Hello! This is quite a longer chapter, my longest so far! I hope you all enjoy everything I have for you. This was a lot of fun to write, and I definitely recommend listening to "Rivers in the Desert" from Persona 5 or Cloudjumper's "Bergentrückung + ASGORE (Remastered)" on YouTube once some of the action kicks in. I listened to those songs a LOT while getting in the zone for combat. Thank you to Ronnie and Storm, as always, for their part in making my writing better. And thank you to everyone giving my fic their time! It's always appreciated. :)
"Hate the sinner, never hate the sin
I've been searching for a remedy
Hands to guide where the shadows never show
I'll never know."
-Cascade, The Dear Hunter
Over the next three weeks, Team Seven received a fair amount of missions to complete. They involved fairly low-stakes, mundane tasks like weeding gardens, finding lost pets, babysitting, and grocery shopping. Sayuri didn't hate these missions, but she couldn't say she particularly liked them, either. Every task thus far had kept her and her team within the confines of the Hidden Leaf, and that assuaged a lot of her anxieties about leaving the village for the first time since she'd been granted sanctuary.
Outside of missions, Gorou had also kept Sayuri busy at home with chakra control training. She would often leave her physical training with Team Seven and come home to meditation exercises or further guidance on mastering their bloodline ability. Their current focus was expanding her chakra outside of her body in a sort of "pulse". If she learned how to master it without draining herself of chakra, it could come in handy to draw water into her control should she run out of her usual supply.
It certainly wasn't an easy task for Sayuri. Trying to release chakra from her hands to infuse with the water she carried already took some time, but this was different. It required more chakra in a concentrated dose, and releasing it often left her winded. Sayuri knew well enough that she couldn't afford to lose her energy on a battlefield, so this would likely take a while longer to perfect.
Today, Sayuri found herself in the Hokage Tower Mission Assignment Center with the rest of her team. Their client with the runaway cat, Madam Shijimi, had just passed her payment to the treasury ninja sitting next to the Third Hokage. The latter took a hit from his tobacco pipe as he began to look through documents on a clipboard in his hand.
"Now, let's see here. A new mission for Kakashi's team, hm? It looks like a council member in the next town over will be out for an important meeting, and his wife needs assistance running the household. Including but not limited to babysitting, assistance in grocery shopping, cleaning, and—"
"Nuh-huh!" Naruto interrupted the Third Hokage with ear-piercing levels of volume to his voice. He brought his arms to his chest and formed them into a large "x" shape. His whole body moved as he spoke, as if his dissatisfaction was so powerful it overtook him completely, "Absolutely not, no way! There's no way I'm gonna watch some old geezer's kid again. I'm supposed to be training to become a better ninja—how am I supposed to do that when I'm just carrying some rich lady's groceries? Huh? This is bullshit!"
"Naruto, don't—" Sayuri began, reaching out to touch Naruto's shoulders in the hopes of settling him down before he really pissed someone off. However, Sasuke nudged her with his elbow inconspicuously, and she paused.
"Don't," he said quietly, "if he makes a big enough fuss, maybe they'll give in. Just wait and see." Sayuri's brow furrowed at Sasuke's direction but obeyed it all the same. Naruto, unsurprisingly, didn't notice a thing. He was likely too invested in his ranting.
"Naruto, mind your tongue!" Iruka snapped, "You're a genin, and you need to work your way up to more difficult missions. You have no experience, and as a result, you will receive simple missions to help develop your skills. Every shinobi in the village has done it, so you can, too!"
"You're really gonna sit there and tell me that this is a mission? It's a glorified chore, and you know it, so don't—"
Kakashi stepped forward to stand directly behind Naruto as his hand clapped loudly over his student's mouth.
"Alright, let's cool it for now," Kakashi said. Naruto flailed wildly upon impact and tried to wrench Kakashi's hand away but likely wouldn't succeed. He only paused in his efforts to pry Kakashi's hand from his face when the Third Hokage began to explain the system by which the missions were assigned. Sayuri had heard this from her father before, so it wasn't hard to tune out. Then, almost simultaneously, Sayuri had stopped paying attention, and Kakashi released Naruto, who then started wondering out loud what he should have for lunch today. And it somehow was more interesting than what the Third Hokage had to say.
"I've been thinking about having some curry. Maybe that'd be a nice change of pace for you?" Sayuri suggested as he tried to decide between eating tonkatsu-based or miso-based ramen. Before he could respond, the Third Hokage barked at them to be quiet.
"I'll be quiet when you have a real mission for me, gramps! I've been working hard, and I want to have a real mission because I'm a real ninja!" Naruto insisted.
"I'm gonna hear about this one later," Kakashi mumbled to himself. The Hokage took a long drag from his pipe, and his expression softened into one that Sayuri could recognize. It was the very same she had seen years ago when her grandparents had relented and given her something she desperately wanted, and it was usually something she definitely didn't need.
Quietly, Sayuri began to pick at the hems of her sleeves as her mood deflated. Her chest twinged as she thought of how much she missed her family. I wonder if anyone other than us escaped.
"Very well." Everyone's gaze snapped to The Third Hokage as he removed his pipe from his mouth, remnants of smoke wisps dancing around his hat. "I'll allow you to take on a C-Rank mission we just received. You'll be escorting a client for their safety."
"Now, that's what I'm talkin' about! Who're we protecting? I bet it's a powerful lord or lady! No, wait, even better—the daimyo!" Naruto cheered, looking rapidly to his teammates and sensei in his excitement. None of the other three shared his enthusiasm, but that was no hindrance to his eagerness.
