Shove. Shake.
"Wake up."
Shove.
"Wake up."
Shake.
"Come oooooon. Waaaake up."
Shakeshakeshakeshake.
Akane rolled drowsily to slap at the large hands shaking her at the hip and shoulder. Her bedside lamp flicked on. Akane shielded her eyes from the light and reached to turn it off.
"Time to get up," Naruto whispered.
Akane looked at the clock on the table. It was only one in the morning.
"Dad," Akane complained, "Are you crazy?"
"It's time to get up and reeeeady," Naruto told her. He shook her again for good measure.
"My team doesn't leave for two more hours," Akane said.
Naruto dragged her halfway out of bed by her wrists and flicked on another lamp. "I made breakfast, get up, take a shower, get up, you need to pack, geeeet up!"
Akane pulled her wrists free and flopped back onto the mattress. She shoved back the sheets and sat up, wiping the sleep from her eyes. Akane scooped a towel up off the floor and stood completely up. Naruto left the room, looking satisfied.
Akane followed him out into the hallway, only turning into the bathroom instead of into the kitchen.
The hot water had enough power to wake her up, partially because she forgot to turn on the cold water, too. Akane yelped, and jumped back. She leaned around the stream of searing hot water and twisted the knob marked with a blue sticker. She washed her hair and rubbed soaped on every part of her body that she could reach.
Akane shut off the water and stepped out. She brushed her teeth and her hair and splashed water into her face, rubbing her eyelids until it hurt to keep her eyes closed.
Akane returned to her room and dressed, dragging her bag from her room and dumping it on the couch. She ducked through the archway into the kitchen and sat down at the table. Naruto put a plate stacked with breakfast food goodies in front of her. Akane found the pepper shaker under a newspaper and started on the eggs. Naruto had his own plate. He poured Akane a glass of milk as they ate and downed the rest of the carton by himself.
There was the parent-child small talk, of course.
"I didn't think you could cook, dad," Akane said, taking a bite of the eggs.
"Your mom taught me. Did you fill out that form for-what was it?"
"Department change," Akane answered.
"Oh," Naruto said. "promotion."
"It's not a promotion. And field ranks are the only ones you can rise in before you come of age."
"Yeah, it is."
"No, it's not. The department's just across the hall, not even a pay raise."
"If people are gonna treat you better, it's a promotion."
"You talk to Tsunade, yet?"
"Yeah," Naruto grumbled, "She said to wait until after the council meeting next month."
"I heard about that. Gaara-san is coming, right?"
"Mhm, apparently, he's getting tired of the Sand shinobis being slaughtered here."
"So, the whole councils going to be there, too?"
"Yep."
"And representatives from other ally countries?"
"…Yeah."
Akane finished her toast and pushed her empty plate forward. "So, there's going to be a very large group of important people in the Hokage mansion in the midst of attacks on important people in this village?"
This particular question caught Naruto in the middle of a swig of orange juice and had extremely…unfortunate results. Naruto was left sputtering and Akane was left in need of a second shower. That cut the parent-child conversation short. By the time Akane had showered and dressed again, she had about twenty-five minutes to make it to the gate.
I'm actually going to stop the story in order to describe the clothing she got in the last chapter, to eliminate confusion on how a ninja can move in that kind of heavy, bulky shit. If you really don't want to know this and get back to the story, then skip the next paragraph or so.
Anyhow, first off, the chain-mail isn't like the knight's armor kind of chain-mail. Picture a sweater, only woven of strands of steel instead of yarn. It's extremely lightweight, similar to a cotton shirt, but does get heavy under some circumstances (such as when submerged under water, or simply wet). Second, the mineral shirt and pants are just that: A shirt and pants. They look normal, but some of the metal weave shows through (it looks like it's covered in glitter). Because the Bo Akane got is too heavy to carry in her hands, or separated in her pockets, it was fitted with a strap so she could wear in on her back or around her hips, like a sword. Finally, the arm plates and shin guards are pretty standard: extend from the joints (wrist to elbow, ankle to knee), made of grey, nondescript metal, and secured with straps.
