Summary: The three young men bowed formally, and Gaara spoke evenly. "Pleasure to meet you, Tsuchikage-sama."
Theme: Blood On My Hands - The Used
"No."
"But Kyuubi- "
"I said no."
"But -"
"No."
"Kyuubi…"
The demons eyebrow twitched. "No Naruto."
"Please!"
"No!"
"Fuck you then!"
"Kiss my ass Naruto, the answer is still no."
"WILL YOU TWO FUCKING STOP?"
Both males glanced over, eyes wide with surprise at the yell from Sasuke. The brows were twitching with agitation, the red Sharingan eyes glaring at them in annoyance. Recovering first, Naruto growled and pointed a finger at the smirking figure of the Kyuubi.
"But he won't do the mind thing again! I don't get these damn seals! What the fuck is the point of knowing them if I don't know how the hell to use them, or make them?"
Hands on his hips, he glared at his demon, who only glared right back. Between them on the beach was a multitude of swirling lines and symbols, a seal that was supposed to drain the chakra of anyone who stepped into it. They had been on this island for three months, out in the middle of the ocean, and Naruto was no closer to understanding the sealing art then he had been when they first arrived.
Plunging his hands into his now light blond hair, he glared down at the lines etched into the sand. There was part of it that he understood, but he just did not get how the array in the upper left corner helped with the draining, or the one in the bottom right collected it for storage. He knew they worked, he had seen the proof, but he didn't get how they worked, and that was the most important thing if he wanted to become a Seal Master.
He grunted in greeting as Gaara walked up to his side, also looking down at the elaborate seal. The teal eyes flicked back and forth, a frown creasing his forehead. Just like Naruto, Gaara's pupils had turned into what Shukaku's were, though they were only a shade or two darker then the teal, so they weren't as noticeable as his slit pupils.
"You're an idiot, Naruto," Gaara muttered, and the blond rounded on him, flushing with anger as his hands clenched into fists. Gaara only looked at him and grabbed his wrist, dragging him over to the array in the upper left corner. Then he pointed to a single symbol. "You see that? That is the one symbol that it all hinges on. If that wasn't there, it would explode."
Frowning, Naruto looked at it closer. That was one of the things he had a problem with; to him, there were a lot of symbols that shouldn't have been there, because he couldn't see the point in them. Glancing around the array, he was once again bombarded by signs that he didn't see a need for. Even as he tried figuring them out, his head started to pound, turning it from hard into impossible.
"Argh! I fucking give up! I just don't get it!"
-x-x-x-x-
Kusa (Grass), two weeks later
Panting harshly, Gaara crouched down next to Naruto, lightly touching the seal that was tattooed on his wrist, activating it. Did we lose them?
It was only a half-inch across, tiny symbols embedded in the infinity symbol. Somehow, it allowed them to speak mind to mind, and while it was activated, they couldn't hide their emotions from the others. It was also done in white ink, barely visible against their skin. Just like every single one of their permanent tattoos.
Naruto glanced at him, before his eyes went back to scanning the surrounding, dark forest. Gaara was as well, so he barely noticed when Naruto touched the same seal on the inside of his own wrist. I think so. Have you seen Sasuke?
Gaara shook his head, making Naruto frown. There was a shift in the mental connection, and Gaara knew he was reaching out to the Uchiha.
Neh, Sasuke. Where the hell are you teme?
The answer that came back to them wasn't words, but a bloody, cocky satisfaction. Frowning deeper, Naruto rubbed his forehead. Teme, you killed Deidara didn't you?
An irritated huff came though the link. Of course dobe. I had the perfect opportunity, so I took it. Now one Akatsuki member is down.
You dipshit! Because of that we're going to have to leave! Sasori is around here somewhere, and once he figures out that Deidara is dead, he's going to know of one of our places! Damnit, even though we've been training with Kyuu and Shukaku, doesn't mean that you should take on Akatsuki!
