These last three months have been hard. Back to back missions, leaving Suna behind as we trained and traveled all around the area. Thank goodness we haven't had any more problems with creeps when we were on patrol.
Even though Baki-sensei brought in different instructors to teach us better taijutsu, and instructors to teach us our chosen element jutsus, I just felt that every day was the same thing. We had missions four days a week, lessons four days a week. Sometimes the lessons would be during our mission. Those were some of the hardest lessons.
I learned how to observe someone while they were being interrogated. I memorized the signs of a lie. I learned how to gather information from a crowd. Learned how to evaluate a room for exits and possible hiding places within moments of entering. I learned how to enter rooms unnoticed.
My team and I learned how to fight, as a team. We were taught how to fight as individuals. We were taught a new jutsu, how to perfect the jutsus we already knew. We worked on our combined attacks until we could do them in our sleep.
Most of all, we learned about each other. I could tell you that Amagi hates cold meat, but loves glazed meatballs. I could tell you that Hideo can drink tea all day long, but coffee makes him jittery. The boys learned that I hate telling anyone no, and I will do anything in my power to make my brother's smile. We all had our chores when we were outside the village. I would cook, Amagi would hunt and Hideo would take care of setting up camp. We learned that Hideo can not cook at all. He could burn water, it was bad.
After a particularly bad mission, we learned that Amagi had nightmares and couldn't go back to sleep unless he was with someone else. We learned that because I stayed on the boys' couch because we came in late and I didn't want to wake my family. Amagi came out of his room, sweaty with eyes as wide as saucers. I woke up to him staring at me. I offered to sit up with him for a while until he could go back to sleep. We sat on opposite sides of the couch. In the morning, Hideo found Amagi laying on the couch and I was curled up in my corner. Our feet were touching.
The three of us were learning how to interpret what different looks meant. I could tell you when something didn't go well, because Hideo's eyebrows would squeeze together and his nose would wrinkle. Amagi's left eyebrow would go up if he was surprised by something.
We also learned that I was going to be the weakest when it came to hand to hand combat. I could hold my own, but not for nearly as long as my teammates, nor could I overpower my opponents. I would try to outsmart them, but it was always difficult. Baki-sensei said it was because I wasn't fully grown yet, that I'm still fighting adults with a child's body. But it was still frustrating.
We also figured out that I was the cleanest of the bunch. It was a shock when I walked into the boy's dorm room one day after we had a blessed three days off. Clothes were everywhere on the floor, the dishes were all dirty in the sink and it smelled like old clothes and sweat in the room. I remember gagging and walking through the boy's room to open the windows, to air the place out. I stood there and waited for them to clean up their clothes and take them down to the laundry.
Thankfully we haven't had that particular mission, laundry was the worst!
After they took all their laundry down, I helped them all to clean up the rest of the apartment. Washing the floors, dusting all the surfaces, washing all the dishes, putting them away, cleaning out all the old food in the fridge.
It never got that bad again, but I could see the signs of a fast clean up when I would show up. The clothes thrown into a clothes bin, the hurried dusting, leaving large parts of the surface still dusty. But to be honest, it was the thought that mattered.
Looking back, we did so much in those three months. It is almost crazy just how much stuff we were able to learn. How far we were able to advance.
All of that changed when I walked into Intelligence one day and saw that the boys were standing around the front desk shinobi. Both were bouncing slightly on their feet, Amagi was nodding at something the shinobi was saying. Hideo couldn't keep the smile off his face.
"Tsukio, great you are all here. I have a mission for you. Baki-sensei is getting the major supplies you will need. I am going to give you a small briefing and send you off to pack. You will have until five tonight to get ready, then you will meet Baki-sensei here before the four of you go and meet the client."
I grin, another mission. One that would take us out of Suna and for some time too.
"Okay, so you have been hired to escort a caravan to a city on the coast. You will protect the cargo by all means necessary. Once the caravan's cargo has been placed on the waiting ship, your mission will be complete. Any questions so far?"
The three of us shook our heads. It seemed like a pretty standard guard mission.
"Good. You will be gone for at least one month, longer if you run into problems. It will take approximately two and a half weeks to travel to the coast. The weather should be fine, it isn't the windy season yet, but don't forget to watch for sandstorms."
