AN: HOLYSHITITSALIVE!

Yeah. This happened. LoU is very much not dead. Just stuck. Unbelievably stuck. Or it was, anyway, until I got my new job as a news writer for a TV station, and now I'm swamped with work. Catch 22 and whatnot.

In any case, I'd like to point out that I'm not happy with this chapter, but keeping you all waiting for much longer would be...well...crueler and unusual-er punishment. In any case, getting this chapter out of the way ought to let me get to the parts I actually want to write now! Yay!

So yeah, happy reading!

MB


Previously, on Legacy of Uzushiogakure...

The Uzumaki Clan isn't as dead as everyone thinks! A chance encounter between a rule-breaking member of the Uzumaki Clan and Naruto led to the reunion of two quarters of the Clan and its move into Konoha. Unfortunately, the transition isn't as easy as expected, as the newcomers face a great amount of mistrust from resident Clans and cynics, who view the Uzumaki as potential threats, or just interlopers - a feeling exacerbated by the Uzumaki's influence in changing the Academy Exam and the introduction of the Genin Pool. However, the Uzumaki isn't as happy and monolithic as their detractors think, as Naruto discovers that many within his clan have held onto their rage from the days when they were a hunted family. To start remedying this, he has made a bet with Hikari, his first link to the Uzumaki, to break through the Uzumaki Clan's feared enforcer, Kimiko's, cold exterior and bring out the happy girl she'd once been. Complicating this, however, is the announcement that the Genin would be facing their first C Rank missions, and Naruto has been assigned to escort bridge builder Tazuna to the nation of Wave, along with his team of Hinata and Kiba, plus Kakashi. Complicating things further, he has been assigned two bodyguards, Kimiko, and Hikari. What awaits this eclectic team on the road to Wave...?


Day 1, Night...

"Oh for crying out loud! What is it now?"

In Kakashi's defence, he had been afraid of this — for the seventh time since they'd begun on their journey, Kimiko had made it a point to single out each and every minute detail she found issue with in his handling of the Genin. He swore, if it wasn't for the fact that she was both hot and an ally, he'd have Chidori'd her on the spot!

Already, Kimiko had attacked their wardrobe — okay, so maybe she had a point on that one — due to the fact that, as she pointed out, the more obvious Tazuna's escort, the more valuable he'd seem to bandits. Then she'd pointed out that an overland trip was ridiculously convoluted, as there were more than a few shipping lanes that would get them to Wave in half the time — for some strange reason, Tazuna had been adamantly opposed to that option, despite his obvious haste in wanting to finish building his "super bridge," as he called it.

Then there was his choice of reading material — okay, so maybe he got that particular critique every time he read Icha Icha near women — and his lackadaisical attitude towards the Genin's training, since they only got a few exercises in every day.

There were a few more, naturally, but these were the ones that grated on his nerves the most, and now, despite having forced his team to change clothes to something more inconspicuous - including having his beloved mask hidden behind a scraggly scarf - despite having changed their route to a more direct one, despite pressing on his Genin a bit more every day in training, she was again going to criticize something!

Kimiko frowned as she held out a bowl to him, sitting next to him around the campfire for the night. "Your meal, Hatake-san," she stated in a clipped tone, obviously offended by his outburst.

Kakashi stared at her for a moment, his hands frozen in the act of wild gesticulation as the wind in his anger was suddenly gone.

"Oh," he said simply, concealing his embarrassment easily as he took the proffered bowl. "Thanks."

"Hmm," she grunted noncommittally before offering the quiet Hinata a bowl of stew as well, which the shy girl gratefully took with a whispered thank you.

Across the fire, Kakashi saw Tazuna and Hikari having a blast as they swapped stories regarding their experiences with public intoxication.

"I swear I'm telling the truth!" the old man said. "So me and Nobu, we're, y'know, still trying to figure out how we ended up in the middle of the temple grounds, him in a towel and me with just my pants on, when the lass' old man barges in, super pissed off like no other, swearing to neuter us with his butcher's axe!" he recounted in between laughs. "Oh man, you should've seen his face! Bright red, like a tomato!"

Kiba stared at Tazuna in awe, as did Naruto. "So what happened next?"

"Oh, well, the temple's head monk, this old, senile guy, ends up thinking they're under attack or some crap like that, so he attacks the girl's dad while we made a run for it. Anyway, mid-escape we sort-of run into the village chief — one of those super pompous, fat bastard types, y'know? — just as the butcher nearly catches us, and end up running him over and smashing his family jewels by accident." Tazuna reminisced with a grin. "And that's pretty much how I got banned from Yugakure."

"All this over a girl?!" Naruto asked, starry-eyed as Tazuna recounted his mischievous younger days. To Tazuna's other side, Hikari was struggling to keep herself upright as she howled with laughter.

Tazuna grinned as he took a swig from his bottle. "Best stories usually are, boyo," he told Naruto with a smirk. "You'll find out when you grow up."

Both Kiba and Naruto stared at him incredulously, causing Hikari and Tazuna to laugh even harder.

