before she hands it to me.
"Alright. I'll do that." I say, glancing over it. "I'll see myself out." I head out the door and nearly run into Shikamaru. "You're here an awful lot, but you're just the shinobi I needed to see. Meet me at the barbeque place in about an hour."
"O..kay?" He asks, raising an eyebrow. "Mind if I ask why?" I smirk and he looks even more confused.
"I'm leading us on a mission. Don't be late." I pat his cheek before I step around him and head off. I drop by the Yamanaka flower shop. Ino's standing there with her mom. She's not wearing an apron, so I know she's not working. "Hello." I smile brightly and Mrs. Yamanaka returns my smile. "I've got to steal Ino, we've got a mission to prepare for."
"Not at all. You girls go on. I'll be fine here." The woman says, giving her daughter's hand a squeeze.
"Are we leaving right now?" Ino asks as she walks over to me. I shake my head, but take her hand and start walking. "What's up?"
"So…we'll be incognito, so I need to buy a yukata because I haven't worn a yukata since I was seven years old." I say and she grins at me. "Shut up before I punch you in your beautiful face."
"Okay, I'll just tease you about something else." She says brightly. "I know the perfect place!"
"Thanks so much." I say dryly. "Take me to my doom." She laughs maniacally as she pulls me along the street. "Oh yeah, we're meeting Shikamaru and Sasuke in an hour. We should bump into Sasuke….." Right on schedule he lands right in front of me. We're by the yukata place now. "Just the man I wanted to see! Go to the barbeque place in about an hour for a mission briefing."
"Oh, okay." He says and then he reaches into his pouch. "This was slid under the door for you. I didn't read it but I did make sure it wasn't dangerous."
"Thanks. See ya in an hour." I say, jumping up and kissing him on the cheek before Ino and I go inside.
"Sakura's going to be so jealous." Ino says with a snicker. "Anyway, let's get to work. With your coloring…hmm…we'll put you in this pretty coral color." She looks at me briefly before she thumbs through the hangers. "And here is your size."
"That was surprisingly painless. You do love me!" I say brightly and she smiles. "Thanks." We take the yukata up to the man who looks like he definitely does not want to be there and I pay. "We'll drop this by my place and then by the time we get back over, it'll be time to meet up."
"Sounds like a plan." She says and then we're traversing through the village. I lead her inside. "It always amazes me how cute your apartment is. Everything else you don't fuss over."
"I've been so bored lately, you don't understand." I say and she laughs. "It's been annoying Sasuke, so that's just an added benefit. The only thing that matters to him is that he can just come home and pass out after training." I lay the package on my bed. "Alright, let's go." We head back out and to the barbeque place. As we walk up, the remaining two members of our team. "I feel so powerful when they actually listen to me. Let's grab something to eat and then we can talk." I lead the way inside and we slide into a booth. I sit beside my brother and the other two sit across from us. Once everything is ordered, I set the file folder out in front of me. "We'll be traveling to the hot springs in the mountains east of here to meet up with an informant. A woman who will be known as Kaiyo. It's a C-rank mission with the potential to elevate to a B-rank. With Sasuke involved, I almost guarantee it."
"Thanks." My brother says dryly. "You know that stupid curse rumor doesn't follow me around, right? It's mostly where Naruto is concerned."
"Nope, you're totally cursed. Now shut up and let me speak." I say and he rolls his eyes. I elbow him in the ribs. "Anyway, we'll be incognito. Ino and I have our stuff covered, so you boys just need to figure out what you'll wear. We're leaving first thing in the morning so that we can make it by dinner time."
"Sounds good to me." Ino says and then she smiles at our server as she sets the tray down. I hum, reading over the information we have. I raise my eyebrows when I read our cover stories.
"Sakura's gonna kick your ass, Ino." I say and she looks confused. "Looks like we're two newly wed couples." I laugh.
"Oh for goodness sake. It's just a mission." The girl says with a roll of her eyes. So she IS over my brother…good. "Too bad you didn't get to me first. You are the more desirable Uchiha twin." She winks and I laugh.
"I'm glad somebody finally thinks so." I say, flipping my hair over my shoulder. Sasuke smirks then.
"Shikamaru's the one who got the short end of the stick." He says and I elbow him in the ribs again…really hard. "Jeez!"
"You talk too much." I say and then I organize the papers and close the folder. "We have a suite booked. It's under the name Shikamaru Ono. Then Sasuke and Ino, you're the Tamura's."
"Okay, now eat something. You skipped lunch." Sasuke says as he takes the folder away and sets a plate in front of me. "No more dieting to fit into that wedding kimono." I snicker.
"You guys are lucky that you're only children. Having a brother is super annoying. He tries to tell me what to do all the time." I say and he makes an amused sort of sound.
"Oh come on, I'm not that bad. You're ten times worse than I am." He says and I go to elbow him again. "What about that built-in best friend thing we talked about the other day?"
"That's only when you're not an insufferable prick which is very hit or miss." I say and he gives me a look. "If you don't like my language, get a new sister."
"Eat before I squish you like a bug." He says, flicking my forehead. Very briefly he freezes up, but then he acts normal. I lean my head against his shoulder, but eat none the less.
"It's disconcerting watching the two of you sometimes." Ino says as she looks between the two of us. "A little less so since we're older now. You guys used to look a lot more alike."
"That's the cool thing about being a twin. I never have to wonder what I would look like if I were a boy. I must say, I'm much more attractive as a girl."
"Funny, I was thinking the same thing…only switched. I'm a better looking guy. I would be pretty flat-chested for a girl." Sasuke says and I punch him in the shoulder. "Jeez! My arm is numb!"
"Good." I growl. "Freakin' pervert checking out your sister." I mutter, taking another bite from the plate in front of me. Ino is trying really hard not to laugh. "Whiney baby."
"To be fair, it was unexpected." Ino says in his defense and I shift my glower to her. "What? Never mind that you hit the hardest out of everyone I know. Well…maybe not Shikamaru."
