AN

Sorry for the delay guys! February started off as a nightmare and I didn't want to force myself to do something that would turn out ugly. So, finally, after almost ten days of delay, here is CH25

Enjoy!

Chapter 25: The Unknown Enemy.

The Land of Grass turned out to be, to absolutely nobody's surprise, just that: a never ending field of grass. There was the occasional isle of trees within the great green ocean, but the extent of it still took my breath away. And not in the good sense.

There was nowhere to hide, nowhere to seek cover other than the tall blades of grass that reached my ribs. I felt exposed. Any shinobi who knew the terrain better would have been able to pick us off like fish in a barrel, and I hated it. It was a brilliant location for traps as well so my nerves, I knew, would be on edge until we got out of the god awful place.

To both Hota and Taka, this was not an issue, since Hota had the Byakugan and Taka was a traps master himself. I just held the terrible disadvantage of having to see my opponent, but I figured I'd burn that bridge when I got there. It was useless to panic about something I couldn't change, not to mention a mistake only a rookie would make. I was no rookie.

After what seemed like a lifetime of drifting aimlessly in that never ending sea of grass, my ears picked up the soothing sound of running water. It was then that Jiraiya-san turned to us with a wide grin and welcomed us to the Capital of the Land of Grass. As he parted the blades one last time, we finally got the chance to see past the green wall that had surrounded us the entire trip there.

The entire city had been built below ground level, and not one building was more than three stories high. The river that bordered the entire west side of the city had a dam built onto its side that fed the streams which provided the entire city's water supply. And the docks, just as the entire place, were hidden by the surrounding grass. There was no security detail that I could see as we made our way down the path carved to the side of the cliff, but I was convinced they didn't need one, since the entire grassland was most likely mined with traps for unwanted guests.

The capital was definitely not a big city; I myself would have called it a Town. The place was only ten blocks long and eight wide, and there appeared to be more shops, pubs and inns than residences, which would have made it more of a place for commerce than for people to live in.

Without a word, Kosuke, Taka, Hota and I took off to do some recon and intel gathering while the adults went off to sort out our accommodation. Id didn't take us long to find the merchant's district, so once we did, we split up into two groups: Kosuke and I would search the eastern side of town and Taka and Hota would do the western most side. Long ago, we had decided that when looking for a specific person, it would be much easier if we were to cover different areas and make the search and Intel gathering more time efficient. Kosuke and Hotaka would be the trackers and Hota and I would cover them while they poured their entire effort into the search. Of course, the added effort of Doyun and Danno when they arrived would help narrow the seemingly endless possibilities. We were not a tracking team after all.

Still, the only thing I could bring myself to think about was the reason Jiraiya-san had requested an Infiltration team for a tracking mission. We had Kosuke, Hotaka, and Sensei, but we were not a fully qualified team, and definitely not ideal where finding such an important target was concerned. Why would he risk not finding his contact when he had such valuable information? Unless…

Unless there was no such person. He requested our team, which meant we had something that was of use to him. But what could our team have that no other did? We were simply a clan less saboteur, a branch family Hyuuga and…

Well kick me in the head and call me brainless.

Of fucking course.

"Kosuke-nii?" I asked the hound with the most unbothered expression I could muster. I didn't nail it.

"Hmm?"

"How long have you known that our target didn't exist?"

"What are you talking about, Pup? The toad man gave us a scent, how could he not exist?"

"I mean that searching for the target is not the reason Jiraiya-san called us here. This is a tracking mission, and requesting an infiltration team for that kind of defeats the purpose, doesn't it".

The hound let out a deep exhale that sounded a lot like a sigh before answering.

"I see you figured it out Sumiko-chan," He then stopped walking to look me in the eyes, as if to make sure I knew he meant every word. "I will not let anyone hurt you, Pup."

I sighed.

"I'm more concerned about whom is it we are targeting. Not just anyone would know who I am or attempt to make a move when I'm supposed to be under Hokage-sama's political protection."

In fact, there were few people I could think of and at the top of that list was the person who had been enough of a threat for Shisui to mention in his last farewell. It was a list of people whom I should fear, respect and, in some cases, hate. It was very possible that other nations would be after the only two remaining Uchiha. They most probably saw me as a child, an easy target. The fact that I wasn't in Fire Country at the moment made an ambush easier as well as my kidnapping. Even if the number of people who knew I was still alive was meager at most.

"There are a lot of people out there who are more powerful than you could ever imagine, Pup. Legends need to have at least a little bit of truth to them."

We covered our entire section of town within an hour, and decided to call it a day before we headed for the inn, Jiraiya-san and Sensei had booked. However, when we met them it surprised absolutely no one that our lodging was going to be a brothel. The men would be staying in a room to themselves, and I would be sleeping with the chambermaids for our entire stay in Grass. I of course had to agree to let Kosuke sleep with us because big 'ole papa dog would not have me sleep unprotected where any drunken patron could mistake me for a sex worker.

Me being bait for an unknown enemy had been enough in his eyes.

