I hate this. My lips formed into a grimace at the nauseating feeling sweat beading down my neck, causing my coat collar to stick to my skin. Konoha's gates seemed larger than normal if that were possible. The again, given this worlds laws of nature it probably was. Akio sat snug on my shoulder, her wing a little puffed in excitement despite the dread rolling off me in waves. This was a bad idea, a terrible one really and I wanted absolutely no part of it. Sleeping in would only delay the inevitable, and with Naruto waking up extra early there was no point.
"Uh, Tsu, are you ok?" Sakura lightly tapped my free shoulder, flinching when I turned to her like some broken robot. My face was scrunched into a frown, I was practically squinting at the girl. "Not ok, definitely not ok- Tsuru what's wrong?" She panicked, but I felt too jittery to even reply. The pinkette lightly tapped my cheeks, trying to get a response but i just stared at her with the same emotional array of a fish. I did jerk back a bit when a golden little charm dangled in front my face.
"Dont worry tsu-chan! I have my good luck charm so it'll be completely fine 'ttebayo!" Naruto smiled, his excitement rolling off of him in waves, but really it was the smell of wisteria that brought me down. He gave me a little nudge, his eye shifting to me and then to Sakura. I stared at him with a raised eyebrow for a few moments, seeming unphased while barely registering his nudging. His grin slowly shifted to a pout, the little fox lightly jingling his charm in front of my face once more. My eyes lit up once I realized what he was getting at. For once my face actually brightened and I looked back to Sakura, my funk gone in an instant.
"Ah! I almost forgot, but last night I made something for everyone since we're leaving the village!" I squeaked excitedly, sliding my pack off my shoulders and reaching in. Sakura peeked over the bag curiously, tilting her head a bit to try and get a glance but only jerked back when I whipped my head back up. In my hand were four different charms. All were different, braided with a different color for each person. Though they all had the same gold locket that held Wisteria inside.
"I made these for all of us last night, they're good luck charms with Wisteria. This Green one is yours- and I know you like red, but I thought green would go with your eyes better ya know?" I rambled, Sakura's lips slightly parted as she watched me tie the bracelet around her wrist. Sakura tilted her head, lightly twisting the locket in her other hand.
"I thought Wisteria was for long life?" She asked, looking up at me, earning only a simple nod from me. "A long life sure would be lucky for us ninja wouldn't it?" I sang, walking over to Sasuke who stood leaning against the wall of the gate. Angry face raised an eyebrow at me, seeming extremely unamused at this. To him, it was just another bracelet from a girl aiming for his affections. Was all to aware of that but I didn't mind, as long as he wears it I don't care.
"Here! I made yours purple so it would balance out all your blue!" That's a right angry face, I'm thoughtful. Sasuke glanced at the charm, actually considering it for a moment before looking up to me with a smirk.
"What? You got a crush on me or something?" The two of us easily ignored naruto's annoyed squawking behind us as Sasuke stuck out his arm.
"Obviously not. The outside makes me paranoid so it's simply that I feel safer with the good luck charm." I huffed, turning my nose up in disdain. "Besides, You're Not my type." That was the worst thing I could say because when I turned, Sakura was staring at me like a cat with a mouse. "N-no, I didn't mean-" "I knew it! You do like people! Ok what's your type. Come on! Tell me~" Sakura squealed, grabbing my hands and shaking them. Noo, don't look at me with those sparkly eyes it isn't fair. We should be focusing on being ninja right? Who needs- No no. I became a pillar purely to have a better chance at getting Sanemi to like me. I mean, it worked, but my motivations for a higher rank were pretty silly.
"Um, well, I um- Oh look it's Sensei! I should go give him his charm!" I squeaked, sliping from a pouting Sakura to Sensei who, I still was a bit iffy with. Kakashi paused for a moment, no doubt a bit confused as to why I came up to him. Especially with Tazuna next to him. I beckoned for his wrist, ignoring how closely he was watching me.
"I made good luck charms for the team since we were finally going outside of the village," My finger lightly worked his sleeve until it was pulled up and I could see his wrist, "I used black cause you don't seem like someone who would enjoy a colored bracelet on your wrist. It's Wisteria so it-"
"Keeps away bad spirits." Kakashi lifted his wrist, his free eye staring at the locket. Akio lightly pecked at my ear, earning a light swat to her beak. Rude little thing, always so pecky. Nevermind the little stunt she pulled when we first met Kakashi. Sneaky little thing. Kakashi looked me over, tilting his head a bit as he looked me over. Before I knew it his hand came down on my head, ruffling up my hair. His eye was crinkled in what I could only assume was a smile under that mask. For a moment it felt a bit normal, like I hadn't blatantly told him that I didn't trust him at all, but that was short lived once I heard a snort beside him from the man we were supposed to be protecting.
