Kiba wasn't prepared to hear that he had a new mission. He had just defeated three members of the Akatsuki in a small contest and that had left him just about drained. But it seemed that they had very different plans for him.
"It is to be an infiltration mission. We need information on this target." Pein slid forward a file with a picture of half of an unknown person's face over his desk, prompting Kiba to grab it.
The boy picked it up and examined the picture, taking in the person's odd appearance. Medium length mint green hair, a bright orange eye that didn't seem to have a pupil, an orange clip on the visible side of her hair, and a broad smile that reminded him somewhat of Naruto's own. The person's picture seemed to have been taken without their knowledge, for they weren't looking at the camera. Instead they were looking at something directly in front of them. And they wore what seemed to be a white dress with short sleeves, a red vest with a hoodie over that, and black tights.
"A girl?" Kiba questioned, trying to piece together what he could from the picture. "You want me to get information on a girl?"
"Yes. Her name is currently unknown. And her location is only an estimate. What limited information we have on her is inside of her file. She is older and will not look the same as she does in this picture. But her more interesting attributes should still be the same." Pein explained with a nod, "Your mission is to travel to Takigakure with Itachi and Konan and bring us useful information on this girl. Name, abilities, likes, dislikes, places she frequents. And if you cannot decide between what could be useful and what could not be, do not hesitate. Find everything you can."
Kiba was left shocked by this. He took one glance away from the girl he was to investigate and looked up at the leader, allowing his confusion to show on his face.
"But... She couldn't be any older than me... What could you possibly need with this girl?"
The man's face was stern and emotionless as he answered, "You do not need to know more than what I have already told you, Inuzuka. Maybe once you've brought back what we need from her, I could explain to you what it is that she is needed for. But, until then, you are only to know what I have already supplied."
His voice wasn't cold or angry. But it was matter of fact and had a finality to it that told Kiba this was the end of their talk.
"You are to leave in three hours."
"Yes, sir." Kiba bowed softly at the leader's dismissal and turned around, holding onto the file in his hands just a bit tighter than what was necessary.
He had only heard of Takigakure a handful of times from the minimal clan head meetings he had accompanied his mother when he was younger. So his information on that small hidden village was that it wasn't easy to get to, nor easy to be allowed entrance into. None of the hidden villages were easy to enter if one was from a different village or country. Just how did the leader plan for them to enter such an undoubtedly well protected village?
And just why did the man want him to get information on a young girl? Sure, maybe she was older than him considering how this picture was old. But it was still odd. What interest did the man have in this girl?
With these thoughts and doubts in mind, Kiba made his way back to his room, deciding to begin to pack while there was still a comfortable amount of time left before he was to leave. Today he was supposed to have had his usual strategy lessons with Konan, but seeing how the leader had surprised him with this sudden mission, his schedule for the day had undoubtedly changed.
He would be leaving by lunch time... Which meant that Hidan would not be able to continue training... He could already hear the man's shouts of outrage when he was told that Kiba would not be able to continue his Jashinist lessons for the next few days...
When he reached his room, he expected to maybe find Kisame or Itachi inside. But he was somewhat surprised to find that instead Hiruko was there, looking over his still nameless puppet. His puppet armor had been left in the corner of the room to not obstruct the man as he worked.
"Hiruko?" His greeting was more of a question and that was because he really had not expected to find the puppeteer in his room. The man was someone who valued his privacy, after all, and so seemed to do his best to not violate anyone else's. "What are you doing here?"
The man didn't turn around as he continued to look over the joints of the puppet, but spoke up, "Please close the door, Inuzuka."
It wasn't odd for Hiruko to avoid a question so Kiba merely closed the door behind him and walked over to the man, looking over what he was doing to the puppets.
"I am making sure your puppet is prepared for your mission, Kiba." The man answered as he turned the puppet over onto its stomach, then lifted a panel in the back to show Kiba a coiled up line of metal with a sharpened end.
"I added this in case you are ever in need of a hasty get away or long ranged attack that will not be easy to detect." The puppeteer then closed the panel, moved the puppet back onto its back, and opened yet another panel in the front. Kiba had known those were there before, but they had been left vacant until now. "And this is a kunai expelling mechanism."
The kunai were embedded inside a metallic contraption inside of it, tips pointing forwards.
"With a sharp enough tug on this latch," The man continued to explain, tapping a mostly obscured latch on the hip of the puppet, "They will come flying out. The kunai have been dipped in the Hebikirā venom I synthesized. As you already know, this venom is extremely potent, its antidote-"
Kiba, suddenly feeling an urge to show Hiruko that he had learned about poisons, venoms, and antidotes, cut the puppeteer off with a soft smile. "Is only effective if administered within the first ten minutes of contact or injected directly into the bloodstream above the heart. The whole body will be paralyzed and immobilized within seconds. And if not treated immediately or judiciously, the heart will stop in, at most, twelve minutes."