"Meh, child's play." I say and my best friend raises his eyebrow. "Unless you've been pulling your punches. In which case you owe me a rematch."
"We'll see after the mission." He says and I shake my head. So help me if he actually has been…
"I think I could get used to this." I say as I smooth my yukata. We've been walking for about two hours now. I must say, the pace is very nice.
"No you couldn't." Shikamaru says, sounding amused. "You get bored way too easily." I shrug, he's probably right. "Come here." I raise an eyebrow but drift to his side. "We're supposed to act married, right?" He offers his arm and I take it. I smirk.
"Wow Shikamaru, your forearms are incredibly firm." I say and he looks to the sky, probably asking how he got so lucky as to have a best friend like me. He then gets a look like he has an idea. As we pass under a flowering tree, he reaches up and plucks a flower before he tucks it behind my ear. I raise my eyebrows and he smirks. "Are we going to see how annoying we can be to each other? Because this is a game that I can play in my sleep." I say and he shrugs. "Oh you're in for it."
"I'll bet they're even worse when I'm not around." Sasuke says and Ino lets out a short laugh.
"No, they're pretty much the same. I can only imagine what it's like when they're alone together." She says, just being evil now.
"Nah, I'm not any different. He just always tries to win, but I'm better at the game." I say and Ino raises an eyebrow. "Oh, he thought he was cute once when he made me blush and so he thinks that's winning."
"I've never in my life seen you blush, Minako." Ino says dubiously. "What could he have possibly said?"
"I don't remember." I say, even though that's a lie. I remember exactly what he said because it felt like approval…it felt like it mattered. "I remember wanting to punch his stupid, smug face."
"You have that feeling every day. That's hardly something significant." He says and I offer a 'fair enough' look.
"Let's stop and have lunch soon." Ino says and I nod. "You should wear your hair like that more often."
"I suppose I could make it more functional…" I say as I pull the braid over my shoulder. "It does stay out of my way like this. But I feel like it's kind of my thing for my hair to blow dramatically in the wind as I kick ass."
"Okay, Miss. Dramatic." Shikamaru says with a roll of his eyes. We're coming up on a café now. Time to be cute.
"Don't you mean, Mrs. Dramatic?" I ask, reaching up and tapping his nose. His cheeks flush pink and I laugh, a cute and delicate sound. The four of us sit down at a table. Since there really is no history of Sasuke and Ino annoying each other like Shikamaru and I do, we take on the role of the love struck newlyweds…or rather I do. I don't get a lot of chances to act like an airhead and I am such a great actress. Ino fights to keep a straight face and Sasuke can't help but roll his eyes. We probably don't have to ham it up all the way out here, but it doesn't hurt…especially if I can annoy both Sasuke and Shikamaru. We order our lunch.
I gasp as I sit up and turn to make sure that Ino is okay. These nightmares need to stop. The girl squeezes her eyes shut tighter before she opens them.
"Minako, are you okay?" She asks gently. I bring my knees to my chest and rest my forehead against them. She sits up and rubs my back.
"Yeah, I'm okay." I whisper back. "I just keep having bad dreams is all." I say and then there's a knock on the door. "It's just Sasuke. I'll go and reassure him." I slide out of bed and open the door. I immediately push on the chest and am surprised when it's Shikamaru. "You're not my twin."
"Nah, he's asleep." He says and I step out and close the door behind me. The living area of our suite is lit only by the moonlight. "You okay?"
"Just a bad dream." I say as I go over and sit down on the couch. "It was Ino…She and I were doing something for Lady Tsunade and she fell from a really high cliff. I tried to get to her in time, but I wasn't fast enough."
"Why do you always try to take everything on yourself?" He asks, sitting down beside me. "You're going to drive yourself crazy."
"I think I do it because if something gets fucked up, I can blame myself. If I let other people do it, then I'm not sure if it's their fault or if it's mine….so at least if I do it myself I know for sure." I say and then I yawn.
"People can still screw things up if you're the one trying to take care of them." He says and I make an annoyed noise. "Sorry, just trying to help you think logically for once in your life."
"Excuse me? I'm plenty logical." I say as I pull my knees to my chest. "And that logic makes sense. If I don't give people the chance to let me down, then they won't."
"You used to be a lot more open." He says and I shrug. "What happened that made you so scared?"
"I'm not scared." I say firmly. "Apprehension isn't fear. But…there was someone that I trusted with something and they broke that without meaning to."
"I don't think that you could have been any more vague if you wanted to." He says, sounding somewhat amused. "Did I do something? Because you're still avoiding me?"
"You're being annoying. I'm about to go and climb in with Sasuke." I threaten and he quiets.
"I guess I got the answer I needed anyhow…I just need to figure out what I did." He says and I glare at him. He didn't do anything except fall for Temari which isn't something I can be angry about. I should have said something. But I missed the opportunity. If I could just stop wanting to kiss him, that'd be great. No? Well shit. I stand up and go over to the sliding glass door and look out on the garden that's shared by the four suites in this section of the hot spring. "You're complicated."
"You're just now figuring that out?" I mutter. "I mean, sure you've always had somewhat of a better understanding…"
"It'd be easier if you talked to me." He says, coming closer. No, stay away. "I know a mission isn't a great time to start."
"It really isn't." I say, hoping that he'll get the hint that I don't want to talk. We always have been about annoying each other. He makes me look at him. "What do you want me to say?" He looks a lot more intense than usual. I sigh and hug him.
"That you miss me as much as I miss you." He says and I feel heat rise to my cheeks. I'm so glad that he can't see my face right now. "What happened to this?"
"I thought that you'd think it was weird if I hugged you all the time like I used to. We're adults now." I say and I feel the force of his eye roll. "Since the whole people being obsessed with me thing has calmed down, I don't want to lessen your chances of snagging a lady friend."
"Trust me. It's fine. And besides, even if there were a girl if she had a problem with you then she isn't the kind of girl for me." He says and I smile. I hate how relaxed I feel now. It would make it so much easier if this didn't feel as great. He's turned me into one of those people that I never wanted to be. I guess it could be worse. "Just let me be there for you, okay?"
