I woke up the next day and I was still tired. I got a quick breakfast, made a small snack and grabbed the bento Mother made for me last night. I walked out of the house and to the Intel building. The food helped, but I was still tired, however I am convinced that I will feel better once I get moving. I got to the Intel building with five minutes to spare.
"Good morning," I call to the Desk Shinobi, who returns my good morning.
"You are going to be training for a little while before you head to your mission. Wait here for the rest of you team and you will go down to our training grounds together."
I nod and waited for Hideo to show up. Amagi was already in the room and standing against a wall. When Hideo walked through the main door, Lord Kankuro walked into the room from the hallway behind the Desk shinobi's desk.
"Come with me, you three," he said, before turning around and walking back into the hallway. The three of us quickly followed. I made sure my scrolls were securely in my belt as I followed. Kankuro lead us down the hall, it was lit only by light bulbs every three feet or so. We were going further into the plateau's cliffs. After a little while, we started passing different doors, some with numbers on them, most with a single word on them. Then the hallway stopped, and a large door was in front, Kankuro opened the door and we walked out. Only to find ourselves in a training ground, outside the village. It looked to be in an isolated area, not quite out in the open, it had large rocks outside the barrier and the cliffs were right behind us creating another barrier.
"This training ground is strictly for our use. It will be where you learn taijutsu, ninjustsu and genjutsu. It is also where you will learn battle strategies and teamwork. You three will learn to hate this place." Kankuro gave us a small smile, but could it be called a smile when he looked positively evil doing it? "For now, I want you three to warm up, ten laps around the outside of the village, this is not a race, but an endurance test. Let's go." With that sentence, Kankuro took off at a jog. I glanced at my teammates and we took off after him. We were able to keep pace with him for the first few laps, then he started to push faster. It wasn't long before we started to fall behind, but we were able to keep Kankuro in sight the entire time.
By lap nine, my legs were moving only because I forced them too. I pushed chakra to support my muscles and pushed myself forward, one foot in front of the other.
Breath.
In. Step.
Out. Step.
In. Step.
Out. Step.
I couldn't glance to my left or right to see how Hideo or Amagi were doing. I could hear their ragged breathing. I could hear their feet hitting the sand in time with their breathing.
I am falling behind. Must push more chakra into my feel to push off with.
This shouldn't be a problem, I could run twelve laps around the village before I could graduate, why was this so hard? When my foot slipped, my brain supplied the answer. I was running on loose sand, not solid dirt. I was using lots of chakra just to keep myself from slipping and falling as I ran across the sand. If I could, I would have groaned, more chakra exercises.
When we finished out last lap at the training ground again, I collapsed on the packed dirt. Sucking in breath after breath.
"Very good," Kankuro said, barely out of breath, but covered in a sheen, from the sun. "Do a little stretching and start your katas. I want you three to do them in sync with each other. Stick to the ones you learned in the Academy. One through five, I think for now. Then we will have a spar."
I sat up and started to stretch as ordered. I did know that if I don't stretch after this run, I was not going to be able to do any of the katas, much less spar. After a few minutes of stretching on the ground, I stood up and started some standing stretches, going through some dynamic stretches, to get the muscles used to a slower movement.
I glanced at Hideo who was moving around, then to Amagi, he was also moving.
"Katas?" I asked. When the boys nodded, I moved to stand a little apart from them, but made sure that I could see both Amagi and Hideo with a glance and took up the first position. Kankuro was standing over to the side watching us. As one, we began the first kata. This was an easy one for us to stay in sync with each other, we didn't have to turn around or do much other than move in a single line. The second kata was a little more difficult because it has more movement and more turns. Hideo solved the problem with staying in sync by calling out the movements.
A glance over towards where Lord Kankuro showed him standing in front of a large scroll. Since he wasn't stopping us, I just shrugged and continued to follow Hideo's calls. When we finished with the fifth kata, I was feeling better, I was sweating now, but after the last kata, I took a couple drinks of water. I had taken my forehead protector off my head and tied it to my belt because it kept slipping down in front of my face. I might have to put it on, then braid my hair around it to help it stay up. But for now, around my belt was a good place to keep it for now.
"Good, now you are going to spar," Kankuro said once we finished our water, "Your opponent is me."
With that particular bombshell, he summoned Crow and Black Ant. "You three will work together and try and last for thirty minutes. How you decided to do that is up to you. You have five minutes to create a strategy." With that he moved to the far side of the training ground.
I look at Hideo and shrug, "So do you have a plan we can use?"
Hideo frowned, "There is no way we could take him out, Lord Kankuro is a Jōnin and we are still just genin. Our best chance is to keep him off balanced."
Amagi frowned, "How are we to do that?"
"I don't know," Hideo said. "Do you have any ideas Amagi?"
Amagi looked from Hideo to me and back. "We could just keep throwing stuff at him and get in close. Lord Kankuro is a puppet master, which means he is a long-range fighter. We all can use mid-range and close combat."
"How do you propose we do that?" Hideo asked.
"We could do the fire, wind and weapon thing again," I offered. "While he is busy getting the puppet between us and him, or busy moving the puppet out of the way, we could move in."
"If that doesn't work, we could always fight him by ourselves for five-minute intervals, until the thirty minutes is up," Hideo offered.
I nod, "If we do that strategy, for the first fifteen minutes, then maybe we can fool Lord Kankuro into thinking that the last fifteen minutes is going to be the same. Then we can do the fire, wind, weapon thing to get close to him."
"Who is going to go first?" Amgai asked.
"I think Amagi should last, with Hideo first and me between you two," I say, before they ask why I answered, "That way when we start fire, wind, weapons part, you can be backing out so when Hideo throws his fireball, I will use my wind, all of which should provide extra cover for your weapons."
Amagi nodded, "Let's do this. Five minutes from the time he calls for us to begin."
We all stood in a line facing Lord Kankuro, waiting for him to call for us to begin.
The Black Ant clacked to life, rising up from the ground and Kankuro called "Begin."
Hideo took off at a sprint, moving his hands through the sequence needed for his fireball jutsu. Kankuro moved Black Ant and proceeded to attack, launching a bunch of senbons at Hideo, who jumped and tried to dodge them. This continued with Hideo trying to get close, and Black Ant keeping him at bay.
Five minutes flew by and it was my turn. I tried to jump between Black Ant and Kankuro. Well I should say, I jumped between Black Ant and Kankuro only to have Black Ant wrap his arms around me and yanked me to the ground. Focusing, I performed a substitution jutsu and substituted myself with a chunk of rock nearby. I moved around the other side of Kankuro and moved towards his back. After hitting him with a small wind jutsu, I had to start dodging as Black Ant started throwing things at me. Using some wind to throw the senbon away from me, I landed hard. I was running out of chakra and I would need to conserve it, because we still have a whole fifteen minutes after my turn is finished.
Keeping an eye on Blank Ant, trying to see Kankuro's fingers all while trying to dodge what he threw at me, proved to be too much. But I did figure out that Lord Kankuro has eyes on the back of his head. That really is the only explanation that I was willing to entertain as I was once again pulled away from Kankuro by Black Ant and forced to use the substitution jutsu again.
Thankfully, Amagi threw a number of daggers in Kankuro's direction, my signal that my five minutes were up.
I moved back to where Hideo was standing, "Have you figured out his finger movements yet?" I asked, breathing heavily.
"Not yet, have you?"
"Not all of them, they seem to change every time his chakra threads are separated from the Black Ant."
"Which means learning his movements will be much more difficult."
"Yep, but at least we have fifteen minutes left."
"Do you still have ninja wire in your pack?"
I nod.
