Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto though I do own the plot and all OCs.
AN: Sorry for the long update! Writer's block is a pain in the ass but at least I finnaly got this out. Sorry if there's to much scene changes but there was a lot happening in this chapter to bear with it. I still have writer's block at the moment so any suggestions would be much appreciated. I also need an opinion on a new pairing. It might be a spoiler so you may want to PM me. Finals are coming and the teachers are piling up on all the homework! Why now?
Sorry if this chapter is too short.
Thanks again to Dragon Man 180, your reviews keep me going.
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"What the hell?" Naruto screamed as he stormed through the house. "You mean you chased Uzera and Sakura out of the house?"
"Now, now. I didn't chase them out of the house. I merely insinuated that they should go out and get familiar with the village." Kakashi lied his best, but his best just wasn't good enough when Sasuke was standing right next to him.
"Lie…" Sasuke said simply and that was enough to incited Naruto into another bout of rage.
"Stop messing around and tell us where they are!" Naruto commanded, trying to look as intimidating as possible while he only half Kakashi's height.
"Now is that any way to treat a cripple?" Kakashi asked as he lifted his crutches up then blanching as he realized what he did. "N-now I can explain." Kakashi said once again then turning ten shades paler as he remembered how this turned out last time.
"You can walk?" Naruto said, more as a fact than a question while Sasuke merely silently fumed inside.
I had to do his laundry for a week! Sasuke fumed as he took a menacing step forward.
"Umm, since you two look so eager." Kakashi started to back away from the two shinobi. "I'll give you a mission." As expected, Naruto stopped his advancing long enough for Kakashi to make up one off the top of his head. "Your mission is to find Uzera and Sakura before this day is over. Do you two understand?" Kakashi said in his most serious voice then smiling a little as he saw both of them lighten up, and then proceeded to read his book while the two boys decided what to do.
"Come on Sasuke! Lets find them!" Naruto said as he dragged a reluctant Sasuke out of the house.
"To the village we go!" Naruto said cheerfully as he marched with Sasuke.
"Let go of me dobe…" Sasuke growled as he ripped his hands out of Naruto's grasp and went his own way.
"Wait up Sasuke!" Naruto yelled as he ran to catch up.
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"These are bad times." The Third said gravely as he received news on the recent reconnaissance mission. "Let them in…" The Third nodded to the Chunin that stood guard and he opened the door. As soon as the door opened a disheveled looking Anbu stumbled inside. One the Anbu's arms dangling useless at her side and she limping slightly, using her left leg to walk. The Third grimaced slightly as he spotted the blackened skin.
"T-the mission was a failure! Xannon and I were defeated and now Xannon is in critical condition and is in a coma! Please Hokage-sama, call Tsunade!" Alex pleaded.
"I'm sorry. Tsunade is not here in this village anymore. She left a few days ago while you were out." The Third replied apologetically, fully understanding what she was going through. He to felt what if felt like to lose one of his precious people though when he lost his precious person it was not to death.
"I would send some Anbu to find her but…" The Third said attempting to comfort the distraught women but knowing it was no use. When Tsunade went on one of her expeditions it was almost impossible to find her... And apparently Alex already knew this.
"I-I understand. I will tend to Xannon while I wait." Alex replied disheartened but not giving up.
"Was there anything else that happened?" The Third asked.
Alex gasped as she realized she almost forgot to report what happened on her journey. "The man who did this to us. His name is Xera and he was merely a messenger. He warned us that ninja from the Village of the Sky would be coming for the chunin exams and for us not to interfere."
The Third nodded and the asked "Is there anything else that I need to know?"
Alex's thoughts went back to the amazing bloodline that their combatant showed, the amount of time it took him to defeat two Anbu of the leaf village, and the three pale scars that ran down his face. "No, nothing at all." She said before turning her back on the Hokage.
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"How cute." Michiyo whispered as she opened the door just a crack and spotted her daughter and Uzera in the same bed. "He's like the brother she never had."
"Hmm? What's up?" Sakura asked as she emerged from her room, which was really the same room as Michiyo's.
"Look at that. Isn't that-" Michiyo paused and cocked her ears. "I think someone's in the shop." Michiyo said and then nodded as she heard some distinct noises coming from the store.
"Yep I'm sure someone's here. I'm going to greet the customers. You can do whatever you want." Michiyo said before hurrying to the shop.