"I know that you're my best friend and everything, but why do you want to so badly?" I ask, enjoying that he hasn't let go yet.
"Honestly? No clue." He says and I laugh quietly. "So do you?" I look up at him, eyebrow raised. "Miss me as much as I miss you?"
"Are you trying to make me blush, you asshole?" I ask and he smirks. "Of course I miss you."
"Then stop avoiding me." He says and I sucker punch him. He exhales and almost falls to his knees, but I hold him up.
"I'm not avoiding you." I say and he gives me a look. "I have only avoided you once in the past three months."
"The one where you were flirting with Kiba?" He asks and I glare at him. "What? From where I was standing it definitely looked like you were twirling your hair or whatever flirty thing you do."
"I'm the opposite of flirty. If I ever appear it, it is most definitely a joke." I say, tossing my hair before I walk towards the room Sasuke is sleeping in. Shikamaru grabs my hand. "Why? Were you jealous?"
"Maybe." He says and I feel the blood drain from my face. "Sorry. Anyway, are you going to be able to sleep?"
"Yeah." I say with a nod. I'm not entirely sure though. "I'll see you in the morning." I smile and head back to Ino and I's room. I climb into bed and she stirs a bit. "Sorry, everything's okay."
"Mmkay, if you need me just wake me up." She says, turning on her side to face me. I smile as I lay back down and pull the covers up. "G'night Minako."
"Night Ino." I say and then I close my eyes. My ears pick up on Shikamaru saying something, but I can't quite make out what it is.
"Mr. Ono, there is a message for you." The Innkeeper's daughter says as she bows respectfully to Shikamaru and offers him the envelope. This is from our informant.
"Thank you." He says as he takes it and she bows again before she retreats. He hands it to me and I open it. Inside is a note asking us to meet her in the baths and a necklace that will tell her that I am who she is supposed to be speaking with.
"We should head to the baths now." I say with a smile. There are three different baths at this inn. A private bath for men and women and then a bath for both. The one for both is more like a swimming pool than anything. I stand up and Shikamaru follows. I see the brief look of apprehension in my brother's eyes, but he follows, escorting Ino as he would his wife. We return to our suite and grab our swimsuits before we go to the changing rooms. Once inside I change and fold my clothes neatly. I pile my hair on top of my head and put the necklace on. When I step out Ino raises her eyebrows at me.
"A bikini? My my Minako." She says, folding her arms across her chest. She's wearing a one piece.
"If I could, I would totally run away right now." I say as I wrap my towel around myself. "And it is your fault that I only have a bikini. I only have one swimsuit."
"I'm only teasing, you look beautiful." She says, slinging an arm around my shoulders. We step out into the public bath and the boys join us. "You'll need to help your wife loosen up, Shikamaru. She's feeling quite shy."
"Watch it." Sasuke says dryly. For once I'm thankful for his over-protectiveness. "Over there looks alright." I nod my approval of the more private portion and we head that way. They get in and I sigh before I sit down on the edge, remove my towel and slide in.
"And now we wait." I say, trying to appear relaxed. Shikamaru has his arm draped along the edge of the bath enough so that it seems like it is an affectionate gesture…since technically I am supposed to be his wife. Ten minutes pass in silence.
"Is it alright if I slide in right here?" A woman asks as she walks up. She looks to be in her mid to late thirties. An average build with lightly tanned skin, accented by bright purple hair. "My name is Kaiyo." She smiles brightly.
"Of course." I say, returning the smile. "I'm Minako and this is my husband Shikamaru. As well as my brother Sasuke and his wife, Ino."
"It's a pleasure to meet such young couples in a place like this." She says as she slides into the water. She sighs, letting her shoulders relax. "So what brings you all here?"
"Just a vacation of sorts…we didn't really have the time when we were first married and so now we've decided to spend the time together." Sasuke says and Ino smiles, leaning her head against his shoulder. He doesn't appear terribly uncomfortable to the un-Sasuke trained eye. Kaiyo hums.
"I imagine the young ladies had more of a say in the location." She says and I laugh, tucking some hair behind my ear.
"Guilty. It's impossible to get them to make any decisions. You can imagine what the wedding planning process was like. I could've killed him." I say jokingly and she laughs. Probably because I'm such a great actress. Does she realize that we're only sixteen?
"I'm fortunate to never have had to face that." She says and then her expression shifts subtly. She's more business now. "I would like to invite you all to have dinner with me. A special treat to celebrate your love for each other."
"We accept. Thank you so much for your generosity." I say and she nods. "When should we meet?"
"I'll have Sayuri come and fetch you around seven. How does that sound?" She asks and I look to my companions, feigning contemplation.
"That sounds fine." Sasuke says with a nod. It's weird to see him actually responding to people with some sense of politeness. He's a better actor than I thought.
"Splendid. I'll leave you to enjoy your bath then and I'll see you around seven." She says and then she's getting out. She winks at us and walks away.
"She was very familiar." I say, trying to think of where I'd seen her before…Of course she could be using a transformation jutsu. It could be anyone. No…I know what it is. She sort of reminds me of Mother.
"You figured it out?" Sasuke asks and I shake my head. He knows I'm lying. "Fine. Later."
"You're such a good boy." I say with a closed-eye smile. Of course I count on him forgetting. I sigh and pretend to relax more. There's no need for them to realize that I'm so tense.
"Straight to business then?" Kaiyo asks as we settle in at the private dining table. If our suite was nice, hers is even more extravagant. "Oh wow, if I can say you look exactly like your mother. Mikoto, right? You're her twins."
"You knew her?" I ask and she smiles. There's at least a ten year age difference…maybe… "Business first." I say with a shake of my head.
"Right. I have all of the information right here. It's probably best if you don't read over it. It might be a little much for you guys." She says as she slides a folder to me. I take the scroll from my sleeve and seal it away. I give it to Shikamaru and he tucks it away. "But yes…I knew Mikoto. She was good friends with my older sister. You're the spitting image of her. The way I hear it, you got lucky." She winks. "Fugaku was a harsh man, forgive me if that bothers you."
