LC; Alrightie! More Kida HUN!
Naruto; Surprisingly not a lot of people realize what the HUN means.
Sasuke; People, Naruto knows what it means. What does that say for your IQ?
LC; He has a point there.
Naruto; Yeah!...HEY!
Sasuke; I rest my case.
LC; Alright we should get the show on the road! I'm on a roll this week!
Naruto; yeah, if you were this dedicated about school you'd get straight As.
LC;...But school's boring!
Sasuke; We know LC, we know.
Disclaimer; I do not own Naruto! Tome is mine, but he is lame! I'll trade!
Chapter 10; One is me, the other's not you!
Team seven met up soon, leaving poor Asuma to wonder why Kida seemed to be mumbling plans for assassinations of high ranking people and why Tome was muttering about ingrateful girls and stupid old men.
"Did I miss something?" He asked himself on their walk to the tower. Oh well, at least they could get out of the village for a bit. He missed being on active duty. Even if this was only a C-rank they would be out for a month at least so he wasn't complaining.
It was like a paid vacation!
"Team seven reporting for a C-rank please Hokage-sama." Asuma greeted the blonde man cheerfully, respectfully blowing his smoke in the other direction. Which happened to be his students.
"Ugh, Kida, Shino, how are you two not gagging at that funky smell?" Tome demanded as they waited for their client to arrive.
"Why am I not bothered by the smoke? My jacket blocks most of the smoke." Shino answered.
"My mask is a filter." Kida told him, still reading from her book.
"Ha! These brats are going to be my guards while I build my super bridge? The short one doesn't look like he's even graduated from pre-school!" A grumpy drunk shouted at them. This would be Tazuna, the man they would be guarding.
"Hahahaha! Who's the shortest?" Tome laughed, looking from side to side. Shino and Kida gave him long and hard looks. Shino was one of the tallest boys in their class, and Kida did have almost a year in age over Tome, and a good couple inches.
"You stupid old man!" Ah, so he had noticed. Kida was on the shorter side of the scale but she was still taller than him, so he was below average on height on top of skill, IQs, and talent? Poor kid.
"Cool it tiger, killing the drunk client wouldn't look good for a hokage's son right?" Kida asked, using one hand to hold the boy back while her other was still holding her book in front of her face.
"Hey girlie what's with the mask? Hiding your pimples?" The man asked, having just noticed her favorite feature.
"On second thought." She said, cocking her head to one side and loosening her grip on the back of Tome's shirt.
"Relax Tazuna-san, this is only a C-rank mission and these are some of the best genin and even if they run into trouble from bandits, I'm a jounin." Asuma placated him.
"Well I hope you can all pack up super fast because I want to leave first thing in the morning!" Tazuna told them after mumbling something inaudible.
"Alright team, pack only the essentials for a month long mission as per your academy training." Asuma instructed them before taking off for the day. No doubt to meet that mysterious Kurenai-sensei that he was seeing.
Tome blinked as he tried to think back on mission packing 101 and was dissappointed. How was he supposed to know what to pack for a month long mission! He never thought a mission would actually take that long!
Kida had already gone on her way and by now was entering the lesser populated part of the village on her walk to the bookstore.
Up above, Kilala flew on an updraft, almost too high to be made out. Her presence made Kida feel safer than ever before, having an extra set of eyes to watch her back.
'Hmm, maybe I should get some new books since I already finished all the ones I have.' She thought as she heard the tinkle of the little bell on the door.
"Ah young Kida-chan, here for another book?" The elderly cashier was actually a part time worker that always greeted her just so. She liked sitting in here and browsing during his shift.
The younger man who usually worked her never let her read while she was here, not even when she already owned the book.
"Hello Usaribi-san." She replied, already moving to the aisles with a sharp eye out for an interesting cover. The saying went not to judge a book by it's cover, but then there was the other saying, the squeakiest wheel gets oiled first, to keep in mind.