Sakura frowned but didn't say a word. Opening the door that Michiyo was looking through she almost exploded with rage. "You… You… YOU LOSER!" Immediately after this she took a running leap and managed to straddle herself across Uzera's waist without waking up Kumiko. She wasn't a ninja for nothing. "I'll kill you." She hissed, finally waking up Uzera.
"Wha-" Sakura's fist interrupted Uzera before he could say anything. "Hey, that hurt." Uzera said rubbing his jaw but then blanching in fear at the expression Sakura had on her face.
"Oh, you have no idea…" Sakura whispered ominously.
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"Hello and welcome to my shop." Michiyo greeted the two people who entered her shop. Instead of replying one of the strangers only glared at her.
"We're looking for someone… Do you know where to find, "The second person held out a picture for her to see. "These two?" Michiyo squinted her eyes and then gasped softly. On the picture were Uzera and Sakura posing for a camera.
These two must be Gato's soldiers! Michiyo realized. "I never saw them in my life." She lied, a bit too hurridly."Ok, If you do see them tell us." The second man headed to the door but then pasued when his partner didn't move. "What's wrong?"
"Someone's here."The man cocked his head in thedirection of the bedrooms. "Where is that sound coming from?"
"Ahh, heh, heh… What sound?" Michiyo asked, trying not to flinch when an audiable shout of pain permeated the walls.
"There!" Said the man, pointing at the hallways and one of the rooms. Without a second thought the two men raced down the corridor and burst through the door where they saw Sakura on top of Uzera.
"So we finally found you…" Said one of the men, smirking slightly.
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"Sakura no!" Sakura craned her neck just in time to see an orange flash crash down on her.
"Get off of me Naruto!" Sakura yelled. After this entire racquet Kumiko finally decided to wake up. Unfortunately this was not the best time as she caught sight of two people that were complete strangers in her room.
"Strange people are in my bed!" Kumiko screamed as she leapt out of the bed and started to smack the orange ball that was currently lying on top of a pink thing, while Sasuke looked on amused.
"I'm coming!" Michiyo screamed as she charged into the room swinging left and right with pan in her hands. Sasuke was caught by surprise and was not prepared when a pan headed for his face. A sickening crunch was heard as the pan connected with Sasuke's nose. Now, Sasuke was not amused at all.
"My nose!" Sasuke cried as he grabbed his nose with his hands to stop the flow of blood.
"Die Gato thug!" Michiyo screamed as she pounded the pan onto Sasuke's head. Sasuke merely shrunk away with pain as he crutched his bleeding nose.
"Arg! Make her stop!" Usually Sasuke wouldn't have resorted to pleading but if you were getting beat up by a crazed women with a pan you would cry for help too.
"Got ya!" Naruto yelled triumphantly, he finally stood up with Kumiko cuffed in his hands. The little girl squirmed in Naruto's grasp and seemed to be trying to say something.
Help was probably what Kumiko was trying to say but with her face cuffed in Naruto's orange shirt all that came out was "MMPH MMPH."
"Kumiko!" Michiyo screamed forgetting all about Sasuke and charged for the strangely dressed man that held her daughter. Unbeknownst to them an even more strangely dressed man was outside the shop listening to every word.
A glance at what was currently happening to Konoha
"Why is Hinata late again?" Kiba whined to Shino as he jumped tree to tree with his faithful dog, Akamaru. "She's never late for a mission."
"Arf, Arf!" Barked Akamaru, agreeing in his own fashion.
"She had some business with her father." Said a red-eyed woman as she appeared out of nowhere, almost scaring Kiba out of the tree. Shino however was already aware of the woman's presence even before she got in a mile radius of them.
"Holy crap!" Kiba exclaimed as he slipped on one of the braches but managed to catch himself at the last moment. "Where did you come from!" Kiba pointed at her accusingly.
"While you were busy wondering about Hinata." She said annoyed that Kiba was so careless, for she was their Jounin instructor and responsible for their skill level.
"What do you mean Hinata's with her father?" Shino asked, once again getting straight to the point.
Yuhi Kurenai sighed at the boy's directness. "Hinata's father needs her for testing again." Kurenai said, carefully being vague so she would not give any more information.
Shino gave the lightest of nods before retracting from them as he usually did, but this time a soft buzzing was heard as Shino started to converse with his insects.