There was surprise on Sasuke's end, and Gaara smirked slightly when embarrassment tinged the link. A sudden idea sprang into his head as Naruto started to rant about Sasuke's ego and hotheadedness, he snorted. The sound instantly brought silence.
We can use this. Sasuke, take his head and seal it, and tell us where you are. We'll be there shortly.
Naruto frowned at him as Sasuke gave them directions, and they both tapped their wrists lightly, deactivating the seal as they began to leap through the trees to the Uchiha's position. Naruto tried getting him to tell what he was going to do, but he remained silent, ever watchful for any sign of Sasori. He wanted to wait until they had met up with Sasuke before revealing it.
A few minutes later, they landed by a bloody Sasuke, and a decapitated Deidara.
"Alright Gaara. What the hell is your plan?"
The red head smirked slightly, eyeing the storage scroll that Sasuke was bouncing from palm to palm. "We reveal ourselves. It is time the Akatsuki learned that they are not the only SS-Class nin out there."
Naruto frowned even as Sasuke's eyes widened, then both pairs of eyes sharpened in thought.
"I thought we were going to stick to behind the scenes," Naruto muttered, but his eyes glittered, a clear indication that he thought the plan had merit, and was running through several scenarios already.
"No one knows who we are," Sasuke said thoughtfully, "where we are, or what we are even doing. If we play this right, we could come off as merely mercenaries. You were saying that we needed money Naruto, and," he held up the scroll, "his head will get us a lot in Iwa."
The blond frowned even harder for a moment, before a slow, wicked grin stretched his mouth. "Well, then let's get ready to meet Sasori!"
It was ten minutes later that they heard the sound of something heavy being dragged through the underbrush, and the sound of someone muttering angrily to themselves. All three of them wore black capes with very deep hoods, and also white hunter-nin masks. With the color on them – each mask was from a different Village – Sasori would connect the dots and realize that they had killed the hunter-nin that the masks had previously belonged to. It would add to their reputation, plus the benefit of being true. Gaara would be the one to talk to him, Naruto and Sasuke on the branch above in case Sasori decided to attack.
"Sasori-sama," he said to the man who was stopped a good ten yards in front of the tree they were standing on, "I have something that belongs to you."
With that he threw down the body of Deidara, and bowed. He may not like Sasori, but he respected him as a shinobi. He straightened, and waited patiently for the few moments that it took the puppet master to look over Deidara's body. With a nod, flames erupted from his mouth and engulfed the corpse, swiftly leaving nothing behind.
"I take it you have his head then?" Sasori asked, and Gaara nodded once. "Answer me one question. How were you able to kill him?"
Gaara put as much scorn as he could muster into his voice. It wasn't a lot, but he still had to work on expressing his emotions. Well, wasn't that he couldn't, he just didn't care. "Surely you know better than to ask a fellow shinobi that question. Besides, do the Akatsuki think they were the only SS-Class missing-nin in the world?"
The three cloaked figures bowed, and then disappeared in poofs of smoke, leaving behind a confused, but highly interested puppet master.
They arrived less than ten minutes later on the outskirts of the village they were passing through, sealing away their cloaks and masks, and putting on the different henges that they were currently using. Naruto was the mother, Sasuke the father, and Gaara the child. It worked, so it was a setup they usually used, except they switched looks at every village.
That was awesome, Gaara!
The now young child looked at the middle aged woman who had a huge grin on her face. He smirked, and lightly brushed a finger over the concealed seal on his wrist.
Why thank you Naruto. It will give them something else to concentrate on, instead of finding our true selves. He gave her a huge shit eating grin, while Sasuke rolled his dull brown eyes in amusement. The woman laughed, ruffling his shaggy black hair in a gesture that she knew he hated. As expected, the grin fell into a scowl.
Awwww my cute little Gaara is growing up! Making plans on his own and-
She stopped, her green eyes widening at something she was seeing, putting the other two on alert. Then they narrowed in anger as she pulled away from them both, stalking towards an alley a little ways up from their position. Glancing at each other, the two men shrugged and followed. What they found when they rounded the corner ignited their own anger.