Covers could be misleading but how else would anyone be attracted to any book from any other unless one caught your eye?
She bought a couple books, one romance and another fantasy. They'd keep her tied up for a bit, on top of that scroll and Mito's diary.
"I won't be by for a while, going on my first C-rank mission and all." She told the old man. He hummed something and rung up her prices. Being daddy's little girl came in handy in matters of allowance.
When she got home, she found that she had the house to herself for once. She'd be away earlier than usual tommorrow, so unless she spoke to them tonight at dinner she wouldn't have a chance to talk about her mission.
Kida sighed to herself and allowed Kilala to ride upon her shoulders as she walked up the stairs to her bedroom.
Inside the see-proof walls her mask fell, along with any walls that came up during the day. Kida took a brush from the top of her dresser and brushed out each strand carefully, until her red hair shone in the light.
"Maybe I should think of growing my hair out." She said to herself jokingly.
"I think you would look adorable in pig tails!" Kilala replied needlessly. The red haired bowed her head and sighed again, which she seemed to be making a habit of doing all of a sudden.
"Your certain there was no mix ups in Uzumaki Other Selves?" She asked for confirmation.
"Kida! Dinner time!" She hadn't even noticed the time slipping by. Glancing the clock on her bedside she saw it was already five 'o' clock! Time sure could fly by when one was curled up with a good book.
"Kaa-san, Tou-san, I just got assigned a C-rank mission today. I'll be leaving tomorrow." She said over their dinner. Sushi tonight.
"Ah yes, Minato-sensei told me about that earlier. Sasuke will of course be going with you." Kakashi watched with an amused look when Kida nearly choked on her tuna.
"What do you mean the lord emo will be going with us?" She asked, rephrasing the question.
"He's an apprentice but apprentices still need missions. So they tag along with other genin teams on their C-ranks and such to gain expierience." Kakashi explained.
"Damn, two temes on one mission? Maybe I could break my leg before the morning or something." They could laugh, but she was perfectly serious about that last statement.
"Nee-chan when can I go on missions?" Sakumo asked with a pout. His last name was definitely Hatake but he was nothing like Kakashi or his older sister. Must get it from Iruka's side of the family.
"When you graduate the academy just like everyone else. Who knows, maybe you can graduate early like tou-san." She told him kindly.
"Now now, don't put ideas into his head!" Kakashi wasn't happy about the way he had lived his life and he didn't want his son following in that particular pair of shoes.
"He should take his time to enjoy his childhood while he can. I graduated at five and there's not a day I don't regret it." He advised them both.
Sasuke, who had been left in the dark about this apparently dark family secret, didn't say a thing. Wisely in Kida's own honest opinion.
"Make sure to pack your extra clothes, pepper-spray, keep your knife on you at all times." Iruka began listing the many things she should do while on her mission and unknowingly making her life a living hell for the next few weeks.
"Pepper-spray?" Sasuke repeated, a smirk on his face.
"Not a word lord emo, or I'll be using you as a sharpening stone for this knife." She said, holding out the small dagger on the string around her neck.
Sasuke wisely chose to close his mouth again.
The next day!
Kida and Sasuke ended up walking to the gates together, both carrying backpacks that held their supplies and clothes.
The frenzy of Iruka-kaasan running about to check they had anything that morning had been flushed from their memories as best as five minutes walking time would allow.
"I never got to ask, how do you like life with us Hatakes?" Kida asked, just before coming in sight of the gate. She had been rather curious but hadn't found time to ask.
"It's fine." Sasuke answered in his usual manner. Nothing strange there. Up above Kilala stood, apparently roosting on the gates.
Which reminded her, she had never talked about Kilala at dinner or anything. She'd do it after coming back from the mission.
"Well it's good to see your all on time." Asuma said once they stepped into view. They were actually two minutes early but that was beside the point. Tome and Shino were already waiting.
"Hey! Why are you here Sasuke?" Tome asked.