"Good, you should prepare some shuriken with the wire to manipulate where they go. That way you won't have too during the fight."
"Right," I say and quickly follow his directions.
"Three minutes," he whispered.
I nod again, concentrating on the task at hand, and not the hundreds of ways this will fail.
"Can you make sure Amagi has plenty of kunai and other daggers once we get started."
"Yes," I say, taking a deep breath.
"One minute."
I start to focus my chakra, I can't start the hand signs yet, or else Kankuro will be tipped off to our plan. I focus on the spar in front of me and see that the whole training grounds is littered with various weapons. "Watch your step," I whisper to Hideo.
Hideo nods.
With a deep breath, Hideo throws himself into the spar, he uses the kunai on the ground to try and make Kankuro move, before he is able to move Black Ant to intercept him.
I whisper, "Do you have enough weapons?"
Amagi nods.
Then I see the first sign for a fireball. I had already angled my body so hopefully Kankuro can't see my hands and I hold the last hand sign, waiting for the fireball. When it erupts from Hideo's mouth, I quickly use my hands to direct the air current to whip around the fireball, providing lots and lots of extra air to make the fire hotter. The fireball grew, I focused on using the air to move the fireball just a little to the left, just enough that it was between us and Kankuro. Amagi pulled out two long handled daggers and threw them, while Hideo created four more fireballs, two that covered the daggers and two that were flying free. I cut the wind to the first fireball and added some wind to the four new fireballs.
I watched Kankuro's hands, a finger twitched, and Black Ant flew out of the way and then, right before the first fireball hit him, Kankuro moved. Right into the path of one of the fireball daggers and one of the other fireballs. Before Kankuro could move again, Black Ant flew between the two.
Thump!
The dagger hit!
Oh no! I thought as the fireball hits Black Ant and I wait to see if it is going to go up in flames. The end of my shinobi career is right in front of me, it is when my genin team blows up Lord Kankuro's puppet.
Black Ant didn't go up in flames.
Instead I hit the ground, along with Amagi and Hideo as Black Ant exploded into many pieces. Then those pieces started moving!
Yep, instead of a fiery death, Black Ant was now multiple pieces of sharp pointy things that was going to kill us. Again, this is how my shinobi career ends.
Remembering the plan, Amagi and I continue to rush forward, Hideo providing fireballs, that I make bigger with my wind current manipulation while Amagi continues to toss out a weapon or two, not in all of the fireballs, but in enough of them, that it is a worry.
After what felt like a year, Kankuro calls out, "Time! Good job kids."
We all freeze, it hasn't been a full thirty minutes yet, has it?
Hideo is the first to drop his hands, Amagi and I follow suite.
Kankuro nods, "Good job. Now it is time to do your mission for the day. This time, I want you all to wear traditional robes and keep your cowl up. I don't want someone to get a glance at your face. You will show your forehead protector when needed, but other than when you are meeting the client or when you are finished with your mission and handing it in at the Kage tower, you will keep the fact you are a shinobi a secret."
"Won't people know we are shinobi simply because we are on a mission?" I asked, having gotten my breathing under control. Seriously, I needed to train better if this is getting me winded.
"Not for this mission. You three are going to courier around some scrolls, most are for the different departments, nothing that is classified. Most people will assume that you three are civilians or still in the Academy and doing this for either extra spending money or for punishment." He stared at the three of us, "At least that is the impression you will want to leave them with. You will be in contact with civilians for the most part and only shinobi at the beginning and end of each scroll. However, they should be low level shinobi, so you will have to figure out how to fool them. Robes should be in your lockers. Have the Desk Shinobi show you where they are."
With that Kankuro walked back to the massive door and disappeared in a flash of smoke.
Looking at the two boys, I shrugged and walked back into the back entrance to the Intel building. Surprisingly I didn't have to use any chakra to open the door, but maybe it was because Lord Kankuro opened it for us?
We make our way back down the dimly lit hallway and walked over to the Desk Shinobi.
"Could you show us where our lockers are?" Hideo asked.
"Lord Kankuro said you would be able to show us," I offered. It always helps to have a person in power behind your requests.
The Desk Shinobi got up and walked towards the last door in the room. "The lockers are in here. You can leave anything you may need. Showers are over there, male on one side, female on the other. The lockers are sealed with a chakra lock, so just put your chakra into the seal and it will open. This way you can leave mission scrolls or poisons in the locker and get cleaned up without worrying about the mission being compromised. Just find your name and you should be good to go."
I walked down the row of lockers and found my name near the area where the showers were. I opened the lock and found a dark blue robe with a cream-colored cowl. I grabbed the robe and walked over to the girl's shower and quickly rinsed the sand and grim off me. I yelled, "Make sure you get any blood off you before you put the robes on. The fastest way to show you are a shinobi is by having blood on your robes."
I dry off with a towel and throw it into the bin labeled dirty and slip my shirt and pants back on. Then I take the robe and pull it over my head and slip my arms into the sleeves. I look at myself in the mirror and remember our instructions. I pull my hair tie off the end of my braid and quickly undo the braid. I then brush my hair back so that it fell down my back in small waves. I then walk back out to the locker room area and pick up the cowl. Walking back to the mirror, I slipped the cowl over my head and pulled my hair over the cowl and over my shoulders. This way, when I pulled the cowl up to cover my head, my hair will stay in place.
Nodding at myself in the mirror, I walked back to the locker room to wait on one of the benches. A very short time later, Amagi and Hideo came from the boys shower area wearing their robes. I smiled at them.
Amagi was wearing a black robe while Hideo was wearing a dark brown robe, we all had matching cream-colored cowls, the standard color for Suna civilians. However, I did laugh because both of them had put a belt on, to carry their weapons pouches on.
"If we are supposed to be civilians, we can't carry our weapons on us, at least not outside our robes," I snicker.
"Then where do you suggest we put them?" Amagi demanded.
"Well," I pulled my robe up, "I have mine strapped above my knee, that way I can easily reach it and it isn't visible from the outside."
"How is it easily reachable? It is stuck under your robe!" Amagi pointed out.
I sigh, "It is under my robe, but because of the knee length slit in the side of my robe, I can easily reach my weapons if I need to." I turned and showed them the mentioned slit and how when I was standing straight, my weapons pouch wasn't visible. Then I demonstrated how I was easily able to reach it when I needed to.
"How come yours has a slit and mine doesn't?" Hideo asked, pulling on his robe to see if he had a slit or not.
I kneel and look at the robe, it should have a slit. I run my fingers over the side seam, "There it is," I pull a kunai from my pouch and quickly cut the thread holding the slit closed. I look over and see Amagi doing the same, "Now you can hide your weapons, at least a little bit."
"Thanks, Tsukio." Hideo said.
I smiled in response.
Once we were situated, Hideo lead the way and walked us out to the Desk Shinobi's desk. There he handed us a red mission scroll and said, "Your first pickup is from the front guard station, they will tell you where it goes. After that report to the Kage tower missions desk, show them this scroll and they will give you the rest of your deliveries. Remember the only one who can know that you are shinobi is the missions desk. Good luck."
We all hurried out of the building. The front guard station is at the very front of the village. Most people don't even notice it, because it is built into the cliffs surrounding the village.
"When we get to the guard station, I think I should get the report," I tell the boys.
"Why?" Hideo asked.
"I am the one that has a better chance of passing myself off as a civilian. At least I have the background," I shrug.
Hideo nods, "Okay. You will need to clearance scroll to pick up the paperwork, it should be contained in the mission scroll."
We stop and watch as Hideo pulls out the red mission scroll. After reading it for a minute, Hideo places it on the ground, bites his thumb and smears his blood over the seal and a small golden-brown scroll pops out.