Back on the other side of the campfire, Kakashi and Kimiko sat in tense silence as they observed the others in their group interact. Kakashi, for his part, was glad to see the tension amongst most of his group to have vanished after the first few hours of tense silence, but found Tazuna an odd duck. Despite his current boisterous, happy-go-lucky self, he'd been moody, tense, and obstinate when they'd first set out. Getting him to change his route, however minutely, had been a chore and a half, until Hikari had pulled him aside and spoken quietly with him. When they'd come back, Tazuna had been much more pliable, making Kakashi worry that Hikari had somehow put a seal on him or used Genjutsu, but a quick release technique, out of sight and hearing of everyone, quickly disproved that theory.

"He's hiding something."

Kakashi wasn't surprised at all that Kimiko had caught onto that fact. From what he knew of her, she was one of the Uzumaki's most experienced members, despite her age, which while it still paled in comparison to his own battlefield experience, meant she was well versed, at least, in picking up on tells.

"Hmm," he grunted noncommittally. "Unless it's a security risk, not our problem."

Kimiko frowned — apparently her default state of being, from what Kakashi could see. "How do you know it's not? You're being surprisingly frivolous regarding your client's lies, Hatake-san."

Kakashi shrugged as he contemplated the bowl of stew in his hands. "For all I know, he wants to hide the fact that he owes some people money in one of the ports we mentioned, or some girl he forgot to write to and wants to avoid," he noted reasonably as he stirred the hot stew. "And I can't just accuse him of hiding something without proof, and we already took the job. It'd make Konoha, and more importantly, all of us look bad if it ends up being an empty gesture."

Kimiko grunted and looked away for a moment, not wanting to snap at the lazy jounin. When she turned back, her temper under tenuous rein, her eyes widened a bit as she noted that his bowl was now empty and he was just finishing tugging his mask back into place. How had he done that?! She hadn't even taken five seconds!

"Trade secret," he preempted her with a smile and a thumbs-up. Kimiko gaped for a moment before glaring at him and turning away. Still, she wasn't quite willing to drop the issue.

"I still say we should question him," she insisted stubbornly.

"And I'll remind you that you're here to watch Naruto," Kakashi rebutted mildly. "You're not an actual member of this team, nor do you outrank me. Therefore, we're leaving the client alone and that's final."

He then suddenly had a hand on her lap, just as her fists began to curl and tighten. "And unless you want to cause a very public scene in front of your future Clan head and kinsman, as well as three other witnesses, I'd keep that temper in check," he added in the same mild tone, smiling at Hinata when the heiress glanced towards them. She blushed upon making eye contact and quickly returned her attention to the amusing stories Tazuna and Hikari were exchanging.

Kimiko's teeth were grating against each other as she realized he had her in checkmate at this point. Still, she had a point to make. "Fine, Hatake," she conceded. "But mark my words, if anything happens to the Tōshu Koho..."

"If I let anything happen to Naruto on my watch, I'll take my own life before you even get your weapon out," Kakashi told her grimly, without an inch of doubt.

That firmness surprised her, as she'd expected him to assure her that nothing would happen. In fact, she couldn't really reconcile his layabout personality with his words, so she frowned as she pondered the odds of him being coy with her. Was he fibbing, or was he really being honest?

Laughter from across their camp fire drew her attention to her clansmen and the others in this misfit group — she couldn't believe how easy they were taking this mission, compared to her own professionalism. Heck, the only traps around the campsite were those Kakashi and she had set up, independently of each other!

She frowned as Naruto and Kiba tried to wrestle each other following an argument over who'd won more matches between themselves, much to the amusement of Hikari, who cheered Naruto on, the embarassment of Hinata (who seemed torn between watching and wanting to separate the two), and what seemed like melancholy from Tazuna. Why couldn't they act more like the shinobi they were rather than as a bunch of kids?!

Making to stand up, ready to discipline the two, she was suddenly stopped by Kakashi's hand on her back. "Leave it," he advised. "You were right before, about our clothes. The more obvious it is that we're ninja, the more valuable a target Tazuna becomes. If anyone stumbles upon us right now, all they'd see is a family having dinner and messing around, not a group of ninjas and their client."

Her frown deepened. "This is unbecoming of shinobi, though!" she snapped at him in a hissed tone.

"Perfect. Then no one should be paying attention to us," Kakashi said with a smile that didn't quite seem to reach his eye.


Day 2, Afternoon...

Despite Tazuna's anxious protests, the group took a break the next day, having decided that if they were going to keep their civilian covers intact, they had to make it look the part. And with three kids around, no one was going to believe the group could march their way to Wave without frequently stopping.

They even went through the motions of setting up a decent campsite again, with Kakashi ostensibly going off for firewood — while, in reality, he was scouting the perimeter for bandits or worse — Hikari and Hinata laying out the packaged food they were planning to cook — with Hinata discreetly using bursts of Byakugan to scout the immediate vicinity — Kiba and Naruto horsing around near Tazuna — in reality, keeping a close eye on him, in case they got surprise attacked — and Kimiko gathering stones to put around the campfire — all the while thinking of the innumerable ways she could skewer Kakashi, no doubt.