I decided to confront Jiraiya-san during dinner, which, judging by how my teammates choked on their food and sprayed their tea everywhere, took them by surprise. Sensei, of course, shut his eyes and tried to repress his incoming migraine by pinching the bridge of his nose when Takahiro and Hotaka started bombarding him with indignant questions.

"You are quite the clever one aren't you, Sumiko-chan?" said Jiraiya finally with a mocking grin that did not reach his eyes.

"I simply thought team eight didn't feel like the right choice for a mission of this caliber. It seemed fishy. And to be completely honest, Jiraiya-san, I do not appreciate having to suspect my comrades' intentions. But you managed to make me distrust you."

Sensei gave me a hard look.

"Sumiko, remember your place."

"It's okay, Akira. The girl is right. I underestimated them and I do apologize for that. But even if I do let it slide," Said the Toad Sage pointedly. "other people aren't as cool as I am. Make sure not to be tried for insubordination, Sumiko-chan."

I bowed and apologized accordingly. I would not have a legendary shinobi hold a grudge against me if I could help it.

However he still decided to withhold the remaining information about our real target, and ordered us to make our search as believable as possible. Our target could not suspect a thing, or the situation would go south very quickly and we might not survive it.

Doyun and Danno would arrive at the docks the following morning, and would rent out a room at an inn two streets away from the red lights district. They would not make contact until they had made sure they had not been followed, but the fact that they would be in town put my mind at ease, at least a little. They might not have been shinobi, but they sure as hell were good backup.

For the time being, we would execute our plan just as Jiraiya-san had told us to. Taka and Hota would "search" the outer districts and Kosuke and I would do the town's center districts; which, of course, included the red lights district. Even if we were supposed to be tracking someone, I decided trying to gain some contacts in yet another important town would pay off in the future. That's why I noticed it. The small body of a toddler hiding behind a garbage can in a dark alley, dozing off and startling awake every few minutes.

As we approached the child, Kosuke muttered something about smelling fear but there not being anything menacing in the surrounding area. The child seemed to be wearing a torn kimono that had seen better days, and their hair had been chopped unevenly. They couldn't have been older than five, and there was a bleeding gap where their left ear should have been.

I took the child back to the brothel. They were suffering from severe blood loss and were in a lot of pain. And if their injuries were anything to go by, they had nowhere to go. Kosuke ran ahead to get Hotaka, who was the only member of our team with relevant healing abilities, so when I finally arrived, both of them and Taka were already waiting for me.

The chamber maids helped me bathe the child, who turned out to be a girl, and put some new clothes on her before Hota could see to her ear. It had been cut off unevenly and without a care for the girl, was what Hota told when he finished wrapping a bandage around her head.

"This was some sort of punishment to her. Whoever did this was a very angry piece of shit."

I could understand where Hotaka's anger came from. He bore the caged bird curse mark on his forehead after all.

The boys left to continue with the last sweep of town for the day, while Kosuke and I stayed behind to care for the unconscious girl. It must have been a good two hours until she woke up, groaning at the pain on the side of her head and attempting to touch it before she realized it had been covered. I stopped sharpening my blades and put them aside as soon as she sat up.

"Who are you?" was the first thing she asked. "Why did you help me?"

The amount of skepticism in a child as young made my heart ache.

"My name is Sumiko, and you might want to be a little more polite to the person who saved you."

She was tires, I could tell from a thousand feet away, but that didn't stop her from doubting me still.

"Don't worry, I just helped you because you were about to bleed out. You are a child, I couldn't just leave you there to die." I sighed and sat closer to her futon. "Your condition is quite unusual as well. Care to share why a five year old got her ear brutally cut out?"

She looked uncomfortable and like she didn't entirely understand what I was saying. I couldn't blame her for being careful though, I was a stranger, even if I'd helped her out. I didn't think I could say anything to make the situation better, so I did the only thing I could think of: I poured us both a cup of tea.

"My hahue cut my ear off," she stated shaking. "she did it because I cut my hair. I wanted it short because I don't want to be a lady. I don't want to be pretty and marry. I don't want to be a girl!"

Oh. Well I was way out of my depth here.

"Do you have somewhere to go?" I asked.

He shook his head no.

"Well, I think I might be able to help you. But first, we need to find you some other clothes and maybe we can get one of the girls here to even out your hair for you. I need to find somewhere for you to stay as well. What's your name?"

"My hahaue said my name is Aki." He answered looking down.

"I meant what would you want your name to be?"

His head shot up and his eyes watered with something that looked like a mixture of happiness and hope.

"Kirito. My name is Kirito."

I smiled at him once again and sent Kosuke for Sensei. I would have to talk it over with him before I decided on anything, but maybe, just maybe, I could bring him back to Konoha with us when the mission was over.

"It's very nice to meet you, Kirito-kun. I'm a shinobi from Konohagakure no Sato. What would you like to be when you grow up?"

I needed to get him to trust me before I tried to relocate him to a better place. I would not force a child to go anywhere they didn't want to. He seemed to ponder the thought quite a bit before he answered with a toothy grin that was missing a few teeth and eyes like half moons.

"I want to be a florist and make people happy!"