I tuck the scroll into my hand and pull my sleeve over it. Then I take the cowl and pull it over my head, so my face is in the shadows.
"Remember to keep your cowl up," I say as we continue. "Make sure to keep your eyes in pointed towards your destination, and don't look around at the roofs or in the shadows. We are civilians trying to earn a little extra money. So, we move faster than a slow walk, but slower than a jog. We don't want to get dirty and kick up a lot of dust because that is rude and bad manners."
Hideo frowned, "That is a lot of rules for a simple walk."
I laugh, "At least you are boys and can look a little messy, as a civilian girl of marriageable age, I can't have even a single hair out of place or a single smudge of dirt on the hem of my robe."
Amagi looked horrified. "If you are a civilian girl of marriageable age, then why would you be with us?"
"Because either she is already engaged, or her parents are thinking of a possible alliance with our family. If anyone asks, which I doubt they will, but if they do, we," Hideo pointed to himself and Amagi, "are brothers and friends of Tsukio's family. That way, people will draw their own conclusions."
Amagi sighed, "This is becoming very complicated. I just want to be a shinobi and protect my village, not know the secret of acting like a civilian."
"Again, at least you are not female," I say, "This is what most of our kunoichi lessons were about. So, while you were learning better strategy tactics or different fighting tactics, we were learning how to pass ourselves off as civilian females."
"That sounds boring," Hideo laughed.
"It was, especially since Mother already made sure that I knew all of the stuff they were teaching," I sighed.
"So, have either of you come up with a decision about Lord Kankuro's team?" Amagi asked as we walked.
I nodded, "I want to do it."
"Why?" Amagi asked.
"Yesterday, I was complaining about how this is really an impossible task. But I was reminded that if we can achieve this impossible task, then all of Suna will be safer. If we can inspire the level of fear that the Sannin inspire, then Suna shinobi will be less likely to be attacked. Suna merchants will be safer, because bandits will fear that we are guarding the caravan." I shrug, "It seems impossible, but for me the reward for success is worth trying the impossible."
Hideo nodded, "While my reasons are different from Tsukio's, I also want to try. Even if we end up failing, we should be able to get to chūnin at least, which is in line with my goal of becoming a Jōnin. It just means I have to work harder and understand that I will be working with you two until we either become the team Lord Kankuro has envisioned, or we fail and are moved to other areas like any normal genin team."
Our conversation paused as I slowly walked over to the guard station. This was going to be difficult, because they are trained to spot enemy shinobi acting like civilians. Which is why I walked forward, I could at least give the impression of a civilian and my chakra levels were low, which helped the impression.
"I'm here to pick up the early morning report," I tell one of the shinobi inside the station.
He looks me up and down, "Where is your paperwork?"
I hold out the scroll, not the red mission scroll, but a golden brown one that has all the signatures required to pick up the reports. The chūnin looked over the scroll, applied some chakra to it to authenticate the scroll before handing it back to me. Then he sealed the morning reports and handed me that scroll.
"Here you are, this goes straight to Kage tower," the chūnin told me.
I smile shyly and nod, "Yes, shinobi-san," I give a small head bow and turn around. Amagi was trying hard to look slightly awed by the fact he was looking at shinobi, while Hideo was looking bored. I didn't roll my eyes, but I really wanted to.
Together we walked down the road to the Kage tower.
"Are you sure that is what is going to happen when we fail?" Amagi asked, picking up our conversation before we were interrupted by the mission.
"What else are they going to do?" Hideo asked.
"They could decide we are unfit to serve as shinobi and force us to retire," Amagi replied
"Then they will have wasted resources," Hideo answered, which is another way of saying that something is like committing suicide, because you don't waste resources in the desert. It was a faster way to get yourself killed.
I noticed the boys looking around more as we got closer to Kage tower. "What are you looking for?"
"I feel someone watching us," Amagi hissed.
"Don't look!" I hissed back, "Remember, you are a civilian boy doing some errands for spending money, not a genin on a mission!"
"Right," he said, looking at the ground.
"How did you get so good at this type of thing, Tsukio?" Hideo asked.
"Huh?" was my response, intelligent, I know.
"You know what you should be doing on a mission like this. And yesterday you were able to think ahead for your disguise," Hideo clarified.
"Oh," I look down for a moment trying to collect my thoughts, "I don't really know much about missions."
Amagi snorted in response.
I smiled at him before continuing my thought, "But Mother has spent a lot of time teaching me how to be a good merchant's daughter. She has also been teaching me how to be a good merchant's wife. Once I turned eleven and the daimyo took notice of me and began sending me gifts on special occasions, such as my birthday. Mother started my court training as she called it. Really this is nothing more than what we are trying to do here."
"What is court training?" Hideo asked.
I sighed loudly, "Court training is where I learn how to act like a lady from the daimyo's court. I had to learn how to walk differently, depending on who I was walking with. I also had to learn a whole new set of rules about what to talk about, how to talk and even how to eat. It is annoying! But Father says it is good practice for when I travel to other nations because they do things differently than we do in Suna and I will have plenty of social skills to fall back on, so I won't insult anyone."
"So, acting like anything other than a shinobi is normal for you?" Amgai asked, his voice full of contempt, maybe.
"I was a civilian for half my life. My family is full of civilians. I am only one of a small handful of people in my family who have even become a shinobi. However, my family is full of merchants. We travel to different places to make business deals or to meet with business partners. It is important to be able to understand their customs and manners. If you don't then you might offend them and ruin the deal. It never hurts to know who you are dealing with, that way you can easily fool them into thinking you are not as smart as you really are, or to overwhelm them with how great you are. It depends on the expectations on you." I shrug, knowing this lesson well. Having had it taught to me, not only by Mother and Father, Grandmother, and various people I have met through Father's business.
"So, this is something you do all the time?" Amagi asked again.
"I guess," I shrug again.
"Then we will have to rely on your expertise to get us through the rest of this mission," Hideo said.
By this time, we walked into Kage tower, slowly moving through the room until we got to the chūnin at the desk. Hideo handed the chūnin our red mission scroll and was given two more scrolls.
"This scroll has the list of places you need to go to," he pointed to the green scroll. "This one," he pointed to the brown scroll, "is the scroll that everyone needs to sign. You are to go to the four greenhouses, the two water towers, the water treatment building and the agriculture building. There you will get a report from all of them, they will sign seal their report in this scroll and sign it. Do not leave until you get the signature." The chūnin stressed the last sentence. "Any questions?"
We shook our heads.
"Bring the brown scroll back when you are finished. You have until just after lunch to complete this mission. Dismissed."
Hideo took the two scrolls and we all bowed before turning around and walking out.
"How did you want to do this?" Hideo asked as we stood outside the tower, he opened the scroll and saw the addresses and specific names of the eight places they needed to go and collect the reports.
Amagi studied the list, "We should start on one end of the village and work our way to the other end, working in a spiral direction, that way we won't miss any of the places we need to go to and we won't be retracing our footsteps too much."
"It might be more difficult to do that when we can't run, or run on the roofs," Hideo observed.
I shrugged, "The water towers are on opposite ends of the village, while the greenhouses are spaced between the towers. So we could start at one water tower, go to the greenhouses, get to the other water tower and the water treatment building and the agriculture building at the end before we turn in our mission," I offered. I thought it was a good compromise.
"I guess," Amagi sighed, "We could still go in a circle, so that we don't miss anything."
"Okay," I agreed.