"Apprentices go on C-rank missions with genin to gain expierience." Kida told the blonde boy, choosing to not mention that she had only found out last night.
"Hey Tome, did you know Kida carries pepper-spray?" Looks like she just got a new sharpening stone. It wasn't even her birthday, how kind to get this gift.
Before she could start sharpening her knife though, their client arrived with a massive hangover and a foul temper to match.
"Why do you carry pepper-spray?" Ten, that's how many times she had been asked that since they exitted the village. Tome had put on a rather amusing display of looking everywhere he could crane his scrawny neck for the first five minutes but the peace was shortlived.
As hokage's son he had never been allowed outside the village before in fear he would be killed or something.
"Tome, if you ask me that one more time, I will show you." Kida promised. Tome of course did not get the hint and five minutes later proceded to ask again.
Kida whipped out the pepper-spray from her pocket, shoved it in Tome's face, then pushed the button.
"AAAAAAAAAAGGGGHHHHHH!" Ah, satisfaction.
Watching Tome run around and scream like a chicken with it's head cut off though, is only amusing for a little while. Then it just gets annoying and head ache inducing.
Their client certainly shared this sentament.
"Super brat will you stop screaming and just wipe the crud out of your eyes!" Tazuna finally screamed at the stupid boy.
Asuma chuckled one last time at the poor blonde boy before turning his attention back to his surroundings. They were just on a C-rank, but something seemed remiss to him.
Up ahead on the road was a puddle of water, one he would normally dismiss. However one thing was out of place.
It hadn't rained in three weeks.
Kida and Shino also seemed to notice, though the other two boys seemed oblivious despite their wonderful grades in the academy.
'Are they after us? Or a different target?' She wondered, flicking her gaze upward to where Kilala was flying about lazily.
'There are two of them, and they are getting ready to attack!' The bird spoke within her mind. Kida guessed she shouldn't be surprised about that, since technically Kilala was just another facet of her personality.
A more energetic and slightly more random facet.
'Kilala, just stay up there for a while, just in case I need you.' Kida instructed. Yawning slightly, as though she were fatigued, she put her book into her shuriken pouch and deftly fingered a few of the stars in the palm of her hand when she pulled it out again.
Shino shot a glance at his teammate and mentally nodded. If she was putting away that book it meant she was on guard. Subtly, he sent out some kikai bugs to find the source of her unease.
Sure enough, it was the puddle that they were just about to pass by now.
Just when Asuma-who was dragging slightly behind-walked past the puddle, the two inside pounced.
A chain with poisoned prongs wrapped around him and he let a confused and amazed expression cover his face before the chains tightened, seeming to kill him.
"Asuma-sensei!" Tome cried in fear. He didn't have enough time to react as one of the two nins came rushing at him while the other went for Tazuna.
"Tome!" Kida shouted, throwing two kunai to embed the chain into a tree, followed by a shuriken to make sure it jammed.
The two missing nin grunted before dropping the chains and going back to their targets. Shino had already sent his kikai to drain their chakra but at the moment, he realized that in a fight he was hopelessly outmatched.
Rather than let the fear freeze him, he jumped before Tazuna in an effort to guard against the gauntlets about to tear through the terrified man.
Meanwhile, Kida and Tome had slipped into a well known rhythm that managed to dupe the missing kiri nin.
All those times they had been forced to train together as family friends definitely came in handy. They knew eachother's fighting techniques almost better than their own.
Kida finished their fight by revealing several thin wires around their fingers, which they had been weaving around the missing nin while they ducked and dodged all his attacks.
"Pull!" She yelled to the blonde boy. This trap was one they had thought of when Kakashi-tousan had introduced ninja wire to them. It worked like a charm. The shock of having their first kill would come later, after the fight.
"AAHH!" The man yelled before going limp as his head flew from his body, cut by the razor sharp wires and the force that pulled them taut.
"Shino!" Kida gasped, seeing the other nin about to completely massacre her teammate and lord emo.
