HHL Here. I hope you all enjoy this chapter. HKR (Hanyou Kitsune: Rewritten) is officially my longest fic. :) Thank you everyone who had alerted and commented. You mean the world to me.
The four teammates walked through the front door and went up the stairs until they found the Hokage office. Minato sat with his hands crossed in front of his face. Kasumi would swear that she saw a small delighted twinkle showing through his blue eyes as he stared at them. Naruto stood off to the side, brows furrowed. He really did not want to clean any more gutters for old ladies.
"Dad! I really don't want another stupid D-ranked mission! I'm already Eleven now! Can't you just give us a regular mission for once?" Naruto was scowling at his older counterpart. One of his ears twitched in aggravation.
Minato hid a smile behind his hand, "Naruto, calm down. I didn't have Kakshi herd you hear for another D rank mission. Seeing as your team has greatly improved, I am proud to give you a C-rank."
"Lord Hokage!" Iruka interjected from his spot behind the man. His eyes were wide.
Minato glanced over his shoulder, "Be quiet Iruka. I dictate missions, not mission will not be extremely difficult, nor will it be dangerous. I have assigned you three older shinobi to accompany your team."
Kakashi nodded, his eyes trained on a small book in front of him. Kasumi wasn't sure why Minato allowed Kakashi to do such things in his presence. It was probably because Kakashi was on his team. She thought he was much to lenient with the man.
Kasumi gave a wide grin when Naruto looked over at her. Her stomach was full of butterflies as she thought about leaving the village. She hadn't left since she moved to Konoha. And even then, she had no memories of her home before Konoha.
"Here are your mission details. Read over them and commit it to memory." Reports appeared in fron tof the,
"The team accompanying you consists of" Here the Hokage paused, witch caught Kasumi's attention more than anything else, "They are Nami Uzumaki, Anko Mitarashi, and Itachi Uchiha. Dismissed."
Without another thought, or care for her three teammates, Kasumi sprinted out of the Hokage Tower, and kept running until she reached the Namikaze Mansion. Nami was standing out at the front of the house watering the garden, with Itachi sitting several feet away from her. Kasumi couldn't hear what they were talking about, but she could see the smile on her sister's face.
Kasumi ran up to the two, "Nami! "
"What do you want, Sumi?" Nami wiped her dirty gloves on her jeans, the smile from her face becoming serious.
Kasumi faltered only slightly. She gave her best 'sad puppy' expression before saying, "You're going on a mission with my team."
Nami nodded, "Yes, my team is going, but we won't stay with you the whole time."
"What? Why?"
Nami pulled off the gloves now, glancing towards Itachi.
He spoke, "We have a side mission that happens to be very close to your designation. Lord Hokage thought it would be best for us to come with you until we reach our mission point."
Kasumi didn't hear much except that they were coming with team seven. She pulled the taller girl into a hug. "Yay!"
Itachi watched the girl with a smirk playing on his lips. Nami pulled away after a moment, and excused herself to the shower. That left Kasumi alone with Itachi.
"Sasuke's going to kill you." Kasumi giggled. She ran a hand through her wind blown hair.
Itachi glanced up the road, seeing Naruto's orange jumper with Sasuke next to him. "Well, here they come."
Sasuke was scowling as he and Naruto approached the house. It became even more profound the closer he got. Itachi was smirking. Kasumi took a step back from the older Ninja, just incase something did go downward. She knew how Sasuke felt when having to compare to his brother. It was much like her feelings towards Nami when compared, though she hid it better than Sasuke did.
The younger Uchiha stopped in his tracks when he caught the eyes of his older brother. There was a slight seething behind his onyx eyes. "Itachi."
Sasuke's shoulders straightened when Itachi asked, "Yes, brother?"
"You are going on a mission with my team." Sasuke's glance fell to the grass, his cheeks burning, Kasumi wasn't sure if it was embarrassment or anger.
Itachi moved towards Sasuke and flicked the middle of his forehead. "That is correct, Sasuke. I'll see you bright and early in the morning. Don't forget to pack."
A growl emitted from Sasuke, as Itachi disappeared into the house. Kasumi presumed he was going to go see if Nami was out of the shower yet. Her eyes followed the dark figure until the front door of the house fell closed.
"Hehe.. We're finally getting a mission!" Naruto seemed to be as dense as ever, and didn't even notice the estranged atmosphere.
Sasuke glared. "Idiot."
Minato sat in his chair with Team Rin in front of him. The three members, were quietly standing next to each other and watching him with interest. He watched them with slitted eyes, almost as if he was angry and upset about the whole mission.