This is the part where I hit play on the universal remote.
The sun hadn't risen yet, but the temperature had already hit eighty. Akane thanked whoever was listening that her team would be deep in snow country by noon. There wasn't any foot traffic, being that anyone without insomnia was dead asleep right now. She made good time, reaching the gate about the same time as the other members of the team got there. Akane didn't know how though; she'd stored all her protective clothing in her bag and that, combined with her Bo, weighed a ton.
Naoki was there, looking disgruntled. Setsu was talking to a guard by the gate. Akane knew the other three members of the team, but by sight only. All three of them were at least four years older than her.
There was Li, no surname, absolutely no resemblance to her so-called brother. She had that careful emotionless behavior that Akane easily associated with former ROOT members. Li wore her brown hair cut short around her face so that the bangs hid her eyes. The woman was wearing long sleeves despite the heat and had two twelve inch bladed knives strapped to either thigh. Akane recognized the outline of a sword through her shirt.
Next was Masaru Hayashi. Standing at 6"7 and built like a house, Masaru looked fit for construction or metal working rather than being a shinobi. It was easy for Akane to imagine him as the giant from the fairytales that were preformed at the harvest festival. He rested an enormous hammer on his shoulder, but Akane could see that he, like Li, had knives hidden under his clothing. The voice he used to speak to Li with was gentle and soft, mismatched with his appearance.
Last was Saburou Kato. If Akane was ever to think of what a werewolf would look like halfway between wolf and man, Saburou would fit the bill perfectly. He had an elbow length mane of wild grayish-brown hair and yellow eyes. Though, the whole scary-guy look was completely ruined the second he smiled. Akane couldn't see a single weapon on him.
Akane stopped, furrowing her eyebrows and glancing around the area, illuminated by a street lamp.
"Where's Aoi?" She asked Naoki.
"Back at my house," Naoki answered.
Daichi took this chance to materialize out of nowhere with a bag of chips in his hand. He swallowed the chips that had been in his mouth and asked, "Am I late?"
Naoki and Akane responded, "No" at same time. Daichi tilted head to the side for a second, staring at them. This kind of scrutiny from one of her best friends made Akane feel uncomfortable. Daichi pulled a Polaroid camera from his bag and snapped a picture in their general direction. Akane didn't know why. The whole group had to be photographed together a week ago for the case report.
He removed the photo from the camera, still unexposed, and slid it into his back pocket.
The front gate creaked, opening up enough to let two people through at a time. Akane looked back at Masaru. Maybe they just opened it up like that so he wouldn't have to squeeze through.
Setsu went out first, followed by the others. Akane hesitated, then went through last. The door screeched shut the second she was clear. They started northwest, veering off the path that ran north. Akane somehow ended up in the middle of the group with Masaru trailing after her and Naoki and Daichi on either side. Li, Saburou and Setsu were at the front.
Akane could tell from the way Li was looking at Setsu that she didn't trust him.
They made good time, reaching the first point before the sun had risen. The first point was a small farming village. Akane remembered it. They had a nice inn near the center and the manager was generous enough to lend her some hand-me-downs.
The village was half asleep. There were some men heading into the fields, mugs of coffee in hand. The group passed quickly through, barely sparking notice from any of the villagers. Soon, they were trekking through thick forest. Akane noticed that there was already a path worn through the undergrowth.
"Do people come this way often?" Akane asked, ducking under a branch.
"Hmm? No, they don't, it's supposed to be a dangerous area," Setsu answered.
Akane frowned, looking down as she stepped over a fresh hoof print. Horses? She shook her head and looked off to the side, a motion, she noticed, Masaru followed. He stared that way, probably thinking she was seeing a threat or something. Akane snapped her attention back forward.
By about seven, they made it to the second land mark and the last one in Fire Country. It was an old statue that'd probably been there centuries before the first Hokage's grandparents had even been born. The statute was solid stone, decorated with traditional paint and some modern spray-paint graffiti, appearing to be what looked like a young man in drag, holding up a lantern. The group stopped for short water break. Akane didn't bother taking off her Bo, or even sitting down, because they were off again quickly as she expected.