Of course, setting up such an obvious campsite was anathema to the shinobi, and while they were each well trained to dissimulate their discomfort, there were still signs to be observed, if one looked hard enough. Kakashi was too casual in his picking up firewood; Naruto and Kiba were too tense even as they 'played'; Hinata's smile was strained at times, even though Hikari was doing a good job of keeping her relaxed with amusing stories; and Kimiko was always scowling intermittently, her eyes darting to and fro whenever the slightest sound resounded.

Tazuna might not have been shinobi, but he'd been around people too afraid to speak up as to have learned some body reading.

"You guys seem a little super tense," Tazuna noted as he took a swig of his booze bottle while they sat and ate.

Kakashi chuckled as he watched his team, client, and unwanted extras go at their meal, his own already lying finished next to him. "That obvious were we?"

"Probably not, but I've...been around enough people to know a tell when I see one," he answered noncommittally.

"Sorry, sorry," Kakashi apologized. "It's just that we're not used to going it this slow."

"We are!" Hikari intervened brightly with a smile and a raised fist.

"My point exactly," Kakashi noted dryly as Tazuna eyed the cute redhead in confusion. "You've been trained in this sort of dissimulation, but it's never been a big part of our curriculum."

Kimiko snorted, while Hikari ignored her, smiling brightly as she rubbed the back of her head. "You're missing out, then!" she said. "Camping out civvie style used to be one of my favorite exercises ever!"

"Why's that?" Kiba asked through a mouthful, earning himself a reproachful glance from Hinata, just before she blushed furiously and returned her attention back to her own food shyly. To be fair to the Inuzuka heir, however, camping out was one of the most basic and dull exercises in Konoha, albeit they did it with basic ninja gear.

Something changed in Hikari's bright expression, then, as her smile became more melancholic, her hands cradling the bowl of stew on her lap. "'Cause when we did it, we could pretend we weren't being hunted," she said softly. "We were just kids, camping it out with friends."

An awkward silence descended on the group then, as Hikari's reminiscing reminded them of the Uzumaki's rather tragic past. It was just as quickly blown away, however, when the pigtailed girl grinned suddenly and rubbed her fist on Naruto's head. "'Course, now I can do it all the time without worrying so much!" she reminded the group, even as she ignored Naruto's indignant yelling as she noogied him.

Tazuna chuckled despite himself as he watched the two fool around. To his mind's eye, you could've mistaken the two for siblings, though he supposed the fact that they were cousins was close enough. Thinking back on his own circumstances, the old bridge builder couldn't help but sigh as he wondered when he'd last seen such youthful vigor before him. His hometown was nowhere near like that anymore, not since...

He shook his head, refusing to ponder any further on the matter, lest he give himself away. While he hated lying to these children and their handlers, he'd had to. He was desperate, and any ninja was better than none in this particular situation. Even if that meant having these children around.

Eyeing the older shinobi, he tried to convince himself that maybe things wouldn't be so bad, seeing as he was sure the older three wouldn't ever let anything happen to their wards.


Day 7, Evening...

They'd reached a village this time around, and despite the occasional gloom caused by Tazuna's secretive apprehension or Hikari's reminiscing, the group managed to reach their next leg of the journey in relatively high spirits.

Which, if one were totally honest, wasn't that hard when Naruto was around, given that practically nothing on this planet seemed to keep him down for longer than a few minutes. Well, other than Kimiko's stern warnings to act as befitting his exalted station.

Even then, though, he was usually back to his exuberant self in seconds.

Finding an inn wasn't much of an issue, thankfully, though Tazuna questioned the wisdom of staying the night in the village. Kakashi, for once, actually agreed with Kimiko that not staying in the village would probably arouse more suspicion and attention than if they just rested at the inn for the night. Especially when there were children in the group.

Might've confused the adults for slavers, or something.

In any case, splitting the rooms was pretty simple. The guys in one room, the girls in the other. Between Kimiko, Hikari, and Hinata, Kakashi had little worries that anyone with any sort of dastardly designs on them would end up six feet under, if only because the first two were, as far as he knew, considered powerful enough to be the Clan Leader's escort.

If anything, he was more worried about his room's charges. Naruto and Kiba might've improved tons since he'd first met them, but they were still just Genin. Zero field combat experience — Mizuki incident aside — and a limited array of techniques. Worse still, Tazuna was just a cranky old man with a booze habit and a decent talent at carpentry. If a fight broke out with any sort of opponent tougher than a low-level Chunin, Kakashi was pretty much on his own, and he knew it.

He watched as Kiba and Naruto wrestled in amidst their futons playfully, apparently trying to figure out who was "the best" between the two. Again. It was a never-ending contest, but Kakashi had seen and heard the two interact long enough to know there was no real bite in their rivalry — nothing like what he sometimes saw in Sasuke's interactions with either of them.

"I'll be back in a sec," he told Tazuna as he got up from his futon, tightened the obi around his yukata — no inn patron would actually remain in their travelling clothes unless they had no change of clothes, after all, and wearing his shinobi gear would just give away the whole team — and walked out of the room, sliding the door shut behind him. He had a few signalling traps he wanted to set up outside the inn, just in case.

But just as soon as he turned to walk down the hallway towards the front door, he was promptly met by Kimiko, whose own yukata seemed to struggle to adequately conceal the woman's considerable bust. Reigning in his inner pervert hard, he nodded at her in silent greeting and made to walk by her.