"Great, you spent your whole night making friendship bracelets for everyone! Are you sure I'm going to be safe with these brats?" I'm gonna kill him. Tazuna looked like he was regretting every decision he's ever made with settling for us being his escorts, and I was beginning to regret being a good guy in this lifetime. Before I could take any steps towards this drunkard Kakashi swiftly moved me towards Naruto and Sakura.
"Easy there Creepy eyes, no attacking our client." He mused, seeming amused by all this bullying. Tch, whatever. I jumped a bit at Naruto's excited shout, evnen Akio jumped a bit. Really, I was happy he was so excited that we were finally going outside the village, I just hope he won't yell like this the whole time. To save myself from another urge of strangling our client I focused on petting Akio, keeping my brain off everything even when we began to walk.
"How ya doing Tsu-chan?" It had been at least 30 or so minutes since we began our Trek and I'm surprised Naruto remained quiet for this long. The little bumblebee bounced by my side, and to my surprise it was concern on his face rather than excitement. It made sense I suppose, considering how worried I was last night.
"I'm doing ok so far, the sun is up after all." I laughed a bit nervously, my eyes tracing on Akio as she fluttered on top of Naruto's head. Naruto glanced up directly at the sun, only to yelp and look back down.
"I could have told you that was a bad idea, dummy." I deadpanned, snickering a bit as Naruto wiped his eyes. Sakura peeked over at me, a bit curious of our conversation, or well, more so what I said. "Tsuru, are you afraid of the dark?" She queried, Sasuke snorting a bit at that. As much as I wanted to kick him it was a warranted reaction. What kind of Ninja was afraid of the dark?
"In a way, I am. I won't panic in the dark, no need to worry. I won't…. It just… brings bak bad memories is all.." I muttered, my hand sliding up behind my neck. The conversation slowly shifted to Hokage, which I tuned out considering the fact we learned that in the academy. What really caught my attention were two heartbeats. Not ones from our little squad either. They were in the tree's, the sound moving around until they were more in front of us. Who the hell was that?They weren't demons, I mean for one the sun was up and two they definitely didn't sound like demons. They were regular people, just, not people with good intent either.I fell into step with kakashi, my voice low.
"Sensei… I heard two other heartbeats in-" I began, my panic coming to a halt when I felt his hand rest on my head. I glanced up at him, once again coming face to face with that same aloof expression. "I promise you and your team will be fine. It's good you noticed." He said quietly, giving my head a light pat.
"... What is up with you and petting my head?"
"Maa, can you act your age at least and enjoy praising creepy eyes?"
"Tch, I am acting my age- Hey! Stop calling me creepy eyes!" I grumbled, swatting his hand away fighting off a smile at the sound of his snicker. Kakashi stuffed his hand back into his pocket and slowly fell back into a quiet trot. To my dismay I couldn't hear the heartbeats anymore. I wasnt stupid enough to hope they left, not with how malicious those guys sounded. For my own conscious I stuck close to Kakashi, feeling a bit silly considering what I said to him. But he was the strongest one here, better safe than sorry right?
"Hey, sensei-" Kakashi stopped me, his hand finding the small of my back and pushing me forward to move closer to the rest of the team. After that it all happened so fast. The heartbeats were suddenly blasting in my ears, closer than they had been before this whole time. Chains rang through the air, attached to two men whose hearts rang of nothing but ice. I couldn't even speak at first, My eyes stuck on the chains that wrapped around Kakashi, twisting and pulling faster than I could move. Then,
"KAKASHI!" With one simple yell my voice already felt hoarse. He was ripped apart. Faster than I could react Kakashi was ripped to shreds by chains and his heartbeat went silent. I felt sick, dreadfully so but for just a fleeting moment there was a sense of familiarity. How sickening was that? This was familiar.
"Naruto, Sakura! Protect the client! Don't forget our job! Sasuke!" I didn't look at my teammates to see their expressions. Those two have never seen anyone die before, but Sasuke and I? We have. If they are going to freeze up I'd rather them do it as a shield for the Drunk Bastard.