As they past the border, the cover of trees dispersed, and they were soon walking in the humid grassy plains. There was no chance of using the landscape for defense if they were attacked, which is probably why Setsu suggested that they enhance their speed with chakra.
According to informant intell, the land of snow had been increasing it's protection. Most were civilians with guns and swords, nothing they couldn't get past.
However, the apparent goal of the mission was to get in completely unnoticed, and leave the same way. That meant hiding in plain sight.
They reached the civilian train station about nine, intermixing into the crowd. Akane and Li followed the sign pointing to the women's bathroom, separating from the men. The bathroom, in quite a need of cleaning, was happily empty. Akane slipped into a stall, put down the toilet seat lid with her foot, and hefted her bag up onto it. Unzipping the bag, Akane let the Bo down from her shoulder. She separated the pieces stuffed them into her bag, and pulled out an extra set of clothing.
Akane quickly pulled the pants on over her shorts and zipped the cropped jacket up over her tank; She tied her hair back and changed her sandals into running shoes. As Akane was putting her sandals back in her bag, a small insect crawled over her folded clothes. Recognizing the red insignia on it's back, Akane realized it was one of the Aburame's tracking bugs. There was an Aburame on the list of members on the rescue squad, and it must have been the easiest way to track them.
Akane waved her index finger at it in greeting and zipped up her bag. She shouldered the bag and stepped out of her stall. Li was at the mirror, applying heavy geisha make-up. She'd changed into a non-descript kimono and her bag was no where to be seen.
Li finished painted her lips and turned to Akane.
"I have your disguise right here," Li said, reaching into the inner-folds of her kimono. "Not that many people have such bright hair down here."
Li produced a paper seal. Akane held out her hand and Li wrapped it around her wrist. The characters on the paper glowed and the paper itself faded. Akane felt herself being engulfed in smoke, and when she turned to look in the mirror, she was sort of surprised.
Akane honestly expected maybe a change in skin tone and hair and eye color, but that's it.
Her reflection had short black hair, darker skin, and a thinner face with narrow black eyes. There was a burn mark across her cheek and nose, and her lips were chapped. She was taller, and anorexic skinny. She looked like she'd been through hell, meaning she'd fit in with the refugees.
"…Okay," was all Akane said, and then she left the bathroom. Li came out behind her and directed her towards the far side of the station, where Akane easily picked up on the men's chakra. As they neared, Akane could tell who she was being paired with by the clothing.
Daichi, Setsu, and Saburou were wearing outfits similar to Li: non-descript but noble looking clothing. Masaru and Naoki were wearing common travel clothing, like her. There'd been some make-up applied here and there to cover up the tell-tale facial tattoos associated with their families (the down facing triangles on Naoki's cheeks and the swirls on Daichi's), and Daichi's blond hair had been dyed brown.
Apparently, the plan was that, while both groups were going into Snow country, Akane's group would go across to the Village Hidden in the Waterfall to support the cover story that the group was merely going to investigate the disappearances of several large quantities of soldier pills that were supposed to be delivered to the major villages. The soldier pills had actually arrived, but it was the easiest way to gain access to the area bordering the snow country, where the factory was.
They were just supposed to have a quick run through of the factory, then circle around to provide any muscle needed from the north. Setsu had already acquired train tickets for everyone as a means of getting past the borders. The only difference was the his group would be getting off first. And that they had completely different cabins.
At a quarter to ten, a crackling voice was heard over the intercom. "All passengers on the F train into Snow Country, please board with your tickets ready."
Naoki pulled a small, thick strip of paper and a thin passport from his pocket, holding both out to Akane. Akane carefully took them and examined the name on the ticket. Jin Lei was printed on the top, followed by the time of departure and "One-Way". She opened the passport as they were walking. In place of an actual photo was a realistic artist rendering, a calling card of passport makers in Grass Country.
The group separated as they neared the boarding platform. Akane didn't watch where they went, trying to give off an air of not caring about the people around her. Her ticket was hole-punched before she boarded. No-one asked to see her passport, or even her ticket, as she neared the compartment marked on the back of the ticket: Y. Masaru slid the door open and went in before her.