"We're being followed," she told him flatly, halting him just as he was about to pass by her. Kakashi sighed and stopped, turning his head to face hace her, a frown on what remained unconcealed of his face.

"You're sure?" he asked. He hadn't noticed anything concrete yet, though he'd had his suspicions. No trip, even one by a nondescript group like theirs, was as uneventful as theirs had been.

"Uzumaki are trained to notice tails since even before shinobi training," Kimiko answered simply, frowning right back at him. "I'm sure." she then amended reluctantly, looking away.

"Then I suppose it's a good thing I was going out to set up some signalling traps," he told her.

"Don't bother; Hikari already did," she informed him. "First thing we've done whenever we settle for the night," she added a bit smugly.

Kakashi frowned at her. He hadn't known about that, and had even, in fact, spent some considerable time setting up traps at each of their campsites to warn him of any possible intruders. And now she told him they'd pre-empted him each time? That he could've just sat back and read his damn book? Not cool.

"Bandits?" he asked, choosing to keep the peace and not bring up his wasted time. She shook her head, to his inner dismay.

"Too inconspicuous," she said, crossing her arms under her chest. "Shinobi, at the very least."

"You or the client?" Kakashi followed up. It was a sobering question, but also a very understandable one. Now that two cells of the Uzumaki had publicly settled in Konoha after decades on the run, there was bound to be bounty hunters aiming to capture some of them and begrudged parties looking to settle some old scores.

Kimiko realized this, but it didn't help her spiked anger as she snapped her gaze back at Kakashi and glared at him with all her might. "Don't. Know." she said through hissed teeth. "It's not like they told me they were there!"

A fair point, altogether. Kakashi nodded in acquiescence and turned back towards his room. "Alright, then I'm headed back to the client. Keep an eye out for our pursuers tomorrow; if we can catch one of them, we might get answers as to why we're being targeted."

Kimiko kept her silent glare on him for a moment before reluctantly nodding. "Fine," she conceded. "Good evening."

If Kakashi was surprised at the polite farewell, he didn't show it. Undoubtedly, Kimiko had been warned to play nice by her Clan Elders, and though she'd had a rough start that standing order was beginning to seep through.

Not that it seemed to save Naruto from her wrath, however, as she lost no opportunity to straighten him out whenever he acted outside her expectations.

Which was amusingly quite often.

Still, the one-eyed elite Jounin wondered on the Uzumaki once more. Undeniably, their arrival and settling in Konoha had certainly upped the village's military might, as well as given it not inconsiderable attention from less-than-savoury elements. But none of that really mattered to Kakashi. He was more concerned with their effects on the actual inhabitants.

The Nara Clan had taken to the Uzumaki very warily, which was altogether not really a surprise. With its clan head a literal genius that far outstripped his own genius son in towering intellect, and a healthy dose of caution to mix things up, it was well within expectations that the Nara had chosen to approach the newcomers with a fair degree of apprehension.

In fact, outside of the fun-loving and well-tempered Akimichi Clan, the Nara state of mind seemed to permeate every other family's attitude as well.

Not that it meant the Uzumaki were pariahs, of course. Despite the less-than-stellar treatment of their future Clan Head, the Uzumaki had done everything they could, short of giving away Clan secrets, to ingratiate themselves with their hosts. The members within each of Konoha's military divisions all brought new techniques and paradigms that helped them make their divisions more efficient — or less, in a rare case or two, usually regarding non-Fuinjutsu techniques.

But even with all the pros and cons weighed, Kakashi found himself simply unable to trust them as easily as the Sandaime had. They hadn't proved themselves loyal, and who was to say they wouldn't leave for better pastures elsewhere, if they felt slighted? Or worse, rebelled?

He shivered as he returned to the boys' room and settled in for the night. What if they turned out another Itachi? Or worse, more than one? Could the village really afford another such betrayal? Could it really just afford to trust anyone who looked like they had good intentions?

Sadly, as he regarded the sleeping form of Naruto, Kakashi didn't think so.


Day 8, Afternoon...

Shinobi liked to say they were sneaky, and that a shinobi attack always came unannounced.

For the ambushers, however, such considerations were dead wrong.

Apparently having failed to look up a proper forecast, or just not paying attention to the way the weather had been for the past few days, they'd opted to simulate a river flooding at a particularly critical crossing, no doubt hoping to divert the Konoha team to a more beneficial ambush spot.

Yeah, that didn't work.

Instead, Hikari had happily skipped on to the edge of the flooded riverbank, the battered remains of the former bridge a sad testament to the water's power, and then proceeded to summon a long, thick set of wooden planks, then kicked them down, forming an impromptu bridge without any further hassle.

Kakashi, never having seen summoning used in this particular way, had asked about the ready availability of wooden planks, to which Hikari had just smiled and said, "How else do you think the Uzumaki manage to build so quickly?"

It made sense, in hindsight. Being rather nomadic in nature, it would make perfect sense for the Uzumaki Clan to have supplies prepared and readily available for summoning at a moment's notice, allowing them to basically evacuate quickly and rebuild elsewhere without much fuss or exposure.

