Chapter 3: Itachi Arrives
The following day went on smoothly and uneventful. Nothing but walking and muching on snacks. Every once in a while Aruko and Yamiko would spaz out at the slightest rustling of a bush.
"Man, Aruko and Yamiko need to relax. They are so worked up about us getting attacked they are exhausted!" whispered Naruto to Sakura as they walked along behind the Jounin.
"They won't let us do anything that might be dangerous! I'm suprised they let us use the bathroom in private!" Sakura whispered back.
"I heard that, Sakura-chan..." grumbled Aruko without even looking.
"Don't be so sure we DO let you go to the bathroom in private..." winked Yamiko who was bringing up the rear.
It was, so far, a beautiful day. Just the right temperature, the gentle shade of the trees, and a straight open path before them added up to what Aruko and Yamiko would call a nice trip. Aruko looked up and thought about the meeting they had when they first arrived in Leaf Village...
Aruko and Yamiko stepped forward and looked up at Tsunade and their very own Kanikage. They stood silently and perfectly still, very unlike them, but they new this would be a very interesting meeting for them since they were in a whole new village. Tsunade stood up.
"I have gone over your assignment with the Kanikage and we have decided it best for both of you to work together on this mission given your past teamwork efforts. Your assignment will be a challenging one, one of the most challenging I've had to give out today but I trust you will do it well." she paused to look over the two girls with interest. If the Kanikage had asked to give them such a difficult job, they must have been must more mature than they let on, "Aruko, you will be assigned a group of Genin and Yamiko will be a bodygaurd. You are to teach and protect these children with your life. The children are Sasuke..." but before she could go on the two girls gasped.
"Uchiha??" they shouted at once, forgetting their manners.
"You mean the brother of..."
"Yes... The brother of Itachi, the one who took out the Uchiha clan five years ago."
Aruko and Yamiko exchanged glances. They had met Itachi before when they came six years ago for a visit to the village. They had even tried to spar with him a few times having an interest in his clan though they couldn't handle the shuringan as well as they thought.
Tsunade cleared her throat and continued.
"Sakura, and Naruto... Yes... THAT Naruto..."
The two girl's jaws dropped. They never dreamed that of all the children they would have to protect it would be the two they had heard the most about.
"Itachi is after the Kyubi inside of Naruto, and Orochimaru is after Sasuke... These children need your protection. You will meet Kakashi at noon to take over his students."
"Kakashi-sama?" they shouted together, starting to creep each other out at how much they echoed each other.
"The very same. As far as I know, we only have one Kakashi." smiled Tsunade.
It was at that time that they each notcied the Kanikage was snoring in his seat next to Tsunade. Though he was the leader of their village and the strongest shinobi he wasn't exactly the youngest nor the most sane of the ninja.
"Uh... I suppose that's all... You'd better go find Kakashi now..." whispered Tsunade as to not wake up the Kanikage. The two girls tip-toed out.
"Aruko-sama? Aruko-sama? Are you alright?"
Aruko snapped back to reality and looked down at Naruto who apparently had been calling her name for quite some time.
"Yes, sorry, Naurto-kun. I'm fine."
"Maybe we should take a rest. Sakura looks like she just ran around the world and back." Yamiko slung her bag off her shoulder and let it hit the ground with a soft thud, "Who wants snacks?"
The days seemed to last forever though when they were over it seemed like it passed in the blink of an eye. Before they knew it, it was the next day, and then the forth day was finally there. They now had to find where to cross the sea to get to their village, but even still, it was a little walk away.
They had begun to run out of food so they kept their meals short, though sure they would reach town soon they didn't worry too much and they could all look forward to that ride on Ryuka to the village though the genin didn't know who or what Ryuka was, the fact they wouldn't have to walk anymore cheered them up greatly.
Aruko and Yamiko had seemed much more jumpy today that usual, which was saying a lot. They kept looking around and glaring at the trees, weapons in hands at all hours and doing their best to show no openings for ambush.
Yamiko froze suddenly and looked around.
"Yami? What's wrong?" What is it?" asked Aruko in a panic.
"There's three of them... Way past our level... Headed this way at an alarming rate." she turned to Aruko, "We will have to hold them off while they run."