We nodded. Sandstorms were never something we joked about in Suna. They could kill you, or at the least injure you, as I learned first hand with the Leaf shinobi.
"Any questions?"
"You said Baki-sensei was getting most of our supplies, what are we responsible for? Clothing, toiletries, food, shelter?" I asked.
"You are to get a weeks worth supply of emergency rations, clothing and weapons for your time gone. You are also to bring your sleeping bags and containers for food and water. But your food and shelter are included in this mission. I can't stress this enough, you will need to get something small to do in order to keep from being bored or getting into trouble. I would suggest reading a book, learning how to carve wooden figures, play a game of solitaire, something you can do by yourself but won't drain your chakra. This is your first long mission like this, you need to be prepared."
We all nodded again.
"If there are no questions, you are dismissed. You have until five tonight to get yourself ready. Here is the mission number if you need to get some items from supply. I would suggest you all get some extra sunblock and a couple scarves to cover your head and face."
Taking the paper that the desk shinobi held out, the three of us walked into the locker room and pulled out our packs. All of us had a pack kept in the Intel building because it was important to be ready on a moment's notice. We used these packs for our trips outside of Suna, so it should have most of what we will need.
"I am going to need more soldier pills and I think extra water pills would be necessary. I have three canteens already and three containers for food. My sleeping bag is also in here, along with some extra blankets and our pots and pans." I told my teammates.
"I have four braces of senbon and kunai. I also have eight spools of ninja wire. Along with three first aid kits. I also have three canteens and three containers for food. My sleeping bag and an extra pillow." Amagi replied.
"I have extra clothes for us to use as we need to. I also have the three canteens and food containers. I have my sleeping bag and extra stuff to start a fire. I also have three emergency kits that we can use if needed." Hideo finished.
"Do you want me to get more pills for you two?"
"I think we should all go, just to make sure we all get what we need and one person isn't having to get all the extras," Hideo answered.
"Sounds like a plan," Amagi said as he threw everything back into his pack and pulled it onto his shoulder, "let's go."
Hideo and I were packed in a flash and the three of us walked over to supply.
"Mission and Ninja number!" A voice came from behind the wall through the open door.
"Mission C-125G, Shinobi 42-027," Amagi answered.
"And Shinobi 40-012," Hideo followed.
"And Shinobi 45-145," I finished.
"Ah, Baki's team. Yes he told me you would be by soon. I have extra sunscreen and some extra sun hoods and three yards of canvas which you can string between two wagons and give yourself some shade. I also have a full set of emergency rations for all four of you plus some extra parts in the event of a problem"
"Thank you," I replied, listening to the man talk loudly over the noise of him moving around. "Can you add some extra burn ointment and a few extra blankets. It might get very cold at night."
"Of course, Baki has most of that taken care of, but it never hurts for a shinobi to be prepared. You are lucky I have so much stuff laying around, young shinobi."
I bow to the doorway as the man walked out, his arms full with three boxes.
"Here you are, make sure you pack these up well. I don't want any of this stuff to spill."
"Of course," Hideo replied.
We each grabbed a box and walked out. "I'm going to need at least one more storage scroll at this rate," I muttered as we walked back to the boys' room.
"I think I still have one from earlier. To be honest, all of this will fit into a single scroll," Amagi replied.
"It could," Hideo teased, "Unless your name is Tsukio and you like to have everything arranged in separate seals." Pointing to different areas, "This one is for food, that one is for water, this is clothing, sleeping bag, medicine," he pointed to a new spot with each category.
Amagi grinned, "Because I don't want to have to paw through a pile of stuff in order to find what I'm looking for. If I wanted to do that, I would just throw everything into a backpack."
I sighed, this wasn't a new argument. In fact it is the one that I use all the time whenever the boys start to make fun of my packing ideas. I didn't get upset, because it was all done in good fun, my feelings weren't hurt. If they were, I knew the boys would be quick to stop and make me feel better.
We walked in the front door of the barracks and walked straight up to the room. It had been a long time since we had to hide from Sajin. Not since he "accidently" walked past a particularly brutal spar with two shinobi from torture. I remember getting kicked in the face and I flew outside the boundary of the sparring grounds. I must have been knocked out, because next thing I knew Hideo was calling a brief halt to the spar, while Amagi was waving smelling salts under my nose.
"Are you okay, Tsukio?" He asked, his voice low.