"Lord Hokage," Anko purred, her voice low and dangerous. Her eyes glinted."What is our mission?"
Minato swallowed hard. "Leave us be."
His assistants quickly disappeared from the office. Minato stood and and pressed a seal into the door. The room lit in a pale blue light before it faded. "Silencing seal."
Minato shuffled back to his desk, and picked up a pile of report folders."Read. I made one for each of you. I don't dare speak of the mission details aloud."
A few minutes went by as the team read the report. Nami took the extra copies of the report to hand back, but as she turned to set them on the desk, a thump sounded behind her. Nami turned.
Anko was kneeling on the ground, one hand propping up her doubled over form, while the other covered the side of her neck. There were even a few tears dripping onto the carpet. Itachi was already next to the fallen girl. His hand rested on her back, and Nami was quick to her other side. Anko whispered, "The seal.."
Her hand turned into a pained fist as the Hokage joined them. He was also on his knees in front of the girl. He made a few hand seals, and suddenly Anko stopped cringing. Nami had seen him do it before. It was just a temporary seal that suppressed part of the pain. It wouldn't last more than an hour.
"Miss Mitarashi. I'll call someone to bring you to the hospital." Minato hesitated, but his next words were firm. "You are officially off the mission. No augments."
Nami watched his with a cold gaze as he unsealed the doorway, and called for a nearby Jounin to carry Anko away. Nami wished that he hadn't taken such a measure, but she knew better than to argue his decision. Insubordination was not tolerated. The door was resealed after Anko disapeared from the doorway.
"You may visit her after our meeting. I must stress how significant this mission. If you do not return with a completed assignment, you will be deemed traitors of the Leaf Village. You will be in exile. I am giving you this mission because I believe you are the only ones who can complete it. If you do come back alive and well, you will have a personal invitation for the Jounin exams next spring." Minato was sitting again, blue eyes locked on the two teenagers in front of him.
Nami glanced at the floor. "An S-ranked mission.. I take it you have not informed the council?"
"Of course not. I'm the hokage and I deem this mission a necessity. You are dismissed. If you would like to see Anko I would go now. Visiting hours will soon be over."
"Yes sir." With that, Itachi and Nami left the room, and headed towards the hospital to see if the medics would let them see Anko.
Hinata opened her eyes. The clock on her nightstand read 2:00. Hanabi was standing on the other side of her, young eyes wide with fear. Hinata heard her whisper something that she couldn't hear.
"Hanabi."
The younger girl cut her off," Listen. You have to listen."
Hinata sat up. "What's wrong?"
"I was training behind the main house, and I heard the council." Hanabi had always been a night owl. Often times she wouldn't wake until early afternoon, and stayed awake until early morning. "I was curious and listened. They talked for a long time. I needed to tell you before the Elders finished their meeting.
"Hinata they want to brand you."
Hinata's eyes went wide. She knew she wasn't as string as Neji, and Hanabi had more potential than Hinata showed, but she wasn't aware it was already this close. "T-that can't be Hanabi! I have a mission tomorrow. I'm doing well."
She fell back on her bed, tears beginning to form in her eyes. Why would the council be talking about this?
"It'll be okay Hinata. They didn't say when. But they believe I have more potential. I don't want to lead the clan, though. It's your destiny not mine."
Hinata laughed. It was a sour, bitter laugh. "There is no such thing as fate. We choose our own paths."
Extremely upset. Hinata stood up and began packing an over night bag. She couldn't stya here tonight.
"Where are you going?" Hanabi had taken a spot on her bed.
Hinata could only think of one place to go in the middle of the night. "The Namizaki Manor."
Her heart was pounding in her chest as she rushed to the other side of the village. She slowed as the magnificent fence came into view, the heavy feeling in her chest lightening slightly,
She slipped past the gate, and into the house without disturbing anyone or anything. Her eyes glided past two foxes cuddled together in the formal sitting room. Hinata didn't pause long enough to think about her family. She was in Kasumi's room within a minute.
"Hinata?" Kasumi looked up at her with sleepy eyes. She stretched with a yawn, her tails flickering behind her.
Hinata let her bag fall to the floor with a decisive thump. "I need to stay the night."
Kasumi nodded and hobbled into her closet, only to appear with extra bedding that could be laid into a pallet. Hinata fixed them into something comfortable, then she was asleep withing a matter of moments. Her soft snores filled the room. There were no questions, not even a wonder why she was there.
The next morning, Naruto walked out of the bathroom, only a towel wrapped around his waist. Hinata stopped abruptly, her eyes widening. That caused Kasumi to barrel into her, and knock her into Naruto, and both to topple over top one another. Hinata jumped up, her face flaming bright red.