"Relax, Naruto. Please, send in the client," the Hokage gestured for the ninja by the entrance to fetch the visitor. The door in the back of the room slid open moments later. An older, deeply-tanned man with fully gray hair entered the room, a likely partially empty liquor bottle in hand. A towel hung around the man's shoulders, and though it was clear he was strong, there was a weary aspect about him, as if he'd been toiling away at work for perhaps a few too many years into his old age now. His face was flushed, and his voice was gruff and bold from whatever liquor he'd drank.
"You're kidding me, right? You're giving me a group of little brats as protection? Like I'm supposed to believe that big-mouthed squirt with the stupid hair is a ninja!" He said. Naruto immediately cackled at their patron's insult.
"Oh man, I feel bad for the big-mouthed squirt with the stupid hair! He's probably feeling real embarrassed right about...oh." Naruto's statement fell apart as he looked from Sayuri to Sasuke, both obviously taller than him. Once he had connected the dots, which admittedly took Naruto longer than most, he looked ready to pounce on their client. "I'll tear you apart!"
"No, you won't. You're going to protect the client like we've been hired to do, remember?" Kakashi snatched Naruto by the back of his collar and held him in place as the latter threw his fists aimlessly in the old man's direction.
The old man only smirked at Naruto's outburst and took a generous swig from his bottle.
"My name is Tazuna. I'm one of the most skilled bridge builders my country and several others have ever seen. Until I am safely back in my home country where I'll be completing my next bridge, you'll all be expected to protect me; even at the cost of your lives." The man now known as Tazuna seemed to care little for manners or formality. It made no difference to Sayuri either way. A mission was a mission, after all.
"Indeed, that is generally how it works," Kakashi said with such a cheerful tone that any of his typical tongue-in-cheek energy was completely masked. "And what is the name of your home country that my team and I will be escorting you to?"
"The Land of Waves."
Sayuri felt her throat run dry at Tazuna's answer. She'd been there before when she and Gorou were fleeing the Mist Ninja sent to finish them off. Gorou had purposely taken a longer, more roundabout journey to the Hidden Leaf Village in the hopes of throwing their pursuers off their trail. The tracker ninjas from the Mist were nothing to scoff at from what Gorou had told her. They likely only made it out by hiding out in different towns along the way for days or even weeks at a time.
Given the circumstances last time, the idea of returning to the Land of Waves and that only an isthmus separated her from the Hidden Mist was unappealing to Sayuri at best and terrifying at worst. Her eyes found Kakashi's, and he seemed to be able to read her emotions almost immediately. He gave her an inconspicuous nod and turned his attention back to the Hokage.
"Hokage-sama, please excuse my students for a little while. The journey will take around a day, and since we'll be providing further protection until the bridge is complete, they'll need to collect their necessary supplies. I also need to speak to you about another matter should you have the time. Would you allow us to meet up with Tazuna-san at the village gates in about two hours? I'm sure the village has plenty of food, drink, and stores to keep him occupied until then," he said. The Hokage nodded.
"Very well, Kakashi. Sayuri, Naruto, and Sasuke: you three are dismissed to prepare for your journey. Tazuna-san, you are welcome to sample our hospitality while you wait. Kakashi and I will conference in the meantime."
"Thank you." Kakashi's gaze returned to Sayuri. She mouthed a quick "thank you" to him as she followed Naruto and Sasuke to the exit. Her legs felt like they were made of lead as she numbly trailed behind and leaned against the door as it clicked shut behind her.
Sayuri faintly heard Kakashi and the Third Hokage speaking, but she couldn't make out what was being said. She could only stare at her feet as her heartbeat began to drum faster and faster.
What am I gonna do? I knew I'd have to leave the village eventually, but I didn't think it'd be to a mission so close to the Hidden Mist. I don't know if I'm ready for this.
"...Sayuri? Hey, what's the matter? You okay?" Naruto's voice slowly crept into the forefront of her mind. Sayuri managed to lift her head weakly and offer a pathetic excuse for a smile.
"I'm scared," she admitted, her voice strained from holding back tears. Naruto's whole body went on alert, and she could see based on his expression that his brain was going into overdrive to try and figure out why.
"Scared? Of what? Not that crusty old jerk of all people, right? Did somethin' happen? You sound, like, super upset."
"We'll be much closer to the Hidden Mist Village if we're in the Land of Waves," Sasuke said. He leaned against the opposite wall, his eyes scanning Sayuri. His assessment of her seemed calmer, more calculated—as if he already knew what to look for to detect what was wrong. "The only thing separating where we'll be from the Mist Village is a few days' journey across the sea and that chunk of land in the southern part of the country."
"Oh, seriously? I'm pretty crap at geography; I didn't even know the Land of Waves existed," Naruto said sheepishly as he scratched the back of his head. Sayuri nodded, confirming Sasuke's statement and resolving Naruto's confusion about her sudden change in mood.
"Now might be a good time for you to elaborate on why you left the Mist in the first place. We're your team; we need to know if enemy ninja will try to do something to you when we leave the village," Sasuke said. Sayuri's resolve crumbled at once at his suggestion, and she felt tears drip down her face faster than even she realized. She dropped her chin to her chest.
"I-I can't," she said. Her voice sounded little more than a whimper. Through her teary vision, she could see her teammates' posture snap from concerned to alarmed. "I can't; it's too much, I can't."
"Ah, uh—hey, please don't cry. W-we'll figure somethin' out, okay? So just try and calm down," Naruto pleaded. Despite his assumed attempts to be soothing and reassuring, both his lack of composure and his untimely cluelessness were as apparent as ever.
Sasuke sighed and said,
"Naruto, let's go to your house. You're gonna take the longest to pack, and I don't trust you to know to pack anything other than ramen." He made no outward acknowledgment of Sayuri's strife at the moment.