"What the fuck do you think you're doing?" Naruto bellowed, grabbing one of the men and throwing him into a nearby wall. Taking in the situation in a blink of an eye, Sasuke went to help Naruto while Gaara stood protectively over the shivering, beaten form of a young blond girl.
"What the hell did she do that deserves something like that?" Naruto screeched, head-butting another man who tried to come at her with a knife. Blood flew from both foreheads but the man fell unconscious, while Naruto only looked more pissed. A snap and a scream later, Gaara flung one of the men who tried coming at him away, his arm broken and now unconscious on the ground. The one remaining man stared at the three of them with wide eyes, stammering something as Naruto stalked up to him, wrapping her manicured hand around his throat and then slamming him into the wall.
"Now tell me why she was being beaten! She can't be more than five years old!"
"Sh-she w-was ste-stealing food! She needed t-t-to be punished!" he stuttered, and Naruto's eyes flicked to the girl that was staring around with wide, terrified brown eyes. Snarling, Naruto turned back to the man, and with no hesitation, she crushed the neck beneath her hands.
"She's nothing but skin and bones. You should have been giving her food instead of punishing her for stealing it!" The man could only gape in fear as blood poured from his mouth, and within a moment, he was dead. Naruto let him fall, wiping her hand on her skirt with a disgusted snort.
With a gentle smile, Gaara knelt next to the girl, holding out a hand while Sasuke calmed Naruto down.
"I'm Lee. My friends and I will not hurt you little one. We only wish to help, and if you'll come with us, I would be happy to buy you food," he said quietly, not missing how she flinched away from his outstretched hand. He waited patiently as she stared at him, her eyes wide, but her hunger must have overthrown her sense of danger, because she placed a tiny hand in his.
Later that night, Sayomi was deeply asleep on one of the beds, and Naruto, Gaara, and Sasuke sat in a circle on the floor, pensive looks on each of their faces.
"What are we going to do with her?" Sasuke asked, watching the girl. Naruto sighed, his eyes the sharp sapphire that told them he was thinking. They slowly started darkening to a stormy grey-blue as he began to frown, the slightest tinge of red creeping into his iris.
"This is no time to get angry," Gaara said quietly, knowing what that tinge of red meant. Shaking his head violently, Naruto scoffed.
"This is the perfect time to be angry. Shit like this," he waved his hand at the sleeping girl, "shouldn't be happening! Why wasn't she taken in? There should have been someone who was willing! An orphanage or…or something!"
The question was answered a few short seconds later when the girl stiffened, then began to whimper pitifully. They only sat in awe as a miniature storm cloud began to brew in their room, a soft rumble of thunder giving testament to the impossible sight they were seeing. They stared upwards, eyes wide as lightning began to arc in the clouds, but it all disappeared when Sayomi screamed and shot straight up in bed. Her hair had changed to perfect white, her eyes completely pitch black, sclera included. Even as they watched, the hair changed back to blond, the eyes to brown.
They smiled at her as she looked timidly around the room, giving them a tremulous smile back when she saw in their eyes they weren't scared. With a huge yawn, she lay back down, snuggled under the covers, and was promptly back asleep.
"Well that explains that," Sasuke said on a breath, propping his chin in his hand as he stared at her in wonder.
"That is an interesting Kekkei Genkai," Gaara whispered, looking back up towards the ceiling where there was no sign of a thunderstorm.
"Take her to the island," the Kyuubi said quietly, in a thoughtful tone of voice. "There is plenty of food and space for her to learn and grow. Send one of your sealed clones with her."
"Genius!" Naruto yelled, slamming a fist into the opposite palm. He grinned foxily at his companions as they stared at him, and told them what the Kyuubi had said.