"If I'm bothered by the truth, then I have no business being in my profession." I say and she nods. "Our brother looks more like our father."
"A good splitting of genes." She says with a nod. "I see your use of seals. Are you a master?"
"Minako spends most of her energy on medical ninjutsu." Sasuke says, he's grumpy because of me talking about Itachi, but he's not rude to her. "She is a student of Lady Tsunade's along with Ino."
"My, how impressive." She says and then her eyes shift to Shikamaru. "And you must be Shikaku's boy."
"What? I don't look like my mother too?" He asks and I laugh. He smiles a little and Ino's eyes are wide as she looks between the two of us.
"I'll have to make my way back towards Konoha sometime in the near future." She says fondly. "Are you staying for tonight too?"
"We'll probably head out shortly after dinner." I say and she nods. "And what will you do next?"
"Who knows? I follow the wind." She says and I recognize an odd feeling in my chest. Is that envy? I guess I did always want to travel the world with Itachi. "It's a fickle existence, that's for sure. I don't really get to set down roots."
"That's not so bad. No roots makes it harder for you to get hurt." I say before I can stop myself. Sasuke's head jerks in my direction. "I used to want to be that kind of kunoichi…traveling the world…helping people…helping the Hidden Leaf."
"Hmm…I suppose you're right." She says with a wink. "You're pretty cynical for a kid." I feel a bit of annoyance.
"Medic." I say, pointing my thumbs towards myself. "Most of us are cynical assholes because of how dumb our patients are." She snorts.
"I'll allow it." She says with a nod. "What about you, Ino? Are you cynical?" She asks and my friend looks a little surprised.
"I don't have nearly as much field experience as Minako does yet, so I can only assume it'll get worse." She says and I chuckle. Sayuri…who is apparently Kaiyo's apprentice brings in a large tray. She serves the food and we begin eating. Dinner takes place in silence…that's when I remember Kaiyo. She came to visit Mother one time. She had Itachi take Sasuke and I out for ice cream or something…but I remember she was kind. She was also…very pregnant. Did she lose her child? I am a horrid individual.
"Get a head start. I'll be right behind you." I say to my team. Shikamaru regards me skeptically, but Sasuke pulls on his arm and they go with Ino. I turn to Kaiyo.
"So you remembered?" She asks and I feel the tears welling up in my eyes. I blink them away. "It's alright…it was a boy and he was five when he passed away. His name was Raidan."
"I should have been more careful with my thoughts. I'm sorry." I say and she waves it away. "I just wanted to apologize before I left."
"I appreciate it. Take care of yourself, Minako. The world needs more kunoichi such as yourself." She says and I smile before I take off, moving to catch up with my team. We've ditched our disguises and we're in our usual attire. I speed up when I hear the sounds of combat.
"Get out of here!" Sasuke yells, looking at me. "They're after you!" I take in the scene. These are Orochimaru's underlings. They're all dressed like the Sound Four had been.
"Fat chance. All or none of us." I say as I get into the fray. "Any time you've got an idea, Shikamaru, that'd be great!"
"Workin' on it!" He responds and then he's setting something up. Little by little, so his opponent doesn't notice it. I'm fighting a man who is a good three times my size. The hits are definitely a lot harder than I'm used to…even with Lady Tsunade as my teacher. They don't seem to have an enhancements like the Sound Four did…they're just good fighters. I gasp as my braid gets pulled around my neck. A tag team? I throw the kunai and it sticks in the man before he disappears in a puff of smoke. Shadow clone. The real guy is choking me right now.
"Minako!" Ino yells as I'm gasping and trying to get him to let go. It's time to pull a Sakura, I guess. I pull out my kunai and cut my hair. He'd been pulling with so much force, he stumbles when the hair is gone. I spin around land a kick in the middle of his sternum. His rib cage collapses and I see the panic as he lays on the ground, gasping. I run to Sasuke who had just defeated his guy.
"Dragon fire." I say and he nods. Shikamaru and Ino take off behind us as we make the seals. We incinerate the rest before we take off. "We are not stopping until we reach the village."
"I don't think we're going to argue." Ino says and I feel a bit of a smile pluck at the corners of my mouth. Traveling like this, we make it to the Hidden Leaf in no time. We stop briefly at the gate before we go to wait on Lady Tsunade…they have us waiting in her office. "Here, let me help you. You're bleeding." Ino says as she walks over to me. "Right on your face. How did I miss that?"
"Eh, it was a tense situation. I probably did it when I butchered my pride and joy." I say, allowing her to heal the wound on my face.
"Alright, I'll fix it while we wait." She says as she walks around behind me. "We'd better be careful, or your hair won't be the only thing butchered."
"Shh, she'll hear you." I say and she laughs a little. I guess it isn't too bad…evened out it'll be a little below my shoulders. "Now I've Sakura'd too!"
"What if that became a thing?" Ino asks and we laugh together. The boys just look at us like we're crazy. "We'll have to be careful that I don't mistake Sasuke for you now."
"I know, sorry for creating so much more work." I say, putting a hand over my heart. We snicker again. Lady Tsunade storms in as Ino finishes with my hair. She throws the hair into the trash and we stand before our Hokage.
"Did you get it?" She asks and I nod, producing the scroll and handing it over to her. She sets it down on the desk before she walks over. "And you encountered an enemy?"
"They were undoubtedly Orochimaru's men." I say and her eyes narrow. "I had been speaking with Kaiyo briefly and so I sent the others on ahead. When I caught up they were fighting."
"I assumed they were after Minako because they saw Ino and said that she wasn't the right girl. We killed them all and made our escape." Sasuke says and she looks at him. "I'm not sure if they were trying to kill her or simply take her."
"I guess the important part is that the mission was successful." She says as she turns and walks back towards the desk. Sasuke takes a step forward, but I grab his arm. The warning is plenty implied. "Great work. I'll look into my network and see what I can find concerning Orochimaru. In the meantime, you know where you can stay if you're concerned about another attempt." She means the Nara's home. "Also, there better not be hair on my floor."
