AN: Hello my dearest readers... I'm back and I'll be introducing a new character into this story. Voila!
"Kakashi,"
"I know."
"They can handle it Natsu."
"Can they?"
"Let's see what they can do," lavender hair swayed with the wind as she hopped down from the trees with her partner.
"Gaara," Temari said her voice full of urgency as they walked ahead of their senseis.
"I know nee-chan," the redhead replied the cork popping out of his gourd. "Kiba can you smell it?"
"Poison," the shaggy brunet replied. "Lots of it."
"Shino," the puppet-wielding shinobi asked their other comrade. "Can you sense them?"
"Just up ahead hidden in a puddle-genjutsu," the bug shinobi replied.
"Alright listen up," Kankuro took charge as the most experienced genin. Without breaking their formation, he relayed his plan. "They have poison on their weapons as smelled by both Gaara and Kiba. We'll need to stay away from them and fight them long range. We'll wait for them to attack before we retaliate. Temari we need you away from firing range so that you can back us up, fall back to sensei. I'm sure they already know but they're letting us handle it," The blonde nodded.
"Sensei, doesn't the wave country have its own shinobi?" Temari asked as she hopped back towards the elder ninjas.
"No they don't Temari," Kakashi answered his daughter formally.
"How come?"
"They're a small country and it's surrounded by water on most sides," Sasuke said. "If I remember correctly the only way to get on the island is by boat."
"Which is why we were hired to protect the bridge-builder," Natsu concluded.
"Now Shino!" Kankuro's exclamation broke up their conversation.
"Gaara on your left!" Kiba shouted as one clawed shinobi rose from the puddle they had just passed. Gaara's sand reacted instantly to the enemy's presence it blocked the oncoming attack as the redhead regained his control over it. A whip formed out of the golden grains, wrapping around the ninja's torso as smaller tendrils rose to immobilize him. Gaara almost choked at the scent of the poison laced in their weapons.
"Kankuro!"
"Art of Puppetry: Chakra strings!" chains of chakra sprouted from Kankuro's fingertips attaching themselves to the other ninja's body. Shino's bugs continued to drain the missing nin of his chakra even as Kankuro took control of his anatomy.
"Kiba!" Gaara shouted as the brunet swayed. He slammed his captive onto the ground knocking him out before rushing towards his fallen comrade. "Temari!"
Green chakra was already glowing on her hands as she ran towards the dog nin.
"When did he get hit?" Kankuro asked as he made sure that the enemies were unconscious.
"Just before I blew the other one towards Gaara." Temari answered as she ran a diagnostic test on Kiba. "The poison is potent but nothing I can't handle," she said.
"What do you need?"
"Just give me the usual Gaara," Temari ordered as the redhead took out his storage scroll and released a small pouch from it. "Shino, could you get us some water? I can hear a small creek a few meters east of here." He nodded then stood up to do as told.
"Gaara-san," Shino called the attention of the redhead. They sat in a small clearing surrounded by trees. Their senseis had decided that they would rest for the night as the old man had been too tired to continue their journey. "How come you didn't tell Sakura that Kakashi-sensei is your father?"
"She's a civilian," teal eyes narrowed slightly at the mention of the ignorant girl. "You can see that she's not really serious about being a kunoichi. Even if it's not really a secret and we've been training as a team these past few months she still doesn't know that our senseis are actually related to each other. There's no point in telling her besides, she might just blurt it out to someone else and then that would spell doom for everyone in the team." Gaara stopped speaking as his sister emerged from the tent wherein Kiba was being treated.
"Kiba's alright," the blonde announced. "He won't be in full strength by tomorrow but he will be in about three days. The poison was so potent I had a little trouble getting it out of his system."
"So he'll be fine?"
"Yes Gaara, he'll be fine." Natsu said as she too emerged from the tent. "Stop worrying, or do you not trust mine or your sister's healing skills?"
"I do," the redhead was strangely quiet as he spoke. "It's just that, he took that shot because of me."
"It happens Gaara, you'll need to get used to it," Natsu assured him.
"There's no one around," Sasuke announced as he dropped down from the canopy of the trees. "Hinata and I have set traps around us, we'll know if anyone comes within a mile radius of us."
"Isn't it a bit big for just a small group of people?" Tazuna spoke up. He'd been sitting with the genin around the fire but had not spoken a word since the altercation with the missing ninjas.
"We need as much distance as we could possibly get when someone finds this spot." Gaara explained to the civilian when he saw the look his mother was giving him.
"Natsu, can I talk to you for a minute?" Kakashi had just finished setting up another tent when Sasuke and Hinata returned. "We can leave the kids with them." He nodded at the couple who smiled back at him.
"Alright," she walked over to him, taking his outstretched hand as they began to walk into the tree line.
"You know you have to trust that our children can do what they're supposed to do," he told his wife. They sat under the canopy of a large tree, the petit blonde on his lap, her back to his chest with their hands intertwined above her stomach. "You need to trust in their abilities as ninjas."
"I know that, but I'm their mother, I will always worry about them."
"Don't you trust the training that you and two others gave them?"