"Sasuke!" Tome yelled with desperation, fear lacing his veins.
"I think that's enough." Suddenly Asuma was there, with his arm wrapped around the missing nin's neck. The force from the missing nin's run as he ran into Asuma's unbending arm had been delivered with enough force to snap his neck, breaking it.
"H-How?" Tome stuttered, the shock from his first battle catching up now.
"Kawarmi." Kida sighed in relief. She had been afraid the man had actually been caught off guard and killed.
"Is everyone alright?" Asuma asked, his eyes turned mostly towards Kida and Tome. If he had known this would happen he wouldn't have let them fight on their own.
First kills could be tough, especially on a first mission.
"Yeah." Kida answered shakily. the wires tied around her fingers were loose now, and she knew if she turned her gaze a little to the right she would see the blood stained strands.
"Tazuna, care to explain why two missing nin just attacked you?" He asked with a steely tone.
"W-What d-do you mean?" The man asked with obvious surprise.
"Was this ninja attacking ninja? Or ninja attacking client? If it's the latter this mission was given the wrong rank, it's above my genins' level." He explained, almost glaring at the man.
"I'll tell you the truth." The hungover man sighed.
After his story had been told, Asuma sighed and told them to make camp for the night. They would decide what to do after everything was set up.
It was getting late and he still had two genin to talk to.
"Kida, Tome, come with me to find some real food. I don't want to eat these plastic bars they give us for the field." He said, dragging the two strangely quiet genin with him.
He set them down on a nearby falling log once they got a good distance from the others. He took a minute to look them over first.
Tome seemed paler than usual and he hadn't shouted at all since the fight ended. He spoke barely over a whisper and was obviously bothered by what had happened.
Kida was slightly more troubling. She had been acting almost normal, save for the missing book. She hadn't pulled one out since the just before the attack.
"I need to know how your both feeling about what happened back there before we start any kind of vote." Asuma said gently, trying to ease onto the topic. He had never had to give a talk like this and his sensei had been rather ecentric and had done more harm to him than his first kill had.
What kind of jounin sensei hires a hooker to help them forget their first kill?
"We can't just leave the old man alone! They'll kill him!" At least Tome seemed to be recovering nicely.
"Emotional attachments to the mission is only going to distract you Tome. Do you think those chunin are all that this Gato had waiting in the wings? Next time it'll be a jounin." Kida said darkly.
"Well, Tome why don't you go back to the others?" He posed it as a question but Tome had never moved so fast to get out of the surrounding area before. For a moment Kida wondered if Tome had learned the hiraishin from his father already before mentally shaking her head and focusing.
"How are you holding up Kida?" Asuma asked again, this time just to her.
"I'm fine." The girl said unimpressed. She could keep going. She wasn't going to break down on her first mission!
"Really?" Asuma asked with a disbelieving look. He wanted a smoke right then, but held off.
"I want to continue this mission, I don't want to fail." She told him. Ah, so that was it. She had a lot to live up to with her father.
Failing must be her little secret fear with a father as succesful as her's.
"This mission is above and beyond what a genin should be asked to do, it's not failing if you want to go home and see your family." He said gently, sitting down next to her and slightly encouraged when she didn't move away.
"That's it, I'm just a genin." She muttered, sounding rather disheartened. Her father had been where she was now at five, chunin at six, and freaking jounin by thirteen! What was she doing? Wasting her time! Some heiress!
E N D O F T H I S C H A P T E R S O P L E A S E R E V I E W A N D H A V E G O O D D AY!
LC; If you can read the above congrats!
Naruto; Well this chapter wasn't bad but it was pretty angsty.
Sasuke; Hey, she saved Tome, is he considered a friend? Cause if so she just reached a goal.
LC; Mmm, we'll see! By the end of this arc, we'll see!
Naruto; That does not inspire me with confidence.
LC; Nor I my friend, nor I.
Sasuke; You should really plan out your stories.
LC; I should, but I won't.