"We were careful, Milady." Ino says, bowing her head. The older woman shakes her head at us.
"Alright. Go home. Finish the paper work in the morning." She says and we all retreat. Ino gives me a quick hug before she takes off into the night. Shikamaru stops Sasuke and I.
"Let me guess. You'd feel better if we stayed?" I ask and his expression stays the same. "I don't want to run to your dad any time something even appears like it's going wrong."
"Some of the veins around your eyes popped. Forgive me for being a little concerned." He snaps and I raise my eyebrows.
"Okay." I say softly. "If you don't mind, Sasuke. I think I will feel a little better if we're surrounded by more people."
"Yeah." Sasuke nods. "If you want to go ahead, I'll bring your go bag." I look at him for a moment. "Mina, if I were going to leave I would have done it years ago. You can trust me."
"I know. I'm sorry." I say and then I hug him. His arms tighten around me and I feel secure. "Okay, go." I feel him nod and then he goes. "Alright, you ready?" I ask looking up at Shikamaru and then he hugs me.
"That was the first time I've seen you look worried in a situation like that." He says and I notice that he's shaking a little.
"Luckily for you, I'm a quick thinker." I say, but it doesn't ease the tension. "Come on, let's get you home." I pat his arm and he lets go. I take his hand and give it a squeeze. "You won't be rid of me that easily." I spring to the nearest roof then and head off in the direction of his house. I follow him inside and he takes my hand…he's still shaking. Shikaku steps into the entrance and I look up at him, surprised. "I'm home?"
"Looks like it's been a rough night. Is your brother coming?" He asks and I nod. "Alright. Take a shower and then get some sleep. I'll stay up and let him in."
"You don't have to-" I'm cut off by the look he gives me. "Yes, Sir." I bow my head and Shikamaru leads the way down the hall. "But I don't have my clothes."
"You can wear some of mine." He says and I lapse into silence. I wait in the hall outside of his room and he returns with shorts and a tee shirt. I smile as I take them and go to head towards the bathroom. "I'm sorry for yelling at you."
"Honey, if that was yelling then you getting screaming mad isn't terrifying at all." I say with a smirk over my shoulder. I finish my trek to the bathroom and hop into the shower. It takes considerably less time since I no longer have ass-length hair. I tidy the bathroom and head to the guest room I always stay in…that's where Shikamaru is sitting on the bed. He's staring at the ground. "What's wrong?"
"I don't know." He says honestly. "I guess I just wasn't prepared for that kind of mission."
"Did it bring about buried emotions?" I ask with a smirk. "Or is this specific to the attack?"
"I should've been there backing you up." He says and I give him a look. "I was right there. I could've looked away from my guy for a second."
"And then take a kunai in the back of your head? Hell no. If we're in a fight together, you focus on your guy and I'll worry about mine. I lived through it and that's all that matters." I say and my tone is short. He looks at me for a moment before he smiles a very little bit. "What?"
"Nothing." He says, standing up. "Good night." He walks past me and then he stops in the doorway. I don't turn to look at him. "By the way, you look cute like that." The door clicks shut and I whirl around to stare at it. What the hell? What did he mean by that?
"Minako Uchiha!" Yoshino yells and I wince and open one eye warily to look at her. "What on earth happened to you!?"
"Well…you see….as it turns out having long hair is a choking hazard. And so I hastily took care of the problem." I say and then Sasuke walks into the problem. "Then we roasted the rest of the problem. Isn't that right, Brother?"
"Yeah." He says, running a hand through his hair. "But you've been right all along…you look just like me now. We may need to wear name tags."
"You're lucky I'm sore, otherwise I'd punch your lights out." I say, narrowing my eyes at him. "Even if my hair is short, I'm still the pretty twin."
"I guess I can live with being the tall one." He says and then he spins out of my reach as I lash out at him.
"Where is that son of mine?" Yoshino mutters as she pokes her head out into the hall way.
"He had a tough time getting to sleep." Sasuke says and I raise an eyebrow at him. "What? We talked for a bit."
"I didn't think you actually talked to people more than what was absolutely necessary." I say and he makes a face at me. I'm loving that he's acting so comfortably around Yoshino. I guess it's been long enough. "Anyway, I'll go and wake him up. We've got work to do this morning." I stand up and head down the hall way. Once I reach Shikamaru's room, I knock. There's no answer, so I open the door. "Shika?" I ask quietly. He's laying on his stomach, pillow over his head. I go over and sit down on the edge of the bed. I move the pillow and take his hair out of his pony tail…only because it'll annoy him more than anything. I gently run my fingers through his hair. "It's time to wake up. I know it's your most favorite thing in the world. Paper work." He doesn't say anything. Why am I being so nice? Normally I'd just rip the covers off and be loud and obnoxious.
"Are you trying to wake me up or put me back to sleep?" He asks and my hand freezes. He turns his head so that he can look at me with one eye. "I'm trying."
"I know…I think that's why I went with a more gentle approach. You're a very hard worker these days." I say and he rubs his eyes against his arm. "Sasuke said you had a hard time sleeping?"
"Traitor." He mutters and I raise an eyebrow, but resume the stroking of his hair. Apparently it did wake up him, so maybe it'll help? "How'd you sleep?"
"Like a rock." I say dryly. "I don't think I've slept that hard in a long time." I hear the quiet laugh.
"So that's who was snoring." He says and I take a fist full of hair and pull. "Ouch." It's rather emotionless. "Alright, I'll get up now."
"Don't make me come back in here." I say sternly as I get up. I leave his hair tie and go back to the dining room.
"I didn't hear any yelling or cursing. Why aren't you that nice when you wake me up?" Sasuke asks and I smirk.
"I don't need to be loud to be annoying. His weak spot is the hair. Take away the pony tail and he's a weak man." I say and Yoshino shakes her head. "What?"