"Makes sense," Sasuke said with a satisfied nod, and Gaara echoed him. With a smirk, Naruto created a clone, then bit his thumb, writing the seal on the back of its neck. He hardly felt the strange swooping sensation of his chakra, after having done this so many times. With that done, they settled in to wait until she woke up.
The next day saw them on their way to Iwa, Naruto's sealed, and henged clone going in the opposite direction towards the ocean, Sayomi riding piggy back.
It was a completely uneventful trip to Iwa to gather their bounty, which they did with no names, cloaks, and masks. Uneventful, until the Tsuchikage asked them to come back later for a possible business meeting. Depending on what it was, if it was something coming from the leader himself, it would establish their reputation among the Villages.
Naruto grinned wickedly, thinking about the amount of money they were going to get paid. So now they were running about in henges, buying things they were going to need, when the Kyuubi mentally smacked him.
"Brat, let me out. There is something I want to check out."
He stopped and cocked his head to the side, acting as though he was interested in a particular juicy apple. "Um, no offense red, but we can only go for five hours apart before I start getting weak. I really don't wanna be weak in the middle of Iwa! Did you forget my last name?" He rolled his eyes and turned away, meandering down the street and pretending to be interested in random stuff.
The Kyuubi growled. "Namikaze Naruto, it will only be for a few damn hours."
"No."
"Damnit brat! Let me the fuck out of this cage!"
Naruto snorted and ignored the demon with an automatic twist of his perception. He shifted the few bundles he had and turned, hoping he was going in the right direction of the inn they were staying at. It would really suck to get lost. Grinning, he brushed a finger over his wrist seal.
Neh, Sasuke. Tell me how to get back to the inn!
He was sulking the whole way back with Sasuke's directions and laughter ringing in his head.
-x-x-x-x-
The three young men bowed formally, and Gaara spoke evenly. "Pleasure to meet you, Tsuchikage-sama."
The little old man grinned wickedly at them, stroking his short beard with one hand. "Eh, youngins who know the traditions." He nodded sharply. "I like it. Now, for the three of you to take down Deidara, it shows that you have skills. The deal is this…"
As the deal grew more and more complicated, three hidden pairs of eyes widened slowly, but it wasn't until the amount of money the man was going to pay them that their jaws dropped.
"We accept, Tsuchikage-sama," Gaara said quietly, and with a mental word, the three vanished.
I can't, Naruto pleaded softly, looking back and forth between the two expressionless faces.
You mean you won't, Gaara countered, just as quietly. Naruto winced at the tinge of disapproval, a clear sign that the red head was mad at him. Yet, he pouted stubbornly.
They looked like three, middle aged men, sitting in a crowded bar and having drinks. Everything was normal except for the conversation racing furiously through their minds.
You are a shinobi Naruto, Sasuke muttered, you're trained to kill. Get over it. This earned him a pissed off blue glare.
Fuck you Uchiha. It's one thing to kill someone who's trying to kill you, and another to go in and slaughter them! No, fuck that! I'm not doing it!
They glared at each other for a long moment, before Sasuke simply stood and calmly walked out the door. Naruto watched him go, anger flaring brightly in his eyes. Huffing, he turned back to the table, and downed his drink.
"I can't," he whispered to himself, seeming to be unaware that teal eyes watched him intently. "I just can't do it. No matter what they did, they will be helpless." He shook his head, his voice even lower towards the end.
"Naruto, you didn't look into these people, did you?" Gaara asked softly, taking a small sip of his drink. The flash of surprise, then the guilt on the tanned face made Gaara nod slightly. "I thought not. For all the work you've put into the network, you can be very lacking in knowledge."
Naruto's growled silently, but swiftly reigned in his temper. They were in a public place, and they couldn't afford to reveal themselves.
"So what did I miss then?" he asked, refilling his cup from the single bottle. It was only water, but it looked enough like saké to fool their fellow patrons. That and the smell of liquor permeated the air, so no one could tell the difference anyway.