"Huh? Uh, right now?"
"Yes, right now. Are you deaf?"
Sasuke's hand found the end of Sayuri's sleeve and tugged her along behind him briefly. He seemed to drag her along a bit harder than intended initially and then eased up. Once Sayuri had calmed down enough to pay attention to where she was going, he had let go of her sleeve.
Before long, the three of them arrived at Naruto's front door. He dug around for his key in his pockets and began rambling,
"Sorry about the mess. I wasn't really expecting guests, haha." Naruto's nervous laughter only made Sayuri mentally picture a stinking pig stye, and even her imagination couldn't prepare her for the travesty that she would walk into once he'd opened the door. The kitchen was merely a ruse as it wasn't that bad. The living room was a little gross, but the real horror awaited them in Naruto's bedroom.
Clothes, mostly empty ramen noodle cups, crumbs, milk cartons—the list of what was strewn about Naruto's floor was seemingly endless. Sayuri stared at the mess, almost certain she saw something amongst the piles of garbage move.
"You've never cleaned your room once in your life, have you?" Sasuke asked derisively.
"S-sure I have! Just not in a while, ya know? I said I wasn't expecting guests!" Naruto tried his best at making this seem like a minor issue, but Sayuri was aghast, to say the least.
"Naruto, you can't live like this! How do you not feel sick with the mess when you're home?" Sayuri said. Her eyes darted around the room for whatever movement or signs of life she could detect. There was no way of knowing what could be in here. There could be a family of fat raccoons feasting on the leftovers all over the floor, and Naruto would be none the wiser.
"What does it matter anyway? I live by myself; no one's gonna come visit. I'm not hurtin' anybody."
Sayuri sighed and carefully made her way into the kitchen. Naruto's voice called to her from his bedroom. "Hey, where're you going?" She managed to unearth a handful of trash bags and responded,
"I'm not gonna leave your house like this! It's a travesty. Get your stuff together for the mission, and I'll clean up." She returned to his room, bags in hand, and started picking up trash.
"Uh...okay, sure, I guess," Naruto said, the confusion in his tone clear. He then navigated around Sayuri as she bustled about from garbage pile to garbage pile.
"Washing your clothes so you don't smell like old food during the mission is the least you can do, too," Sasuke pointed out.
"I did wash my clothes! They're just hangin' on the clothing line right now, okay? I'll go get 'em right now, ya damn grouch," Naruto said. He was likely sending death glares at Sasuke, and though Sayuri wasn't looking towards them, she was fairly certain Sasuke had a few to send in return.
About an hour passed, and Naruto was all packed. It took a bit longer than expected as Sasuke was scrutinizing everything that went into his backpack. Sayuri had just finished mopping the floor and wiped the sweat from her brow. A satisfied smile graced her lips.
"All done!" She announced. Naruto surveyed her work, his cheeks flushed red from what Sayuri guessed was lingering embarrassment.
"You really didn't have to do that, y'know? I appreciate it, but I just feel kinda bad now," he said. Sayuri shrugged as she carried the mop into the bathroom.
"Just don't let it get that dirty again, and you won't have anything to feel bad about," she responded. She said it like it was the simplest thing in the world.
"We have an hour left, and that's not a lot of time. So, let's split up, and we'll meet at the village entrance with Kakashi-sensei and the client," Sasuke said. Sayuri wrung the mop out into the sink as she listened to his recommendation. She poked her head out from the bathroom door, braids slipping from her shoulders.
"Good idea! I'll just put this away, and we'll meet up in a bit," she agreed. She returned the mop to its place in Naruto's bathroom closet, and as she exited, was surprised to find herself now alone in Naruto's apartment. Guess they were in a rush. Naruto probably wants to get in as much ramen as he can before we leave. She chuckled to herself as she shut Naruto's door behind her. What am I gonna do with those two?
Sasuke opened the door to his apartment, a moody Naruto in tow.
"I dunno why you dragged me here in the first place. I already said I won't run off. I wanna go on this mission, too, ya' know. Why would I go and mess that up?" He grumbled.
"Because for all I know, you could hole yourself up at Ichiraku and not come out for days if you're left unsupervised. I'm tired of doing these babysitting missions, so you're sure as hell not messing up our first real one," he said. "Just wait here and don't make a mess. It won't take me long." He could hear Naruto's huff from the doorway as he crossed the living room to his bedroom and began packing.
The first ten minutes were silent, and then Naruto spoke up.
"D'ya think Sayuri's okay?" He asked. Sasuke paused. He had to think for a second before eventually answering with a genuine,
"I don't know."
Sasuke tapped his fingertips against the wood of his dresser, the lack of answers he received from Sayuri earlier beginning to irk him again.
"She just got so upset...I've never seen her like that, ya' know? She's always so calm and nice and patient and stuff. I don't know how to help," Naruto said. Sasuke was surprised at the guilt his words were drenched in. He assumed Naruto was too dense to feel bad about not being able to help anyone other than himself. "And she went and cleaned my house for me when she was already feelin' bad and everything. I feel awful about it."
Sasuke returned to packing, his interest in Naruto's verbal stream of consciousness drowning out his mild irritation with Sayuri's unwillingness to give him more details.
"Don't. She needed the distraction," Sasuke said, inspecting the sharpness of one of his kunais.
"So you had her come over to clean on purpose?" Naruto asked after a pause.
"Yes. She just needed to not think about it, the same way I need to pack. So shut it, will you?"
Based on the beats of silence between the two, Sasuke assumed Naruto, for once, listened to his suggestion.
Another ten minutes went by, and Sasuke came out from his bedroom, his bag filled and secured on his back. Naruto was still sitting on the couch, his brow knitted together. "What's with you?" Sasuke asked.