"No way! We are going to help you fight!" shouted Naruto.
"Listen to Yamiko! I don't care how strong you kids are, we cannot defeat them under these conditions."
"Closing in fast..." warned Yamiko, starting to sound nervous, glancing around the thick trees.
"I want to help fight too!" glared Sasuke.
"I understand you want to fight Itachi but this is not the time nor the place for it! It is our job to protect you and you will not fight as long as we are here!"
"Aruko!" Yamiko dove at Aruko and pulled her to the ground as a shuriken zoomed past her head.
"GO!" shouted Aruko from the ground. The three genin exchanged reluctant glances but knew it would only distract them while they fought if the three of them were there. They took off running.
Sasuke stopped and looked back as his brother came strolling out of the bushes, Kisame lept down from a tree where the shuriken came from, and a third man close behind. Sasuke reached into his bag for a kunai but thinking again, he stopped and ran to catch up with the others. He would only be a burden to Aruko and Yamiko at this time.
"Well, hello, We are but two innocent flower girls lost in the woods." said Yamiko with a mischievious smirk, pulling a double edged kunai out from her pocket.
"Save the sarcasim, Yamiko. If I were here to fight you, both of you would already be dead."
Aruko and Yamiko glared, baring their teeth in hatred.
"So what are you here for? Surely you aren't planning to get past us without a fight!" yelled Aruko.
"You see, that is why we found a little decoy on our way here. Kisame and I don't have time to deal with weaklings like you."
The third man walked forward as Itachi and Kisame started to walk in the direction Naruto and the others had headed.
"Stop!" shouted Yamiko, firing a warning shuriken zooming right in front of them, "We won't let you go after them!"
Itachi turned his head to Yamiko, Sharingan eyes whirling. Yamiko gasped slightly and fell to her knees.
"Yami!" Aruko shouted, fear showing in her voice.
"Never could fight the power of the sharingan, could you Yamiko-chan? Now, we must be going..."
Knowing she couldn't stop him but feeling Yamiko was vulnerable Aruko lept between her and the mystery third man. Yamiko began to pull herself together and slowly rose back to her feet.
"Are you alright, Yami?"
"Yes... He only did it enough to keep me from stopping him. If he wanted to injure me worse he would have.
The man in front of them glared at them.
"If you two girls will stop chatting I'd like to introduce myself. I thought you would like to know the name of your killer."
"It's always about him, isn't it?" mused Yamiko.
"Silence! My name is Yukio, sworn enemy of... Wait... What village are you from?"
"Oh he's a bright one!" snickered Yamiko.
"You can tell Itachi just picked him off the street to hold us off. He wouldn't want to send one of his SMART men to their death."
"SHUT UP! Let's begin!" With these words Yukio vanished before their eyes. Shocked at his speed they looked around desperatly for any sign of movement.
"He can't keep this speed up long, his body will give in..." whispered Aruko.
"He'll be striking soon... Be on gaurd." replied Yamiko.
In a flash and the piercing sound of two kunai's colliding, Yamiko turned around to find Aruko having blocked Yukio's attack. She was struggling to hold him back, pushing their kunais against one another until one of them gave in.
"A little help here, Yami, he's stronger than I thought!" she gasped, straining to push the man back.
"Well I was having fun watching you but I suppose I could pitch in." Yamiko pulled five shurikens from her holder and threw them, immediatly performing a hand seal, "Shuriken Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!" The shurikens multiplied rapidly, all heading for both where Yukio was and any possible direction he could go to dodge.
There was a flash of light, a muffled cry, and Yukio was gone again.
"I think I got him but it apparently didn't slow him down..." Aruko and Yamiko stood back to back to watch for any attacks. The forest seemed deadly quiet and it was irritating to the two waiting girls. Aruko pushed Yamiko backwards suddenly as two Yukio's came flying at them.
"I figured I would even the score. Two against one isn't very fair, now is it?" said Yukio, next to his double.
"Alright then... I'll take the one on the right, Aruko, you take the one on the left. Alright?"
"Sounds good to me."
"I hope you don't mind, I'm much better with hand-to-hand combat." said Yukio.
"Isn't that nice? So are we! Korean style martial arts." said Yamiko.
"Chinese style martial arts for me." said Aruko.