I run my tongue over my teeth and spit out some blood from where I bit my tongue, "I'm good, just got kicked pretty hard. No teeth are loose."
"Okay, take a sip of water and then we will go again. This time we should make four walls and a top, like a box, to trap them, then light their asses on fire," Hideo suggested as he handed me some water. "Any questions?"
Amagi and I shook our heads.
"Let's finish this, so we can go to medical and get patched up. The last thing we need is for your mom to see you like this and come after our teachers," Hideo grinned as he held his hand out to help me up.
I was a little wobbly on my feet, but after taking a couple shallow breaths, I was able to focus. That was when I saw him.
Sajin was standing near one of the buildings near our training ground. His face looked a little pale and he was holding his body rigid. I caught Hideo's eye and tipped my head in Sajin's direction. I watched as Hideo took a sip of water and glanced in that direction. Because I was looking, I could see the very slight widening of his eyes. It didn't last long, he grunted and held the water in front of Amagi, who took it and took a sip without question.
"Okay, Amagi, I'm going to need you to try and have weapons in the air, while forming the earth box. I think it is the only way we are going to get them off guard enough for us to trap them," Hideo told us, his voice just a whisper and his lips barely moving. Another trick we were trying to perfect.
Amagi tilted his head down, just a bit. Then as one, we stepped over the boundary line to reenter the fight.
"Are you ready?" One of the shinobi asked.
"Yes," we answered together. We all dropped into a deep defensive stance, waiting for the next move.
The three of us have been working on our group attack for the last month. We were not perfect by any means, but if we could catch someone by surprise, we could trap someone and we would be declared the winner. But because it took a lot of chakra for us to do this move, we didn't use it often, it was more of a last resort type of thing.
Kunai were thrown at the three of us and we leapt into the air to avoid them, all while staying inside the boundary. I used body substitution to get behind the one who threw the kunai. I slammed my hands onto the small bit of soft sand and created a whirlwind of sand. Amagi took advantage of this distraction and slipped his hand into his kunai pouch and pulled out a handful of kunai. He took aim and threw them, Hideo created fireballs and also threw them, I concentrated on creating smaller whirlwinds and sent them hurling towards the two shinobi. They both jumped up, and I tracked their movements, they would hit the ground next to each other.
"Amagi!" I yelled, pointing to a spot, near where they would land, but not exactly where they would land. I ran forward, grabbing any stray senbon I could find and threw them at the two shinobi who were still moving through the air.
Their feet hadn't fully touched the earth yet, when two kunai were thrown and they wrapped ninja wire around the two shinobi's legs. Hopefully stopping them for just a moment. Then three earth walls grew out of the sand. Hideo and I were running as he created a huge fireball and I added wind to it, making the fire burn hotter.
The hotter fireball flew faster.
Both shinobi in the box used body substitution right before the fireball hit them. I ran and jumped onto the earth walls, looking for the two shinobi, readying another blast of wind.
"Enough!" Baki-sensei's voice cut through the training grounds.
I jumped down and walked over to Amagi and Hideo, we turned to face our sensei. Our two sparring partners walked over slowly.
"Well?" Baki-sensei asked.
"As a team they did very well. Tsukio needs to work on getting out of the way faster, Amagi needs to learn to focus on the enemies in front of him when a teammate gets hurt and Hideo needs to be more aggressive. But all in all, your team is more advanced than your typical genin team and therefore it is our opinion that they are ready for missions outside these walls."
Baki-sensei nodded his head. "Very good, very good. Please leave your official report on my desk, I would like more in depth recommendations on where they need improvement or where there are habits we need to break now."
"Of course, Baki." With that, both shinobi were gone.
"Now, I want you three to walk straight to the hospital and get those injuries healed completely." Baki-sensei leveled a terrifying glare at Hideo, "and I will check with the medics, Hideo. That cracked rib had better be healed by one of the medics."
I nodded my head, only to have the whole world nod with me. I fell against Amagi, who took Hideo down with him and we all crashed into the ground in a heap.
I blinked up at Baki-sensei, trying to figure out how exactly I got on the ground, because I could have sworn that I steadied myself. Now I didn't, obviously, because here I was, but still, I thought I was able to catch myself.
Baki-sensei bent over, hands outstretched, holding some disposable water bottles. "Drink these, there are some vitamins and stuff to help you get better hydrated. Finish this, then get to the hospital. You three did a good job."