"How did you know she needed the distraction?" Naruto only answered Sasuke's question with another question, and Sasuke followed suit.
"Does it matter?"
"Whaddya mean, does it matter? Of course, it matters! I'm supposed to be there for her like a good friend would, and yet one of the most unfriendly people I know is doin' a better job at bein' a good friend than me." Naruto got to his feet and followed Sasuke to the front door.
Sasuke bristled at Naruto's comment but kept his composure as his hand closed around the doorknob. He was right, but he was so annoying that Sasuke didn't even care. What really had him at a loss was Naruto saying that Sasuke was "doing a better job" than him. Was he insinuating that somehow Sasuke was a better friend to Sayuri than he was? It felt so strange to think of such a thing. Naruto made Sayuri laugh all the time. He was like a constant ball of annoying, stupid, thoughtless, albeit somewhat uplifting energy. Sayuri spent a lot of the team's downtime chatting with Naruto. So what basis did he have for even thinking that?
"Whatever. I've just seen her upset before, and unlike you, I know how to pay attention to other things around me. You should try it sometime if it's not too much thinking for you to handle," Sasuke said sharply.
"Gahh! You're such a dick, ya' know that? I'm tryna have a real conversation with you, and you hafta go and mess it up," Naruto said frustratedly, hands pawing through his hair. He was so overdramatic. Sasuke rolled his eyes as he locked his door and remarked,
"You're going to complain after what you just said? I know critical thinking is not your specialty, but generally speaking, you should expect an insult back when you dish one out."
They continued to bicker as they made their way to the village gates. Eventually, Sasuke grew bored of responding and just let Naruto tire himself out with taunts and making ugly faces at him. He's so damn stupid. It's almost impressive, Sasuke thought to himself.
Sayuri hauled her full backpack over her shoulder. Shiso laid curled up in a fluffy ball on her bed, eyeing her with sharp, curious eyes.
"I hope you're not too lonely with Dad and I both gone. Masashi will be visiting to check on you, so it definitely won't be that bad." Sayuri stroked the cat's ear gently as she reassured her. Shiso purred and leaned into Sayuri's hand, her eyes closing as she enjoyed the attention. Sayuri smiled and allowed her cat to settle down and go back to sleep.
She checked her bedside clock. It was very nearly time to go. She stood up straight and smoothed out the wrinkles in her skirt. Just keep it together, she told herself. Everything is gonna be okay. This can't be that risky. It's a mission for genin, after all.
Sayuri went over a mental list of what she'd packed to ensure she didn't miss anything. Everything seemed to be in order. So, despite the anxiety making her heartbeat flutter like a hummingbird, everything should be fine. Everything was fine; she just needed to calm down.
Sayuri made her way out of the house and onto the street towards the village gates. She kept her gaze straight in front of her as she passed. She knew well enough not to try to make nice or smile at the passing civilians or shinobi. Outside of her friends and her team, she was not very well-liked by the common folk. They had no issue making it clear, either.
Sayuri could see the gate in the distance, her team and their client waiting for her.
"U-um, Sayuri-chan." A gentle, shy voice called. Sayuri knew the voice instantly. Hinata was a few feet behind her, lightly jogging to catch up. "I heard you got a mission o-out of the village. That's great! Good luck, and be safe," she said.
Sayuri wrapped Hinata in a tight hug, praying that none of the latter's family were loitering about to witness it. Hinata squeezed back.
"Thank you, Hinata. I'm gonna miss you a bunch. Good luck with everything." Sayuri wanted to say they could meet up upon her return to the village and catch up, but she didn't find it wise. The Hyuugas were no fans of her by any stretch of the imagination, and Hinata had enough on her plate with them as it was. She wasn't going to put her best friend through any unneeded stress.
Sayuri waved goodbye to Hinata and met up with her team at the gate. Once they had stepped outside of the village, Naruto threw his fists in the air and exclaimed,
"Alright, road trip! Let's go!"
Sayuri and Sasuke exchanged looks upon Naruto's outburst. Sasuke's point got across very well without him even having to say anything. She could tell just by his face that this was his one and only warning to her he wouldn't have any patience for Naruto's antics. A non-verbal "don't blame me if I lose my shit with him", if you will. Sayuri only sighed in response.
"I can't believe you expect me to feel safe putting my life in the hands of this stupid little kid," Tazuna said gruffly.
Uh-oh, Sayuri thought as her focus shifted to Naruto momentarily. She watched his excitement fizzle out as his body stiffened and his shoulders locked in a hunched position. Kakashi laughed seemingly uncomfortably as Tazuna provoked Naruto. That won't end well.
"There's nothing to worry about. He's under my tutelage, and I am an elite ninja. So you'll be safe," he reassured their client.
Sayuri picked at the end of her sleeves as she tuned out of their conversation much quicker than she normally would. Her mind refused to settle as hundreds of awful scenarios played out one after another. What if the Mist Village knew she was here the whole time? Were they just waiting for her to leave? No, her dad had left the village several times. They would've tried to attack him by now, right? Could they have already? He certainly would've told someone if there was an attempt on his life, most likely the Hokage. And if that was the case, the Hokage would never have let Sayuri go on this mission. He'd protect her, right?
The bickering between Naruto and Tazuna had now been settled by Kakashi, swimming silently in the background of Sayuri's mind up until now. Kakashi's barking at Naruto was enough to pull her back into the present moment. As she did, Sasuke fell into step beside her.
"Hey," he said, "have you told Sensei you're freaked out about this?" Sayuri ran her teeth over her lips and answered,
"No, but I think he knows without me having to say anything. When Tazuna-san told us where we were headed, I'm sure Kakashi-sensei picked up on how I felt. I think that's probably why he asked if he could speak to Hokage-sama alone earlier."