We set off for the opposite side of the village. We kept our pace faster than a leisurely walk, but definitely slower than a shinobi would go. The hardest part was to stop looking in all of the shadows and other hiding places. At least it was for Hideo because I kept having to distract him with a pretty thing hanging in a shop or to a bird flying overhead or something else to get him to focus on. It was annoying.
We made it to the first water tower and handed the chūnin the brown scroll. Taking the scroll, the chūnin signed it and sealed away the report within.
"Thank you, shinobi-san," I said with a bow and we turned around and walked back out.
The rest of the stops were just as easy, most never questioned why a group of three civilians were doing what was essentially a D-rank mission, but since we didn't have a mission scroll, we were given a pass. Which is not good, unless they had all been warned beforehand. But really, this was not a hard test to pass.
"So, I think we should do the team thing," Amagi said as we were walking back to Kage tower to deliver the completed mission.
"Did we convince you, or do you have your own reasons?" Hideo asked.
"Does it matter?" Amagi shot back.
"It does, if only so we know where the others on the team stand. Tsukio is going to give this team everything she has because she is hopeful that this team will earn a reputation that will keep her family safe. I am going to give this team as much of myself as I can, for as long as I can, because even if we fail, this team will get me closer to my goals in life. Your reasons will either help us or hurt our goals and I think it is only fair that we know your reasons," Hideo reasoned.
I am shocked, Hideo was able to take all my rambling thoughts and sum them up in a simple sentence. I am also shocked that Hideo is expecting us to fail but going to go ahead and do the team anyway. My third shock is the fact that Amagi is even going to try the team. He has been the most reluctant to even eat lunch with me, much less commit his entire shinobi career to be in a team with me.
"Fair enough, I guess. I think you both have the right idea. I doubt we will be able to achieve what Lord Kankuro wants us to be, but in the end, we will be stronger shinobi because of this team and the learning we will undergo. From what Lord Kankuro was saying, it sounds like we will be given a speed course in our training, because he wants us out in the field right away. If this team can grow the reputation of Sunagakure, then more power to us. However, in the end, we will be stronger shinobi and that is my final goal."
I nod, convinced that there are other reasons behind both boys' agreement to give this team a try. I don't ask them, because those reasons are probably personal and as of right now, I don't have their trust to know those personal reasons. Much like they don't have my trust to know the personal reasons behind my need to have this team succeed.
Handing the brown scroll to Hideo and we walk in to hand in our mission.
The chūnin at the desk smiles at us as she unseals the reports, gives them a quick glance to ensure they are the correct ones and then hands us each a slip of paper. Our pay stub. "Thank you for your service to Suna. May you continue to return and bring honor to our Village," the chūnin recited before dismissing us.
We left the building and walked towards the Intel building.
"Do you want some lunch?" I asked as we passed a barbeque restaurant and the smell of cooking meat had my stomach growling.
"Do we have time for lunch before we report our mission success?" Amagi asked.
"We weren't told to report immediately," I replied slowly.
"We weren't told we could stop and get food either," Hideo replied.
I glanced around, looking for something because I was starving! I hadn't eaten since breakfast and that was before the horrible, awful training Lord Kankuro gave us. "Then a snack at least?" I asked, pointing to the yakitori stand just in front of us.
Hideo glanced at the stand, then at the sun.
"We didn't get anything after our morning training, and it is almost lunchtime. I think we can get a small snack. Who knows when we will be getting to stop for lunch," I continued. "We can eat and walk back at the same time," I gave a big smile, "Please, Hideo, I'm starving."
"Fine," Hideo sighed, "Just make sure it is quick."
"Yes!" I jump up and shout. Walking over to the stand, I see there isn't many customers, which hopefully means I will get my food before Hideo gets mad and leaves me behind. To my surprise, Amgai stands in line with me.
"I would like two chicken and vegetables and one ground beef meatball please," I order. Maybe if I bring Lord… err, Kankuro-sensei a snack he will be okay with us stopping for a snack.
"I'll have the same," Amagi said.
"Make that three," Hideo called out.
I look over my shoulder and he shrugs at me.
While we waited Amagi asked, "Why the meatball?"
"Oh, my friend Matsuri once told me that Lor… taichou likes the taste of beef over chicken so I thought I would bring him something, so if he is going to be upset by us stopping for a snack, maybe he won't be as upset because we also brought him one."
"That," Hideo said slowly, "is good thinking."
"Father always told me to bring a gift when breaking bad news, that way the news won't feel as bad because you are feeling good about the gift."
"That is good reasoning, I guess," Amagi said, "but only if it works."
"True," I said, "but no harm in trying."
We collected our orders and walked back to the Intel building, where Kankuro was waiting for us at the desk.
"What took you three so long?" He demanded.
If I wasn't the one being stared at, I would have laughed, after all I still have a yakitori stick in my hand and am currently trying to swallow my mouthful of chicken.
Hideo held out the small box that held three sticks of ground beef meatball yakitori on them, "We stopped to get a small snack because we were supposed to be civilians who just finished a job and as such, our job was finished once we handed in the scroll at Kage tower. It is customary to get a bite to eat when you are hungry and it was close enough to lunch time that it would look strange if we didn't. Also," he paused and shook the bag slightly, "We brought you something, taichou, in case you wanted a small something after your training."
Kankuro grinned, "Very good, my little genin. Very good. Now report."
Hideo stood straighter, "We accomplished the mission assigned to us. Genin Tsukio was in charge of interacting with the shinobi we encountered for signatures. Genin Amagi was in charge of guarding the scrolls while we were walking from place to place, while Genin Hideo was point for the transitions between each area we collected reports. After a few words, the chūnin or civilians at the desks were very willing to give their reports to Tsukio, especially after she would show them the brown scroll. No one visably reacted to the fact she was acting as a civilian, nor did they demand to see her shinobi credentials. This is either due to the fact we failed to be civilian enough, or the chūnin at the desks didn't care.
"After we collected all the required reports, we finished at the mission's desk where we were given our pay stubs and we left. Finally we stopped to get some yakitori and finally we arrived back here."
"Very good, now what method of travel did you use?" Kankuro asked.
"We walked at a civilian pace the entire time, taichou. Slightly faster than a stroll, but much slower than a run."
"Did you three come up with a reason why all of you were performing this mission?"
"We decided to just stick with Genin Amagi and Hideo being brothers and Genin Tsukio as a friend of the family, that could possibly be a possible marriage match for either boy," Hideo answered.
Kankuro nodded, "Very good. Now go and take those robes off and meet me back here, I think we need to talk."
"Yes, sir!" Quickly we walked back to the lockers, placed our robes inside. I put my belt containing my scrolls back on and put my hair back into a braid before wrapping the braid around my head to keep it off my neck, while the boys put their vests on.
Walking out of the locker room, I see Kankuro-sensei finishing up the food we brought him. "Follow me," he said, straightening up from his bent position. Kankuro walks straight to the stairs, up to the third floor and down the hall. He opens a door and I see a desk with three chairs in front of it. "Sit," he says while sliding behind the desk and sitting in his chair.
"Now I think you three have reached a decision about my team," Kankuro says.
My mind goes blank for a moment as I realize that Kankuro knew we had come to a decision. We made that decision while walking back to Kage tower, which means we were being spied on the whole time, and close enough that they could hear everything we said. My mind racing, there wasn't anyone close enough, nor was there the same person… the robes.
"You bugged our clothing!" I accused, my mouth moving before I could stop it.
Hideo and Amagi glared at me, because I just yelled at Lord Kankuro or because I figured out about the bugs, I'm not sure.
"Very good," Kankuro said. "It took you much longer than I expected for you to figure it out, but then again, you are all still genin, and you all trust me, so I won't hold it against you."