The man looked at him for a second with his usual blank face, then asked, "And the antidote?"
"A unique blend of various snake venoms, just like the Hebikirā venom itself, healing salves, and flower extracts. It is difficult to create, needs a complex knowledge of the Hebikirā venom itself and the science of venoms and antidotes themselves, and could possibly become a venom in itself if not created appropriately. In its early stages, it is all venom, and it needs a steady hand if you don't want to accidentally kill yourself in creating it."
Once he finished speaking, Kiba smiled broadly at Hiruko, who nodded before closing the panel and placing the puppet's cloak back over its body.
"Make sure to take all your antidotes with you along with your hydrophobic clothes. I do not wish to hear about you accidentally poisoning yourself." The man commanded, which had Kiba nodding resolutely.
"You'll see me again, Hiruko. Don't worry about it."
Kiba knew that if he was careful, he wouldn't have to worry about hurting himself. Now, completing a mission in a hidden village known for its secrecy and inaccessibility... That was another story.
Hiruko laid his puppet down on Kiba's bed with a nod of his own, then began to move to leave the room. But when he passed by Kiba, the man did something that left Kiba breathless, shocked completely. He raised his hand up to Kiba's head and ruffled his hair almost affectionately.
"Next time I'll teach you how to build a puppet from scratch so you can begin to design your own."
As quickly as the touch had come, it had left. And Hiruko was back inside his puppet armor before Kiba could truly react, throwing one last phrase out before he left the room completely. "Don't forget your hitai-ate, yeah? I left it for you on your nightstand."
He... Had not expected for the man to touch him...
What surprised him the most, though, was the fact that he hadn't flinched away from Hiruko's touch.
Dumbly, the Inuzuka moved towards the nightstand between the beds and looked down to find a brand new forehead protector waiting for him. One with Konoha's symbol on it. One with a gash right through the symbol.
Konan and Itachi were both prepared with packs on their backs by the time Kiba finished explaining to Hidan why he had missed practice and would not be able to continue learning with him until later.
The Jashinist had not been happy with learning that his sidekick was being sent on a mission without him, but, coincidentally enough, the leader was nowhere to be found when he went out to give him a piece of his mind. This had pissed Hidan off to no end, but Kakuzu had come around about mid-rant and stopped him with a swift knock out jab to the bundle of nerves inside the man's neck.
"He can be so annoying..." The earth style user had growled with a glare as Hidan's body crumpled to the floor before him before he had looked at Kiba. "Going off on a mission, then?"
Kiba had not been able to get a single word in after he had told Hidan that he was to be leaving. And aftert Kakuzu had arrived and effectively quelled Hidan's anger by knocking him out, the boy had been allowed a small breather to relax before he had to leave.
"Yeah. To Takigakure."
The man's face hadn't change at all. But Kiba was able to see his body still for a second before he nodded. And this had caught his attention immediately.
"Not a big hidden village." The man commented, then asked, "Why are you going there?"
Kiba had looked over Kakuzu after he had spoken, then really looked at the village design on his forehead protector. He had no idea from what village this man was. But... It seemed oddly familiar. Like he had seen it before when he was younger.
"To get information on a girl." Kiba had explained after a moment of scrutinizing the headband, then looked directly at Kakuzu's eyes. "The leader wants to know a few things about some girl. I guess I was chosen because I'm a kid and won't be seen as a danger."
The man had then nodded and changed the subject, telling him to remember his training to not end up dead on a mission so simple. Then, with that warning, he had told Kiba to go on his way to the front of the organization's base. But before the boy could have left, he had been stopped by the man calling out to him.
"Yeah, Kakuzu?"
"Close up your cloak all the way to the top. Your face tattoos are clear indicators of a clan. And you can't really be showing that when entering a hidden village."
Kiba had blinked at the advice, but nodded and moved his fingers to close it up until the collar of the cloak covered half of his face. And as he walked off to find Konan and as he walked, he noted how odd it was that his cloak's collar went so high. None of the other member's collars went so high, except for maybe Hidan's, but because his cloak was always open, it wasn't all that noticeable.
How had Kakuzu known how high his collar truly went? He'd never actually closed it all the way up, and so had never found this out until that moment. How had Kakuzu known about it, though?
"Are you ready, Kiba?"
Kiba's questions were interrupted by Konan's calm inquiry. Then, when he looked up, he found that both she and Itachi were looking down at him, clearly waiting for his answer.