"Do you think there's a chance that there are ninjas from the Mist looking for you now?" Sasuke asked, his voice falling noticeably close to a whisper.
"I-I don't know. I don't know how strict the order was from the Mizukage. I know we lost the ninja trailing us all those years ago when we hid in different towns, but I don't know if more ninjas have been sent since. I don't know if they ever figured out where we went, either," Sayuri admitted, her voice trembling. Sasuke's jaw dropped as his brows drew together.
"The Mizukage was involved in you having to flee?" Sasuke's voice was a low, frustrated hiss. Oh, I really shouldn't have told him that. Sayuri immediately lamented internally. "You didn't think this was important information to share? You and your dad are probably in every Mist shinobi's bingo book! Why the hell did the Hokage let you leave the village for this mission?"
"I don't know!" Sayuri said exasperatedly, her hands meeting her temples as she tried to keep herself calm. "Sasuke, I will talk to Kakashi, I promise, but can we please just drop this?"
"You're not stupid enough to tell me to drop this, so don't pretend you are. Just get your shit together and go talk to Kakashi so you don't jeopardize this mission. We'll finish this conversation later," Sasuke told her icily. He walked ahead of her, and she could feel the frustration radiating off of him. He's so mad at me. Ugh, this is a disaster!
Sayuri felt tears welling up in her eyes that she rubbed away with her sleeve furiously. She had to keep her composure; there was no room for breakdowns on a mission. She began taking deep, slow breaths. Get it together. Just calm down and talk to Kakashi.
Once she felt more settled, Sayuri slackened her pace to fall into step with Kakashi. He looked towards her and didn't say anything at first. Neither did she, as she tried to think of an appropriate way to inform him of the possible dangers without causing too much alarm. And just saying, "Hey, Sensei, don't freak out but…" felt very counter-productive.
"You can tell Sasuke there's nothing to worry about," Kakashi said suddenly. Sayuri's eyebrows shot up, and her head swiveled in his direction.
"How did you know I was going to talk to you about that?" she asked.
Kakashi chuckled.
"Sasuke's not very good at whispering. I spoke to Hokage-sama before we left. He said our informants in the Mist monitor any information received about you and Gorou on top of their regular duties. On the rare occasion the village had any leads, they were all dead ends. Probably a result of purposely being fed false information from our end. No one in the Hidden Mist knows you're here or that you have this mission," he told her reassuringly. He patted the top of her head gently, dare Sayuri say in a quasi-fatherly manner, and continued. "Besides, there's no ninja battles in C-Rank missions. We're here for much more low-scale incidents, things like robbers or highwaymen. That's certainly within you three's skill level."
Sayuri breathed in a deep sigh of relief. She laid her hand against her collarbone and felt her heart rate slowly return to a normal speed.
"Thank you, Kakashi-sensei."
"And don't let those two push you around. They're strong-willed and usually have good intentions, but just because you're kind doesn't mean you have to do whatever they say or tolerate any disrespect, intentional or otherwise. Understood?" Kakashi said pointedly.
Sayuri took a moment to process what he said but couldn't think of anything that Naruto or Sasuke had done that would warrant her pushing back against them. Well, at least not anything she hadn't already settled in one way or another. Sasuke never actually apologized for leaving her high and dry during their bell test, but she'd elected to leave that in the past. He said he wouldn't do it again; that was the best she could hope for, wasn't it?
"Um, yeah, sure," Sayuri said with a remarkable lack of confidence. Kakashi sighed lightly, certainly not buying her response.
"What am I gonna do with you three?" he asked. Sayuri gathered relatively quickly that it was a rhetorical question as it was next to inaudible to anyone but himself.
Sayuri continued to mull over Kakashi's advice as they traveled along the dirt path towards the southern part of the country. A few hours passed as conversations naturally bubbled up from time to time and then fizzled out. Naruto learned that not every single land had a ninja village to use at their disposal as their military, which Sayuri couldn't bring herself to be surprised by. She couldn't count how many times he'd skipped class to pull some elaborate pranks.
Sayuri also touched base with Sasuke to relay the information from Kakashi, and though he seemed satisfied with the assurance that the safety of the mission wasn't compromised, he still seemed less-than-thrilled with Sayuri herself. Dread settled heavily in her stomach like a stone. She hated conflict like this. Unfortunately, there was not much she could do other than wait for Sasuke to move past his irritation with her, and she had no idea how long that would take. This is such a mess.
A puddle on the side of the road caught Sayuri's attention. She always tended to be on the lookout for water should she find herself running low. It was the only puddle on the path they'd seen thus far, which was odd, to say the least. It hadn't rained in quite some time, and they had passed a river about twenty minutes ago. Sayuri felt it didn't make much sense for a puddle to be there with no apparent cause.
Curiosity overtaking her, she stopped and laid her hand on the puddle. She pooled her chakra into her hand, the same way she would as if she were infusing water with her chakra for manipulation purposes.
A sudden, bone-chilling shiver ran through Sayuri that shook her beyond description. A looming, dark sensation full of killing intent felt like it latched onto her out of nowhere. Tremors spread through her rapidly, and she retracted her hand mere few inches apart from the puddle. She didn't want to take her eyes off of it. It felt like a trap that would spring the moment she looked away.
In a flash, a hand materialized from the puddle and aggressively seized Sayuri's wrist. She felt the pain shoot up her arm as the force of the grip clenched down on her. She screamed and tried to pry herself free as the figure the arm was attached to sprang up from the water. A man with dark hair covering half of his face and a metallic gas mask emerged from the puddle, suddenly towering over her. He yanked her upwards in one swift motion and hauled her feet from the ground. Everything was moving too fast for Sayuri to keep up— she could barely think, let alone do anything other than try and free herself fruitlessly.
