A/N: Second Chapter. Woo. I've been diligently looking for a job and, well, the search hasn't been going so well. So, in the mean time, I write fics that probably won't get a second glance in some dusty corner of the internet. That entire line runs parallel to the story of my life, ironically. ;
Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto and we all know why. I do own Arashi, Kouji, Kaede, Shimoda, Akira (sort of. He is an unnamed character from the series that I gave a name and personality to. He's that young guy in one of the watchtowers when the attack on Konoha began), and Strai. Tamasaki Leiko is an OC that a friend of mine roleplays with. Steal Leiko or any of my characters and you will be hunted down, tortured, disembolled, your body liquified piece by piece in my George Foreman blender, then your remains flushed down the toilet. CSI will be hard-pressed to find any trace of your body. That being said, enjoy the fic!
File #2- Inter Spem et Metum (Between Hope and Fear)
Chapter 2- Preparations
Arashi and Tsunade had both done faceplants into their desks within 5 minutes of each other around 6 AM. Both women had raging hangovers from their sake-filled night off and were feeling the effects today. Arashi had bags under her eyes and Tsunade's complexion was less than refreshed. Both wanted to sleep but knew that they couldn't. Both were now drooling onto stacks of papers that they should have been reviewing and signing.
Yamashiro Aoba and Tsukioka Kouji walked down the hall, each carrying files for their respective Kages. As they walked, flashes of lightening illuminated the hall from the storm outside. The two had become good friends in a short amount of time. Both were personal assistants to the Hokage and the Raikage- honors conferred upon few. They were good at their work and had an upbeat attitude, the patience of saints, and dedication to their work. Kouji had been Arashi's assistant for almost 5 years already, never complaining once. Aoba had been Tsunade's assistant for 3 or 4 years now. Now, as they neared the hall end, Kouji put a finger to his lips and pressed an ear to the door.
"Don't eavesdrop, Kouji, you fool! Tsunade will have your head!" Aoba whispered frantically.
"Be cool Yamashiro, be cool," Kouji said in his usual drawl, rolling his toothpick around in his mouth.
Nothing ever seemed to faze the man or catch him by surprise. Aoba was always in constant awe of his partner. They knocked lightly on the door. No answer, no surprise. Aoba tried the door but found it locked.
"The hell? Since when did they start locking the door?" Aoba wondered outloud.
"Probably privacy," Kouji said, pressing an ear to the door," Or a little girl on girl action from the sounds of it."
Aoba blanched and his eyes bugged. He tried to respond but couldn't seem to form a coherent sentence. Kouji tilted his sunglasses down at him, his ear still at the door.
"Dude, you have to hear this," Kouji said," Sounds like Tsunade's dominating."
A bright flush formed on Aoba's cheeks. He coughed and tried to muster up a professional attitude.
"Kouji! How- how unprofessional of you! Whatever goes on in that office is strictly between Tsunade-sama and Arashi-sama! Perhaps we should come back later-" Aoba sputtered.
Kouji flicked his toothpick in an annoyed fashion. He stood up and placed his hands on Aoba's shoulders, his face solemn.
"May you one day get laid, my friend," he said," And I wish much perversion upon your pure mind."
Aoba adjusted his glasses nervously.
"Damn, will you get a grip? The only thing I heard in the office was the fact that those two are snoring soundly on their desks again," Kouji said.
Aoba relaxed a bit and ran a hand through his hair. He looked visibly relieved.
"Ah, it was just a joke then!" he said weakly, chuckling a bit," Good joke."
"Some days I fear you are hopeless, Yamashiro," Kouji sighed," C'mon now, let's wake those two up."
"I sure hope you don't intend on creating a lot of noise last time. You stirred up the ANBU last time and both of us got reprimanded."
"Be cool, Yamashiro, be cool."
Kouji reached up with a free hand, concentrating momentarily and letting his hand glow a dull blue. He then pressed his hand against the door beside the knob and Aoba watched as his hand slid right through the door. Kouji grinned, hooked his hand and flipped the lock. He retracted his hand and the glowing faded. The ninja then opened the door like any other human being would and went in. The two ninja went in on tip-toe into the office. Aoba picked up one of the larger books from Tsunade's bookshelf and opened it quietly. Kouji gave him a count.
"1... 2.."
"Wait, wait, wait. Do we go 1,2,3 and then I close the book or 1,2,3 and go on 3?"
"Yeah, 1, 2, and go on 3."
"Okay, gotcha, gotcha."
"One... two... THREE!"
Aoba snapped the book shut making a loud wham! sound. Tsunade and Arashi jerked awake suddenly. Tsunade made two kunai airborne in a flash. Aoba ducked one and Kouji just let the other one sail right through him, thunking into the wall behind him. Arashi had a scroll stuck to one cheek.