"Well, won't this be fun?"
The following day went on smoothly and uneventful. Nothing but walking and muching on snacks. Every once in a while Aruko and Yamiko would spaz out at the slightest rustling of a bush.
"Man, Aruko and Yamiko need to relax. They are so worked up about us getting attacked they are exhausted!" whispered Naruto to Sakura as they walked along behind the Jounin.
"They won't let us do anything that might be dangerous! I'm suprised they let us use the bathroom in private!" Sakura whispered back.
"I heard that, Sakura-chan..." grumbled Aruko without even looking.
"Don't be so sure we DO let you go to the bathroom in private..." winked Yamiko who was bringing up the rear.
It was, so far, a beautiful day. Just the right temperature, the gentle shade of the trees, and a straight open path before them added up to what Aruko and Yamiko would call a nice trip. Aruko looked up and thought about the meeting they had when they first arrived in Leaf Village...
Aruko and Yamiko stepped forward and looked up at Tsunade and their very own Kanikage. They stood silently and perfectly still, very unlike them, but they new this would be a very interesting meeting for them since they were in a whole new village. Tsunade stood up.
"I have gone over your assignment with the Kanikage and we have decided it best for both of you to work together on this mission given your past teamwork efforts. Your assignment will be a challenging one, one of the most challenging I've had to give out today but I trust you will do it well." she paused to look over the two girls with interest. If the Kanikage had asked to give them such a difficult job, they must have been must more mature than they let on, "Aruko, you will be assigned a group of Genin and Yamiko will be a bodygaurd. You are to teach and protect these children with your life. The children are Sasuke..." but before she could go on the two girls gasped.
"Uchiha??" they shouted at once, forgetting their manners.
"You mean the brother of..."
"Yes... The brother of Itachi, the one who took out the Uchiha clan five years ago."
Aruko and Yamiko exchanged glances. They had met Itachi before when they came six years ago for a visit to the village. They had even tried to spar with him a few times having an interest in his clan though they couldn't handle the shuringan as well as they thought.
Tsunade cleared her throat and continued.
"Sakura, and Naruto... Yes... THAT Naruto..."
The two girl's jaws dropped. They never dreamed that of all the children they would have to protect it would be the two they had heard the most about.
"Itachi is after the Kyubi inside of Naruto, and Orochimaru is after Sasuke... These children need your protection. You will meet Kakashi at noon to take over his students."
"Kakashi-sama?" they shouted together, starting to creep each other out at how much they echoed each other.
"The very same. As far as I know, we only have one Kakashi." smiled Tsunade.
It was at that time that they each notcied the Kanikage was snoring in his seat next to Tsunade. Though he was the leader of their village and the strongest shinobi he wasn't exactly the youngest nor the most sane of the ninja.
"Uh... I suppose that's all... You'd better go find Kakashi now..." whispered Tsunade as to not wake up the Kanikage. The two girls tip-toed out.
"Aruko-sama? Aruko-sama? Are you alright?"
Aruko snapped back to reality and looked down at Naruto who apparently had been calling her name for quite some time.
"Yes, sorry, Naurto-kun. I'm fine."
"Maybe we should take a rest. Sakura looks like she just ran around the world and back." Yamiko slung her bag off her shoulder and let it hit the ground with a soft thud, "Who wants snacks?"
The days seemed to last forever though when they were over it seemed like it passed in the blink of an eye. Before they knew it, it was the next day, and then the forth day was finally there. They now had to find where to cross the sea to get to their village, but even still, it was a little walk away.
They had begun to run out of food so they kept their meals short, though sure they would reach town soon they didn't worry too much and they could all look forward to that ride on Ryuka to the village though the genin didn't know who or what Ryuka was, the fact they wouldn't have to walk anymore cheered them up greatly.
Aruko and Yamiko had seemed much more jumpy today that usual, which was saying a lot. They kept looking around and glaring at the trees, weapons in hands at all hours and doing their best to show no openings for ambush.
Yamiko froze suddenly and looked around.
"Yami? What's wrong?" What is it?" asked Aruko in a panic.
"There's three of them... Way past our level... Headed this way at an alarming rate." she turned to Aruko, "We will have to hold them off while they run."
"No way! We are going to help you fight!" shouted Naruto.
