Amidst the Hate: Chapter 9
"Why do I have to be the bait?" asked the blind Menma.
"Because Sasuke is still traumatized from the last time he was the lure." replied the lazy sensei on the other side of the line, with Sasuke.
"It was horrible...so much red…how did I survive?"
"(Sigh)...Fine. I just hope this thing doesn't aim for the eyes. That would be a low blow."
"It's coming to you!" alerted Mito on a different communicator.
Soon after word, a brown cat with a bright red bow on her ear burst into the alleyway with Menma.
"Come here, you little bastard!" growled Menma, and surprisingly, it did. The cat jumped into Menma's arms, and looked back where it came with what looked like fear, where Mito stood with explosive kunai.
"We're not supposed to blow up Tora, Mito. Put it away."
She did not, instead: "Tora is in your arms, and is not attacking you?! How?"
"Don't know. Let's just get back to Kakashi-sensei."
It has been a full month since the official creation of Team Kakashi, and it has been boring. D-ranks, the worst 'missions', are nothing more than chores, with the only challenge being to capture Tora, the Fire Daimyo's wife's cat. This should be classified B or A-rank, with the absurd amount of injuries to any team, and it happens, a lot. Even Kakashi was wary of letting the trio after it, but conceded when they kept asking for it.
When the two teammates got back to where Kakashi and Sasuke were at, it got a little crazy.
"Keep it away!"
"Are you petting Tora? And she's not killing you? Is that possible?"
"Yes, sensei, I'm petting Tora. We're going to have a word with the client before we hand her over." The tone Menma had was...pretty cold, colder than she had used in months.
"Okay then. Let's get going."
"Oh, my baby! Come back to momma!" cried the...slightly overweight owner of Tora, Madam Shijimi.
"She will not. I want to ask about the treatment of this cat."
"What do you mean?"
"Do you not see that she's trying to burrow into my clothes, or are you blind?" The rest of the team couldn't help but snicker about that.
"She just wants to get away from you, now hand him over!" The woman reached at Tora, only for Menma to step back.
"Do you see how I'm petting her, instead of crushing her spine with a hug? That could be the reason she keeps running away. She thinks you are bad for her health."
"I give her everything he could have ever wanted! She couldn't be afraid of me." Madam boasted.
"Then you are a fool. You give her everything, yet you will only cause her early demise. You don't deserve this cat."
The women…took this as if she lost her most prized possession, and started crying. "Tell me how I can get my baby back...I'll do anything!"
"I will hand you Tora, and you will not hug her, just hold her." Menma did so, and the Daimyo's wife put her left arm under the cat, and put her right hand on his head.
"Now pet her slowly. She shouldn't try to get away." The woman did as commanded, and was surprised to see that not only was Tora not trying to squirm out of her grasp, but was also purring.
"Oh thank you!" and the wife left, leaving Team Kakashi in the Hokage's office.
"Well, that went well." Minato decided to speak, after a moment of silence. "You will get the mission pay later today. You can leave, unless you want another D-rank? I hear the Inuzuka dogs need walking."
Menma just couldn't take it. "NO! We need a harder mission. We need something to test our skills, not odd jobs that nearly everyone can do!"
Shocked at the usually quiet Menma's outburst, it took a second before Minato could look over at Kakashi. "W-well, do you think they're ready?"
"They've been ready since day one."
"WHAT?!" Menma latched onto the cyclops's flak jacket, and started shaking him. "You mean we could have taken on C-ranks since the beginning?! Do you realize how much I needed a good mission? Ever since our little fight, I've been itching for excitement! What do you have to say for yourself?"
"I-is to wrong to get to know my little genin a little bit before we take on potentially life threatening missions?" Kakashi hoped his answer was the right one.
It seemed to do the trick, since the raven-haired girl dropped off his jacket. "You have a point…even if I'm not happy with it."
Team 7 and Minato learned that day that Menma had a few triggers that will make her explode.
"Uhem. Anyway...SEND HIM IN!" Minato yelled to his secretary outside the office.
"Sensei...you do remember that there is a pager on your desk, right?"
Minato's answer was hitting said desk with his head multiple times. "Stupid, stupid, stupid."
The client then chose that was there time to step in, sake in hand.
"This is what will be escorting me? (Hic)...Three children and one ninja?" the man's speech was slurred, showing that he was at least a little drunk.
"Mr. Tazuna, I assure you, we will be enough." said Kakashi.
"You better. I'll be waiting at the gate." the now identified Tazuna departed for his destination.
Minato, who now has a massive headache, decided to reveal the specifics of the mission. "You will be escorting Tazuna back to the Land of Waves, protecting him from bandits if they attack, and while he builds his bridge. This is a easy C-rank."
"So he just came here for protection?" asked the Hokage's daughter.
"Yep."
"...why would he need us in his home country?"
"He never said, but I would be wary. This is still a mission outside Konoha, so anything could happen. Dismissed!"
"Right!" spoke the three genin in unison, before they left.
"Why are we here, Mito?"
Both female members of Team Kakashi were standing in front of the blonde's house, much to Menma's confusion.
"We might as well see what we stockpiled before we buy anything. I also want to tell mom about our mission."
"...I hate it when you make sense." The two entered the house, went up the stairs to the bedroom, and checked for what they needed.
"I think we're good. I kept buying things when we got paid, so I have a surplus of kunai and the like. Do you need any?"
"No. I have plenty, and I know some jutsus."
Mito finished packing, and looked at Menma, only to see she didn't have a pack. "Why don't you have a pack? How else are you going to bring food?"
"I know a little fuinjutsu, don't worry about me."
Somehow, Mito was surprised. "What can you NOT do?"
"Quite a few things."
Before the Namikaze could voice how vague that was, her mother entered the room. "Did you two finally get a mission out of the village?"
"Yep! We're escorting someone to the Land of Waves." responded Mito.
"Well, be careful. Anything could happen."
"Dad said that, but it'll be fine." She gave a hug to Kushina. "We'll see you when we get back." She ran out of the room, leaving her mother and Menma.
"I should catch up with her. Bye." She was almost out of the door frame, but she was stopped by Kushina.
"Wait. I need to ask you a favor."
"What is it?"
"I know we haven't...been on the same page most of the time, but could you make sure Mito comes back alive? I don't want to lose her too..."
"It's just a C-Rank, nothing that bad could happen." Menma turned her head enough that the Uzumaki could see her bandages before she continued. "Don't worry, Kushina, your daughter is too important to me. I will protect her with my life." The blind girl left with that, not seeing the relief on Kushina's face.
After a few quick stops (Ichiraku's, making sure Haruka knew they were leaving), the two regrouped with the rest of their team at the gate, with a seemingly more sober Tazuna.
"You four ready to go?" he asked the team.
"We wouldn't be here if we weren't." was the remark from Menma.
"Hmmpf. Smartass. Let's get going then."
'Finally! I'm going to see outside of Konoha! This is going to be cool!' thought Mito, already loving this new mission.
Let's hope this mood lasts.
A.N.: I can sense cat owners calling 'bullshit' on the advice, and they're probably right. I hope I got Madam mostly right, since I haven't seen that episode (or the original series) in...quite awhile. If your surprised Menma was the one to explode, then I did my job right.