A/N: Hey guys, it's a' me, AeroJasterZalen. I'm finally finishing the third part of this pack, and that means that hopefully I should have them all out soon. And by soon, I mean before February. Anyways, this has been a very traumatic week for me, which I won't trouble you guys with, so go ahead and read to your heart's content.
àFinal D-Rank Missionß
"Fox, can you see the target?" A voice asked over the headset perched on Naruko's ear.
"Negative, no eyes on the target, how about you, Two, Red Eyes, Scarecrow?" Naruko replied as she peaked around a tree as she looked for the target. Not seeing it, she crept across the area behind another tree which she looked around.
"Negative from Red Eyes, I can't see the target." Sasuke answered the girl over the headset as she heard a branch snap.
"Same here, and could you not alert our target that we're coming?" Kakashi said over the headset, Sasuke mumbling an embarrassed yes.
"How about you, Two? Do you have eyes on target?" Naruko asked, however she received no response from her boyfriend on the other side of the forest.
"Two, I repeat, do you have eyes on target?" Naruko repeated as she heard his low breathing across the set as static.
Naruto, did in fact have eyes on target, however, what he saw had him confused. He had come across their target, the 'demon cat' Tora, only to find him with another cat with a pure white coat, who was nurturing a litter of 4 kittens. Tora had spotted Naruto through the tree, years of evading shinobi having sharpened his senses. Naruto could see the hopefulness in his eyes, as the forest seemed to stop breathing for a few seconds before Naruto pressed the call button on the headset.
"No, I can't find any trace of him, moving on to the next point."
With that, the forest seemed to come back to life as birds chirped, the wind rustled through the branches of trees, and the kittens mewling increased as they sensed their mother's apprehension.
"Thank you, not many people would have lied to their squad to cover for a stranger, much less a cat." Tora said, his voice deep and intoning. Naruto's eyebrows rose slightly in surprise, his shinobi mode the current dominant mask he was wearing.
"You speak English, or did I just imagine that?" Naruto asked as Tora sat across from him before biting his paw as he pressed it against the ground, a puff of smoke going up as he summoned something.
"No, you heard correctly, and allow me to let you sign our summoning scroll." Tora said as he pushed it open with his paw, revealing only one name on the list. Walking over to the cat and summoning scroll, Naruto questioned him.
"Are you the summon responsible for gathering strong summoners? And what do I need to do to solidify our contract?" Naruto asked as he crouched down, pausing for the answers before he signed his name.
"Well, actually, I'm the boss summon for my faction of cat summons. Did you really think an ordinary cat could survive and evade trained shinobi? I should tell you, since you'll be responsible for us should you sign, we aren't particularly powerful, our strength lies in our speed and claws so don't plan for us to be of much help in a long range fight." Tora said as he placed his paw on the slot for Naruto to sign his name.
"That is fine, it is more of an obligation thing than actually depending on you." Naruto said as he bit his thumb, spreading the blood to all his fingers as he signed his name and imprinted his fingerprints., only for the name to glow a bright blue.
"Oh, I'm so sorry that I didn't recognize you, sir. I was unaware that Nibi-sama had chosen a successor to her kingdom. I suppose she informed you of our 'unique' summoning arrangements." Tora said as he rerolled the scroll before leaping on to Naruto's shoulder, sliding the summoning scroll into his hand.
"Unique arrangements?" Naruto asked as he sealed the scroll up, discreetly sending it into his mindscape wit some help from his older self inside.
"Oh, I see she didn't, that is just like Nibi-sama, leave someone else responsibility with no clue of how to do the job. Basically, Nibi-sama is/was responsible for maintaining balance between the three cat factions. She herself is head, or boss summon, of the demon cats. I'm head of the ninja cats. And Lady Raja is head of the monster cats. This means that you will only be allowed to access all of the cat summons when you've signed all three scrolls." Tora explained as he leapt back down to the white cat, where he began bathing behind her ears while she licked the kittens clean while they mewled in protest.