"Hey, how will we complete the mission without Hinata?" Kiba asked ignoring the buzzing that Shino emitted as he followed Kurenai.
"We'll compensate," Kurenai said looking around for the minuscule tracks that their prey made. "I just hope Hinata is all right…" Kurenai said to herself.
"Huh? What was that?" Kiba asked his extra sensitive ears once again catching the lightest of noise.
"Nothing, lets just keep going." Kurenai said, but not without noticing the look that Shino gave her. He knows something's up.
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Hiashi looked down dispassionately at her eldest daughter and shook his head. She was currently on all fours and panting hard. A small pool of sweat gathered on the ground. Though Hiashi knew that Hinata was holding back and he could not let such a weakness exist in the future heir.
"Hinata! You have lost once again to Hanabi. Your performance is most despicable. If you cannot even defeat your younger sister how can you ever hope of becoming the clan leader?" Hiashi snapped, keeping all emotion from his face.
When did I ever want to become clan leader? Was what Hinata wanted to say but all she really did was stare at the ground.
Hiashi's features softened but then grew hard again. I can't let her know I understand what she's going through. This is the only way she can grow strong. "If you can't even beat your sister then you don't deserve to be the heir!" He said coldly.
"What?" Hinata whispered fearfully, looking back up into Hiashi's unforgiving eyes.
"You are not worthy of being the heir unless you prove yourself to me." Hiashi once again turned his back on his eldest daughter. "Go now, you are dismissed."
Hinata managed to nod stolidly before stumbling out of the room.
"What's wrong with Hinata-onee-chan?" Hinabi asked as her pale eyes followed her sister out of the compound.
Hiashi only sighed as he shook his head.
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I will find her, even if it takes my life. These were the last words Alex uttered in the Village of Konoha as she sped away from her home. It didn't matter to her that she was probably listed as an A class missing nin, or the fact that she was, in a sense, betraying her own morals. She was going to take things into her own hands rather than depending on someone else. She was not going to lose one of her precious people again.
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The Third sighed as he watched a prized medic Anbu run away from Konoha through his crystal ball. He was not going to stop her. Doing so would decrease the manpower they needed to prepare for the Village of the Sky. The Third knew that if a village of such power wanted to enter the Chunin exams he could not interfere.
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Oh great…So thought Michiyo as she watched another strange man dash into the room. This one was wearing a mask, no doubt here to steal her belongings. "Get out of my house!" Michiyo screamed as she started to swing her pan from left to right as a lethal weapon.
"I'm here to help!" The man said, attempting to calm the women down. "My name is Kakashi and I heard the noise so I came to investigate."
"Your full of shit!" The Michiyo screamed, not quite herself at the moment after seeing some man choke her only daughter.
"No, no. I'm serious, and from what I can see here I can tell you this is all just a big misunderstanding!" Kakashi said, chuckling slightly as if it was the most obvious thing in to world. After seeing the look on Michiyo's face he hastily added, "We are Ninja and here to protect you." Kakashi said, gesturing to the injured mass of kids huddling together near the corner.
"Huh? Uzera? Sakura? Is this true?" Michiyo asked the two kids that were shaking with fright at the amount of rage Michiyo showed.
"Y-yes. He's our leader." Sakura said while Uzera only nodded numbly. "And the others are part of our team."
"Why didn't you say that sooner?" Michiyo exclaimed as she dropped her pan. "I'm going to get some first aid. You guys just stay here and clean yourselves up." Michiyo cast one more lingering glance at her daughter before hurrying out the room to find some band-aids.
"Well that was weird." Naruto said shaking his head before setting Kumiko back on the ground. "Sorry about that." Naruto raised one hand behind his head and grinned sheepishly.
"No it's ok! Is it true you two are friends of Uzera-nii-chan and Sakura-san?" Kumiko asked her probing eyes enlarged with curiosity.
"Uh, yeah!" Naruto exclaimed loudly, already regaining his former enthusiasm.
"I wouldn't say that we are the best of friends though." Sasuke said his voice muffled by his hand. Even though the bleeding already stopped he didn't want to see his ruined nose.
Kumiko abandoned Naruto and then crouched in front of Sasuke's hunched form and said, "Are you ok?"