It was clear this compartment was used for luggage at some point, maybe even for farm animals. A few rows of seats had been put in, probably from a car that was disposed of, and there was a constant smell of luggage cleaner and wheat. About ten dim electric lamps were hanging from the ceiling to make up for the lack of windows. The compartment stayed empty of any other passengers.
The train lurched forward precisely at ten. Masaru sat at the front, taking up an entire row to himself. Akane found a row in the middle and Naoki sat in the one behind it.
"Here," Naoki said, passing over a small package. "It's from Moe."
Akane ripped it open, peering inside. There was a plastic thing of Onigiri, maybe four or five, with a yellow Post-It on the top. Akane looked at the note. "Come back" was written on it in black marker, with a little smiley face beside it. She folded up the note and shoved it into her pants pocket. She opened the container and took one of the snacks out.
"She give you one for yourself?" Akane asked.
"Yeah, I already ate them though," Naoki replied. "Oh, and this."
He held his hand over her seat, dangling a charm on a string from his middle finger. Ah, Moe really was the type to give away good luck charms. He pulled it back and she heard him shove it into his pocket.
"Do I have to threaten you?" Akane asked.
"Huh?" Naoki sounded startled.
"About Moe. She's not good with breakups, ya know?" Akane said.
"I'll take that as your threat. Oh, good heavens, you have no idea how many people have been threatening me: Hideki, Umeko, Daichi, her dad, my dad." Naoki laughed. "I got most of it yesterday because Moe was doing a briefing up in Tsunade-land."
"What'd you do yesterday?" Akane asked. Setsu had suggested they relax the day before they leave, to avoid losing too much chakra or injuring themselves.
"I was getting a tattoo," was the simple answer.
"Really?" Akane questioned, "Did your dad sign for it?"
"No, he didn't have to." Naoki leaned over the seat and rolled up his sleeve. In the crook of his elbow was the kanji for "Dog" with a series of numbers beneath it.
"Identification tattoo," Akane noted.
Naoki nodded, rolling his sleeve back down. "Did you get one?"
"I already have enough identifying marks," Akane responded. She was the master of causing awkward silences.
"Umeko went with me. She's gonna get one before her next mission," Naoki broke it immediately. Akane bit into the Onigiri, tasting strawberry. She ate another one and closed the box. Someone in the compartment popped the top of a drink, but she didn't hear a sizzle. Naoki slurped on his drink loudly behind her.
"Speaking of Umeko," Akane started. "What did you want to talk to her about?"
Naoki put his head back to stare at the lamp above them. He played with something that looked like a cigarette tucked behind his ear. It looked like he wanted to light it, but there weren't any windows or visible vents, so Akane was thankful he didn't.
"I don't know," he finally said. "I had to work with her, you know, a few weeks back and she seemed really…out of it. She, uh, acted really shaken up when that first body was reassembled."
"The councilor?"
"No, one of the ones before you got back. His identity was released about a month ago. I asked her if she knew the guy, cause I think he was supposed to be a family member of a member of the council or something, you know, a blue blood," He paused and took another drink. "Well, anyway, according to decomposition or the sloppiness or something, they could tell it was the first victim."
"What'd she say?" Akane asked.
"She didn't say shit. Not to me, anyway," Naoki answered. He sat back and she heard him take another drink. Akane lay down across the three seats of her row and put her arm over her eyes. She counted the minutes that passed, listening to the silence. She heard deep snoring from Masaru. About one in the afternoon, there was a screech and the motion of the train stopped. The intercom crackled to life.
"Good Afternoon," a woman's voice cooed, "this is the first stop in Snow Country. It is 10 degrees Celsius outside and flurrying, so be sure to put on your coats and hats before exiting the train. We will be leaving this station in twenty minutes. Have a great trip, and thank you for choosing Five Star Trains."
The intercom died out, a few sparks flying out from the wires behind it.
Akane sat up and unzipped her bag. She blindly groped around until she found her heavy jacket. Pulling it on, she turned off the light above her row and lay back down for some sleep.