"That will be acceptable, do you know where I may find Nibi, and Lady Raja? I would like to get this down as soon as possible." Naruto said as he bent down and gently rubbed a small white kitten with his index and middle fingers. Once again being gentle, he placed her in his hand, the mother watching him closely, Tora stiffening as Naruto looked deeply into the kitten's azure pools.
"Hello, Mata-chan. I think we will be great friends one day." Naruto mumbled as the kitten steadily rose on her legs before touching her nose to his as a small bell appeared around her neck, giving off a small, tinkling sound.
"What was that, and why do you seem proud?" Naruto asked warily, settling the kitten back with its mother, who quickly herded the kitten in with her fluffy tail.
"You just marked my daughter with your scent, now when she comes of age in about two to three years, she'll be your familiar, or personal summon that sticks with you. You naming her is even further proof that it was meant to be." Tora said as he lightly poked Mata with his tail, flipping her over on to her back as she squealed as she tried desperately to bite into the tail poking and prodding her sensitive tummy.
"Oh, well I hope that normal, I would hate to think that I stole your daughter from you and your mate here. Anyways, I don't suppose I could convince you to come back with us, and just let you get away after I get paid?" Naruto asked as Tora tilted his head, giving a rather loud, 'mrawr'.
"Okay, let's go." Naruto said, scooping up Tora as the cat waved goodbye to the white cat, saying his goodbyes as Naruto carried him to his doom. Holding the cat in one arm, he pressed the call button on the side of the headset, relaying the message that he had found and captured the target.
Releasing the button, he ran through the forest to the reassigned meeting point before the group headed back to the Hokage Tower to turn in the cat and get paid. Entering the room on the top floor, they immediately saw the Fire Daimyo's wife standing there to receive her 'precious' Tora.
After handing him over, and being paid for the job, Team 7 turned to leave when the doors to the office were thrown wide open as a portly boy stormed in, covered in dirt and leaves, promptly followed by Sakura, Sai, and Anko. The surprise caused the Daimyo's wife to release Tora as he leapt through the window, yowling as he fell before tearing off down a street, disappearing from view.
"No! Tora!" The wife said as she ran out of the room to hand the request over once more to the person in charge of missions today, who happened to be Iruka.
"Hey Old Man!" The portly boy shouted, causing Kakashi, Anko, and Naruto to frown in disapproval. Sasuke and Sai both had expressionless faces. Sakura was angry and hit the boy to relieve her feminine fury. Naruko just ignored the whole event as she was looking at the picture of her father on the wall.
"Ow, ow, ow! Haruno-sama, why did you hit me?" Kuma asked as he rubbed his head, only for Sakura to hit him once more for good measure.
"Don't use such a familiar tone with me, and show respect, you baka!" Sakura yelled, struggling to keep her decibel level at a normal level. Crossing her arms, she smiled and waved at Sasuke who ignored her as she got a sad look on her face.
"Hey, Sasuke-kun, do you want to hang out later?" Sakura asked shyly, contrary to her usual boisterous attitude. She had her hands behind her back, and shuffled her feet around, although she did keep eye contact with Sasuke without losing her perceived cool.
"No, I don't want to hang out with a fan girl, or anyone that's more concerned with boys than training." Sasuke said, snubbing Sakura, who pouted as she teleported to a corner, twiddling her thumbs as the cloud of despair hung over her head.
"Now Sasuke, be nice to Sakura, today's enemies may be tomorrow's allies." Naruto admonished as Sasuke, started to grunt at him before thinking better of it and mumbling a "Sorry.", just loud enough for Sakura to hear as she perked up.
"Well, as much fun as all this drama is, can we get back to the reason you have showed up." The Hokage said as he looked pointedly at Anko, only for Kuma to yell at him.
"I'm tired of all these no good D-Ranks, why can't the lazy villagers do their own work instead of paying kids to do it. I demand that you give us a C-Rank mission right now, or I'm going to-" Kuma started, only to be cut off as Naruto simply walked over and tapped his throat area, and the boy finding himself unable to speak.
"There, another useful skill for medical jutsu. Don't worry, Anko-san, I simply cut his vocal cords with a chakra scalpel, I'll reattach them whenever you feel he's learned to not speak out of turn." Naruto said as he returned to his place by Naruko's side.