Which was rather sad, in its own way, he supposed.

In any case, it meant that the team, plus their client, managed to not come across any ambush at that particular spot, though the incident did serve to pique Kimiko and Kakashi's warning instincts, and further prove to Kakashi that Kimiko and Hikari hadn't been paranoid about being tailed.

"I don't think it's us," Kimiko told him flatly as she and he hanged back from the group as they continued their travel. "Hikari, Naruto-sama, and I, I mean. If this was a snatch job or assassination towards members of the Uzumaki Clan, they would've struck by now."

"Maybe they don't want to get caught?" offered Kakashi lazily as he continued reading his book. "They'd probably want to avoid going toe to toe with Konoha."

Kimiko frowned before grudgingly acceding to that. "Even so," she insisted, "it's more likely that our client is the target."

Kakashi eyed the old man for a moment before returning to his book. "He's not really the type of guy you send professional assassins after, though."

Kimiko's frown turned to a glare. "Then perhaps we should just ask our tails?" she snapped, quickly looking away after her raised tone caught the rest of the group's attention.

Hikari, in particular, had a knowing look as she glanced between the two. "Everything alright?"

Kakashi waved lazily while Kimiko kept quiet, very stubbornly keeping her eyes averted from the group. It didn't take long for the children to get bored and resume their journey, followed quickly by the old man, though Hikari lagged behind maybe a second before shrugging at them and following the group.

Left to themselves — in reality, no more than a few feet away from the group — Kakashi and Kimiko allowed themselves to look at each other.

"Not a bad idea," Kakashi conceded as he resumed his march, Kimiko keeping pace with him.

"What isn't?"

"Talking to our tails. I'm thinking...bait."

"You or me?" she asked.

"Both?"

Kimiko afforded a glance at the group in front of them. Her duty was to protect Naruto...could she really afford playing around like this? On the other hand, she really wanted some answers — answers that could, theoretically, inform her of any untoward threats towards her charge in the long run.

Damn Kakashi and his plans.

"Fine."


Day 9, Afternoon...

The opportunity to spring their trap didn't come until the next day, much to Kimiko's frustration and Kakashi's...ambivalence.

The pair of highly trained shinobi had been on the lookout for more inconsistencies in their surroundings — any hint whatsoever of enemy forces hiding out of sight — but had found nothing at all throughout the rest of the previous day. After turning in with a decidedly bad mood, Kimiko had insisted that she and Kakashi bring up the rear the next day, much to everyone's surprise.

Naruto, however, had taken the announcement in stride, figuring that Kimiko just wanted to keep an eye on the group from a better vantage point, as was her nature. While Kiba was just as glad to return to his heated debate with Naruto regarding whether ramen or barbecued meat was better, Hinata's eyes lingered worriedly on the two Jonin-level ninjas before slowly returning her attention to the road ahead, as was her mission.

Though that didn't stop her from occasionally glancing at Naruto.

Hikari, for all intents and purposes, didn't seem to care as she exchanged drinking stories with Tazuna, who seemed grateful for the distraction from whatever it was that was eating at him. While not a heavy drinker herself, Hikari did know a few funny stories about her cousins, who were very prone to aggressive and idiotic behaviour while under the influence.

Suffice to say, Tazuna wondered how he'd be able to take her and her family seriously ever again.

For the two shinobi at the back of the group, however, their attentions were fixed on their surroundings. Thus far, they hadn't detected their pursuers trying their hand again at an ambush, which worried Kakashi and Kimiko equally, as they doubted that a group persistent enough to bring down a bridge would so easily give up after a single foiled attempt.

That moment came when the puddle came into view.

Kakashi and Kimiko both smelled trap instantly, and from the way Hikari had tensed up — a barely noticeable reflex — so had the younger Uzumaki clansman. Only the three Genin and Tazuna remained oblivious to the puddle's significance.

Only those four seemed to not realize that it hadn't rained in over a week.

Hikari chanced a glance backwards at her cousin as she passed the puddle, as though asking permission to spring whatever trap they had just walked into. A barely noticeable shake of her head from Kimiko stopped her, however, and she smoothly sidled up closer to Naruto, ready to protect the future Clan Head with her life, if need be.

Kimiko and Kakashi exchanged glances as they passed by the puddle. Were they sure about this? Could they really afford to gamble with the lives of their charges with this daring plan? Both were comfortably confident in their own abilities as warriors, but that only really applied to situations where they were soloing; as part of a group, could they really have the skills to protect everyone and still be effective?

Both were gambling on yes.

The two Jonin-level shinobi took one step, two...three steps past the puddle, and instantly felt the chakra flare behind them. They were ready.

A chain, riddled with razor-like talons all along its length, came into view, just as they finished moulding their chakra. They both allowed the chain to wrap itself around them, the talons biting superficially into their skin — which they made a good show of feeling hurt by — and just as the their attackers began to speak, readied the Substitution technique.

"Two down." someone hissed sibilantly.

The moment they felt the chain tug, they were gone.


Naruto watched, horrified, as Kimiko and Kakashi — the two strongest shinobi he knew after his own Clan Elders and Hokage — were shredded apart, their shocked faces seared into his mind.