"This man and his family have lied, twisted, and cheated their way to the top of the trade here. They control nearly half of the shops here that cater to shinobi, either by fear, or greed," Gaara explained, halting to take another sip. "If they were to be destroyed, the monopoly would be gone, giving the power back to the civilians. The shinobi are really only part of the economy of a Hidden Village. Nearly a third of it comes from the trade that happens by normal people." The Tsuchikage didn't give us detailed information on purpose. He wanted us to find it out on our own, Naruto, he added mentally to the blond.
He glanced at Naruto, and saw a slightly hazy look in the blue eyes that he knew wasn't from alcohol. Sighing, he delicately rubbed the bridge of his nose, his irritation rising.
"Did you understand any of that?" he asked acidly, glaring at the man across the table. Naruto blinked, and smiled wickedly.
"No, I get it. Basically, he went and forced his way to the top, and charges everyone huge prices. Then," he said, mimicking Gaara and taking a sip, his eyes twinkling impishly over the rim, "not only are they screwing civilians over, but also the shinobi, and the Village as a whole. Right?"
Gaara blinked at him, and shrugged. "Precisely. Now, are you going to help us or not?"
Naruto frowned, turning serious. "I won't kill anyone who surrenders, but I will kill anyone who tries to attack us." His eyes hardened, and Gaara sighed silently. He hated seeing more of the cheeriness of the blond being chipped away, but they had decided on this course, and were set to it now.
"That's the only way I'll do this."
Gaara simply nodded, accepting that it would be up to him and the Uchiha to do the actual assassinations. It didn't bother him too much, as long as he was able to protect Naruto's peace of mind. He would do anything with no regrets to protect the happiness of his brothers.
-x-x-x-x-
Sasuke winced beneath his mask as his kunai sunk through flesh and hit bone, spraying him with warm liquid. He had no time to think about it though, as another guard came hurtling towards him, forcing him to block. Before he could sweep his other arm around to slice his throat, a shadow appeared behind him, the surprised head grabbed forcefully, and then the neck was snapped. Sasuke whipped around to engage another enemy, warmed despite the blood and battle at knowing that Naruto and Gaara were watching his back.
Gaara frowned at the family before him, Naruto and Sasuke standing on either side of the room, glancing between them and the windows. It hadn't taken long to get through the guards they had hired, half trained idiots that they were. Looking down at the papers in his hands, Gaara snickered silently.
Do you think the Tsuchikage will get mad at us for this? He asked silently, plucking two pieces of paper from the stack he was holding. Gently setting the others down, he walked over to the head of the family, crouching down in front of him.
"You will sign these two businesses over to me." He flooded the room with his killing intent as the wife opened her mouth, her eyes snapping fire. The six adults in the room paled, eyes wide as they stared at him. "Now, I will tell you one more time. Sign these businesses over to me."
"Wh-whats yo-your n-n-name?" the head asked, shakily holding a pen as he signed his name at the bottom, but it grew steadier as he filled in a few more portions, before looking expectantly at him.
"Subaku Gaara," he said quietly, and as the man wrote it down quickly, he could feel the surprise and worry that was radiating off his teammates. They could wait though, because as he took the two pieces of paper from the man, he sat down, and pulled out two identical blank sheets. Delicately, he dipped the tip of a very thin brush into chakra infused ink, and easily ran it over his own name, tracing it exactly on both deeds. Once that was done, he flipped them over, and wrote a very small seal in the corners, touching it briefly before writing the exact same seal on the blank pieces. When those activated, all the information was copied over, except for his name. He wrote in a fake one on the copies, and added a single symbol to the tiny seals on the originals. When he did, his name wavered, to be replaced by the fake one. Then all four seals disappeared.
Naruto couldn't help a small whistle at that, as he watched intently. "Fucking genius. No one will be able to tell the difference unless they activate the seal."