"Now Naruto, don't go picking fights with your fellow shinobi. Anko-san can handle her own brats without your help." Kakashi said, only for Naruto to fix his glare on him, the frozen eyes unnerving the white-haired Jounin.
"You are correct, Pervy Scarecrow, she can handle her own kids, unlike some Jounin who peep on the women's bathes, remember." Naruto said pointedly as Kakashi wisely shut up, Anko looking from Naruto to Kakashi before smiling.
"I like this gaki, he has balls and seems to keep Kakashi on his toes." Anko said, doing a thumbs up and smiling, only for Kakashi to vanish into the corner, rocking in the fetal position.
"No, not another one, no more Good Guy Poses!" Kakashi cried as he continued rocking on his feet.
"Well, once again, as interesting as all this drama is, I feel that a C-Rank is not possible at this time, especially considering the low number of D-Ranks completed." The Hokage said before Naruto cleared his throat and raised his hand like a student.
"If I may, you Old Monkey, may I suggest a cooperative C-Rank between Teams 7 and 13. Surely between, the Rookie of the Year, Top Kunoichi, me, the second-place Top Kunoichi, painter boy, the annoyance, the son of the renowned Sakumo Hatake, and the student of one of the Sannin can handle a C-Rank. Besides, I know a C-Rank that would be perfect for us." Naruto said as he walked over and whispered into Sarutobi's ear, the other's unable to hear him due to the low volume of his speech.
However, they could see his eyebrows raised minutely, too little for a run-of-the-mill civilian to notice, but these were shinobi and kunoichi, Genin for the most part, but trained assassins nonetheless. They also saw him nod as Naruto leaned away, giving a sharp nod as well before turning to the small group in the office.
"We've been approved for a C-Rank escort mission, now then meet at the gate tomorrow at 7 o'clock sharp, and Kakashi, if you are more than five minutes late, you'll find out what I do to perverts." Naruto said as the Hokage nodded, stamping the mission scroll before handing it to Kakashi who accepted the scroll, unrolling it to read the contents.
"We are to escort the bridge builder Tazuna back to his home of Wave, and guard him until the bride is completed. This mission is expected to take up to a month so pack carefully." Kakashi said before Anko snatched the scroll out of his hands, reading the contents herself as she addressed her team.
"Light opposition such as bandits is to be expected, so if you think that you may need more training, I'll give you some training once we arrive. Also, I've already told you gakis this, but if possible without injuring yourselves too much, kill a bandit. You may think of yourselves as children, but you are shinobi of the great Konoha, and for all intents, adults." Anko said, rerolling the scroll as she slid it down her top between her breasts causing Kakashi, the Hokage, Naruko, Sakura, and Kuma to sweat drop.
"What Kakashi, never seen real tits before. Maybe you would if you ever put that accursed smut down." Anko said as Naruto smiled, snickering under his breath as he went to leave.
"Hey, Naruko, do you want to maybe go-" Sasuke started as he turned to his redheaded teammate, only for her to cut him off with a monotone, "No."
"I would never go out with a guy who doesn't care about a girl confessing to him." Naruko continued as she spun on her heel to walk to Naruto's side, wrapping his arm around her waist to claim her as his. Naruto just sighed as he began to walk off, Naruko keeping his arm around her before they left the line of sight as she let it drop; however, she still intertwined her fingers with his as they exited the Hokage Tower.
"So, you want to get something to eat?" Naruto asked, pulling her along with him as they entered a familiar ramen stand. Sitting down, Naruto motioned to Ayame for the usual order as she smiled at him, going into the back as she was heard talking to her father.
"So, our first C-Rank mission is tomorrow huh? Are you excited to finally get out of the village?" Naruto asked his girlfriend as she looked at him knowingly. Suddenly, she sat forwards, touching her lips to Naruto's as they kissed passionately, then, as suddenly as it started, they separated as Ayame returned to the front.
"What was that about, I'm still not going to have sex with you." Naruto said adamantly as Naruko sighed, stifling the urge to smile.