"Oh nothing." She says and then she's bringing breakfast into the dining room. Shikamaru walks in and as he goes to take the seat next to me, he steals my hair tie.
"Hey! Give that back." I say, reaching for it. He just puts it into his pocket. I sigh and comb my fingers through my hair. "Please?"
"Don't try and be cute. You were really annoying." He says and I stick my tongue out at him.
"You're lucky that didn't hurt. I would take your hand off. I could probably reattach it promptly, but I'd take it off." I say and he smirks.
"Only probably though. So I guess I'm glad it didn't hurt." He says and then Shikaku walks in.
"It's definitely the morning after a rough mission. Want to talk about what happened?" He asks as he sits down.
"The mission itself was easy. We met with the informant and then when we were heading back we ran into a bunch of Orochimaru's goons. Apparently they're more interested in me now. I can only imagine why." I say with a roll of my eyes. "Anyway, I nearly got murdered by my own hair so I cut that and then we lit the sons of bitches on fire."
"That's my girl." Yoshino says, placing her hand on top of my head briefly. "That's a good look on you. I didn't want to say anything just in case it was a soft spot."
"She called it butchering her pride and joy." Sasuke snorts. "I don't know, you sort of remind me more of Mother that way." I make another snatch for my hair tie, which Shikamaru doesn't allow.
"He's picking on me." I inform Shikaku who just appears amused. "It is totally uncalled for as well."
"I don't know…if you call a man weak without his pony tail, I think that's pretty called for." Shikamaru says and I snicker.
"Hardly a man." I say, flicking his nose. I return to my breakfast. "But anyway…that's it. The mission that is."
"Well you're more than welcome to stay as long as you need to. You know that." Shikaku says and I smile. "And how are your eyes?"
"They're fine. Everything's fine. I fought the equivalent of Guy-sensei mixed with…hmm…probably Asuma-sensei." I say and Shikamaru shakes his head. "Stop before I shove a grape up your nose."
"It's not that. It's just that you would most definitely pick the biggest guy to fight." He says and I snicker.
"I don't think it's so much that I pick them. They just try to pick on me. Big guys are usually super lazy that way." I say and then I arch my back to pop it. "You'd think Orochimaru would warn them that I'm hard core." Sasuke snorts. "I know I bring it up at least once a month, but should we talk about the bone sword twice this month?"
"You're incredible. In both good and bad ways." My brother says and I smile. I'll allow it. "Now eat something. You barely touched your dinner last night."
"Yes, Mom." I say, bowing my head. I begin eating but then…then a dream I had comes back to me and I drop my fork. My hand is shaking badly. "I've gotta go." I jump up and run back to the guest room. I pull on the fresh clothes from my bag and open the door. Shikamaru and Sasuke are there. Shikaku isn't far behind. "It's Asuma." I can't help the slight sob at the end. "I need to see Lady Tsunade." Shikamaru's eyes widen.
"What happens?" He asks, all hints of tiredness leaving his features altogether. "Where? When?"
"It was you, Ino, Choji, two other guys who I don't recognize and Asuma…you were fighting two members of the Akatsuki. This is the first time I wasn't actually there." I say and he looks at his dad.
"What is this about?" Shikaku asks and I look up at him. I'm trying to calm myself down. I take a deep breath.
"Minako has these dreams and they're always right…except she changes them." Sasuke explains and then he looks at the man. "She saved Shikamaru from being killed three years ago."
"And how did you do that?" He asks, looking to me. Do I want to tell him that my brother was intent upon killing his son?
"I kicked him out of the fight and did it myself." I say and he gets that disapproving dad look. "I don't have time to talk about this. She specifically said that I'm to come to her immediately with these things."
"Alright. Go. I'll explain to Yoshino." He says and I take off down the hall. I run straight to the Hokage tower and head right into the office. Asuma is there.
"I'm kind of in the middle of something." She says, sounding annoyed. Understandably so. "What is it?"
"I had another dream. Whatever you're about to send him to do. Don't." I say and she stands up. "To search for Akatsuki? Right?"
"We're running out of options here. As much as I value your opinions and this apparent foresight you have, we can't call off missions any time you have one." She says and I feel my hands ball into fists. "You're key in stopping them though, aren't you?"
"Whatever it is, I was told that there were people that I was supposed to save. Apparently this guy is on that list. You act like I do this every day." I say, sounding annoyed. "It hasn't happened in like about two years."
"Fine. Brat." She says and then she appears thoughtful. "I guess you leave me no choice then. Minako, you're being promoted to jonin and you'll accompany Asuma along with a team of your own."
"I…what?" I ask, my eyebrows furrowing together. "Okay." I decide not to argue. "I would like to take Sasuke, Sakura, Naruto, Izanagi, and Junichi."
"Replace Naruto. I don't want him near them." She says and I think on it. Who would be a good option?
"Shino." I say and she nods. Good…another strategic mind will be good to have in this instance.
"I'll leave it to you to round everyone up then. Asuma will brief you and then you will head out this afternoon. Understood?" She asks and I nod.
"Okay. I'll be back." I say and my eyes meet Asuma's for a moment. There's some confusion there, but I don't address it. I just turn and head out of the office. I make my way to the Aburame clan's compound where I knock on the front door of the main house. Shino answers. "Hey, you busy? I hope not because I need you to come on a mission with me."
"I will be ready to go in just a moment." He says, not showing it but I sense the confusion. Izanagi and Jun live close by here.
"Okay, we'll be meeting with Lady Tsunade before we go. Could you pick up Izanagi and Junichi on your way? I've got a few more people I need to get." I ask and he nods once. "Thanks. I'll see you in a little while." I head off then. To Sakura's house. Her mother answers. "Mrs. Haruno, is Sakura in?"
"She sure is. Step inside for a moment." She invites and I smile before I follow her inside. I stay in the entry way. "I'll go and get her."
"Thank you." I say with a smile and she heads upstairs. Shortly after, Sakura comes down. "Hey, we've got a mission."