At that moment, Naruto realized that he couldn't move. No matter how much he tried to lift even a single finger, he felt his feet firmly planted on the ground, his arms unable to move, his very lungs frozen in time.

He knew what this was. He'd heard it often enough to recognize it with ease.

He was utterly terrified.

Bitter coldness ran through his veins as he passively watched the two masked shinobi, both wearing what seemed to be breather masks, rush at the petrified Genin and their charge. None of the Genin had seen death before, and to see their two most powerful members get killed in an instant was morale-shattering.

Only belatedly did he realize that Hikari had moved in front of the team and Tazuna, her flame-coloured hair whipping in the air as she made a gesture they were all unfamiliar with. In an instant, a cloud of smoke burst into existence next to her, revealing her usual gigantic scroll.

In one, fluid motion, she grabbed the scroll, twisted on her heel, and used it to club one of the enemy shinobi out of the way, the linked chain between them pulling the other one off his feet as they went flying into the forest brush.

"Naruto-sama!" Hikari cried as she turned to face where her enemies had gone. Her expression was more serious than anything Naruto had ever seen on the girl before. There wasn't an inch of compassion in her eyes or joie de vivre — at this one moment, Hikari was shinobi. Nothing more, nothing less. "Please see to your client's safety!"

With that half-order, Naruto snapped out of his stupor, and immediately wanted to kick himself. How could he have frozen this way? Turning to his teammates, he punched Kiba in the arm lightly and waved in front of Hinata, snapping them out as well.

"Come on!" he stated seriously. "Hikari-chan's got this. We have to keep the old geezer safe!"

Kiba glared at him for a moment for the punch, then nodded stiffly. Hinata, realizing what she'd done, blushed furiously in embarassment at her own weakness, then offered a small smile. With a murmur and a quick hand sign, she quickly invoked her bloodline.

"Byakugan!" she murmured softly. "I see everything," she informed her teammates shyly.

Naruto nodded firmly before looking to Kiba. "Kiba, you and I have to keep our eyes on Tazuna. Hinata, you keep watch for any surprises." he quickly assigned roles as he put his back to Tazuna's, while Kiba stood in front of the old man, Akamaru growling softly as the canine watched the fight between Hikari and the two murderers.

The Uzumaki clanswoman was having little trouble, it seemed. Weaving between the two ambushers' attacks, she refrained from using her summons as she worked to beat them down in as much a non-lethal way as possible, for some reason. To Naruto, it just seemed like she was taking Kimiko and Kakashi's deaths in stride, though.

Either way, the two ambushers quickly found themselves on the defensive as the redheaded girl lashed out with punches and kicks that shouldn't have been possible for a girl her size. Each one hit with the force of a sledgehammer, and the two found themselves having to dodge more than they could attack.

And when they did, she just turned the tables on them again and kept going!

"Little bitch!" shouted one of the ambushers as he tried to slash her with his sharpened gauntlet claws.

Naruto watched as Hikari amazingly bent backwards with surprising gymnastic ability, dodged the claw, then continued her backward motion until she clasped her legs around her attacker's arm, slamming him into the ground. Landing on her feet, Hikari smirked as she regarded the other ambusher, who'd held back and watched his partner get ploughed into the ground.

"Gonna call me names too, jerk?" she taunted as she raised a finger and made the universal gesture of 'come at me, bro.'

The ambusher growled, but made no overt moves. He just stood there, contemplating her.

"I know I'm really pretty and all, but just staring is kinda creepy, y'know?" Hikari noted smugly as she remained in her ready stance, the other ambusher groaning still while he lay on the ground.

The remaining attacker was silent as he carefully regarded Hikari, then began chuckling, much to Hikari's wariness. That wasn't the laugh of a desperate man...it was the laugh of someone with an ace up his sleeve.

"Stupid bitch," the remaining ambusher taunted, his voice distorted by the breather mask. Even though his partner had said much of the same thing, Hikari felt her skin tingle. This was much unlike the last time. This wasn't the taunt of an angry man. This was the tone of a man who knew something she did not.

"Gotcha."

"Hikari-san!"

Hikari's eyes widened, her brain processing Hinata's horrified shout as she flung herself sideways, a gigantic cleaver slamming into the ground where she'd stood moments before. Gritting her teeth as she rolled back onto a squat, she found herself unable to follow through with a retaliatory strike as the remaining ambusher launched himself at her, clawed gauntlets slashing away.

She cringed as one nicked her stomach, ripping away strips of her shirt and drawing some superficial blood. Not that she had time to dwell on that, as the cleaver was soon back, swinging away at her and forcing Hikari to keep dodging.

During one such dodge, she spied Naruto and Kiba looking about ready to move to help her, prompting her to nearly panic.

"Naruto-sama! Don't!" she shouted as she jumped back, avoiding another slash just barely. "I'll handle this!"

The thought of it was preposterous, of course, but then she didn't exactly have Kakashi and Kimiko around to help her. She wondered about those two, in fact. Hadn't they managed to draw out the ambushers they were looking for? What the hell was the hold-up?!


"Naruto-kun! Above!"