Gaara nodded his head as he stood, rolling up the two original and putting them in his pouch, while sticking the copies into his belt. He glanced over the people kneeling in front of him, his eyes stopping on the woman who was holding twin boys. "Fox, take the boys. They are too young to have been a part of this. They do not deserve the punishment that they rest of them do."
"Wait!" the woman screamed, holding onto the wide eyed boys tighter. "I wasn't any part of what they did! I had no-"
"But you knew," Sasuke added coldly from his side of the room. She looked at him, but something odd happened. She simply nodded, her black eyes turning resigned as she gently kissed each boys forehead.
"Go with them loves," she whispered, smiling bravely at them when they looked up at her with big eyes.
"But, momma, we wanna stay wif you!"
"No loves, mom did a very bad thing, and now she has to be punished for it. I take responsibility for my own actions. Never forget that, okay?"
They both nodded tearfully and walked over to Naruto when she pushed them away. It was clear that the other members of her family wanted to say something, but they were scared to under the watchful gazes.
Gaara watched the entire scene unfold with apathy, except for a small kernel of what felt like guilt stirring in his heart. Their mothers had all been taken from them and despite Shukaku howling at him to just kill them all, he found that he couldn't.
"Fox, take the mother with you too, and leave. Now."
He was happy that Naruto didn't argue, but merely scooped the children and woman into his arms, disappearing off into the night through the window.
"Now," he purred softly, echoing the cruel one that was in his mind, "for the rest of you."
They didn't even have a chance to scream as he and Sasuke sliced through them, following the orders of the Tsuchikage.
-x-x-x-x-
Sasuke threw the bloody scroll on the Tsuchikage's desk, smirking when the man unsealed the five heads.
"There are supposed to be six," he said sharply, looking at them. Sasuke merely shrugged.
"The wife of one of the men was divorcing him, so she took her two children and moved out," he said simply, and didn't budge under the steely, assessing look of the old man. After a long moment, the man nodded, and resealed the heads. He threw them another scroll that Gaara caught. Unrolling it on the ground, he unsealed the large chest of money, nodding to himself after some quick calculations in his head. Resealing it, he stuck it in his pouch and handed the man the two copies of the deeds.
"I happened to convince the head of the family to sign these businesses over to a friend of mine," he quietly said as the old man took them, giving them a cursory glance before nodding. "He will be arriving within a few days, and he will always know how to get in contact with us. Is that all, Tsuchikage-sama?"
The old man snorted, his eyes twinkling wickedly. "Yep, that'll be all youngins. You did good, so I'll make sure that your reputation is spread. What do you people call yourselves anyway?"
"Kariudo," he replied, then the three of them bowed, and left before the old man could reply.
He sat for a long moment, looking at the scroll with the bloody hand print, his mouth stretching into a wide grin. "'Hunters' huh? Not bad. Not bad at all."
-x-x-x-x-
"Pakkun, tell me what you know."
The small dog looked away from his staring contest with Shikamaru's bigger dog, snorting. "They'll get their reputation now. The job was good for them. Money, respect." The dog shrugged, which should have looked odd, but didn't. "Sasuke has his own pack, too. I'm the only one that the two of you share in this contract."
"Neh, this is troublesome," Shikamaru muttered, absently petting the fluffy monster that had become attached to his hip shortly before the former Kazekage was murdered. Surprisingly, no one had realized yet that the huge, white dog with soulful brown eyes was in fact a henged Naruto clone. "They really don't plan on coming back if they're going to this much trouble to earn respect as mercenaries."
"Oh, and they killed Deidara."
This statement was met with shocked looks at the dog, before both men sat back, relaxing against a tree to the north of the monument stone.
"I was wondering when they were going to go after Akatsuki," Shikamaru muttered. Pakkun snorted.
"From what I get, it was an accident. Sasuke got a little hot headed, and decided to kill him even though Gaara and Naruto wanted him left alone. It forced them to move from where they were staying at the time. Though…it was because of that they decided on the course of action they've taken."