"Well, well," the masked man said amusedly. An intrigued recognition gleamed in his eyes. "You're—"
Three kunai lodged into the attacker's arm before he could snarl out the rest of his statement. He yelped in pain and instinctively released his snare-like grip on Sayuri. Kakahi appeared next to Sayuri in a flash. He scooped her up and leaped out of harm's way, delivering a swift rear kick that sent the enemy stumbling back a few feet as he tried to strike at them. A second hidden assailant darted out from behind his partner. The second one was similarly armored with a metal contraption on one of their forearms.
Kakashi set her down with impressive gentleness despite the chaos of their current situation. He stood in front of her, effectively creating a barrier between her and their adversaries. Sayuri's mind slowly began to make sense of everything around her as the two ninjas' mechanized weapons discharged spiked chains aimed in her direction. Her eyes analyzed their garb, headbands, and their rebreather masks.
Hidden Mist Shinobi. They'd found her.
Sayuri moved to sprint forward, her adrenaline shoving her clawing fear to the back of her mind. However, Kakashi was one step ahead of her, likely easily predicting her fury and her recklessness. He shunted her away with a force that sent Sayuri skidding across the dry, dirt path as she managed to remain on her feet just by the skin of her teeth. The chains then caged Kakashi in her place, and with a unified, powerful tug, he was undone right before her eyes. His sacrifice to save her sealed his fate.
Sayuri's breath caught in her throat, her heart stilled, and the world felt so, so cruel. How many of her loved ones had to die before the Mist was punished?
No more.
A righteous, all-powerful fury consumed her. She weaved the Ram seal and activated the chakra in her water. It surged, singing with the power of her rage as the water burst from the openings in the gourds around her waist.
No more.
This was Sayuri's fight now. Her teammates and their client had nothing to do with this. And she'd be damned if she let anyone from the Hidden Mist dare take yet another thing she held dear. She swore to herself at that moment she would never allow the Mist to harm anyone else she cared for, and she intended to make good on that promise to herself.
No more.
Sayuri jutted her hands out, palm up from her chest, and the water followed suit by shaping into a protective wall in front of herself and her team. The chains impacted against the wall and were absorbed by the watery barrier she'd created. Sayuri threw her arms in an arcing motion, and the force of the movement triggered the aquatic shield to launch forward with a velocity she didn't think herself capable of channeling.
"No more!" Sayuri's feral cry sounded foreign even to herself. Her chakra-infused wall carried the chains within it, sending them upwards, overheard, and then plunging down heavily to hit the ground far behind them. The Mist shinobi's arms flew upwards and backward in an arc with the sudden force manipulating them.
Sayuri darted into place, singling out one of the enemy ninjas that she'd forced into a vulnerable position. Her chosen opponent detached the chain from the contraption on his arm and took a defensive stance as she approached. He guarded his front and swung at her with the claws of his metallic hand.
Good. She knew her target. He didn't.
Sayuri dropped to the ground, skidding against the dirt that kicked up around her as she slid between his legs. She maneuvered into a position that resembled a lunge once she'd moved behind him and propelled herself off the ground.
The assailant turned to try and counter her attack just as her foot slammed into the metal mask secured on his face from an aerial kick. The rebreather broke upon impact, and Sayuri felt satisfied as her peripherals caught the glint of his iron mask as it flew towards the ground.
The enemy suddenly wheezed desperately as she dropped back down to the ground. He grabbed his throat, eyes wide with horror. The withdrawals are kicking in now. I knew I recognized that rebreather mask! The thought rang confidently in her head. Sayuri was sure she could handle him in a weakened state like this.
Sayuri slinked up as close as possible to the ninja as he still reeled from her first blow. She smashed her elbow into his solar plexus and snapped her forearm upright to bang the back of her fist into his face. Sayuri felt his nose break under the strike. She hissed as she felt her wrist ache upon hitting him. She couldn't afford an injury right now.
Pushing herself through the pain, Sayuri turned to allow her back to brush up against her opponent's chest. She grasped onto his arm, just a few inches away from his armpit. She pushed her hips into him and lifted from her legs to throw him forward and over her shoulder. She held onto his arm as he fell and pulled him once he hit the ground to flip him over onto his belly. Sayuri kneeled on his back with all of her weight pressing down on him and pinned his arm against him, his hand left laying with his palm open. She could dislocate his shoulder easily from here if he dared move.
Premonition flooded her senses, and Sayuri whipped her head around to face the rear. The second enemy was charging towards her now. Sayuri tensed as she prepared to jump out of the way, but at this rate, she may not have enough time.
A flash of blue and white moved into her field of view. Sasuke dove between them, and in an instant, a searing cloud of fire ripped out from within him and was sent in a scorching ball towards the second enemy. Sayuri turned her attention back to the enemy she'd mostly subdued and cracked the blade of her hand against the pressure points in his neck. She held her stance on him until she felt his body slacken and still. He was out, but only for a few minutes at most.
Sayuri leaped to her feet and turned to face Sasuke. Tears filled her eyes faster than she could control as she saw Kakashi, alive and well, standing a few meters away from her. Her eyes trailed back to where she'd seen him supposedly die and only found a collection of logs laying on the ground. Then it all made sense. He'd used a substitution jutsu!
Kakashi held a strong grip around the back of the incapacitated ninja's neck. The latter's clothes and mechanical arm weapon were singed and covered in soot, which mixed with dirt as Kakashi dragged him along the ground.