"The fuck-?" Arashi garbled.
"How did you two get in here?" Tsunade asked sleepily.
"Damn Tsukioka ghosting techniques," Arashi hissed, yanking the scroll off her face.
Kouji smirked and Aoba adjusted his glasses.
"Yes, well, what would you do without me, Raikage-dono?" Kouji said.
Arashi whipped him the finger.
"As much as I would love to occupy your bed for bragging rights, I'm afraid Iruka-kun would have a fit if he knew," Kouji said.
"Some days, I wonder if it would be easier to just zap you and put you out of my misery," Arashi yawned.
"Aww...," Kouji crooned," Anyhow, Aoba and I have a few files for you two and-"
A loud screech made all four of them jump. All eyes turned towards the balcony doors between Arashi and Tsunade- where the screech had come from. Perched on the railing in the hard rain was Strai, Shimoda's prized falcon. The bird was wet and hating it. It squawked again.
Arashi arose and went to the doors. She opened them and the bird flew in. She had also let the wind in and the hunter green drapes of the office billowed in around her, some of the rain coming in as well. Strai flew in and perched on Kouji's head, shaking the water from it's wings. Kouji winced as the bird dried off on him and felt it's talons dig into his scalp almost painfully. Arashi shut the doors and turned towards them.
Strai stuck his leg out and Arashi relieved him of the scroll tied to his leg. The bird relaxed. Arashi went to the closet and opened the door. Inside, there were a few boxes of files, some coats and umbrellas, and a bird stand in one corner. Arashi dragged the bird stand out and propped it up beside her desk. Strai immediately detached himself from Kouji's head and flew over to the perch.
"Kouji, please go fetch some bottled water for Strai and a few pieces of meat," Arashi said," He's had a long journey and deserves some rest."
Kouji bowed.
"Hai, Arashi-dono," he said and left, walking straight through the door.
Tsunade and Aoba watched as Arashi unfolded the scroll, thankfully written with waterproof ink on stiff paper. Aoba quietly handed the files he was holding to Tsunade while Arashi read. Tsunade started to thumb through them, her eyes widening at one particular file.
"Aoba, why didn't you tell me sooner that Kurenai and her team have disappeared?" Tsunade asked," Kami, that team contains 2 clan heirs. How many people know about this?"
"Only me and the file keeper at the Genin Offices," Aoba responded.
"Tsunade-sama," Arashi said," I have word from Shikoku Shimoda and Honoki Akira, our agents in the Rain Country."
Tsunade turned towards Arashi.
"Well, what did they say?"
"Shimoda and Akira report that they have sighted Tamasaki Leiko, Aburame Shino, Inuzuka Kiba, and Hyuuga Hinata at the fight rings in the capitol city. They want orders on how to procede. What do you suggest Tsunade-sama?"
"Aoba, please excuse us. Arashi-sama and I need to confer."
Aoba bowed and left, shutting the door behind him. As soon as he was gone, Tsunade rubbed her eyes and rolled her chair over to Arashi's desk and read the message. She wasn't sure whether to be relieved or even more worried.
"At least we know where they are," Arashi said," It gives us a place to start. Personally, I am in favor of using our agents to get some of our ninja into the fighting circuits."
"I'm in favor of sending ninja to simply get them out and protecting our agents' cover," Tsunade said," Remember that 7 lives are at stake rather than 5. That and Kurenai is the only one unaccounted for."
"Hai," Arashi said, tapping her pencil in thought.
There was a commotion out in the hallway. Aoba was protesting loudly and trying to fight someone off. Both Kages turned their heads towards the door and stood up as one as it suddenly swung open.
"I'm sorry Hokage-sama, Raikage-sama!" Aoba panted," He demanded entrance and hit my kidneys!"
Aoba fell to the floor and curled up in a ball, clutching his sides. The figure that stood before them was about 5'10 with long ebony hair, wet from the rain and loose. His skin was a light peach and his eyes made the lavender irises piercing. His presence was commanding, and his wet knee-length rain coat only added to it. His expression was stern and he had hardly exerted himself in his tussle with Aoba. Tsunade narrowed her eyes at the young man and frowned. Strai flapped his wings and screeched at the young man.
"Have you forgotten how to knock, Hyuuga Neji?" Tsunade asked coolly.
"I apologize for my intrusion, Hokage-sama and Raikage-sama," he said, bowing his head. Droplets of water dripped onto the floor from his loose, raven hair," But I need to ask your permission to go on a special mission."
"Make it fast," Tsunade said," Arashi-sama and I have important business to attend to."
"I hope you are referring to the disappearance of my cousin, Hinata," he said.
Tsunade was surprised but didn't show it.