"Why did you bug our clothes?" Amagi asked.
"Many reasons, to listen as you three talked over my proposal. To see how you handled the mission. To see if you would notice that you were carrying bugs with you and if you did, what would you do about it." Kankuro shrugged, "The possible reasons are endless."
"So, you already know that we intend to commit to this team and the vision you have for it, so why are we here? What else do you need to know?" I asked, still upset that Kankuro bugged our clothes. I have half a mind to go, get the robe and cowl to find out where the bug was.
"Well at the moment, I need to give you three more information," Kankuro pressed a seal on the desk and kept talking, "First you will be constructed just like a regular genin team, I am assigning you a permanent Jōnin sensei, but he will not be your only teacher. All three of you will be get extensive training on how to be a spy, how to gather information and how to blend it. You will be expected to master an area of study of your choosing, within reason. Your Jōnin sensei will be the one who approves of your choice. You will be expected to continue performing D-rank missions until you have completed your required twenty. I suggest you go through them as quickly as you can so that you can start taking more difficult missions. You can expect your missions to run like those you have already done. You will have a mission but given an extra mission to be completed while on your primary, such as being disguised. You three will also have extra training to get your body into better shape. This morning you did well, but you need to do better.
"Your primary training will be in gathering intel for Suna, but you will be given opportunities to be in interrogation to learn those techniques as well. You three will also be given some basic field medical training, enough to patch you and your teammates up so you can return to Suna. Do you have any questions?" Kankuro looked each of us in the eye as he asked his question.
I shook my head no.
The door to the office opened and the elder with the red marks on his face walked in.
"Baki-sensei, right on time. This is the group I was telling you about. They are ready to become a team to be feared in all the nations."
Baki looked at the three of us and nodded, "Lord Kankuro has high hopes for the three of you. He says you have great potential. It is my job to ensure that you reach your potential and surpass Lord Kankuro's hopes. It will be the hardest thing you have ever done, and you will want to give up. My advice to you is, don't.
"Lord Kankuro has told me of your spar this morning and of your mission this morning. I suggest you three get some lunch and meet me at Kage tower in one hour. From there we can discuss if you want to perform another mission or start your training."
"Yes, Elder," I say.
"Baki-sensei is fine, Tsukio," Baki's lips twitched as if he found something funny. "See you three in one hour," he reminded us before walking back out the door.
I turned to look at Kankuro, "You heard the man, you have one hour to get some food and be at Kage tower. I know you three will make this team one to be feared," Kankuro said.
We stood up and walked out the door, before I walked through, Kankuro called out from behind me, "Don't disappoint me."
I forced myself to keep walking, Lord Kankuro has very high expectations for us. Failure will lead to disappointing Lord Kankuro. I keep my expression blank as we exit the building, my mind racing with all the ways this could go horribly wrong, my brain supplying all the horrible things that could happen to us if we fail.
"Come with me," Hideo says as we start walking down the street.
I follow blindly, because my thoughts are all jumbled together. The most prominent thought is what if we fail? A close second is how many ways can we fail?
"I don't have much, but I can make us some instant ramen," Hideo said. I blinked, we were in one of the rooms in the barracks.
The barracks is where genin and chūnin are forced to live if they don't have a family to live with. Jōnin can choose to live here, or they can rent or buy a place of their own. The barracks were divided into different sections, mainly according to rank. This allows the higher rank shinobi to have more room and privacy while the lowest ranks usually must share a kitchen and bathroom with someone.
"Now that we are a team, do you think they will let us be roommates? Amagi asked, looking around the room, "Your living space is bigger than mine."
I looked around the room, there was a bed under the small window, a dresser along the wall, a small nightstand next to the bed with a lamp and a picture frame on it. We were standing near the door which we entered, to the left was a door that was closed and to my right was another door, this is the door Hideo walked through. It led to a small kitchen equipped with a sink, stove, oven and a couple cabinets. In the middle was a table with four chairs.
"We can ask," Hideo said, "I wouldn't mind trying to see if one of the larger rooms were available."
"You mean the ones that share a living room and kitchen and bedrooms with attached bathrooms?" Amagi asked, his voice slightly awed.
"We can ask Baki-sensei about it when we see him," Hideo replied. He walked over to the stove and put the water on to boil before rummaging through the cabinet for cups of ramen.
I pulled a scroll out from where it was attached to my belt and unsealed the lunch Mother had prepared. "I have onigiri and some fruit that we can have with the ramen." I set the bento out on the table. "Mother made this for me last night." I explained.
"Do you mind sharing?" Hideo asked, looking at the fruit.
I lifted the box in his direction, "Take what you want, you are making ramen, it is only fair to make sure my teammates have a balanced meal." I give Hideo and Amagi a grin as I grab a small piece of dried fruit and nibble on it.
The water boils and Hideo pours it into the cups and places the cups on the table in front of us along with a set of chopsticks for each of us.
"So, what do you think of our training plan?" Amagi asked Hideo.
"It is going to be hard work. We are not only working on an intelligence and interrogation specialization, but we are also to have one extra specialization, medical training and still work on our team work," Hideo summed it up nicely I thought.
"We also have to learn how to be spies, which from what I understand is a different field entirely," I say.
Hideo slurped up a mouthful of noodles and nodded, "It is, but it also consists of skills that can be applied to intelligence and interrogation, which is why spying falls under intelligence gathering."
I nod, "You two will have much more experience than I do since you have been with intel and interrogation longer than I have."
"Amagi and I will be willing to help you out in any way we can," he replied before eating some more.
I glanced at Amagi who nodded.
"Okay," I said before applying myself to my ramen.
"Any idea what you want to specialize in?" Amagi asked, looking at Hideo and me.
"I think I want to specialize in genjutsu," I offered, "I think that would help with all aspects of what we are supposed to be training in."
"That is a good idea, are you going to keep up with your wind element?" Amagi asked.
"Probably, but I know I will never become the next Lady Temari. How about you two?"
"I think I want to specialize in something that will incorporate my fire jutsus," Hideo answered. "I don't know if I want to do nothing but fire jutsu, but it is a good one to specialize in, especially with your two elements."
I nodded.
"I want to get better with my weapons, maybe with taijutsu or shurikenjutsu. I would also like to continue to advance with my elemental jutsu."
I finish my ramen and grab one more piece of fruit before Amagi and Hideo eat it all, they have already eaten the onigiri. I am letting them eat more than me, but only because I know they are boys and they are living at the barracks, which means they don't get home cooked meals like I do. Maybe I should invite them over more or ask Mother if she will let me bring them some food, but only if they won't be offended.
I clear off the table once everyone is finished and wash my hands in the sink. I glanced at the clock on the wall, "We should leave soon."
Hideo nods, "It should only take us a minute or two to get there from here."
Hideo walked back to his room, grabbed a bag from on top of his dresser, "Ready?"
"Yep."
"Lead the way," I echo.
Hideo walked out of the room, Amagi and I on his tail. We walked down to the street and rushed over to Kage tower.
Baki-sensei was waiting for us, "Follow me," he said and walked into the tower. We walked past the room with the missions desk and we walked into a room at the end of a small hallway. Baki-sensei walked to the table and sat down at the head, he gestured for us to take one of the other seats. We all sat, I was on the left of Baki while Hideo was on the right with Amagi next to him.