"Uh... Yeah. Yeah, I am." He managed to make out, then tugged somewhat uncomfortably at the collar covering up half of his face.
"Trying out a new look?" She questioned as she began to walk out of the base's opening, prompting for Kiba to follow after her.
"Yeah... Kakuzu said that my tattoos are pretty clear signs of clan relation." Kiba explained as he walked, then looked at Itachi, who had begun to follow after him. "Said it was best to keep them hidden."
Itachi nodded at Kiba, "Takigakure is found crossing through the Land of Fire. If you were to be seen by anyone and recognized, it might spell trouble for our organization."
Ah... He had done this to make sure that if they somehow managed to cross paths with someone from Konoha, Kiba would not be easily recognized.
"Oh. That makes sense." Kiba commented, then looked forward as Konan jumped onto a tree to begin to run.
He followed after her without much hesitation, although running with his cloak up so high was somewhat uncomfortable.
And he hadn't even thought of the unusual weight on his forehead now that he wore his hitai-ate in proper place once more. He had gone so long without wearing one that it was an almost foreign weight on his head.
~/~
Seeing Kiba in full Akatsuki costume was an extremely bittersweet moment.
On one side, wearing the costume was a clear sign of him having been fully accepted by the Akatsuki. And this brought much contentment to Itachi's heart because it was a clear sign of the boy becoming even more accessible. No longer was he just a genin from Konoha. He was a member of their organization. And this, in some way, made Itachi see him as even more easy to grow closer to.
But, on the other side, it was a clear sign of Kiba rejecting everything he had once known, simply because of one deal. With the costume, he showed that he was no longer a shinobi from Konoha. Instead it was a sign of him being a wayward ninja.
Kiba and wayward ninja... Those words didn't make much sense together. The boy was much too pure and loyal to ever break ties with his village. And knowing that he had been the cause for this drastic change, Itachi couldn't help but feel uncomfortably guilty.
With a soft sigh, Itachi looked in front of him to see Kiba keeping pace with Konan.
He and the paper nin had come to a small agreement about their travel formation. Kiba would always be in the middle between them. Even though he had proven that he was more than capable, they still did not know what dangers they may come across as they moved. And, depending on the time of day, Itachi and Konan would be either before or behind him.
During the early hours when there was still light to see, Konan would be at the front and Itachi at the back. But when darkness fell, they were to switch and Itachi was to keep a keen eye out. For even though the woman was extremely perceptible, she did not have the same spatial awareness that Itachi did.
The woman seemed fond of Kiba. Her face softened just slightly when she spoke to him. But Itachi didn't recline on the woman's interest in him being genuinely good. She was the leader's right hand woman and had a loyalty to him in a manner that her loyalty to Kiba would never be able to compete with. And while she seemed to hold Kiba's best interest in heart at the moment, she may just as likely discard him in a second.
She may seem honest, but Itachi would not allow himself to be blinded by it. Unlike Kiba had clearly been blinded by it.
The boy looked up at her in a way that was not replicated on any of the other members of the Akatsuki. Itachi had noticed it, even though it had brought great chagrin to his heart.
He figured that it was simply because Konan was a woman and not a man. Which would make sense, considering what Kiba had lived through. But that didn't mean that it didn't bother Itachi at all.
He didn't want the Inuzuka to get hurt because of his trusting nature. Which is why, if the time should ever come, he would put Kiba's safety before his own.
He had already been selfish once. And once had been enough.
Their travels had run rather smoothly. Kiba had expected something to go wrong, like they usually went, as they made their way to Takigakure. But there had been no surprise attacks or ambushes. They had gone from small town to small town, sleeping in small hotels specifically created for travellers, and everything had been rather calm and peaceful.
He had actually enjoyed spending more time with both Konan and Itachi.
When she was able to, the woman taught him how to make intricate origami figures and how to properly apply makeup to cover his tattoos. At first, he had stuck his tongue out childishly at having to wear something so girly. But a swift thwack to his nose and stern scold from the woman had quickly made him change his tune and learn. They wouldn't be wearing their Akatsuki cloaks into Takigakure, after all. But they also couldn't take any chances with his tattoos. So he was to cover them up with makeup.
The only reason why they hadn't done so from the beginning was because of how tedious it would be to make sure the makeup stayed in place as they ran because of all of the sweat and wind that would be endangering it. But once they neared Takigakure, they would begin to walk like regular travellers and so wouldn't have to worry about those harsh conditions making the makeup fade.
And when he could, Itachi taught Kiba how to craft more complex genjutsu that would help him in case he was ever in a tight spot and in need of a quick retreat.