"Listen to Yamiko! I don't care how strong you kids are, we cannot defeat them under these conditions."
"Closing in fast..." warned Yamiko, starting to sound nervous, glancing around the thick trees.
"I want to help fight too!" glared Sasuke.
"I understand you want to fight Itachi but this is not the time nor the place for it! It is our job to protect you and you will not fight as long as we are here!"
"Aruko!" Yamiko dove at Aruko and pulled her to the ground as a shuriken zoomed past her head.
"GO!" shouted Aruko from the ground. The three genin exchanged reluctant glances but knew it would only distract them while they fought if the three of them were there. They took off running.
Sasuke stopped and looked back as his brother came strolling out of the bushes, Kisame lept down from a tree where the shuriken came from, and a third man close behind. Sasuke reached into his bag for a kunai but thinking again, he stopped and ran to catch up with the others. He would only be a burden to Aruko and Yamiko at this time.
"Well, hello, We are but two innocent flower girls lost in the woods." said Yamiko with a mischievious smirk, pulling a double edged kunai out from her pocket.
"Save the sarcasim, Yamiko. If I were here to fight you, both of you would already be dead."
Aruko and Yamiko glared, baring their teeth in hatred.
"So what are you here for? Surely you aren't planning to get past us without a fight!" yelled Aruko.
"You see, that is why we found a little decoy on our way here. Kisame and I don't have time to deal with weaklings like you."
The third man walked forward as Itachi and Kisame started to walk in the direction Naruto and the others had headed.
"Stop!" shouted Yamiko, firing a warning shuriken zooming right in front of them, "We won't let you go after them!"
Itachi turned his head to Yamiko, Sharingan eyes whirling. Yamiko gasped slightly and fell to her knees.
"Yami!" Aruko shouted, fear showing in her voice.
"Never could fight the power of the sharingan, could you Yamiko-chan? Now, we must be going..."
Knowing she couldn't stop him but feeling Yamiko was vulnerable Aruko lept between her and the mystery third man. Yamiko began to pull herself together and slowly rose back to her feet.
"Are you alright, Yami?"
"Yes... He only did it enough to keep me from stopping him. If he wanted to injure me worse he would have.
The man in front of them glared at them.
"If you two girls will stop chatting I'd like to introduce myself. I thought you would like to know the name of your killer."
"It's always about him, isn't it?" mused Yamiko.
"Silence! My name is Yukio, sworn enemy of... Wait... What village are you from?"
"Oh he's a bright one!" snickered Yamiko.
"You can tell Itachi just picked him off the street to hold us off. He wouldn't want to send one of his SMART men to their death."
"SHUT UP! Let's begin!" With these words Yukio vanished before their eyes. Shocked at his speed they looked around desperatly for any sign of movement.
"He can't keep this speed up long, his body will give in..." whispered Aruko.
"He'll be striking soon... Be on gaurd." replied Yamiko.
In a flash and the piercing sound of two kunai's colliding, Yamiko turned around to find Aruko having blocked Yukio's attack. She was struggling to hold him back, pushing their kunais against one another until one of them gave in.
"A little help here, Yami, he's stronger than I thought!" she gasped, straining to push the man back.
"Well I was having fun watching you but I suppose I could pitch in." Yamiko pulled five shurikens from her holder and threw them, immediatly performing a hand seal, "Shuriken Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!" The shurikens multiplied rapidly, all heading for both where Yukio was and any possible direction he could go to dodge.
There was a flash of light, a muffled cry, and Yukio was gone again.
"I think I got him but it apparently didn't slow him down..." Aruko and Yamiko stood back to back to watch for any attacks. The forest seemed deadly quiet and it was irritating to the two waiting girls. Aruko pushed Yamiko backwards suddenly as two Yukio's came flying at them.
"I figured I would even the score. Two against one isn't very fair, now is it?" said Yukio, next to his double.
"Alright then... I'll take the one on the right, Aruko, you take the one on the left. Alright?"
"Sounds good to me."
"I hope you don't mind, I'm much better with hand-to-hand combat." said Yukio.
"Isn't that nice? So are we! Korean style martial arts." said Yamiko.
"Chinese style martial arts for me." said Aruko.
"Well, won't this be fun?"