I reached out and grabbed the water bottles and set them in front of us. Then Baki-sensei turned and walked straight towards Sajin. He said something that had Sajin running away like his hair was on fire.
The three of us eventually made it to the hospital. I did in fact have some loose teeth in addition to a bitten tongue, a cut lip, cheek and various other places. Hideo had a broken rib along with cuts and bruises. Poor Amagi is the one that ended up with the biggest problem, he had a badly sprained ankle. So bad in fact the medic said it was better if he had just broken it. Hideo offered to break it, but the horrified look from the medic said the joke fell flat.
Not sure what Baki-sensei said to Sajin, or if he saw something that scared him, but after that, Sajin avoided us like we had the plague.
I pulled out my scrolls and started to add some of the things we just collected into their proper place. I moved some stuff around and marked those changes on the scroll. When the boys held out their scrolls, I helped them to make the necessary changes in the sealing formula.
"I guess I am going to have to tell Mother about this new mission," I whispered.
"Want us to come with you?" Amagi asked. At this point both boys understood that Mother hated me leaving the village. They also learned that Mother wouldn't get as mad if they were there when I told her. We got used to telling her about missions over a meal, if possible. Because not only were my teammates there, but my brothers would be there. They were always so excited about my missions.
"Once we are done here, we can go tell her. I still need to grab my travel robes from home."
"Do you think we should bring our robes?"
"I don't think it would hurt," Hideo replied. "They will allow us to hide from the midday sun and it will let us blend into the caravan or the city."
Amagi sighed, but stood up and grabbed his long black robe from his room. Hideo grabbed his dark brown robe. They both stuffed their robes into their packs. I was pretty sure that Amagi shoved his, to the bottom of the pack. It was going to get so wrinkled down there.
A while later, the three of us, with our packs once again on our backs, made our way to my parent's store. I walked in and quickly spotted both my parents standing near the counter.
Father was bending over and pointing at something on the counter while Mother's expression was pinched. Similar to the expression she had when I told her I was going out on a mission. This was the longest mission I had been on, but, if I were honest with myself, this was the type of mission that I was always longing for when I discovered that I could become a shinobi. I was going to protect a caravan!
"Mother, Father!" I called out to them. Both heads turned in my direction. I watched as Mother's face went from confusion and joy to fear and resignation as she took in my clothes and the packs on our backs.
"When do you leave?" Mother asked.
Father smiled at the three of us and waved his hand to come closer. "How long will you be gone this time?"
Hideo answered, "We are supposed to meet tonight at five and we are guarding a caravan headed for a port city. We will be gone for approximately one month depending on the weather."
Mother sighed, "So you and Father will be gone at the same time. Too bad you will not be traveling together."
"Father?" I asked.
"I just received word that one of our suppliers has a new shipment for me, so I'm heading out in the next couple days to pick it up. Since I will be out, I might as well check in on our other suppliers and artists."
"Ah, that is a good use of time," I answered my thoughts swirling. Both Father and I will be gone. This has never happened before, well not for this length of time anyway. We might overlap a day or two, but never this long. Father was talking about a journey that would last for months. Suddenly I wasn't so happy about guarding a caravan. I want to guard Father's.
"Don't worry about it, Tsukio," Father told me gently, his soft smile highlighting the deep wrinkles around his mouth, "Since I am not carrying anything of value, I won't need any shinobi until the return trip. I have already put in a request. All I need to do is send word and I will have a group to protect me."
Mother sighed, "This is just like every other time you have gone out, we will be fine."
"Yes Mother, Father," I said, because I don't know what else to say. My head is spinning.
"Go home and get what you will need, Tsukio. If you can, pick up your brothers and give them a hug. If not, make sure you leave them a note, just so they are not worried. Your mother and I will be here late. Let Grandmother know, please."
"Yes Father." I said. Impulsively I ran forward and threw my arms around him. At first he was stiff, but then I felt his strong arms wrap around me and felt the gentle squeeze as he hugged me back. "Safe travels, Father. I will see you when you return."
"Safe travels, Tsukio. I know you will bring honor to your family and to Suna," Father answered before letting his arms fall back to his side.
I give Mother a quick hug and I feel the damp touch of her lips on my forehead. "Safe travels, my daughter."