"Alright. Let me just grab my pack." She says, jogging back up the stairs. She doesn't take very long. "I don't know when I'll be back! But I love you!" She calls to her parents. "Okay, let's go." We head out and Shikamaru and Sasuke land in front of us.
"We have been chasing you all over the damn village. Will you slow down for a second?" Shikamaru asks, a little testy.
"I'm a jonin. We're collecting people for our mission. Keep up." I say and then I'm running again, towards Ino's. "Go get Choji!"
"Wait! You got promoted!?" Sakura exclaims as she catches up with me. "Since when!? Didn't you just get back?"
"We came home last night. I got promoted like five minutes ago. There's a super long story that I don't really have time to tell you right now. But we're going after Akatsuki." I say and she gets very solemn. "I've only seen one person dying in this encounter and I'm going to stop it. So if anyone is going to die whenever it happens, it's going to be me. That's a big if though, because we have a lot more man power with the new set up."
"Your dreams." She says softly and I nod. "I'll do whatever I can to help." I smile and we reach Ino's. I sense her chakra in her room so I leap straight in through the window.
"Hey, we've got a mission." I say as I perch on her window sill. She looks confused but she grabs her mission pack anyway.
"Alright. I'll meet you out front. I've just got to let my mom know I'm going." She says and I smile before I fall backwards out of the window and land in a crouch. When she meets up with us we head to the Hokage tower where everyone is waiting. I recognize one of the two men from my dream.
"Now that everyone is here." Lady Tsunade says as she stands before us. "Today you will be going after two members of the Akatsuki. Sasuke, Sakura, Shino, Izanagi, and Junichi. Your squad leader will be Minako. You will focus on fighting one while Asuma's squad will focus on fighting the other." We will be taking the man who I saw killing Asuma. I will accept no other arrangement. "For most of you, this is probably the most dangerous mission you've been on. Fight well and listen to your squad leaders…they know a thing or two. Get going." We file out of the office.
"The rest of you meet us at the gate. I need to have a word with Minako." Asuma says and I look up at him. Our squads, for the most part, reluctantly obey and head that way. "Whatever happens, don't let it cloud your judgement. Who knows? Since the numbers have apparently increased, maybe it won't even come close to happening."
"I don't intend to let anyone die on this mission. We have three medics and one of us is able to break the rules." I say and he raises his eyebrows. "I will treat it with the same amount of seriousness that I have treated all of my missions before. My duty is to protecting this village."
"Alright." He says and then he pats me on top of my head. "Since Kenta's not in the village."
"I picked up on that. Thanks." I say with a shake of my head. "So since I'm a jonin now, does that mean that I can drop the 'sensei' part? I've gotten terribly lazy in my old age."
"Sure." He says with a shake of his head. "Let's go." I nod and we meet up and head out. "Any idea what we're up against?"
"I don't know much about your battle experience, but I know for a fact that this is going to be one of the most difficult fights any of us has probably encountered." I say trying to think back to what it was that they did. "One of them…his hands came off on these strange wires?" The focus in my dream was hardly on him. "They had elemental jutsu connected with them. Then the other guy…I picked up more from him. He uses some sort of ritual that binds his body with his sacrifice. He only has to cut you once and then the rest is up to him doing some sort of strange self-mutilation. He's the taller of the two."
"It's probably best if we don't ask questions on how you know all of that, right?" Choji asks and I offer a weak smile over my shoulder.
"I couldn't let Sasuke be the only freak in the family. He's got a curse mark. I've got premonitions or something. It's something I've learned to deal with." I say with a shrug.
"And that's why she's our insane little shit. I'm sorry, that's Ms. Jonin now." Izanagi says and I laugh a little. "But you're still little, so I guess I can still make the jokes."
"Just add 'ma'am' to the end of it and we should be good." I say jokingly and that gets some laughs. Even from the guy I don't know. It doesn't take us very long to arrive at the location where the fight will be held. I shiver as I see it. "Here…it begins here." I stand on the step where the tall man will be sitting. "In my dream, Shikamaru was on the roof holding him in place with the shadow. You," I nod to the guy I don't know. "and another guy stabbed him in his vitals as Asuma distracted him. You two." I look to Ino and Choji. "Didn't come in until later. After Asuma went down." Ino gasps. "That's why there are more of us now. Before Asuma was the only one fighting Masochistic Fuck and the other three were fighting the other guy…Kakuzu." I can't think of what my opponents name is. "I've got an idea for keeping him in place easier than using shadow stitching." I tap my nose. "And it involves a certain earth affinity whom I'm very fond of."
"Me, she means me." Izanagi whispers. "Even though she is fond of you, Shikamaru." I shake my head. "Didn't want you to get confused."
"Thanks." Shikamaru says dryly. I shake my head again. "What's your plan? Because I know I'm not going to like it."
"Izanagi drag Masochistic Fuck into the earth about ankle deep. Sasuke and I will lay into him with kunai and wire then we'll melt the son of a bitch." I say simply. "Sakura will play a traditional support role. Junichi and Shino will provide back up in case of surprises. I also like the idea of draining these assholes of their chakra."
"That's not terrible." He allows and I give him a look. "Do you have any idea what the other guy is like?"
"The dream focused more on…Hidan! That's his name." I say, snapping at the realization. "The dream focused more on him." All I remember is the man continuously beating the ever loving fuck out of Asuma. I look around, trying to think of a way to combat that the guy's hands coming off. "I do remember…a sort of water jutsu. Kakuzu was stuck and so that's when his hands flew off and began choking out you and your buddy."
"Yeah, that's my jutsu." He says and then he looks a bit disconcerted. "It's impossible to get out of once you're in it."
"Yeah, but that doesn't stop the rest of him from moving. I think that in conjunction with shadow stitching would be effective." I say and then I look up at Asuma. "Then you're good at slicing off people's heads."
"Then we're good with taking back up. Since Minako's chakra will be otherwise preoccupied." Ino says and I smile. With my reserve seal, there's little need to worry.