"I am sure you three have some questions for me, Lord Kankuro has given me all of your records. He has also explained to me the purpose behind this team and what he hopes to see from you three in the future. It is my job to ensure that future comes to pass. So, what I need from you three is your promise and your commitment to do as I say. This is not going to be easy, by any means, it will, as I said before, be the hardest thing you have done. I have only a few months to get you three ready to participate in the chūnin exams that will be held at the end of the summer. It is Lord Kankuro's wish for you three to enter and win those exams. However, you need to be doing C-rank missions to even be nominated for the chūnin exams. This means you three will have to accomplish eighteen more D-rank missions in ten days, all while we are training. Your physical strength needs to improve, as do your physical skills. You will also be spending time in Intel and Interrogation to learn those skills. That will be about once a week in each area, at least until you are doing C-rank and B-rank missions. Then it will be when you are in the village. Also the field medical will be once a week for a couple weeks. It doesn't take too long to learn how to stop the bleeding.
"Finally you will be choosing a specialty, that will also take up at least once a week, maybe more, depending on when I can get the Jōnin to be able to teach you. Remember, this is all in addition to you doing missions and other basic genin things, like learning how to walk up walls or basic ninjutsu."
Baki paused and looking each one of us in the eye he asked, "Are you committed to this?"
"Yes," the three of us respond.
"Do you have an idea of how you want to get the D-rank missions done?" Baki asked.
"Depending on the D-ranks, and the additional missions tacked on, we could easily do two missions a day," I venture my opinion.
"What about training?" Baki asked.
"We have done two D-ranks, and while I know not all D-ranks are the same, we were able to complete them in a few hours, even with the added parts of the missions. If we plan accordingly, we could easily get two done, especially if they overlap in duties. If we meet early for training, get some breakfast, do two missions, have lunch at some point in there, we could be done before dinner."
"So physical training in the morning that is a good time, but you will also need to train when it is hot, to get used to training in the heat."
"Of course, but we can also do that after we finish up the D-ranks," Hideo says, "I think we need to decide which are the priorities of everything that needs to be done."
"Very good," Baki said, "So D-ranks and physical training are your priorities?"
"With Intel and Interrogation training right after that, along with chakra exercises," I say.
"Once we start C-ranks where we are out of the village for a while, we should get the field medical training," Amagi said.
"Good," Baki nodded. "You have your list of priorities. You should have figured out by now, that this is not normally how genin teams are run, but due to the nature of this team, you three will need to start thinking like a team and start learning how each other thinks. I know this takes time and can't be rushed, or forced, so the easiest way to get started on that is to allow you three to voice your opinions and to talk out your thought process. That way your teammates, and I, can start learning how you think and the important part, why you think that."
What he says makes sense, I know that we will have to start somewhere, but I would be lying if I did want to walk through my thought processes and the whys of my thought processes with Hideo and Amagi. That requires trust and frankly I don't have that with them. But I need to get it and fast, so that we can become the team Lord Kankuro envisions us to be.
Baki gave a small smile, his lips on the half of his face we can see, the corner lifts slightly and his eye wrinkles with the smile. "So there are a few hours before dinner, did you want to try to get another D-rank or did you want to work on chakra control?"
I perk up at the idea, "Chakra control?"
"How?" Amagi asked.
"Walking up walls," Baki replied.
I grin, "Yes please, Baki-sensei!" I look over at Amagi and Hideo and see they are looking at Baki-sensei, waiting to see what he says.
"Even though chakra training is lower on your priority list, I think it is important for you three to be able to walk up walls. So come with me, we are going to find a wall to climb," Baki stood up and walked out the door.
Like little ducklings, we followed on his heels.
Looking around, I couldn't see anything familiar, "Baki-sensei? Where are we?"
"We are in the area where the Kazekage trains, most people avoid this area because when Lord Kazekage trains, his sand flies everywhere," he pointed to the building just to the left of the large sand filled area, "That is what you are going to learn to walk up."
I looked up, it was a very tall building, about four stories high, not the tallest building in Suna, but close. It had large square and rectangular windows from the second floor up. The roof was flat and had spots of green on it. The green was easy to see against the light brown of the building.
As most buildings in Suna, it was made out of a clay material that was very strong, it would keep the house cool in the warm months and warmer in the cooler months. The walls would also be thick enough to withstand the harsh winds that happen during the colder season. The windows would be reinforced to keep from shattering from the sand hitting it during the sand storms, because there were not shutters along the windows. Unless the shutters were hidden, I mused. Other than the height of the building and the lack of shutters, this looked to be a very typical building in Suna.
"If you can climb to the very top, I will go easy on you tomorrow for physical training," Baki said.
I frowned, I didn't want Baki-sensei to go easy on me, we had six months to prepare for the chūnin exams, easy was not where we needed to be.
Baki caught my frown, "Problem?"
"Sensei, I don't want you to go easy on us. We don't have long to prepare and we need all the pushing we can get."
"I didn't say I wouldn't push you, just that I won't make you feel like you want to die," was his response.
I nodded this time. So easy just meant not as hard, but still going to make you suffer. I could work with that. From the looks on my teammates faces, they felt the same.
"How do you climb up a wall?" Hideo asked.
"You concentrate a small amount of chakra into your feet, similar to when you run across sand, and you use the chakra to stick to the wall," was all the explanation we got. Baki walked straight up the wall, all the way to the third floor, turned around and looked at us, "Well?"
I took a deep breath and focused on my chakra, moving it to my feet, trying to make it feel like when I walk on sand, I put one foot on the wall, put some weight on it. My foot stayed in place! I moved my other foot to the wall and I still stayed up! Focusing on my feet, moving one foot slowly in front of the other, I passed the first set of windows. I can do this!
I looked to my left, and saw that Hideo was keeping up with me, his face screwed up in full concentration. I turned my head to the right. Not finding Amagi, I looked up, then down. Amagi was a little lower than Hideo and I, but he was dirty. A glance down showed a small indent in the dirt where Amagi must have landed. I didn't even hear him fall!
My focus shifted from my feet to my memories to see if I really did hear Amagi fall and just didn't acknowledge it. How awful that my teammate fell, and I didn't notice.
My feet started to slip and instinctively I reached for the wall, my fingers searching for something to grab on to. I could feel the wind on my face as I plummeted to the ground. My fingers felt at small bump in the wall, I shoved all the chakra I could into my fingers to strengthen them and tried to hold onto the small bump. My fingers slipped, but my fall had slowed a little.
Enough for me to hear someone yell, "Get your feet under you!"
My feet? Oh right, rule number one when falling, always land on your feet. Twisting, using my stomach muscles, I forced my feet under me. Just in time for them to hit the ground. Instinctively I put chakra into my legs, surrounding the bones and reinforcing the muscles to keep my upright. Bending my knees helped to lessen the impact and I took a deep breath. I landed.
"Good first try, now do it again," the voice called out. Baki-sensei was the one yelling at me. I sigh happily. Baki-sensei was looking out for me.
Turning to face the wall, I tried again. This time I made it four steps past the second set of windows before I fell. This time, I didn't waste time looking for a way to stop myself, I just looked for a way to slow myself down so the landing wouldn't require as much chakra.
After my fourth time walking up the wall, I noticed something. Amagi didn't hit the ground after the second time he fell. I stood at the bottom of the building and watched him. That little butthead! When he would fall, he would do something to his hands and feet and he would just slide down the building, and when he stopped, he would start over again.
My fifth attempt, my final attempt, I was able to walk up the building, and grab onto the edge of the roof before my control gave out.
"Get up here, Tsukio!" Amagi called out, breathless because he just landed on the roof.
"Use your arms to get up here if you have too," Hideo said. Hideo wasn't breathless at all, he was able to walk up the building after only three tries, the jerk.
With a grunt of frustration, I force more chakra into my toes to give me stability to push up and give my arms some help pulling me up onto the roof. With a thump, I landed on the roof, laying on my side where I landed, breathing hard from the effort to get up here.