All the males grew quiet as a calm chakra presence showed up on their radar, and a few moments later, Hinata could be seen walking towards them. She stopped in front of them and bowed, a gentle smile on her face. No one would ever know that she had a temper equal to her mentors Anko and Tsunade. A temper that showed its face whenever someone threatened Naruto, as they had found out about a year ago.
"Kakashi-san, Shikamaru-san, Hokage-sama requests your presence in her office," she said politely, and her message delivered, she bowed again, and walked away.
They both waited until she was out of earshot, and both breathed deep sighs of relief. "Meh, you'd never know that Tsunade is considering her for the next Hokage if Naruto doesn't come back," Kakashi muttered.
"She's really blossomed once her sensei introduced her to Anko," Shikamaru pointed out, not noticing how his dog was watching him with suspiciously bright eyes. "She's already managed to take Tsunade's massive strength technique and improve on it with her Byakugan."
Kakashi nodded and stood. "Not to mention her and Neji disowning the clan when they tried to have Naruto and Sasuke hunted down. Who ever knew she had that kind of steel in her? Pakkun, is that everything?" The dog nodded and disappeared, knowing a dismissal when hearing one. "Well Shika, let's get going. I don't want any of those females mad at me if I can help it."
Snorting, Shikamaru stood, dusting off his pants. "Troublesome women."
A few minutes later they stood in the Hokage's office, both a little apprehensive at the serious look on Tsunade's face. She said nothing, only stared at them long enough for the apprehension to start to turn into true panic. A smile flitted across her face when the door opened again, and everyone turned to see Iruka walk through. The Jounin smiled sheepishly at everyone, scratching the back of his head.
"I didn't delay the meeting did I?" he asked, walking as he spoke until he was in front of Kakashi. Automatically, Kakashi's arms wrapped around the smaller mans shoulders, drawing him back until they were pressed tightly together. No one said a single word about the obviously display. The one time someone had, Iruka had broken her arm in several places, as well as knocked a few of her teeth out. Iruka, much like Hinata, had blossomed under the boost of confidence they had received.
"No you haven't Iruka. Now, we have new information on a mercenary group that goes by the name Kariudo from the Tsuchikage himself." She shuffled a few pieces of paper on her desk, before finding the one she was looking for. She handed it to Iruka, and all three Jounin looked it over. It didn't have much of anything, simply what the Kage hired them to do, and his own observations on who this group could be. It also mentioned that there was a contact in Iwa that could get hold them. Kakashi was relieved to see that the man didn't have any suspicions that the group could be Sasuke, Naruto, and Gaara.
"I need the three of you to find them, and tell them that I want to hire them for something. Get them here, but not by force. We don't know what they're capable of, and we need to find out. Dismissed."
Iruka handed her back the piece of paper, and the three bowed before exiting her office. They remained together until they reached Kakashi's and Iruka's apartment, when Shika turned to them.
"We need to talk, Kakashi," he said, blinking when Iruka started to chuckle.
"You mean about the boys being this new group?" His laughter only grew as the other two stared at him. "Kakashi, you've never been able to hide much from me, you know that."
"How…" Kakashi trailed off, and his visible eye narrowed as Iruka's smile turned decidedly evil. He reached in his pocket, and pulled out what looked like a dog treat.
"Pakkun," he said with a shrug. "I give him treats for any information you get."
Kakashi blinked several more times, processing this, before scowling. "How much do you know?"
Iruka only gave him a small, secretive smile before waving gaily and walking up the stairs. "Come on up Shikamaru. We can talk in private here, since Kakashi is so paranoid about his privacy."
"Hey!" Kakashi yelled up at him, clearly pouting, "I have good reason!"
"Troublesome," Shikamaru muttered with a roll of his eyes, even though a small smile played over his lips as he and the dog followed the couple. He noticed that his dog wasn't anywhere around, but that was normal. The dog usually went out wandering at night, returning in a few hours, so he put it out of his mind.