"I do but~"
"Look Natsu," the silver haired man cut her off. "I know that this is all part of your job as their mother but you also have to think about yourself and our child," he emphasised his words by rubbing her stomach where another life was growing.
"How did you know?" she looked up at him, shock and amazement shining in her crystal blue eyes.
"Did you think I couldn't hear you retching so early in the morning?" his question was rhetorical and yet it was so full of meaning. "I'm a trained ninja; I think it would wake me up if my wife was not in bed with me in the morning. Why didn't you tell me?"
"I was afraid of what your reaction would be." She admitted. "I know we said we wanted a child but I didn't think you'd want one this soon."
"So you planned on hiding this from me?" he asked. "For how long would you have if I had not found out?"
"I-I don't know," sapphire watered as pink lips quivered. "I didn't think it through. I don't even know how it happened. I-I-I, it was all my fault." She began to sob, unable to hold back the tears.
"Natsu," he cupped her chin. "You're my wife now. I thought we'd established that when I took you and the Trio in. Why would you think I wouldn't want to know about this? Besides, I certainly know how it happened." He waggled his eyebrows at her, slightly leering even as he wiped her tears away.
"I'm sorry," she twisted in his arms so that she was facing his chest. "I was so scared you wouldn't want me or the baby."
"I love you, you know that," he said as he embraced her tighter. "I want you and whatever else may happen, I know that we can face this head on, together." They stayed in that position until Natsu fell asleep with both physical and emotional exhaustion.
"We'll rest for a few hours," Sasuke told the genin just as Kakashi came back from the forest carrying his already sleeping wife. "I'll take first watch." The dark haired Uchiha volunteered as his brother-in-law took his sister into their tent. "Shino and Kiba take one tent, team seven take the other. Get some sleep we'll set out early tomorrow." The genin shuffled off to their designated sleeping tents leaving Hinata and Sasuke by the fire, their client having gone to sleep some time ago. A swish of air signalled the arrival of another person. Both Reapers didn't flinch at the sound.
"Have you learned anything Ita-kun?" lavender eyes were inquisitive as they looked at the coat-wearing shinobi.
"Just like we were told Gato was the reason why Wave had fallen so low." He pushed back his hood to reveal long dark hair and equally dark eyes. "He'd also hired missing nin into his troops."
"We encountered the Demon Brothers," Sasuke relayed.
"Then you'll be facing Zabuza next," Itachi said.
"Natsu will not be happy."
"She didn't even want to accept this mission," Hinata answered.
"That could probably because of her condition," dark eyebrows shot up in question.
"What condition?"
"Natsu should tell you about it," Hinata intervened before her husband could reveal something they both shouldn't even know about.
"What is it?" red slowly trickled onto black, pupils spinning as they stared at lavender.
"I'm not afraid of your Sharingan Itachi," Hinata told him staring straight back at the elder Uchiha. "You won't get anything from me from using that."
"I'm sorry," he apologized, red fading back into black. "Sometimes I can't control it."
"I believe you," she replied smiling knowingly at him.
"Did I miss something?" Sasuke answered, thoroughly confused at the interaction between his wife and brother.
"You missed a lot," Hinata said as she rose from the log they had been sitting on. Itachi chuckled lightly before doing the same on Sasuke's other side.
"Where are you going?"
"I'm going to bed," Hinata said.
"And I'll be back up in my tree," Itachi replied.
"What just happened?"
"We're messing with you love," Hinata kissed him on the cheek before lifting the flap on the same tent Kakashi and Natsu were in and entering.
"Natsu when do you think we'll encounter The Demon of the Mist?" Sasuke asked his sister as they walked together towards Wave.
"I'm sure we'll face him before we reach Wave." Blonde hair was pulled up into a single ponytail bouncing as she walked.
"Are you sure?"
"Yes," she said. "It had been two days since we encountered the Demon Brothers, if they haven't reported to him then he will have assumed that they failed and will finish the task himself."
"Kiba what the hell are you doing?" Temari shouted at her temporary teammate as the dog nin threw a kunai towards the bushes.
"I heard something moving," he told the blonde.
"What is it?" teal eyes were inquisitive as the genins stopped across the bush. Shino walked towards it, pushing leaves away from his path. It revealed a white furred bunny, the kunai mere inches above its head.
"Kuro-chan?" Red hair bounced atop the head as the owner turned away from the scene and somewhere behind them. "It can't be," Gaara whispered as he listened to the slight shift in the air. "It is him!" he exclaimed. "Temari, it's him."
"I realized that as soon as I saw Kuro," twin teal orbs connected, the pair talking in words only they could understand. "I'm gonna go look for her I'm sure they're around here somewhere."
"Temari what's going on?" Kankuro asked his sister.
"It's Zuzu-chan," Temari answered.
"Why would you call him Zuzu-chan?" Gaara questioned his twin.
"Because he looks like a Zuzu-chan," Natsu laughed at the interaction.
"Go ahead Temari," the mother gave permission to her daughter. "Look for them."
"Hai!"