Clap. Clap. Clap.
I turned my head to see Lady Temari standing over by Baki-sensei, clapping.
"Nice job you three, it took Kankuro and myself a long time to figure out how to walk along walls."
"To be fair, Lady Temari, you were only seven when you started to learn," Baki replied.
Temari nodded, "True, but it still took longer than a couple hours."
I try to gather enough energy to sit up, but I can't even smile right now, much less move my body. Hideo walks over and offers me a hand, I eagerly move my arm, and sigh as it twitches a little at my command. Hideo grins and leans down to grab my shoulder and pushes me up. I pull my noodle like legs at the knees and wrap my arms around my knees to keep myself upright.
"Thanks, Hideo," I whisper.
Hideo walks over to Amagi and helps him stand up, then they walk over to me and sit on either side of me.
"Good job you three," Baki said, walking closer to us. "Tsukio, you will need to eat a large dinner and just rest. Don't use anymore chakra for the rest of the day. Your reserves need to replenish. Hideo, nice chakra control. Have you tried wall walking before?"
Hideo nodded, "Last year one of the Jōnin in Interrogation started to teach me the basics."
"It shows. Amagi, good job with finding a way to not fall all the way to the ground. Next time, you should look for other ways to catch yourself so that you don't use up so much chakra slowing your fall. You also need to eat a big dinner and not use any more chakra for the rest of the night. We will meet at the training ground behind the Intel building, the same one you used with Kankuro this morning. Meet up at six in the morning. Eat a good breakfast but bring something to eat after training. Also bring a change of clothes because right after training you will be starting your D-ranks for the day. I am going to try and get you two or more."
"Yes, Baki-sensei," we chorused.
"Baki-sensei?" Hideo asked.
"Yes?"
"Since Amagi and myself are on a team, do you think we could be roommates? It isn't unusual for teammates to be roommates at the barracks," Hideo rushed to explain.
I nod, "It would make it easier for us as a team if they were roommates, easier to check on each other."
Amagi just nodded, holding his breath.
We waited. I tried to get my sluggish brain in gear, trying to think of something, anything that would convince Baki that my teammates should be roommates. I mean, I didn't understand the appeal, but I heard the longing in Amagi's voice as he talked about the living space. It made me wonder what his room looked like. Maybe it was smaller than the one Matsuri lived in. The thought made me shudder. Or maybe he just had an awful roommate and he was looking for any excuse to get out.
"Tsukio, did you want to join your teammates in the barracks?" Baki's question interrupted my thoughts.
"What?" was my intelligent reply.
"Did you want to see if I could get you a room at the barracks also? There are some rooms that are designed to hold a three-man team. There isn't very many of them, but they do exist," Baki explained.
I chew on my lower lip as I think this through. Living in the barracks means I would have to leave home. Although it isn't unusual for a chūnin to live in the barracks, it makes it easier to get ready for missions, or to be called to a mission in the middle of the night. I figured I had a couple years before I had to make that decision.
Although, living with the boys would jump start us on the whole, know each other bone deep, part of this team.
As if sensing my distress, Temari cut into my thoughts, "Why don't you think about it for a little while, Tsukio. It is a big decision to make right now while you are tired. I am sure you will want to talk it over with your parents," she shared a glance with Baki, "Besides, the three man rooms might not even be available. So why doesn't Baki-sensei just focus on getting the boys in the same room and just ask if there is a three-man room available."
Baki nodded, "Of course, Lady Temari." He turned back to us, "Now you three should go home, get a healthy dinner and lots of sleep."
"Yes, sensei," we chorused again.
Baki left in a puff of smoke, leaving the four of us on the roof. Two of us were tired and ready to sleep, while one of us was trying to figure out how we were supposed to get off the damn roof if we were not supposed to use chakra!
"Damn it!" Hideo muttered looking around.
"What?" I asked.
"How are you two supposed to get off the roof, if you can't use chakra?" Hideo snarled.
"Use the door?" Amgai asked, pointing to the small door on the roof.
"Is it even open?" Hideo asked.
"It should be," Temari broke in, her voice full of amusement. "I came through it to get up here."
"Oh good," I say, "Then may we use the door to get off the roof and hopefully on the ground?" I ask her.
"Sure, I will lead you down myself."
Amagi stood up and I struggled to get myself moving, but once my feet were under me, I was able to lean a little on Amagi as we walked to the door. Down the stairs I started to notice something. This wasn't a government building, like I originally thought. This was someone's house!
"Do you live here, Lady Temari?" I asked, watching the ease at which she moved through the stairway and the hallways.
Temari turned and gave me a smile, "I do, so do my brothers."
I smother a gasp and turn wide eyed to look at Amagi, then Hideo. We were in the Kazekage's house! We just climbed the Kage house!
I glance around, the paintings on the walls, the small photographs scattered on different surfaces. We passed a room that was full of scrolls. Scrolls covering every available surface, stacked on tables, shoved onto chairs and balanced on shelves that were stuffed full. Another room had three large couches with a large fireplace making a square. The couches were good quality, but well used. The fireplace had the remains of a fire, the faint scent of smoke still in the air. We came to the first floor, into an open area. The room opened to the back yard, where a small collection of cacti were growing. There was lots of room for chairs, couches and even a long table. This must be the main entertaining area of the house. Which would explain why the rooms upstairs looked more comfortable.
"You have a lovely home," I tell Temari, suddenly remembering the manners Mother spent many years drilling into my head.
Temari looked around the room, "Thanks."
She held the front door open and we walked out
"Sorry for any damage we did to your home," Amagi said, looking at the ground in front of him.
"Don't worry about it, Gaara and Kankuro leave worst dents when they are sparing. Have a good night you three and follow Baki-sensei's orders."
"Yes, Lady Temari," we say. Turning around and walking down to the street, we turned towards the center of the village.
After walking silently for a little while, I spoke up, "Do you think all three of us living together will make it easier for us to do the bonding Kankuro-taichou wants us to do?"
"It makes sense, I mean proximity means familiarity with people's habits. It is what will help." Amagi paused, "Well it couldn't hurt at any rate."
I nod, "True, it is just," I stop walking and look at my teammates, "It is just that I was hoping to have a little more time with my brothers. I know that moving to the barracks doesn't mean I will stop seeing them all together. But we only see each other at dinner time, and sometimes not even then, especially if they are out with the caravan with Father."
"Then don't, when we become chūnin, you will have to move into the barracks anyway," Hideo advised.
"Will the delay stop me from forming the bond you two will? I don't want to be the weak link in this team!"
"I don't know, Tsukio!" Hideo cried out. "I don't know the answers to any of this. We are having to figure it out as we go!"
"Why don't you talk it over with your mom, maybe she will have a better understanding of what we are trying to do," Amagi offered.
"I doubt it," I complained, "but you are right, I should talk it over with someone," I perked up at the thought, "And there might not even be a room available for all of us yet."
"True," Hideo said, "Now we need to go and get a large dinner and lots of sleep."
I had an idea, it was probably a bad idea, because I haven't had the chance to talk to Mother. However good manners dictate that she would have to say yes, if I brought them over. But that would be rude, so I should go and talk to her. "Let's swing by my parent's store, I need to ask Mother a question."
We walked down to the store, I was leading the way. We walk in, Mother is standing at the counter in her usual dark brown robe with her light brown hair was parted down the middle and pulled over her shoulders.
I walk right up to her, since there were no customers in the building, "Mother," I whisper, "Can I invite my team over for dinner tonight? We just got done with some hard training and I don't want them to worry about dinner."