"Kakashi-sensei, I'm glad you're okay!" Sayuri exclaimed, her relief quelling her rage nearly instantly. She wiped her tears away, sniffling the whole time. "It was mean of you to let me think you were dead."
Sasuke stood as he normally would now, his guard down and his hands shoved in his pockets like usual.
"I apologize for that. I'll explain my reasoning later. But I must say, that went better than I had expected. I almost didn't have to step in," Kakashi said with a pleased tone that soon turned a tad scolding. "Sayuri, you need to be more careful when it comes to initiating battle. Rashly charging in like that isn't always the wisest of choices. But, I will admit, you handled that encounter impressively. I would just prefer you try and keep a more level head about confrontations like this in the future. I might not always be around to step in if things get out of hand. And as for you, Sasuke, you really stepped up from our bell test a few weeks ago. You protected your teammates adequately. Both of you should be proud of yourselves."
Kakashi approached Sayuri. He hoisted the enemy Sayuri had subdued up from the ground and threw him over his shoulder. Sasuke followed him and lingered inconspicuously by Sayuri's side.
"I'm sorry I didn't step in to help you sooner, Naruto," Kakashi noted. "I didn't expect you to freeze up like that, so I didn't anticipate you getting hurt. Good thing Sasuke was nearby to stop that shinobi before he could do any more damage."
Sasuke protected Naruto from that other guy? I'm sure Naruto's going to be furious about that for the foreseeable future.
Sayuri could see Naruto's despair at his fear overtaking him plain as day. He looked so disappointed with himself that it nearly broke Sayuri's heart. Should she say something to try and help? What would she even say? She didn't think telling him, "Don't worry about it; you're just not used to people trying to kill you yet." would resolve much of anything.
"Oh no," Sasuke said. Sayuri's attention then shifted to her teammate as he continued patronizingly towards Naruto, "did the scaredy-cat get hurt?" Naruto tensed, his hands clenching into fists and his lip curled back to show his teeth in an almost animalistic way. He radiated acrimony.
"Stop," Sayuri whispered, "don't provoke him, seriously." Sasuke snorted. Naruto looked as though he was ready to throw down with Sasuke right there and then. However, there were more pressing things at hand.
"Naruto," Kakashi said sternly, "stop moving. The claws on their weapons are coated in poison. We'll have to drain your wound as soon as possible. But if you keep moving, you'll just spread it faster. Stand still. Now."
Naruto's eyes went wide as he looked towards his hand. Sayuri jogged over to Naruto and cradled his hand in hers.
"You might have to try to suck the poison out and then spit it out again if it hasn't spread far enough yet. If it has, we may need to bring you back to the village so a medical ninja can find an antidote." She'd heard of her father mentioning a method of withdrawing poison using their kekkei genkai, but it was only in passing. She vaguely knew how to do it based on how he described the process, but he hadn't actually taught her how to do it yet. Should I try it anyway? She thought to herself, I don't know what would happen if I don't do the procedure right, but I know what will happen if we don't do anything to remove the poison. Oh, this is bad.
"They're waking up," Sasuke said. He nodded towards the two Hidden Mist ninja that Kakashi had tied up to a nearby tree. Sayuri watched as Kakashi began his line of questioning towards their ambushers.
"Well, well. You two are an awful long way from home, aren't you? We don't get very many ninjas traveling from the Hidden Mist around here, nor do they usually plan out a half-assed ambush like that."
They didn't respond for a moment, only continuing to stare at...Tazuna? Wait, why were they so preoccupied with Tazuna? Were they not sent to capture Sayuri?
"So, you detected the ambush after all." One of the two shinobi seemed a bit more willing to talk.
"A puddle on a clear day when it hasn't rained in weeks? My genin detected it not too long after I did. It wasn't your brightest choice of hiding places, was it?"
"You decided to leave your genin to fight the ambushers? So much for an elite ninja!" Tazuna said gruffly.
"Oh, I could've killed these two goons in an instant. But, I needed to assess their target and what their purpose in targeting them was. There were a few possibilities right off the bat. First, they could've been targeting us, a ninja looking to eliminate another ninja. Truthfully, we haven't had the best relationship with the Hidden Mist before, so they could've just been trying to avenge a lost comrade. But, if that were the case, I would be their target. And if they're vengeful enough to track me down, then they're likely to be vengeful enough to make me suffer before they kill me. A quick death seems unfitting in that instance.
The second option was they were after Sayuri for reasons I can't divulge at the moment. However, if they were after Sayuri, they could've captured her when she discovered their genjutsu. So, that leads me to believe that we weren't their target. We were just in the way of them getting to their target. And that only leaves you, the master bridge builder," Kakashi explained sharply.
The air suddenly became tense. Tazuna's eyes narrowed.
"What are you playing at?" He asked.
"I'm simply assessing this situation the same way any other ninja would. Particularly in the hopes of finding the truth. When you hired a team of ninjas to protect you, you never indicated that there were other ninjas out to get you. The village staffed this mission with genin because they're only at the level of protecting you from the average thief or mugger. Combatting enemy ninja is well beyond the parameters of the C-Rank mission you paid for. Now, I'm inclined to believe you've kept this from us for an understandable reason, but that does not mean I can accept you lying to us. We are now beyond the scope of this mission."
"So, we just head back to the village now, right?" Sayuri asked. "I mean, we can't leave Naruto's wound unaddressed. He needs an antidote as soon as possible. And who knows if that's the only enemy that's going to attack us. If they don't return to whoever sent them to confirm the kill, they can send more. We might not be able to handle a more advanced shinobi."
"You say that, but you didn't have any trouble handing a beat down to that guy," Sasuke pointed out. "I think the two of us can handle more advanced shinobi, but the question is whether Naruto can handle it. And that's before considering his injury."