Hinata had always known what most people thought of her — weird, shy, incompetent (her family, mostly)... — but if there was one skill she held any sort of small measure of pride, it was her observational skills, with and without the Byakugan.

That's why the moment the senbon flew, she saw them.

Her blonde comrade and worst-secret-ever crush was, in turn, extraordinarily quick on his feet, and quickly tackled Tazuna aside, just as a shower of the potentially deadly projectiles impacted the ground where they'd stood.

"Hinata!" Kiba barked, already looking a great deal more feral as he dropped to all fours, Akamaru right by him. "Give me a target!"

Hinata scanned the area worriedly, feeling her anxiety bubble up quickly. Where had the attacker gone? Where was he? She couldn't afford to mess up now, when Naruto and Kiba were depending on her!

She could feel the crippling anxiety slowly rise through her. What chance did they have? Kakashi-sensei and Kimiko-san had both been killed early on...and Hikari-san was now fighting two strong opponents by herself! What chance did they have?!

She felt her Byakugan flicker slightly as she began to lose control, her entire body beginning to tremble with fear as her emotional side began to take over.

"Hinata!" Kiba shouted again, dodging barely in time as another shower of senbon threatened to take him out. Apparently whoever was attacking had realized that he had the most offensive potential out of the three Genin.

"I...I..." Hinata stuttered, her mind slowly shutting down as the battle raged around her.

So absorbed she was with her own terror that she hadn't even noticed the kunai sent her way by the cleaver-wielding man, the snap action designed to distract Hikari long enough to get a good hit in. While it failed in that stated goal, due in part to the fact that Hikari tried to catch it before barely dodging the cleaver, the kunai nonetheless sped directly towards Hinata, who stood there, shell-shocked at the violence around her.

"HINATA!" Naruto roared desperately, as he noticed the lethal throwing knife go right for her heart. He made a move to go save her, only to be stopped by the sudden arrival of another shower of senbon needles as they tried to skewer him and Tazuna, forcing him to dodge aside with the client as the kunai sped freely towards his friend.

Kiba, also kept away from his partner, gave a guttural cry of infuriated impotence as he was forced away from Hinata by the pinpoint needle strikes.

How had it come to this? How had they gone from a happy outing to such a horrifying scenario in such a short time?

Hinata saw the kunai coming easily, but found her body would not react. All she could do was stare as, in slow motion, the knife creeped closer towards her, its razor edge pitted towards her heart. Her heart...the heart she wanted to give to Naruto...in a totally not-psychopathic way.

The knife edged closer. Closer now. Mere inches away. There was no dodging it, not escaping. Perhaps her father had been right all along. Perhaps she was a total failure.

"Yeah...no."

The knife never came.

Hinata's vision cleared up as the world seemed to come into focus again, her front suddenly blocked by someone's back. Blinking away her confusion, she looked up and saw a familiar stock of grey hair, followed by a familiar green vest.

Kakashi.

"Kakashi...sensei?" she asked in a whimper.

"Hmph," she heard someone scoff next to Kakashi, and she turned her gaze to another familiar figure, clad in a combat kimono. "He's not the only one here, you know."

Kimiko.

Both Kakashi and Kimiko had returned, and from the looks on their faces, they were both rather pissed.

Kakashi brought up the kunai to eye level and examined it, before gazing back at the two ambushers who'd momentarily halted their attack on Hikari to draw back, unsure what to make of the new arrivals, just as Hikari returned to Kakashi and Kimiko's side, breathing hard. A third figure quickly appeared at their side, wearing Hunter-nin regalia. Kakashi's eye narrowed. From the masked shinobi's physique, he would've estimated a youth no older than 15 or 16 years of age. However, the skill the shinobi was displaying was far beyond the talent such a youth ought to have been able to display, his own case and Itachi's notwithstanding.

Kimiko, however, was far less analytical of the situation. She felt rage bubble up in her as she spied the ambushers' slashed headbands. Kiri.

Kirigakure.

Three villages remained firmly on the Uzumaki Clan's shit list, and Kirigakure had the unfortunate distinction of topping it by a wide margin. It had been Kiri troops that had laid waste to most of Uzu. It had been Kiri troops who'd taken particular efforts to wipe out the Uzumaki. It had been Kiri troops which had chased her clan out of their ancestral homeland.

It was all Kiri's fault.

"Momochi Zabuza," Kakashi greeted the apparent leader of the ambushers, well aware of the maelstrom of furious emotion raging within his comrade's soul. He might not have been aware of the gritty details, but the fact that she was having such a negative reaction to three ex-Kiri shinobi couldn't be a coincidence. He then glanced at the remaining breather shinobi. "And...one half of the Demon Brothers, right?"

The cleaver-wielding man smirked under his facial bandages and shouldered the weapon. "Hatake Kakashi. Copycat Kakashi. The Man of a Thousand Jutsus," the leader of the enemy troop greeted in kind. "I have to say, I'm honored."

Kakashi would've rolled his eyes if this wasn't such a problematic situation. Thieves and bandits, he could handle, since they were typical hazards on C Rank escort missions. However, when an A-Rank missing nin like Zabuza popped up, it usually meant something had gone horribly, horribly wrong.