Mother looked at me, covered in dirt and sand, to the boys also covered in sand and some scratches and bruises. "Of course, my Tsukio. We are having cold soba noodles for dinner tonight, since your father is out of town I wanted an easy dinner."
"Thank you, Mother," I give her a quick hug.
"No problem, my dear. But will you stop by the store and pick up some more cucumber, carrots and peas? Then you will need to prepare them, just a little bit of a steam to soften them slightly."
"Of course, Mother. I will get that right now."
"Don't wait for me to eat, just start eating once it is finished. I am waiting on a customer and she seems to be running very late today."
"Yes, Mother. Are Takashi and Isamu home with Grandmother?"
"Takashi is having dinner with one of his classmates, but Isamu and Grandmother should be at the house."
I nod and walk back over to my teammates, "Come, I have to make dinner tonight, so I might as well feed you two as well. We need to stop by the grocery store and pick up some vegetables, but everything else should be done and ready for us to eat shortly after we get there."
Hideo and Amagi follow me, the same bewildered look on their faces.
"Why?" Amagi asked.
"It make sure you two get a healthy dinner, of course. We all worked hard, and this way no one has to worry about dinner." I shrug as if my explanation explains anything.
A brief stop at the store and a short walk later, we were at my house. We took off our sandals and I walked into the kitchen.
"Feel free to ask Isamu where the shower is, so you can clean up if you want to, or you can just hang out in the living room with Isamu and Grandmother," I say as I start pulling out the steam rack and the pots needed to finish dinner. I then walked to the refrigerator and pulled out the broth and the cold soba noodles and set them on the counter to start warming up. I then start peeling the carrots and slicing the other vegetables thinly.
I hear Isamu taking Amagi upstairs and offering to give him a clean shirt if he would like one. I hear the unmistakable voice of Grandmother talking, with brief moments of Hideo's voice answering whatever question she had asked. Or maybe he was offering his opinion on a matter they are discussing. Who knows.
I put the vegetables that need to be steamed on the steaming rack and put some water in a pot. When the water starts to boil, I turn the flame down and set the steaming rack on top of the pot. I start to time it, carrots and peas do not need to steam long at all.
While the vegetables were steaming, I took the eggs out of the refrigerator, cracked a dozen of them into a bowl and whipped them together with a small dash of sugar and some soy sauce. I then heated a small amount of oil in a large pan. I took the steaming rack off the pot and set it over to the side to stop the cooking process. Then I slowly added some of the scrambled egg to the now hot pan. After it set, I rolled the cooked egg to one side, then I added more egg, and repeated the process until all of the eggs were used and I had four rolls of egg.
I cut the eggs into thin strips, dished up the cold soba noodles into the different bowls, added the steamed vegetables, raw cucumber and the eggs to each bowl of noodles. I left the broth off, we can put that on once everyone was seated.
I moved into the living room to find Hideo and Amagi playing with Isamu. They were building something? Maybe. Grandmother had fallen asleep, not that surprising since she falls asleep at strange moments now. Father says it is because she is old.
"Dinner is done," I say in a low voice. I don't want to wake Grandmother up. Her food will keep until she wakes up on her own. "Mother said to start without her."
Isamu nodded, "Can I keep my building up?"
I glance at the building, it was enough out of the way that no one should crash into it before bedtime. "Sure, just make sure you take it down before you go to bed."
"Thank you, Tsukio!" Isamu ran over and wrapped his arms around my waist. "You are the best!"
"You are very welcome, Isamu. Just don't complain when you have to eat your vegetables."
"Aww man!" he replied.
I laughed softly and walked back to the kitchen, set bowls down in front of everyone who sat down. I poured some broth into Isamu's bowl and passed it to Amagi who was sitting next to him.
Dinner was mostly quiet, Isamu did most of the talking. He kept up the constant chatter, telling me about his day. I mostly tuned him out, not because I didn't care what was going on, but most of it was the same thing that happened every single day. However, something he said jolted me out of my thoughts.
"I'm sorry, can you repeat that?" I asked.
Isamu blinked his wide eyes at me, "I was saying there is a kid at school that was trying to pick on me, but I told him that if he tried, my ninja sister would come and kick his butt!"
"Some kid tried to pick on you?" I asked, because I am certain that I didn't hear that correctly.
"Yep."
"Who is he?"
"Do you remember the grumpy old man who moved away a couple years ago?"
"The one who lived next to the park?"
"Yep, well the family that bought the house has a kid my age and he is a butthead. He is the one that keeps saying that I'm a liar because he never sees Father. Or you. And he says that his older sister is the best, which is just not true, Tsukio!"
"Breath, Isamu." I try to calm him down. "Everyone thinks their older sister is the best, does that make everyone wrong?"
"Yes! Because everyone knows you are the best!"
I smile and ruffle his hair, "I think you are the best too, Isamu. However it is important to remember that other people think their siblings are the best, which is also true."
"Okay," Isamu agreed with me, "Tsukio?"
The hesitation in his voice had me focusing on his eyes, "Yes?"
"Do you think you could meet me after school tomorrow. That way he won't try anything. I mean he doesn't do nothing when Takashi is there, but if he knew that you were a ninja, maybe he would leave me alone all the time. Because we all know that ninja can hide really well."
I nod, "I will do my best, Isamu. I have missions tomorrow, but I will see if sensei will let me take a small break to walk you home."
Isamu's face lit up, "Thank you! This is going to be awesome!" Isamu finished his dinner and started talking again. This time his topic was on how tomorrow was going to be the best day ever.
I glanced over and saw Amagi was having a hard time keeping his eyes open. He had finished some of his food. I felt bad for him, I wanted to sleep too, but I couldn't. At least not until the dishes were done and Isamu was in bed. I stood up and walked over to Amagi.
I put my hand on his shoulder and he jumped straight up, "Amagi, did you want to take some home with you to eat later?" I asked, "That way you can just head home and sleep now."
"Sensei said I had to eat a large dinner," Amagi grumbled.
"I doubt sensei meant that you fall face first into your food trying to eat it," Hideo said. "Just let Tsukio pack up the rest of your food and you can eat it in the morning. If you have eaten enough that you are falling asleep, then you have had enough for now."
I quickly packed Amagi's food into a box and wrapped it up so it was easier to carry. "Do you want me to help you?" I asked Hideo, who had rinsed his bowl out and set it in the sink.
"Nah, I can handle it, so long as Amagi wakes up enough to walk," Hideo emphasized the last sentence as he bent close to Amagi's ear.
"I'm awake!" Amagi whined, "Stop yelling in my ear."
I laugh as we walk to the front door. The boys slip on their sandals and Hideo grabbed the bento.
"Don't worry about lunch tomorrow, I will bring enough for everyone," I told Hideo.
"More soba noodles?" the wistfulness evident in his voice.
"Sure, more soba noodles and vegetable," I agreed.
"Then I will see you at six tomorrow morning," Hideo said as Amagi waved at me and continued to walk down my street to get to one of the main roads.
Mother came home shortly after the boys had walked out of sight. I took a short and hot shower, put on my over-sized pajama shirt and a pair of shorts and fell into bed. Five in the morning was going to come early.
AN: Hello again! How is everyone doing? I have been struck by a huge dose of inspiration since being at home has become a thing. So here we are.
This chapter has not been edited much, so please let me know any errors you find. I am so excited to start this journey with all of you. The new "sand siblings" is in training. I can't wait for you all to see where this goes. Do you have any thoughts as to how these three should interact? What types of things they should do? Please let me know.
Until next time, be safe. Drink lots of water, and go outside and enjoy the sunshine when you can. Things look awful and bleak right now, so soak up some Vitamin D to remind yourself that this will pass.