"Yes, that is what we were discussing, as a matter of fact," Tsunade responded," I assume that you are volunteering your services?"
"Hai, Tsunade-sama," he replied," I want to help in any way possible."
Before Tsunade could respond, Arashi spoke.
"I have an idea that may require your services, if you are so eager to be of service, Neji-kun," Arashi responded," but first, Tsunade-sama and I need to discuss an appropriate course of action since this involves both Leaf and Cloud nin."
"Please wait outside, Neji," Tsunade said.
Neji had no choice but to obey. He bowed again and left, careful not to trip over Aoba, who crawled out after him a second later. Through his pain, he had the presence of mind to shut the door behind him. Strai squawked and settled back on the perch for a nap.
"Tsunade," Arashi said," Perhaps we can submit our own fighters into the circuit."
"To what end?"
"Send two fake agents and two or three fighters and enter them in the circuit. They'll rise quickly, no doubt, and soon the agents will be V.I.P. That means that they'll have access to all the other agents and fighters."
"Go on."
"These circuits run by class, D-class being the lowest and S-class being the highest, like missions," Arashi explained," If one is talented enough, they can aspire to S-class in a few months."
"Then that should be no problem," Tsunade said," We'll just send some ANBU as our fighters."
"There is an age limit, Tsunade," Arashi said," You have to have been in the curcuit by your 20th birthday to still compete. So if you start fighting when you were 19, they will let you compete even if you are older than 20. We need young ones and talented young ones. Genin and Chuunin tend to recieve a lot of attention."
"Alright, so we send a Jounin and a Genin?" Tsunade asked.
"Two Jounin and six Genin or Chuunin," Arashi said," If they need to break them out of the holding cells and the prisons they keep them in, we will need as much manpower as we can provide without raising suspicion."
"That sounds like overkill."
"Trust me, it isn't."
"Alright. So one Leaf Jounin and one Cloud Jounin?"
"Yes, this is a matter that concerns one of my people as well so I must insist on adding my forces to the roster."
"Done. We will each select one Jounin and three Genin or Chuunin for this mission," Tsunade said.
Meanwhile, Neji waited outside impatiently. Aoba was still clutching his sides but was able to walk about. Neji clasped his hands together and touched his thumbs to his lips. He had taken a seat on the bench in the hallway outside the Kages' office and had his elbows resting on his knees. The Hyuuga was worried about what had happened to his cousin. In fact, the whole clan was worried when Kurenai and her team hadn't returned from what was supposed to be a routine escorting mission to Rain Country. Neji had had a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach from the moment Hinata had told him of the mission. The two had grown close in the subsequent 3 years since Hinata's first shot at the Chuunin exams. Hinata had forgiven Neji for his attempt to kill her even though he still hadn't forgiven himself for it.
He sighed and shook his hair back. He had lost his hair tie somewhere along the line and his wet, waist length hair was in tangles. Slowly, he reached into his coat and took out a simple ivory comb. Neji liked neatness and his appearance and image had always been important to him. He didn't care what other people thought of him particularly but he liked to be neat and groomed at all times. Slowly, he worked the snarls out of his rain soaked hair, careful not to break the silky ebon tresses.
Hinata was not the only one he was worried about. Neji was worried about her entire team as well. Neji liked talking to Shino because of his brevity and straightforwardness about everything. Kiba was always good for a laugh and had his own brand of humor that was uniquely his. He worried for Tamasaki Leiko, the not really recent addition to the team who besides being rather beautiful, was a formidable sparring partner. She had come to Konoha with the rest of the Kumogakure disaster survivors about 3 years ago and some of their genin and chuunin were farmed out to some of the Konoha teams. Leiko had been placed with Kurenai's team because of her genjutsu bloodline. To Neji, she was an enigma and he rather liked puzzles. He got the last tangle out and pushed the silken mass over his shoulder, tucking some shorter pieces behind his ears since they kept slipping back over his shoulders.
Kouji reappeared in the hallway with a bottle of water and small can of raw, cubed chicken. He was wet as well since he had left the building to get the water and meat for the falcon. He knocked on the Kages' door and was allowed back in. Neji looked over curiously but Kouji had shut the door behind him. He fought the urge to press his ear to the door, knowing it was rude to do so. Several moments passed in silence. Neji could hear muffled talking behind the door. He wanted to activate his Byakugan but Aoba's watchful eye prevented him from doing so.
The door creaked open and Neji stood up. Neji and Kouji's eyes met, lavender gripping swampy green-grey eyes. Aoba stepped forward.
"Well?" Aoba asked.
"Neji-kun, Hokage-sama and Raikage-sama want to see us," Kouji said, a grin tugging at the corners of his mouth," Now."
A/N: What to say? I hope you enjoyed this chapter! Please leave reviews!