Kakashi allowed himself to glance at Tazuna for a second before returning his attention to the enemy shinobi.

...Or Tazuna was lying about the importance of his job.

Well, logical deduction would dictate that the latter was more probable. I mean, what were the odds of dropping in on four Missing Nins? Twice?

"Kakashi-sensei! Kimiko-san/chan!" Kiba and Naruto chorused as they made to move towards him and Kimiko. They were quickly halted by Kakashi raising a hand towards them, indicating they should stop.

"Stay with the client and Hinata," he ordered calmly as he raised his outstretched hand and placed it on his headband, slowly lifting it up to reveal his implanted Sharingan eye. "I'm afraid having you nearby might be distracting right now, and we can't have that."

Kimiko nodded as she slid into a combat stance and bit the tip of her left thumb, then proceeding to use that hand to raise her right sleeve until her bicep was bare, pale skin. "Stay safe, Naruto-sama. We'll deal with this."

Hikari flashed them a comforting smile as she hefted the huge scroll and placed it next to her, ready to be unravelled. "We got this, guys."

Naruto wanted to object, loudly, but Kiba promptly stopped him as he realized how true that was. Even within pack dynamics, a pup was useless in a fight with older canines, and so were usually excluded until deemed ready. This was one such time. If the adults needed them, Kiba was sure they would ask for their help.

"Don't," the feral-looking boy told his comrade. "They're right. The mission comes first," he tried to appeal to Naruto's professionalism...if he had any.

Fortunately, Naruto understood well enough to let them have their way, instead settling for glaring at Kimiko and Hikari's backs. "Don't do anything stupid," he told them before going back to Tazuna, who looked quite shaken by the events unfolding.

Hikari giggled in amusement as she readied her scroll, while Kimiko's mouth twitched briefly. Only Kakashi didn't quite seem to get the joke.

"What's so funny?" He asked the two girls.

"Naruto-sama is considerate," Kimiko stated plainly.

Hikari just giggled harder. "He's such a sweetie!"

Kakashi rolled his eyes. "If you two are quite done, there's three rather lethal shinobi over there wanting to kill us." he snarked.

Hikari's giggle stopped, while Kimiko glared at the three missing Nins, having remembered that they were from Kiri. "Hikari," she stated calmly, but a rising undercurrent of fury nonetheless began to permeate her words. "They're Kiri shinobi."

"I know," Hikari answered softly. She'd seen the slashed headbands while fighting the cleaver guy and his gauntleted subordinate. Like Kimiko, a well of emotions had risen up in her, but she had done her very best to keep a lid on it. Losing one's cool in battle was a surefire way to get yourself killed.

Kakashi pretended not to hear them as he kept his Sharingan eye trained on Zabuza. While he knew next to nothing about the Hunter Nin, the gauntleted one was clearly half of the Devil Brothers duo, and as such well within Hikari's skillset to take on.

"Whatever your issues, you two, remember we're here to protect the kids and the client, not cash in on some old grudge, understand?" he asked them seriously as his hands drifted towards his kunai pouches.

Both girls grunted their assent as they tensed up, ready to go.

Kakashi nodded curtly. "Alright then..."

He saw Zabuza tense, and he knew it was go time.

"Let's go!"


Post-AN: I reiterate - I didn't like this chapter. But, as far as the overarching plot goes, it's consistent with where I want to go. Fortunately, it also means I can finally move on.

So until next time,

Cheers!

MB

PS: And now, for a reminder:

Glossary:

Names (Fairy Tail Homologue)

Keisuke (Makarov) - Uzumaki Clan Elder
Heiyako (Poryushka) - Uzumaki Clan Elder
Hiroki (Gildarts) - Uzumaki Clansman, father of Nobuko
Raiden (Laxus) - Uzumaki Clansman, Grandson of Keisuke
Akemi (Mirajane) - Uzumaki Clansman, First degree cousin of Raiden, older sister of Daisuke and Miyuki
Daisuke (Elfman) - Uzumaki Clansman, younger brother of Akemi, older brother of Lisanna
Miyuki (Lisanna) - Uzumaki Clansman, younger sister of Akemi and Daisuke
Eiji (Fried) - Uzumaki Clansman, first degree cousin of Raiden and Akemi/Daisuke/Miyuki
Yuki (Gray) - Uzumaki Clansman by marriage (stepson of Uzumaki Nana)
Kimiko (Erza) - Uzumaki Clansman, second degree cousin of Raiden
Nobuko (Cana) - Uzumaki Clansman, daughter of Hiroki

Takeshi (Gajeel) - Uzumaki Clansman
Natsu (Natsu) - Uzumaki Clansman
Hikari (Lucy) - Uzumaki Clansman, first degree cousin of Nobuko and Amaya
Amaya (Juvia) - Uzumaki Clansman
Sora (Wendy) - Uzumaki Clansman, third degree cousin of Natsu and Takeshi
Maki (Levy) - Uzumaki Clansman, fourth degree cousin of Eiji, sixth degree cousin of Takeshi
Kyokai (Macao) - Uzumaki Clansman; works in Sensor & Interception
Wakaba (Wakaba) - Uzumaki Clansman; works in Sensor & Interception