"Yes Ma'am," Sasuke's voice barely caught my attention, paper fluttering around my hands until a weight landed on them. The two ninja were beside Naruto, who still had not listened to protect Tazuna, but that's besides the point. Sasuke and I both moved at once, his shuriken and kunai catching the chain and pinning it to a tree tight enough to hold. For a moment the two of us caught gazes. If this wasn't such a dire situation I'd feel a bit my pride in the fact he looked at me like he wanted instructions rather than annoyance. It was unspoken really, but in this I let myself follow him. Sasuke landed on the ninja, giving them no chance to react by slamming his feet in their heads. While he did that I brought my blade down on the chains, to my satisfaction the damn things split in haf without any qualms. I didn't need a breathing technique to break these chains.
You
Naomi's chest felt tight. Kakashi was here, he was alive. For a moment she worried her brain was playing tricks on her, that the sun dazed her eyes and made her see things but no, he was there. Alive and as aloof as ever. The blonde at that moment couldn't decide if she wanted to hug him or strangle him. She felt frozen, staring at the man, words barely processing over her senses as she zero'd in on his heart. The hard thumps pounding in her ears, ringing of irritation. At least the bastard didn't feel as aloof as he looked. No, the two men attacking had pissed him off so much it sounded like he wanted to snap their necks. It was somewhat impressive his voice didn't waver.
"Tsuru." She jerked her head up at the sound of her name, Kakasshi standing in front of the smaller girl who stared up at him with downright annoyed eyes. He held back a laugh, trying to keep his straight face. Though by the way her glare harshened he could only assume she knew he wanted to laugh.
"Yes. Sensei?" Tsuru gritted, Kakashi ignoring the way she gripped her sword tighter.
"... You said my name, was someone actually worried about their plain ol Sensei?" He didn't even bother to try and keep the teasing sound out of his voice, his amusement only skyrocketing by the way it seemed like she finally reached her boiling point. And oh, she did.
"You.. you piece of shit sensei! You think you have any fucking right to joke after doing that to me, huh prick?!" Kakashi, against his will really, yelped in pain once Tsuru stomped her foot on his. Now normally it wouldn't hurt that bad but, the girl did wear Geta. "N-now Tsuru wait-" "Your heart stopped! What was I supposed to think huh? That you took a nap?! Going on ahead and dying leaving us four to fight to protect an ale drinking bastard I could give less than two shits about!? I should really go ahead and cut you in hal-" "I'm sorry for worrying you Tsu." Tsuru stopped, her eyes flicking to his hand on her shoulder. Kakashi himself was doing his best to try and win the girl over though he wouldn't admit it. It wasn't like he scared her on purpose, no it was merely a two birds and one stone sort of thing. On this team, Tsuru was their most level headed member by far. She thought things through, and then turned it to bring out the highlights of her other teammates. On top of that she easily built up a sense of trust with each member. Though he noticed she tended to be more gentle with those her age than anyone older. She actually tended to seem rather annoyed whenever she received instruction, especially with the chore like missions. At the moment he couldn't decide if it was a sense of ego or something else.
"But," He leaned down a bit, Tsuru leaning a bit back, "I did need to find out who their real target was, playing possum was the best way to do so. Though that's not the only reason," Kakashi left it at that, turning away from Tsuru to glance at their client who looked as guilty as ever. Tsuru followed Kakashi's action, opting for a guard dog look. While Kakashi left his words to stab into Tazuna, Tsuru covered the looks part of the intimidation.
"When my team was assigned this mission it was classified as a C-rank, a simple escort mission based on what we are capable of. To protect you from normal dangers while you work on the construction of the bridge would be a simple think. However it seems, if my hunch is correct, that this my exceed the ranks of a 'B' ranked mission. If you were expecting to be attacked by elite ninja then this mission would have been classified and priced as a mission for elite ranking ninja. You might have had your reasons, but concealing information can lead to far more casualties than any happy outcome you were expecting. As it seems, this task far exceeds the boundaries of what we were assigned." While Kakashi spoke, Tazuna's face slowly descended into a twist of guilt and regret. Kakashi lightly patted Tsuru's head as a way to get her to stop staring the man down, He already knew what he did was wrong. Sakura took a step forward, her steps tentative and shy so much so it carried to her voice.