Naoki woke her up a few hours later with a soft shaking.
"Hey, Red," he whispered. "You should get dressed, our stop is soon."
"What time is it?" Akane mumbled.
"About eight," Naoki told her. "The light in the very back is busted so you can change back there."
Akane sat up and shouldered her pack. Naoki moved out of her way, heading towards the front.
In the back, Akane opened her pack and retrieved, by touch, her chain mail, leggings, and the shirt and pants set. She stripped back down to her shorts and tank, pulling on the leggings and struggling into the chain mail. Akane strapped the shin guards on before putting her legs through the pants.
Akane laced up her boot, pushing her head and arms through the shirt. She finished strapping on the armor, zipping up her jacket. In the bottom of her bag, she found a knit scarf and hat she didn't remember putting in there. Akane zipped the bag up and threw the scarf over he shoulders.
Masaru and Naoki were talking in the front. From what she heard, they'd checked in while she was sleeping. When Masaru noticed her coming towards them, he pulled something from his bag and held it out for her. It was a thick envelope about the size of an identification card with her name scrawled across the front. Akane took it and pulled back the top. She tipped it over, emptying the contents into her palm.
It was a small chain with two identical plates on it. One held her name and serial number; the other had her blood type, place of origin, and rank.
"This sort of identification is required for entrance into the factory," Masaru told her. Akane saw that both of them were already wearing theirs. She fastened hers around her neck.
The train screeched to a stop a few seconds later.
"Good Evening," the same woman's voice crackled over the intercom. "This is the eighth stop, and the first in Waterfall Country. It's seven thirty-five at night and 13 degrees Celsius outside. Please remember to have your passports ready when you get off, as we have passed the border. We will be leaving the station in an hour. There is a restaurant available in the station and a hotel less than a mile away from the station. Have a good evening and thank you for choosing Five Star Trains."
Akane shouldered her bag and followed Naoki off the train. A burly officer in a uniform checked her passport before she was allowed into the station area. She went off to the bathroom to remove the seal as the official at the factory was giving her actual photo.
The trip to the factory was as quick as Akane expected. They arrived and were stared at while they looked over the reports. Masaru politely told the government official that all they needed was to see the verification on the forms to make sure the shipment was assigned the proper destination.
"Don't you think it was overkill coming all the way out here, then?" The official asked.
"No sir," Masaru answered. "We're just being as thorough as the Hokage wants us to be. So, if say, the shipment ended up in enemy hands without our knowledge, we'd be more open for criticism. See?"
The official laughed. "Ah, you're protecting your own ass, eh?"
Masaru shrugged, smiling. "And getting a few days off, too. We're not even expected back for another week."
"Where are you planning to spend that free time?" The man asked. Akane recognized the tone in his voice. The guy was bonding with her teammate. Great.
"Well, we heard that there's an under-the-radar gambling town about twenty miles south of here, in Snow country," Masaru told him.
"Ah, I know what you're talking about," the official said, giving a conspiring smile to Masaru. "But it's only eighteen miles. If you guys are ready to go, I can show you an unguarded way to it. That place gets raided all the time during the summer, so you picked a good time to visit."
"Where's this way?" Masaru asked.
"We call it the "Ice-bird trail". There's a path that starts a mile in. It goes for about a quarter of a mile above ground, then five underground. After that you get to the lake, which is frozen so you don't have to go all the way around. Then, it's a straight shot straight into the heart of Snow country," The official explained.
"Is this path safe?" Akane asked.
The official grimaced. "It was. Too many people know about it now. The safest part is the underground section. Just make sure you have a couple of nonflammable lights. That place is a giant mine of raw explosive material."
"Thanks," Masaru said.
"Thank you," The official said. "You just shortened my shift by about ten hours."
"Hey, Ni!" The official shouted. "I'm going to escort these Leaf shinobi back to their hotel. Tell Hanna that they leave in the morning."
"See you tomorrow!" The man, Ni, shouted back over the guard railing.