"It's not like that," Sayuri protested with a shake of her head. "Those rebreather masks have ninja-grade gas stimulants in them. The Hidden Mist encourages their shinobi to wear them depending on the types of missions they're sent out on. It triggers adrenaline rushes easier, so you're faster, stronger, and your pain tolerance gets a temporary boost. They're good for extended close combat, but if the mask is taken off, there's an instant withdrawal that severely weakens the user. It's a death sentence should it happen in battle. I likely couldn't have defeated him by myself if I hadn't broken it."
"Hm. Those are all points worth considering. Unfortunately, the real hold-up at the moment is Naruto's injury. We will have to return to the village to treat his wound and pass this mission off to the appropriately ranked ninjas," Kakashi said with finality.
Naruto yanked his hand away from Sayuri and drew a kunai from his leg holster. Then, before Sayuri could even draw a breath, Naruto drove the blade into the wound the Mist shinobi had left. It opened further, spurting out an alarming amount of blood that dripped onto the ground in front of him. Sayuri backed up a decent distance from Naruto and found herself nearly bumping into Sasuke, who looked as shocked as her.
"No!" Naruto bellowed, "No way! I worked so hard to get here and get a real mission; I'll be a good-for-nothing chump if I just let this opportunity go. Especially when I didn't even fight! This is my promise to myself to not let fear hold me back anymore. And that promise extends to you, bridge-builder. You're under my protection now, and believe me, that means something. So don't let Sayuri and Sasuke actin' all cool fool you or anythin'. I'm gonna prove myself to you."
"Naruto, are you out of your mind?!" Sayuri cried.
"What, I got the poison out, didn't I?" Naruto mused, though his voice was gritty and strained from the pain.
"Sure, along with the rest of your blood that you need to live. You know there are arteries in your hand, right?" Kakashi's matter-of-fact tone was jarring in comparison to the intense energy Naruto had exuded during his speech. It almost felt like a joke. "Not that your blood promise or whatever wasn't cool, but if you keep bleeding out like that, you're gonna die."
A moment of silence passed as the color began to drain from Naruto's face. Sayuri wasn't sure if it was due to panic or blood loss, but once Naruto started shouting and shoving his hand into Kakahi's face, she was able to deduce it was the former.
"I'm too young to die! Sensei, you gotta help me, please!" He wailed. Kakashi sighed and collected bandages from his backpack to use for tending to Naruto's wound. Sayuri's hand fell to her wrist as she watched Kakashi patch up Naruto. She should probably ask Kakashi to take a look at her wrist once he was done with Naruto.
"Only a dolt like Naruto would avoid dying from poison by choosing to die from blood loss instead," Sasuke said. Sayuri snorted, slowly shaking her head as she watched the scene unfold. Now that all the chaos had mostly settled, Sayuri began to feel her weariness and the anxiety her brain had forced to the background earlier. Sasuke's eyes dropped from Sayuri's face and landed on her hand, observing her favoring her wrist. His brow furrowed, and he looked her in the eyes once more. "Something wrong?"
"O-Oh, not really. Just a little sore from...earlier," Sayuri said awkwardly. She couldn't help but steal a glance at the two shinobi, one of whom being the cause of her possible injury. She felt her heart drop when she met their gaze and found them staring right back at her. The intensity of their dark, emotionless eyes made her feel exposed, and Sayuri didn't like that one bit. Her body tensed at the mere suggestion of the threat they could pose to her and Gorou. One of them even said something odd to her, as if he'd recognized her. And if he did, she didn't know what she'd do.
"Be careful, water dancer," one of the ninjas warned. "Don't hold out any hope that they stopped looking for you."
Sayuri felt her whole body turn cold as he spoke. He did recognize her. He even knew the common term that the Land of Water referred to her clan members by. Sayuri's anxiety felt like it was about to boil over. Was this another panic attack coming? Now, of all times? She brought her hands to wrap around her forearms, doing whatever she could to try and self-soothe for the moment. She had to get a hold of herself in case things went south again.
Sasuke stepped in front of her, taking a protective stance as he laid his arm out as a blockade between his teammate and their adversaries.
"What's that supposed to mean?" Sasuke asked warily.
"Just a piece of advice from one defector to another," he said vaguely. His eyes never left Sayuri as he spoke. "And hope that you see the tracker ninjas before they see you."
"That's enough talk out of you," Sasuke barked. He guided Sayuri away from the two rogue ninjas and threw a death glare over his shoulder at them one last time. "They're just trying to get into your head. Don't listen to any of it."
Sayuri shook her head wildly at Sasuke as she felt tears gather around her eyes.
"No, Sasuke, I don't think they are. If they were going to bring that information back to the Mist, why would they even bother saying anything? They know we could kill them to keep my identity a secret, and revealing that incentivizes us to do just that. I think they're just...sympathizing, in their own way. It doesn't freak me out any less, but I don't think they have intentions to harm me anymore," she said.
Sasuke still seemed to be on guard, but he didn't disbelieve her as far as Sayuri could tell. He laid his knuckles against his lips as he absorbed her explanation, and after a moment, said,
"I see. Either way, getting you and Tazuna-san out of here should be our next objective. Kakashi! Is Naruto fine to keep going?"
Kakashi secured a strip of medical tape over the gauze on Naruto's hand as Sasuke called out to him.
"Yes, he is. Let's all move out before it gets too dark. Looks like it's your lucky day, Tazuna-san. You're still under our protection."
Tazuna breathed in a deep sigh of relief but said nothing to his escorts. Soon, Team Seven and their client migrated towards their destination once more. Only this time, Sasuke didn't seem to let Sayuri out of his sight, and she was clueless about her silent protector's self-appointed mission.