"We- we aren't ready for something like this sir, we aren't strong enough yet. Plus Naruto is gonna need an anesthetic before we drain the poison in his hand we.. Can't we quit? Head back to the village so that we can get Naruto a doctor?" She was scared. Rightfully so as this was the first time someone had ever come at her with the intent to take her life away. But still, the words of simply quitting gave the air a taste Tsuru didn't like. Quitting was something she wasnt used to. Quitting meant someone else dying in your place when you had already chosen to die for them. It was wrong to her. Tsuru looked to Naruto, all agitation deflating from her in an instant.
"Oh, Naruto I can-"
Naruto stabbed the a kunai into his hand. Tsuru just stared at him, her jaw hanging open in shock that matched everyone elses.
"Why… Why is it always me?!" Naruto yelled, his face twisted in pain and resentment. "Sasuke didnt even blink even though it was his first real fight ya know?! But I… I wont run! With this kunai knife," Naruto looked up at Tazuna, a grin splitted onto his llips, "I will protect the old man! Naruto Uzumaki! Reporting for duty!" Naruto declared, blood splattering off his hand to stain the ground below. He felt really cool for saying that, really he did. But once he saw Tsuru's face his grin slightly drooped. Kakashi coughed, bringing Naruto's eyes to him.
"Naruto we needed to get the poison out yes, but you exceeded the limit. You could die like that, seriously." All color drained from Naruto's face, the blonde boy hesitantly turning to Tsuru.
"Tsu… Tsu-chan?"
"Bleed out and die."
"TSU-CHAN! IM SORRY I FORGOT, PLEASE HELP ME, I DON'T WANT TO DIE LIKE THIS!" He wailed, waving his hand in front of Tsuru who despite her words grabbed his now injured hand. A bit aggressively might I add but who am I, the Narrator, to tell her what to do.
"All the boys on my team are stupid, why cant they all be like Sakura? Sakura is cute and sweet and doesnt give me heart attacks. Sakura uses her brain and doesnt just do dumb things, but ooohh no. No matter what life I live I have to deal with more moronic patients geting themselves hurt for stupid reasons, Honestly I…" Tsuru ranted to herself quietly, yanking off her travel sack while absently keeping in mind he was already healing. Naruto stared at her shyly, pure worry and dread ringing the little bells in his heart.
"Your way of thinking is so straightforward that it makes sense you wouldnt figure it out- You freezing is completely ok dumbass." Tsuru gritted out at Naruto. He flinched, shrinking under her scrutinizing eyes. He hated being yelled at. It hurt when it was random villagers, but it rolled off eventually. But with Tsuru? It burned into his mind, because when she did it she knew. Because he had genuinely done something wrong. And for some reason that hurt more than being yelled at for nothing.
Tsuru couldnt help but soften when he flinched, releasing a sigh and letting her Anger finally completely boil away. "Naruto," she cooed, pouring some of her water over his hand to wipe the dried blood away with a cloth.
"No amount of training in the world will ever prepare you for the first time. The first death, kill, real mission? You name it. You could train for years, but the first time will never be what you imagined. Especially considering everyone told you nothing would happen."
The blood mixed with the water, the two liquids dancing into a muted red. The cut was smaller now, but still ghastly in comparison to a simple cut. Naruto let his shoulders sag, for just this moment allowing himself to pretend it was only him and Tsuru. That he had just, scraped his knee in Taijutsu practice and Tsuru was bandaging it up in the small little bathroom in their apartment.
"But… Sasuke didn't-"
"Sasuke was scared too, Bumble bee. Even he looked at me to figure out what to do. Not everyone will react completely the same to situations they arent ready for. So dont beat yourself up for this first time. Just prepare yourself to not hesitate for even a moment on your second." By now, his hand was properly wrapped and Naruto no longer looked as deflated as he once did. In fact, he was sitting up straight as if trying to make Tsuru proud. She looked up at him, smiling and ruffling his hair as she stood up. The two pulled from their own little world, facing the rest of their team who all had vastly different reactions.
"I was not-" "Don't start." Tsuru groaned before Sasuke to try his vast attempts of saving his pride and ego. Instead, Tsuru wobbled into a hug from Sakura, mumbling softly something along the lines of the Pinkette smelling very nice. Unbeknownst to her, Kakashi's eyes followed her very closely. More and more things kept leaving the girls lips that made things misplace.