The official lead them out of the factory through a back entrance that Akane didn't notice before. Crossing the border was as easy as climbing over a shoulder height stone wall. They walked for about an hour and a half, the official taking them all the way to the beginning of the underground section.
He talked some more to Masaru, told him to say hello to some woman named "Misi" for him, and headed back the way they came. Naoki ignited a neon-red glow stick and went in first. Akane looked back up at the open sky over the snow, and follow him down the narrow opening. It expanded as they went, becoming an underground cavern.
Masaru loomed behind her, giving her the impression of being followed the entire time they were walking. As they walked, Akane noticed several nooks and crannies in the cavern, perfect hiding spots.
She heaved a sigh and massaged her own shoulders wearily. Oh, how much she'd love an energy drink right now. They were out of the underground section before midnight. As they stepped out of the most secure part of the trail, Akane at the sudden feeling of someone snapping their attention on her.
The feeling of being watched.
She surveyed the surroundings slowly. They were surrounded with evergreens covered in white powder. There were tons of shadows, millions of places she couldn't see. Akane narrowed her eyes. Then, she turned and fell into step after Naoki and Masaru.
It was so cold, her skin burned. Her own breath blowing back into her face felt like a fire. Akane quietly pulled her gloved on and buried her hands in her coat pockets.
But it was good.
Cold meant hibernating, which in turn meant quiet. And if it was quiet, it shouldn't be there. All the birds were in Fire country by now. Nothing to disturb the snow.
Akane found herself recording every slight noise that didn't come from herself or her teammates.
Within the hour, they reached the frozen lake. Masaru suggested taking a break. Naoki dropped about four more ignited glow sticks on the ground where a fire should have gone. Akane set down her bag and dug out the rest of the onigiri. She sat on the bag and opened the container.
Masaru produced a thermos from nowhere and passed it around. Strong coffee. From the way Naoki reacted, it probably didn't have sugar in it. Akane poured herself an entire cup when it was passed to her downed it as quick as she could. She still preferred energy drinks.
While they ate, Akane quietly scanned the area. Someone particularly…skilled in chakra use was very, very close. Akane recognized the signature, but couldn't place it.
They finished resting and stood. Akane scooped up one of the glow sticks from the ground and turned to face the lake.
"Red, you're forgetting your bag," Naoki said.
Akane ignored what he said. "It's sort of late in the season," Akane said, "Maybe we should test the ice before we go out on it."
Akane returned to her bag. She removed a wad of clothing, the insect inside screeching in alarm. Akane stripped the weight reducing seals off the weapons in her bag. It weighed several pound heavier when she picked it up.
Masaru was carefully walking out onto the ice before she even had it on, his hammer on one shoulder and two bags hanging from the other. He walked out a few yards, and bounced up and down on it a couple of times.
Grinning, he tossed Naoki's bag back too him.
"Feels sturdy to me," He said. Akane stepped out cautiously. She nearly slipped, regaining composure. Akane followed him about twelve more meters out before she heard Naoki's question.
"Red, are you just going to leave these here?" Naoki asked. Akane turned in time to see him bend down to pick up the clothes. "We can't leave anything behind."
Without waiting for a response, Naoki unzipped his bag and put the clothes in it. If he hadn't been zipping up his bag at the time, cutting through the silence with a solid 'zzzzz' sound, Akane thinks she might have heard the kunai whistling through the air. She thinks she might have seen the very dangerous shinobi gathering in the evergreens, preparing to slaughter them like cattle. She thinks she might have thought of a way to escape or attack or do something.
But no.
All she heard was the 'thunk' of it burying itself in the ice of the lake.
All she saw was the explosive tag on the end ignite, spinning and giving off smoke.
And all she could think was Not again.
::::::
I had this finished about 3/15, and I tried to set up a connection with a beta tester. I sent it out, and waited, and waited, and waited. And, after about a week or two, I just decided to finished editing it myself. ( I thought one of the requirements for being a beta was getting on to check your box) I would have posted it sooner, but I've been in the backwoods of Mississippi with no WiFi, so ain't anything been happening. Woo Spring Break!
I will finish with the next chapter as soon as I can bend it to go the way I want.
~Sakiya