"Sasuke-kun! Is your nose going to be alright?" Sakura asked springing off the bed and taking the same position Kumiko took.
"I think he only got his nose cracked. Nothing to worry about." Uzera said and then grinned at the expression on Sasuke's face. "I'm just kidding! You probably only have a crooked nose at the worst!" Uzera was forced to dodge to one side as Sasuke lunged for him.
"Ok kids, stop fooling around and let's get you cleaned up." Michiyo said walking in with a tub of water and soap in her hands. "Kakashi, you... help… Me?" Michiyo nearly dropped her items after seeing what Kakashi held in his hands.
"What?" Kakashi asked, taking only the barest glance away from his book before becoming totally engrossed in his story again. "I need to find out if Sally accepts George's hand in marriage." Kakashi said as a rebuff.
"Oh really?" Michiyo exclaimed excitedly. "You're already there? I'm only on the part where George… Err." Michiyo suddenly stopped when she noticed the stares she was getting. "What?"
"You read Icha Icha paradise too?" Kakashi asked curiously. "I think I like you already."
"I d-don't think it's a good time to talk about it." Michiyo huffed out disapprovingly. "There are injured children here."
"Ah, yes. Let's talk about this some other time." Kakashi agreed before whistling a tune and walking out of her house.
"Your teacher is wwweird!" Kumiko said.
"Yeah well, he can be a good teacher to." Uzera said but not looking entirely convinced himself.
"Ok now how about those wounds?" Michiyo said grinning evilly at Sasuke's face.
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What do you think is wrong with Hinata? Shino asked one of his bugs before sighing. His bugs could not understand him.
"So Shino, what's on your mind?" Kiba asked with Akamaru asleep in his hood. Rather than answering Shino just glared at Kiba for being so ignorant.
"Ok…" Kiba was used to Shino's silence but what he was not use to was the silence that hung in the air. "What's wrong with you two!" Kiba shouted at his two solemn teammates. "I can understand that Shino doesn't want to talk but what's wrong with you Hinata!"
"Kiba, please." Kurenai said as she massaged her forehead. "It's right after a mission and they're probably tired."
"That's not it!" Kiba protested and turned to meet Kurenai. "They aren't usually so depressed!" He cried as he stared straight into Kurenai's eyes.
Kurenai's eyebrows lifted with surprise but she made no comment about his observation. In truth she thought he would miss the change in mood.
"Kiba…Be quiet." Shino said, shocking Kiba into silence. Shino almost never talked without being talked to first. "This is neither your concern or mine. That is why I am not inquiring." Even as he said this he neglected to tell them that even though he was not inquiring he had already bugged Hinata and got the gist of what was going on in her household.
"W-what?" Kiba sputtered out, not quite comprehending that Shino just said more than one sentence in a day.
"Kiba-kun, please" Hinata said quietly without looking into Kiba's eyes. "It's ok." This time Hinata managed a strained smile in Kiba's general direction. "It's nothing to worry about. I'm just tired."
Kiba looked at Shino's blank stare then Hinata's sad eyes before saying, "I don't know what's wrong but I know something serious is going on when I see it." Before shaking his head and looking away. Damn… Now there're rubbing off on me. Kiba thought, groaning as he pictured himself with a trench coat and black sunglasses.
Kurenai sighed once again. The chunin exams were coming up and they needed to prepare for the various foreign ninja arriving. "Ok!" Kurenai said, managing to catch all of their attention at once. "There is a very important event coming and we need to be prepared. For the rest of the day we will train our stamina." Kurenai smiled slightly when she heard Kiba groan in frustration. At least he's back to normal.
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"Have you done it?" asked a man enveloped in shadows. He sat in a chair like a king though his voice was low and harsh. A second man stood next to him like a loyal dog.
"Yes… I have delivered the message." Said a man kneeling on the ground. His head faceing the ground in a gesture of respect. "They should have delivered the message by now. My own village does not suspect a thing."
"Good… Things are finnaly getting interesting." Rasped out the man before letting out a small chuckle. "Very interesting."
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AN: Anyone want to take a guess at who this guy is? It's not that hard really but you never know. Alex isn't going to play a major role but she's more there to help Naruto in his... O.O... To much info there. Forget what I typed.
Next chapter (First time I did this 'Next Chapter' thing) - The Land of Waves arc is almost done! More questions are answered but even more questions appear.