Walking back to my teammates, I turn and give my parents a wave before following them outside.
"Well that was easier than I expected," Amagi said once we were out of earshot.
"It was, should we be concerned?" Hideo asked.
"I don't think so. I think she was just focused on the fact Father was leaving and what that means for the ones at home. I have no doubt that we will find a note or something from Mother when we reach the port city."
"How will she know which port city we are heading too?"
I laughed, "All she has to do is ask who left today and where were they heading. It isn't difficult to do."
Both boys nod. We made our way to my house. It is empty when we arrive. I took a deep breath and walked up to my room. I open my wardrobe and grab two robes, one is the standard brown Suna robe, the other one is my favorite with the bottom half open so I can move my legs as much as I need to.
I make sure to grab one of my lighter head scarves, a light tan one. This way I will have two scarves, in the event one gets lost or I need to wash one, or a million other reasons I might need an extra cloth.
I just pack those things into my pack, folded neatly. I will have to figure out which robe I would wear most often before I go and seal it. I turn and see the boys waiting for me. A glance at the clock told me that school would be letting out soon.
"We should go and pick up my brothers, and maybe grab some food. I'm starving."
Amagi nodded, "Sounds like a plan. Let's get the food to go, so that we can pack up the leftovers and take them with us."
"Speaking of leftovers," Hideo said as we walked out of my house and towards the school, "we should get rid of anything that will spoil while we are gone."
Amagi nods, "Who did you want to give our stuff to this time?"
I laugh, between the three of us, we knew plenty of shinobi who might need some extra help with food. We all took turns suggesting someone. Thankfully no one ever felt like it was charity, because we all knew what it was like to get sent out on a mission at the last minute, and really, no one wanted food to go to waste. Especially right now, when the weather was getting hot and the greenhouses didn't produce as much. So we were all used to making sure that food doesn't go bad, it is wasteful.
"I think it is Tsukio's turn to pick someone," Hideo replied.
"Matsuri, if she is available. I believe she just got back from a mission and could use some things to tide her over until she can go shopping."
The boys nod in agreement.
We made it to the school before classes let out.
Amagi looked around, "Has your brother had any more trouble with his bully?"
I shake my head, "Not that he has told me," I qualified my answer.
Amagi nods, "Then I think I will take your pack and mine back to the room. I can start packing up the food. If you and Hideo don't mind getting food for us?"
Hideo smiles, "Of course we can do that, any requests for food?"
Amagi shook his head, "Not really, you know what I like."
Hideo and I nod.
I hand my pack over to Amagi's outstretched hand. "Thanks Amagi."
Amagi nodded, then quickly walked away.
"He still hasn't gotten over his dislike of kids?" I asked.
"Nope," Hideo answered, "at least not like this. Just a couple at a time is okay."
"Well that is an improvement," I replied.
"Yep."
The bell rang and shortly the doorway was filled with children in a hurry to get home.
"Tsukio!" two high pitched voices called out, right before two boys threw themselves at me.
"Why are you here?"
"You're leaving."
They said at the same time.
"Yes, I am leaving on a mission. I should be gone for a while, but not forever."
"When do you leave?"
"In a couple hours," I answered, "I will give you both a hug and then I have to go finish getting ready."
Both boys gave me a hug, I gave them some money for some shaved ice. I also whispered words of encouragement to both of them. I gave them both a kiss on the head then after one last hug, I watched them walk away.
"Let's go get some filled rice balls and some meat skewers," Hideo said quietly as we watched my brothers walk away.
"Sounds good. We can also get extra and pack it for tonight."
"Okay," Hideo turned and walked to our favorite food stall.
Five o'clock had the three of us standing in front of Baki-sensei. Baki-sensei's face was smooth, like it was carved out of stone.
"As you have heard, we are escorting a caravan to a port city. We are tasked with ensuring the safety of the cargo. Our primary mission is to protect the cargo, our secondary mission is to protect the people in the caravan. As such, we will travel in a standard formation, two people in front, one in back and one on top of a wagon, this person is responsible for watching the left and right sides of the caravan. We will have radio communication with ear pieces to keep in contact.
"In the event something happens to our coms, if something is seen, then a single white smoke flare will be shot into the sky. Everyone will go to where the smoke was seen and we will assess what needs to be done. Any questions?"
We all shook our heads.