"It won't be easy, but it's doable." Asuma says with a nod. "I guess all that's left to do is wait. Let's move into ambush positions." I signal, using my half tiger seal and we disappear. It doesn't take too much longer. I signal for my team to get ready before I move in…instead of being an immediate threat, though, I act casual. I walk up and sit down about a foot away on the steps.
"Hello." I say in a pleasant tone. "I like your cloak…red and black look pretty awesome together."
"What do you want, kid?" He asks, looking at me. I give a closed-eye smile that definitely reminds me of Anko Mitarashi.
"A shinobi such as yourself is far too good to talk to an aspiring missing-nin? I'm looking to join my brother and rumor has it, you know a guy." I say and he takes a better look at me. "My name is Minako Uchiha."
"Well I'll be damned." He says and then he stands up. "I heard about you. Really gave Itachi a run for his money, didn't you?"
"Eh, my father did always try to send a man to do a woman's job. You overlook the girl to try and send on the stronger looking man and then you get burned. Well…" I offer a nonchalant look. "So what do you say? Want to facilitate a family reunion?" I signal and Izanagi springs the attack. Hidan sinks into the earth.
"You bitch." Hidan says, the vein in his forehead popping out. I jump out of the way as he whips his scythe in my direction. I land just as Sasuke flits to my side and we throw our kunai. We form the tiger seal at the same exact time and use the dragon fire jutsu. Hidan screams and I try not to feel satisfied. "Ah! This is so fucking annoying!" What. I see the blade that he uses and I hear the sounds of the other attack. Hidan is out of the ground now. A little ways away he makes a symbol on the ground using blood…and then he produces the blade that will initiate the ritual. I leap in front of Sasuke as he lashes out at him and the deed is done…he has my blood. I am now in danger. "Think you can hold them off, Kakuzu? Lord Jashin will very much like this sacrifice."
"Don't waste my time, Hidan." Kakuzu growls and I sigh. This is okay…this will be fine. We'll think of something. In the meantime, I can buy some time.
"Sasuke, calm down." I say, noticing the panic. He's angry. He feels helpless. "I know what I'm doing so relax and get ready to back up Sakura." I form a seal. "Reserve seal: release." The purple rhombus above my belly button expands and the black marks crawl over my body. I gasp as the stab in my stomach comes from nowhere. Now's not the time to dilly dally, I suppose. "Ninja art," Another wound…I'm bleeding badly. "Mitotic regeneration!"
"Minako!" Sakura and Ino shout at the same time. They know the repercussions of this jutsu.
"Why have it, if I don't use it?" I ask, smirking a little as I stand up. "You're going to have to work quite a bit harder if you want to kill me. I fear that I could go all day. I don't think my squad is in the habit of letting that happen though. So your clock is ticking you ugly son of a bitch." I look at the symbol on the ground. "That looks important. Should we try to break it? Or would that break your link with me?"
"You really think you'll get that close? I know you've got a little mole skulking around underground somewhere, but there's no way he could see where I am." He says, smirking. "And while I'm sure he's decently strong, I doubt he could crumble the earth. You've got two more, but they seem pretty useless." He begins trying to kill me again. "So I've got some time. You probably can't actually do this for very much longer. Mitotic regeneration? Sounds like a load of crap to me."
"Wanna know what else is going to sound like a load of crap but is going to be your downfall?" I ask and he smirks. "Cherry blossom impact." As I speak, Sakura slams into the earth. Sasuke and I leap out of the way and insects swarm Hidan. I cancel my reserve seal and draw my katana. Sasuke works in conjunction with me. "Dismemberment seems like our friend here! Even if he's not dead, if he doesn't have arms or a head for that matter, he can't touch us!"
"Damn it all!" Hidan shouts. "We've got to go now, Kakuzu!" The other man falls back and Hidan follows. I go to chase after them, but my legs give out.
"It's fine." Asuma says and then I see the Anbu chasing after them. One looks familiar…it's definitely Kenta-sensei. "Minako, are you alright?"
"Never better." I say as I push myself into a crouch. "That was a metric fuck ton of chakra that I just used. Holy shit." I let out a breath. "How badly did I piss of Shikamaru?"
"I'd want at least a thirty minute head start." Ino whispers and I raise my eyebrows. When I do something reckless, it's usually only a recommended fifteen minute head start. Shikamaru stalks over to me, lifts me up by the tops of my arms and then he kisses me.
"There! At least you'll know now before you do the next fucking idiotic thing to get yourself killed!" He yells and I look up at him with wide eyes.
"Okay…this is a little too much teenage angst for my taste." The guy who I still don't know his name says.
"What?" I ask, my voice is quiet. Confused. "But you…you like Temari?" I don't mean it to come out as a question. "That's why…What?"
"I told you. I don't like Temari. Not like that. Momentarily I thought I did." He says and I'm thankful that our friends have awkwardly dispersed. "I kept finding problems with her and I realized that it wasn't actually her that was the problem. It was you. Well…you weren't a problem. It's just that she wasn't you. She doesn't think I'm funny…"
"Well to be fair, neither do I." I say, it's a weak argument. He overheard me telling someone that he was actually kind of funny once. I'll never admit it.
"Ignoring that." He says and then his eyes soften. "You are literally the only person I can actually be myself around and not get shit for it. All this noise I have in my brain. It gets silenced when I'm with you."
"When I'm not turning your brain into applesauce like I just did." I say and he lets his head fall back. "I'm sorry." I say sarcastically. "I've thought that I was the stupid girl hopelessly in love with her best friend for about three years now and I'm fucking sick and tired. If I wanna kiss you, god damn it, I should be able to!" I don't know why I'm so angry.
"Fine!" He shouts back, just as angrily. We look at each other for a moment before I crack up.
"Damn it, Shikamaru." I say, trying to stop my laughing. "You pick horrible times to express your extreme emotions."
"I really hate to interrupt…but we should head back." Asuma says, he looks very amused. I'd be mad, but I'm just happy to see him alive. "You kids can duke it out back at the village." Oh wow…I'm really embarrassed. Well shit.