"Gaara you know what to do," she turned her attention back to her youngest son. "Take your brother through, I'll take Kiba and Shino."
"I found them," Temari said in a sing-song voice, teal eyes glowing eerily as she opened them, her chakra sparkling as she concentrated.
"Alright, you know what to do," Natsu told them. "Shino and Kiba I need you guys to stick close to me. We're dealing with an A-rank missing ninja here."
"What do you want us to do Natsu?" Kakashi asked.
"Sit back and enjoy the show," pinks lips lifted up cheekily then she turned her attention back to the genin.
"Here it comes..." Gaara warned as they heard a soft whistling.
"Get down!"
"Yo Zuzu-chan!" Temari greeted the man standing atop a gigantic zanbatou as she rose from the ground.
"Brat!"
"Eyebrows what the hell do you think you're doing?" Gaara caught the man's attention when he flashed through handsigns.
"You think you can take me on?"
"I know I can," Gaara said cockily. "Shino let's do it."
"Hai!"
"Sand Style: Sandstorm!" swirling sand rose from the ground, giving cover to the ninjas present.
"You think this will slow me down?" Zabuza laughed loudly at the attempt, flaring his chakra as he did so.
"I know it won't," Gaara chuckled. "But then again, that wasn't my intention."
"I'm ready," Shino said, his eyeglasses flashing with the sunlight.
"So am I." Redhead bounced atop the head as the owner ran towards the tree where Zabuza had stuck his sword on. "Sand shuriken!" multiple throwing stars made of sand flew towards the missing nin, Zabuza hopping down to avoid them leaving his sword still stuck on the tree.
"Bug dome!" chakra-eating bugs swarmed the unaware ninja as he crouched on the ground to soften his fall.
"What the hell Gaara!" he shouted within the dome of bugs.
"Come on out Haku-chan," Temari said, her voice still in a sing-song tone.
"They're taking my chakra!" Zabuza shouted, the mass of bugs moving with him as he tried to swat them off.
"Of course they are," Gaara huffed. "They're called chakra-eating insects for a reason."
"Get them off of me!"
"Not until you tell me why you're doing this."
"I found you Haku-chan," Temari was still teasing. "You know you can't hide from me."
"Leave her alone you blonde-haired brat!"
"But I'm not doing anything to her!"
"Eyebrows, you really should stop doing that," Gaara tutted. "You know you'll only be giving them more of what they want that way."
"Should I let them take all of his chakra?" Shino asked his redheaded partner.
"Leave enough for him to stay alive."
"It may take a while," the bug-user said. "He does have a lot of chakra."
"It doesn't matter, just keep him there while Temari deals with his accomplice."
"I got you now Haku-chan!" Temari said, disappearing in a burst of speed as soon as she finished.
"Get away from me!" another feminine voice shouted from within the tree line.
"No, you were hiding from me!"
"We were on a mission!" a loud shriek signalled that the other person had been caught.
"Do you even know what type of mission it was?"
"Of course I did!"
"Then why did you do it!"
"We needed the money." The group listened as the other girl sobbed. She was assisted into the clearing with by Temari.
"Where's Akira-kun?"
"That's what we needed the money for," Zabuza said from inside the dome. "Can you please let me go now?"
"What happened to him?"
"We met with that group you warned us about," Zabuza said as the insects moved away from his body.
"Which pair?"
"The blonde one from Iwa was with Sasori of the Sand."
"Did Akira get hit?" Natsu's voice was laced with worry.
"He did."
"How long has it been?"
"Almost three weeks."
"And he's lasted this long?"
"The poison was meant to prolong the death of a person to up to six weeks," Haku explained.
"Alright let me see him."
"I'll take you to him," Zabuza said.
"Why are they talking to him as if he was a long time friend?" Kakashi asked Hinata and Sasuke.
"They've known each other since the twins had their episode with Shukaku."
"How come you know all these things about them?"
"You only have to ask about it," Sasuke assured him. "But there are things that Natsu won't easily disclose to you, you will have to break down her defences and then talk to her about the things that you want to know."
"How do you know these things?"
"Sasuke, we'll meet you at Tazuna's," Natsu said as she carried Haku. "I'll go check on Akira and I'll be back as soon as I can."
"Kaa-chan, can I go?" Temari and Gaara asked in unison.
"I'm taking the twins with me." The trio vanished in a bright yellow flash, taking Zabuza and Haku with them.
"What's going on?" Kakashi asked.
"We'll figure it out as soon as they get back," Hinata assured. "Aniki, follow them please."
"I will."
"How long has he been here?" onyx narrowed at the couple as the man dropped down from the trees.
"I've been here since the beginning of the mission." Itachi said before he too vanished.
"I really need to be brought up to speed."
"We may," Hinata and Sasuke said together. "But not until Natsu says we can."
"Why do you follow her?"
"You'll find out soon."
"Alright, Kankuro, Shino and Kiba I need you to guard Tazuna as we continue to his house. We'll wait for the others to join with us before deciding on anything."
AN: Tell me what you think ne? I do work faster if I have people talking to me. Constructive criticism is always welcome..
Lots of love,
Allie