"This caravan consists of fifteen wagons, thirteen of them containing cargo. The other two will contain our supplies. We have been given a small amount of space in one of those wagons to hold our gear. The client is responsible for providing us food. We will provide our own shelter.
"Since a caravan is most vulnerable when it is stationary, we will take shifts for the evening. The person sitting on the wagon will typically be the person who pulled the last watch overnight. Depending on the situation, we will have a two or three man shift. We can be flexible with this. And," Baki-sensei paused, "and we will most likely change this plan as we get more comfortable on the way. Do you have any questions?"
"No, sir," the three of us replied.
"Alright then, let's go and meet our client. Let me do most of the talking, speak only if he speaks to you directly."
"Yes, Baki-sensei."
With that final agreement, we walked towards the front gates. In front of the gates a large man was talking to one of the wagon drivers. The drivers were probably hired just for this trip, so there would be lots of last minute instructions.
I recognized the large man as soon as he turned around and walked towards our group. Baki-sensei was standing in front of the three of us. We stood in a loose diamond shape, so that Baki-sensei's back was covered as we talked to the client. Not that we expected anything to happen with our backs to Suna's gates, but we were representing the Kazekage and we would give a good impression.
"Baki, it is good to see you. I didn't know you would be escorting my caravan!" The man's voice boomed.
"Hello Daiki, it is good to see you again," Baki-sensei gave a small bow, "My team and I are honored to be able to escort your caravan to the coast."
Daiki's eyes moved to look past Baki-sensei to look over the rest of the team. His gaze slipped over Amagi and Hideo, but stopped when they connected with mine. I watched surprise bloom over his features as he opened his arms.
"Tsukio! Come give your uncle a hug!"
I glanced at Baki-sensei, who looked at me curiously. My eyes found Hideo's and I minutely shook my head at him. Baki-sensei caught the movement and turned a hard gaze to Daiki.
"Genin Tsukio is.. On the clock so to speak. I would ask that you respect the fact she is working right now. We can exchange pleasantries during the evening meal," Baki-sensei replied.
Daiki frowned, but quickly his grin returned, "Of course, of course. Forgive me. I will do my best to remember that you are a shinobi and not my little niece."
I give Daiki a small smile and nod my head at his statement.
"Good, good. Well I would like to head out within the hour. Your gear can stay in the wagon with the red stripe on it, I left some room for you. We will travel for about three hours before stopping for the night. Caravan life has its own rhythm that you will figure out. But we get up when it is still dark and get some travel in. Then we stop about midday for breakfast, then we will travel until the hottest part of the day, we will stop, have lunch and rest. Once the sun has dropped from its highest point, we will travel until it is too dark for us to see. Then we will circle the wagons and eat. There will be fires and stories, which is found to be the most fun portion of the day," Daiki finished.
"Great," Baki-sensei replied, "Once we get our gear put away, we will be ready to go."
"Go, put your gear away. I will talk to the drivers."
Baki-sensei bowed again and walked to the wagon that would house our gear. The three of us followed him. After storing our gear in the wagon, we walked around the other wagons. We introduced ourselves to the different drivers, some I knew from when they worked with Father. Everyone was polite so we were able to move around quickly.
"Tsukio, Amagi, you two will take the front first, Hideo take the center wagon and I will take the back. Here," Baki-sensei handed each of us a small radio and an earpiece. "These earpieces have a microphone which are keyed to only voice frequency. Once we start moving, we will test them to make sure they work. I don't mind if you three chat while we walk, or even if you engage in conversation with the people in the caravan. However I expect that you will continue to do visual sweeps while doing so. We can discuss the specifics of your positions while we travel, but for now we will stay along the main roads, so we won't have to do too much scouting."
"Yes Baki-sensei," I said as I took the radio and attached it to my belt and slipped the ear piece in. "What channel are we on?"
"Three."
I looked down at my radio and turned it to the correct channel. Radio communications were still new, but we all trained on how to use it, so I was confident that this wouldn't be the problem.
"Now I know that this is going to be a long mission. We have trained you for this. I know that you will do just fine and that you will bring honor to the Kazekage and Suna. If you are getting overwhelmed, you need to tell me. If you need more water, a break or anything else, you tell me. This mission will not be a success if you can't complete the mission. Therefore we need to take care of all problems, before they become big problems." Baki-sensei leveled a cold stare at Amagi as he said this.