"Who are you?"
Kiba looked up at Itachi as he played with the much too long sleeves of his civilian attire. They ran past his hands, engulfing them completely, and he had spent the past few minutes of walking playing with them.
"Koji Ishikawa. Youngest and most mischievous of the Ishikawa siblings. I enjoy ignoring my older sister's orders, angering my older brother, eating sweets before dinner time, and running off without telling either of my siblings." Kiba recited, remembering the instructions given to him in the same file with the information on the girl he was to gather information on.
Konan nodded, looking rather odd with her hair dyed black and missing its usually present flower accessory. "And who am I?" She asked, which had Kiba rattling off more of what he had memorized.
"Noriko Ishikawa. Eldest of the three siblings. You enjoy cooking, making sure that your brothers are well cared for, and working to make sure that they have everything they need. You do not mind taking up any kind of job as long as it pays well. And you do not like it when Koji runs off without any kind of warning."
Konan nodded at Kiba's words and didn't correct him. Which made him smile because it had taken him a bit of time to remember her own profile because of how different it was to the women he had met in his life. Then he looked up Itachi, whose one skin had gone through a bit of tanning out in the sun to look similar to Kiba's own color, and smiled broadly at him.
"And you're Eiji Ishikawa, second of the three siblings. You're quiet and stern and are not afraid of disciplining the wild Koji. You appreciate your sister's sacrifices and try your best to help her out, acquiring a few jobs here and there when necessary, but are mostly in charge of keeping an eye on Koji. You enjoy peace and quiet and a good book."
The older male nodded softly at Kiba's words, then asked, "And what are we doing traveling to Takigakure?"
It was odd to see both members of the organization without their usual cloaks. They both looked plain and like regular civilians with their dully colored clothes and unassuming hairstyles, making Kiba marvel at the effectiveness of subtle changes without the need of any genjutusu to make them all look as if they truly were siblings. Itachi wore a dark kimono jacket with a red sash tied at his waist, simple black sandals, and black khaki pants. And Konan wore a light blue kimono with a skirt that fell to her knees, a dark blue belt around her waist, and slightly heeled sandals.
Their costumes were all safely tucked away inside a scroll that Konan had hidden, not allowing either Itachi or Kiba to find out what she had done with it. Which was the same thing she had done with all of their weapons.
Essentially, they were walking into a shinobi village without any weapons. And Kiba didn't know how he felt about this.
But Itachi had told him that the best way to fool someone was to be as plain and unassuming as possible, to seem like the most normal and inconspicuous person around. Which they wouldn't be able to do if they were constantly thinking of their weapons being found out.
"We're hoping to find a permanent residence and steady income after our family was killed in a raid on our small town on the outskirts of the Land of Fire." Kiba remembered, then cocked his head to the side. "What are we to do if the ninja at the gates don't believe us?"
"You don't have to worry about that. We're going to get in. There's no need to worry about that." Konan reassured, then stopped walking and looked around the trees that surrounded them.
Itachi stopped as well and Kiba looked at both of them with worry and confusion. But right when he was going to ask why they had stopped, he was hit with a male scent filled with blood, water, and minerals.
And just when he was about to ask the two if they felt anyone near them, a man with dark red hair landed in front of them, causing Kiba to immediately move into a fighting stance.
But right when he was going to jump at the intruder, Itachi's hand fell on his shoulder, making him look up. And the dark haired male shook his head, silently telling Kiba to not attack.
"Noriko, Eiji, and Koji Ishikawa?" The man asked, looking over the three in front of him.
"I am Noriko." Konan answered levelly, then motioned for Itach and Kiba. "These are my brothers, Eiji and Koji."
The man with a cloak that covered up to his neck, obscuring his whole body from sight, nodded and turned around. "I shall guide you through the underwater cave system and get you past the front gates with legal papers. You have already been authorized as Takigakure citizens by the village head. But I will keep your authorizations until we get there to make sure nothing happens to them."
Konan smiled softly with a nod, even though the man couldn't see her.
"Thank you. This means a lot to us."
The man grunted softly, beginning to walk. "I'm just repaying the debt I owed to your father."
Kiba was left completely stunned by what he heard. But Itachi soon nudged him to continue to walk, prompting the boy to do so. And, soon enough, he found himself in the same formation they had kept throughout most of their trip, Konan at the front and Itachi behind him.
He had known that infiltration missions into other hidden villages weren't easy. But the preparation that this must have asked for... It was almost unbelievable. Especially considering that a ninja from Takigakure was the one guiding them in, not some smuggler. Because to get in with legal papers allowed by the leader himself, this person must have been the real deal.
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