"N.. Naruto!" Hinata turned on her heels and ran down the stairs. Naruto just gave Kasumi a confused look.
Kasumi on the other hand, made her way over to the doorway down the hall that housed her sisters room.
"Nami." Kasumi called quietly with a knock. The door opened soundlessly within a moment.
Nami blinked before beckoning her sister in. "You okay?"
"Today. It's the day Mom and Dad died, isn't it?"
Nami bit her lip. "Sit down, Kasumi."
She led the younger girl to the seat. It had been eight years since that day. Nami had only been five at the time, but the burning fire had burnt it's way into her mind. She sat beside her sister. "It is today, but that's the least of our worries at the moment."
Kasumi looked over to her sister. "I.. I don't remember what they look like. Every time I try to think of mom, I just see you. And when I think about dad all I can see is Uncle Minato."
Her head rested against Nami's shoulder, and hot tears began to stain Nami's shoulder.
"I know, Sumi. I know. It's hard for me too." Nami brought a hand to Kasumi's back, rubbing a small circle into it. "We have to be strong. We have a mission, remember? We can deal with this later. I know it hurts. It hurts me too."
The sisters sat in silence for a while, until they heard Naruto calling them down to eat.
After breakfast, the six children went down to the Western Gate. It was the predetermined meeting point. Nami and Itachi stood a bit off from team seven. They were both rather quiet this morning. Ten minutes passed before Kakashi showed up, and old man in tow.
Nami perked up the moment the older man came into view. "Tanzuna!? What the hell are you doing here?"
She took a few steps forward and hugged the man. Itachi said a soft hello.
Team seven stared at her, confusion present on each face.
"Close your mouths, you'll catch flies." Nami crossed her arms, pale eyes sweeping over the younger group. "If you must know, my team accompanied the Hokage several times for his business trips."
Nami sighed at the group, pointed her chin up and walked back towards Itachi. She settled next to his side, becoming quiet.
Suddenly a poof a leaves revealed Kakashi. "Yo."
"You're late, Kakashi." Nami rolled her eyes.
"Sorry, I was taking a walk on the road of life, you see, and then a black cat crossed my path. I had no other options." The smile was evident under his mask.
Nami put her hands on her hips. "You know, my uncle wouldn't like to hear that you were late because you were reading Erotica."
Kakashi flinched at the thought," Sorry, Nami. I seem to have forgotten you and Itachi would be joining us."
"But, Sensei hasn't read any of that.' Naruto pondered. "He's only ever reading that orange-"
Kasumi put her hand over Naruto's mouth. She knew her sister was more likely to anger today. An angry Nami was not a fun Nami.
"Hatake.." Nami growled, but she visibly calmed as Itachi touched her shoulder. It was just a small movement but it seemed to make her tmper evaporate. "Naru, Sumi, hide your ears and tails, okay? We don't need any more issues."
The group of Genin glanced over to Kakashi, who just gave them a shrug. Kasumi went through a few hand seals, as did Naruto, and the group suddenly did not reflect their Hanyou blood.
"We'll go scout ahead." Nami and Itachi took off. They were gone in a blur, and withing a minute team seven could not see them.
"Well, lets hit the road. " Kakashi directed them into position, and pulled out his book. Then the group started down the path.
They caught up to the two Chunin about an hour later. Nami had obviously cooled down a lot since they left. She and Itachi were both sitting in a tree, seeingly unaware of their surroundings. Itachi send a small hand sign Kakahsi's way. Kakashi shook his head and proceeded to slow down. The group of genin didn't notice.
Once they were out of earshot, Nami whispered, "There's a puddle have a kilometer away. It has two chakra signitures. I believe they are low enough that the four of them can handle it. "
"Good idea." Kakashi nodded.
Nami glanced up the road. "I'll go hide in the woods near the road just incase anything unforeseen happens. Itachi and I came up with a small scenario. Go along with it, and I will see you soon."
Team seven proceeded towards their desitination. They didn't even notice the puddle until it was too late. Two ninja jumped from the puddle and threw weapons at them. Kakashi and Itachi appeared in front of them, only to fall to the ground. .
"Kakashi!" Naruto dropped to his knees.
It felt like time froze in that small moved protectively in front of Tanzuna, a kunai held defensively. Hinata mimicked her, keeping a watch behind them, just to be safe. Naruto and Sasuke shared a look, and Sasuke pulled out a fuma shuriken. He threw it.
Hope you enjoyed! Love you guys, and I hope you R&R and Stay Golden.