Amagi's cheeks darkened at the reminder.
"Yes sensei," we all said.
"Good, it looks like we are almost ready to go. Tonight will be an easy night, a good way to work out the kinks of traveling. So I don't expect any problems tonight, especially this close to Suna, but keep on your guard. If there are questions, ask me."
"Yes sensei," we replied again.
"Now get to your positions. Hideo, you can either walk next to the wagon or you can climb on top, it is up to you today."
"I think I will do both, Baki-sensei."
Baki-sensei nodded and waved his hand, with a final bow, the three of us walked to our positions. Leaving Hideo somewhere near the middle of the group, Amagi and I walked to the head wagon.
I bowed towards the driver, "Hello. We will be guarding the front of the caravan. We will be moving around a lot, please don't let it bother you. Our job is to guard and we can't do that by staying in one place."
The driver looked down at us from his perch, after a moment he smiled, "If you get tired, feel free to hop up, I do like to talk and it is always helpful to be able to have someone talk back."
The beast attached to the wagon looked back and snorted at the driver.
"Now, now, don't get your tail in a twist. I just meant that it would be nice to talk to other people. You are a great listener, but not a great conversationalist."
The beast threw his head and stomped his foot in protest.
The driver laughed, jumped down and patted the beast on the hind flank, "Be nice to these shinobi, Kyo and they might talk to you too. Give you someone else to listen to."
Amagi's eyes were wide and he kept glancing between the driver and the beast. I could tell that Amagi was confused. Apparently the driver could too.
"Travel like this takes weeks, sometimes months. Since I like to talk, I talk to my animals, to the sand or to myself, but that isn't as much fun. Don't worry, you will understand soon enough."
Amagi and I nodded.
A loud shout came from behind the wagon, saving us from having to say anything. The driver gave the beast one last pat and then jumped back into his wagon. Picking up the reins, he gave them a flick of his wrist and gave a sharp "Haw." The beast strained forward for a moment before the wagon began to move.
Amagi and I moved forward with the wagon. After a few minutes, as one we turned around and looked behind us. The train of wagons seemed to stretch out behind us forever. But I knew that wasn't true. Maybe it was the growing shadows, or maybe it was the fact we were leaving home for a long time, but for the first time in a long time, Suna looked small.
We were quiet for most of the day, just the occasional question of "what is that?" and the answer, or Baki-sensei telling us to go and check it out then the answer would come. All in all, not a bad first day of travel. All things considered.
Once we stopped for the night, we set up our sleeping area, a little apart from the rest of the caravan. Most of the drivers either slept near their wagons or near the fire. I remember that weather played an important part in that decision.
Daiki had a tent that would be pitched near the fire, as the owner of the caravan, he could have a few more luxuries. I helped get the fire going and I helped to make dinner for the whole caravan. Giant pots of rice were made, along with a giant pot of soup. Meat was roasted over the fire. We all took our fill of food as we sat around the fire.
In my memory, this is when we would tell stories, however we didn't that first night. The driver that Hideo walked next to said that was because it was the first night, we haven't gotten to the point where we need entertainment. This caused the rest of the drivers to laugh and agree.
Soon after Daiki walked into his tent, the drivers drifted off to their areas to sleep. Baki-sensei gestured at us to follow him.
The four of us walked outside the circle of wagons and walked a short distance away.
"Now tonight we will have two shifts. Hideo, you take the first watch and I'll take the second. Tsukio, Amagi get lots of rest because you will be running more tomorrow. As we continue to travel, the people in the front will have to do more scouting to ensure that the way is clear."
I nodded, and walked over to Hideo, "Here, this might help." I held out a small cup of tea that I grabbed as we left the fire.
"Thank you," Hideo said, taking the cup and walking over to the slight rise outside the camp and sitting down.
"Sleep well, I will wake you all well before the caravanners. It is a good habit to ensure that any briefings will happen before the caravan moves. That way it also lessens the likelihood of someone overhearing and making a scene," Baki-sensei said as he walked the two of us back to our sleeping area.
AN: A time skip, dealing with bullies and a wonderful lack of creeps! I would say it is a huge improvement for our team. Here they are on their first 'real' mission. How do you think it will go? Any guesses as to what could happen? As always, please feel free to let me know what you think. Until next time :)