"Is that all you think of whenever I kiss you, sex, sorry, I don't intend to be the one to break this little contest. I'm not giving you my first until I make you beg for it. And just so you know, leaving the village doesn't hold much appeal to me. I could've left whenever so long as you came with me." Naruko said as she saw what Ayame was carrying.
A bowl full of ramen that could've doubled as a sink. Smirking, Naruto handed the redhead a pair of chopsticks as they both broke then as Ayame set the bowl down. As she set it down, she breathed out the breath she had been holding in. Honestly, she as a female found it romantic that Naruto was willing to get some like this for Naruko, someone she saw as a younger sister, but she felt like she was carrying furniture around whenever he ordered it. However, it was worth it to see the loving adoration in Naruko's eyes as she glanced at Naruto out of the corner of her eye while he wasn't looking. Then, she leaned over slowly, planting a rather chaste kiss, in comparison to her last, on his cheek as he blushed bright red.
Passionate kisses, drifting hands, and long make out sessions he was used to, but a gentle, reserved Naruko was rare, and it made him feel something for the younger girl that he normally didn't feel for anyone, save his brothers.
Love.
And with that, the couple dove into the ramen as they both seemed to inhale it. Despite it not being his favorite food when he first ate it with Naruko all those years ago, he had grown to savor the taste of Teuchi's ramen as Naruko constantly wanted to eat there. A fact that Naruto found odd as she had more fun on a date where they went here rather than a fine dining restaurant.
However, as he was zoning out, he didn't notice that both he and Naruko had grabbed the same extraordinarily long noodle until they were nose to nose, and both there faces were growing warmer by the second.
They split apart quickly as both struggled to get their blushes back under control, glancing back at each other, their hormones took over as they crashed their lips back into each other as they stood from the stools, Naruto dropping the money as they Shushinned back to their apartment as Naruko backed into a wall, Naruto's kisses drifting lower as he sucked one her collarbone, the redhead moaning in lust.
"Na-Naru-Naruto, please, make love to me!" Naruto moaned out as Naruto lifted his head long enough to see her eyes glowing red. Realizing what was happening, he did something drastic.
"Marry me." Naruko stopped her moaning confused as she looked at Naruto's face to see any signs of a trick.
"Wha-What, no, we're-we're only kids." Naruko said as her eyes glowed red, and the scent of arousal began to flood the room.
"Well, two kids shouldn't have sex. No matter how badly I may want to give myself to you right now, I won't do it unless you can admit that we are adults and marry me." Naruto said as he backed away from Naruko, who blinked and stormed off to her room as she slammed the door shut, leaping on to the bed as the tears began to fall from her face. It wasn't until hours later that she realized she had no reason to cry, and she fell asleep.
Meanwhile, Naruto was lying on their couch as he stared at the ceiling, his eyes glowing with the Sharingan. "Frickin' Kyuubi, just had to go into heat now of all times." Naruto complained before sighing as he deactivated his Dojutsu, closed his eyes, and passed into the realm of sleep as more memory/dreams flooded his mind.
The next morning, Naruto awoke to a solemn Naruko in the kitchen making a breakfast of instant ramen. Naruto, trying to console her after last night's events, went to hug her and kiss her cheek, only for the redhead to duck out of his grip as she skirted away from him, causing him to become depressed.
"I'm sorry about last night." Naruto said quietly as Naruko glared at him before her eyes softened as she saw his depressed look.
Naruko sighed before addressing her boyfriend. "I'm sorry to; I just wish I knew why you can't show me that you love me as much as I love you, Naru-kun. And don't even try to say that that proposal last night was showing how much you love me. I mean, am I that unattractive that you don't want to have sex with me!" Naruko exclaimed, shouting the last part as she went to grab her cup of ramen, only to burn her fingers, dropping the cup.
However, Naruto was quick to react as his index fingernail grew into a claw as he caught the cup on the end, using chakra to keep it balanced.
"Okay, I understand that you're upset, so I'll try to explain this as best as I can without making you want to rip my head off." Naruto said as he set the ramen cup down on the counter.
"Last night, while we were kissing, I saw your eyes. Kyuubi was reacting to me last night, and I didn't get it at first until I realized. Kyuubi is a female, and might be going through heat right now, tell me, are you 'bleeding'?" Naruto asked in a hush as he kissed Naruko's fingers, channeling chakra to his lips as they glowed green, the small burn disappearing.
"Maybe. It would explain the weird moods I keep having." Naruko said as she began inhaling the ramen.
"Okay, well there is that, I don't want our first time to be because a ball of chakra is horny. I want it to be when we choose, no one else, okay. I just didn't know how to tell you that last night. But, if you want to get married, the offer still stands." Naruto said as he rummaged through the clothes on the floor before finding his trusty jacket. Pulling it on over his clothes, he used a quick jutsu to clean his clothes.
"No, last night was a heat of the moment kind of thing. However, the next time you ask, if you really mean it, I'll accept." Naruko said as she tossed the cup into the trash can. Then, she returned to her bedroom to get dressed for their mission, having already packed.
"Okay, something else, I do love you, I'm just unaccustomed to having to show it. So I sometimes, have trouble, umm, properly expressing what I feel, but please, don't ever don't that I love you. Okay, my little Chi-hime." Naruto said as he left to get something from the Hokage before he left.
"I won't Naruto." Naruko said as he turned, and considering his next words, he gave a smile, although Naruko couldn't see it.
"Uchiha, that's my last name. My brother is Sasuke. Just thought you would want to know what it means when you marry me." Naruto said as he shut the door, Naruko pausing as she heard his words.
"Uchiha, Uchiha Naruko, it has a certain ring to it, doesn't it?" The girl said as she resumed sealing her supplies away. Finally, she grabbed her sword from its ceremonial place under her pillow as she ran the belt around her waist, snapping it into place with a click.
Naruto and company were beside the gate, waiting on two people, Kakashi and their client. Normally Naruto would be mad, except he could follow both of them as they turned to corner, Kakashi carrying a body over his shoulder, a body that Naruto recognized as Tazuna.
"Well, I suppose I can forgive you this once, simply because you were retrieving our client." Naruto said, as he crossed his arms, turning on his heel as the wind blew a scent across his nose.
"Ahh, the scent of the forest, so clean, and untainted." Naruto said, sounding so heartfelt that the group was taken aback for a second.
"Are we sure this is Naruto, and not an impostor?" Sasuke whispered to Naruko, who giggled.
"Sasuke, I heard that, now let's go before I use a paralysis seal on you and give you to Sakura as a gift." Naruto said as they started to leave, Sasuke shivering as he felt fear creep over his body.
"I still don't feel as safe as I feel I should." Tazuna said as he once again looked at the rag-tag band of shinobi charged with guarding him. "A perverted Cyclops, a girl with a red hot temper, an emo, a bookworm, a creepy snake lady, a flat-chested pinky, a painter, and a fatty." Tazuna said as Naruto's wrist flickered for a second as he tapped his throat, severing his vocal cords.
"Okay, Kakashi is perverted, Sasuke does brood … a lot, I tend to read in order to be prepared, Sai can't get a girlfriend and has to draw 2D girls, Kuma does need to lose weight, Naruko can be rather scary if you get on her bad side, Anko-sama does like her snakes, and Sakura doesn't have anything up there. However, I'm pretty sure that, Anko could kill you, I know that I and Naruko can kill you, Sasuke has a valid reason for brooding, and looking at little girls boobs doesn't cast you in a favorable light." Naruto said as Tazuna started to argue, only to find he couldn't speak.
"Oh, and I cut your vocal cords so I don't have to hear you complain. If you want to share your sake with me, I may reconsider it though." Naruto continued as Tazuna handed over the bottle as Naruto turned the bottle up, practically flooding his body with it as he handed the bottle back, burping slightly as he tapped Tazuna's neck, returning his speech.
"I retract my earlier statement; I'm in the hands of an alcoholic bookworm." Tazuna said, causing the group to chuckle at Naruto's expense.
Naruto started to retort, only to stiffen as he sensed a pair of incoming shinobi. He fingered a pair of kunai from his pocket, Kakashi seeing the action as he passed one to Naruko and Sasuke each. Then, the group jumped back as Kakashi and Anko were chained together as a pair of shinobi with crossed out Kiri headbands.
"The Demon Brothers, how nice to meet you here." Naruto said as he looked over the top of his newest book, the thing he got from the Hokage before leaving. On the cover it read, now that Kakashi could see it, 'Bingo Book, issue 482.'
Then, the Demon Brothers smirked at being recognized on sight before they pulled their respective sides of the chain, shredding Kakashi and Anko. Sakura's team looked visibly disgusted by all the bloody bits, well she did, Sai wouldn't show emotion if he was kicked in the balls, not that he had any. Kuma, on the other hand, didn't care about his sensei, beyond the purpose that he viewed most females for.
Naruto's team, on the other hand, jumped into action immediately. Naruto ordered Sai, and Kuma to guard Tazuna, who was watching the fight intently. Then, the Brothers leapt at Tazuna, only for Naruko to throw her kunai at heir chain, pinning it to a tree as they were forced to release the chain as Sasuke held his kunai in hand.
The smaller of the two brothers charged him as he raised his claw to attack. Sasuke went to defend, only for his body to freeze as he stared wide eyed at his approaching death.
Only for a pink blur to slide in front of him, her arms crossed in a defensive manner as the metal claw gauntlet cut through her arms, blood flying freely. The brother was caught off guard for a second as Sakura slammed a punch into his face, cracking his headgear as he stumbled back.
"What, why did you do that, HOW did you do that?" Sasuke asked confused as his world began to turn on its side.
"Hehe, you going to let a girl do all your work for you, Sasuke-kun. And as for how, I refuse to let my precious Sasuke-kun marry some weak little girl who way of getting a boy is using her body." Sakura snarled as the Kiri Chunin regained his senses.
"So you did this to beat Ino?" Sasuke asked, still confused by the situation.
"It's funny that you think of Ino when I said that, isn't it?" Sakura asked before she was sent flying by a powerful backhand by the Chunin, who turned his gaze on Sasuke before the Uchiha reversed his grip on the kunai, holding to block the downward swipe of the gauntlet as he was laid on his back, the Kiri-nin putting his full body weight into the attack.
Sakura, however, ignored the pulsing pain in both her jaw and arms as she tackled the older shinobi, wrapping her arms around his neck as she bit into his ear, pulling away as she ripped the ear off, the Chunin howling in pain before jumping backs to slam Sakura into the ground.
Only for Anko to appear out of thin air and grab the Chunin, slamming him into a tree as she wrapped him in ninja wire, keeping him in place before stabbing his bare hand with a kunai for good measure.
Meanwhile, Naruko had been in battle with the other Kiri-nin, her sword pushing against his gauntlet before he used his superior upper body strength to sling the blade up, leaving her open as he went for a straight jab that would leave her with several deep holes in her sternum.
However, Naruto appeared right behind him, Kakashi watching from the trees. He had been about to jump in and save his student, but Naruto had done the job. Naruto placed two fingers on the back of the older brother's head before mumbling as a small ball of compressed wind went through the Kiri-nin's head, Naruto formally executing him with a single move.
With that done, his body pitched forward, dead as his younger brother saw his brother's dead body, and he looked at the two who had fought him. Seeing Naruko, he began to shiver before a quick fist to the face, stopped him, courtesy of Sakura.
"Now then, how about we find out what we're up against, shall we." Naruto said as Anko smiled, a shiver going done everyone's backs as Naruto closed his book, a sinister smile on his face now that it wasn't hidden by the book.
A/N: Hey guys, I did it, I finished another pack of TFU. I don't have much to say except I got to really work on this recent as my school was canceled Friday, yesterday, and today due to snow, an extreme rarity in southern Texas, but I'm not complaining. Anyways, I'm going to do a somewhat, bonus chapter next, before continuing with the story line. Mainly because 13 is my lucky number, and I realized that I'm starting to forget some things I wanted to add in this story due to writing too many different stories at once. Have a good day guys.
