"Hey,umm.... Sasuke?" asked Metsuki. Sasuke was training at the edge of one of the training fields.
"What?" he said, turning his head slightly before facing away again. "What do you want, Metsuki?"
"Ummm... this is kinda emberassing, since i've already been there once before, but... do you know where the hospital is?" Metsuki rubbed the back of her head as Sasuke stopped training and turned towards her.
"The hospital? Fine, it's lunchtime anyways. Follow me," he said, grabbing his backpack and walking off.
Metsuki ran after him and fell into step beside him, walking in silence as they entered the city. Over the last three weeks since being promoted to chuunins, she had decided that Sasuke wasn't such a bad person as long as you wern't being annoying. He didn't seem to mind her either, since when they trained together she never said much.
"It's right over there," he said suddenly, pointing down a street to the left. Metsuki nodded, tightening her bandana and brushing hair away from her face.
"Thanks," sha said, before slipping away towards the large white building.
She pushed pat the two double doors and walked up to the main desk. "Hey, can you tell me which room Hyuuga Neji is staying in?" she asked the receptionist. The woman nodded, quickly flicking through a file.
"Room 218. Up the stairs and to your right, at the end of the hallway."
Metsuki walked off thinking, why is there always stairs... It's a sunday and I'm lazy. They should put in an elevator or something. When she reached the second floor of the hospital, she followed the woman's instructions, finally reaching a door that read 'Room 218: Temporary Care.'
She knocked and waited until she heard a muffled 'come in' from Neji. She stepped into the room, not bothering to sit in one of the chairs, but stood instead just inside the room by the door.
"Uhh... When are you getting outta this place? It's been three weeks already," she said. Neji was sitting upright in his bed with both his wrists bandaged.
"I'll be getting out in three days."
Man, this takes too long. "Okay then... Yeah... Sorry about breaking all those bones, but Asuma-sensei would have stepped in if I hadnt' made it quick. But don't worry, I paid for it later. I was coughing up blood for hours."
"Why? I never even landed a single hit on you, so you should have been fine."
"Well... My bloodline is extremely dangerous and can easily kill, but I have to pay for it. I'm not quite sure what it does to my body, but if I use it too much it causes alot of pain and I often lose alot of blood."
There was a moment of silence before she changed the subject. "I know. I'll make it up to you on the mission. It'll be easy, I promise!" Metsuki smiled and gave the peace sign before leaving, closing the door lightly behind her.
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Metsuki sat in a clearing along with Sasuke and Neji, finishing off the morning of training. Today was the mission.
"So, who's gonna be the leader?" she asked uneasily. The two boys eyed eachother, not saying anything. Metsuki sighed. "You're not gonna compete for leader, are you? Just let the Hokage decide then."
"We should get going," said Neji, standing and turning away. His wrists and ankles were still bandaged, but with the attention of the medical ninja, he had recovered in only three weeks. Metsuki stood and lifted Shikon from her shoulder.
"Tell father not to follow on the mission," she whispered to the flying fox. She swung the bat into the air where it took flight, circling once before heading east. She ran to catch up to the two boys. Geez, this is gonna be a fun mission, I'm stuck with two guys who won't ever speak a word. Plus they have no sense of fun. Joy.
After five minutes of silence, the three chuunin entered the room where the meeting had been held three weeks before. The hokage sat at a desk to the side with three neatly folded piles of clothing on the desk in front of her. They approached the desk as the Godaime sat up.
"First of all, who is leading the mission?" Great, thought Metsuki.
"I am," replied Neji, before Sasuke could get in a word of argument. The Hokage handed him a small, neatly labelled scroll and gave him a moment to read it over. When he finished, she handed him a map and he nodded.
"You will be treated as Anbu from now on, unless you fail the mission. Here are your uniforms, they have been fitted already. In the room behind me you can pick up a mask, and then you are to change and head out. Leave your clothes in the provided lockers. Dismissed."
Metsuki took her outfit, examining it closely. She wandered into the room that the Hokage had indicated and found the walls covered in masks. Under each mask was a label that told you about it. She walked slowly around the walls, looking for one in particular, which she found on the far wall. The label underneath it red 'Bat' and it was the only one of its kind.
"Let's go, Metsuki," called Neji. They had already picked their masks. She quickly took it off the wall and ran after them. Looking at their masks, she could tell what they had picked. Neji had chosen a bird mask and Sasuke had chosen a lion mask.
In front of them was a single changing room, which Neji entered first. When he came out, he looked completely different in the sleeveless Anbu uniform.
"There are lockers where you can leave your clothing. I'll meet you on the roof and we'll go over the mission."
Sasuke stepped in after Neji had vanished, coming out a moment later in the Anbu uniform. He said nothing to Metsuki, but vanished as Neji had. She stepped into the small room.
She quickly put on the outfit, adjusting it slightly and folding her clothes. She removed her headband, which she had received four weeks ago, from her arm where she had kept it tied Shikamaru style and placed it on top of her clothes. There were nine lockers, in three rows of three, and she took the one in between Neji's and Sasuke's, closing the door and taking the little tab after locking it. She attatched the tab to the inside of her sleeve before looking over herself in the mirror.
The uniform made her look even skinnier, and the seal on her left arm was clearly visible. Her hair hung down to her shoulders, neatly curving under her chin. The small necklace around her neck was also now visible, the small blue-grey jewel glinting slightly in the low light. She hung her mask around her neck, resting on her back, before heading out to go look for the two other team members.
As promised, she found them on the rooftop sitting in silence, waiting. She joined them and Neji began going over the mission.
"The mssion is an A rank mission, nothing too difficult. We are to first head to the Leaf's ally, the Hidden Stream, and pick up the fourth member of our team. This is a mission involving both Hidden Villages, and both will share in the profits. The other ninja coming with us is a medical-nin who also has a bloodline allowing for abnormal healing qualities. Also, his eyes can see into your body to pick up any internal abnormalities. His name is Iyasu and he is a thirteen-year-old chuunin and recent Anbu member.
"The second part of the mission requires our new four-man team to head to the Hidden Snow, a long journey that will take up to two to three weeks or so. Once we arrive, we are to locate and aquire at least two of their four forbidden jutsu scrolls. One will go to the Hidden Stream along with Iyasu and the other will be sent back to Konoha. If more or all scrolls are aquired, then each person receives one, making it possible for Konoha to gain three and the Iyasu of the Hidden Stream a maximum of one.
"We are to go about this as quietly as possible, taking the least amount of lives possible and not allowing any of our group members to be injured. We also do not want the Hidden Snow to find out which villages are involved. That's all, got it?'
Neji unrolled the map that the Hokage had given him. On it was a map of all of the countrys and known Hidden Villages. In the top, left hand corner there was a map of the Hidden Snow giving directions to all possible areas where the scrolls could be hidden. Neji rolled it back up and tucked it into a scroll holster.
"It's a day's journey to the Hidden Stream. When travelling, Sasuke will lead the way, followed by Metsuki and I'll bring up the rear. Are you ready?"
"Wait," said Metsuki, standing. The two boys cast annoyed glances towards her, but she didn't care. Bringing two fingers to her pursed lips, she whistled a quiet note, so high that the other Anbu couldn't hear it. She waited for a moment before she got a return squeak from the south, and she turned to see Shikon flapping erratically towards her.
"Shikon, quit foolin' around! Get your ass up there and go on ahead," she yelled at the bat. Shikon squeaked and circled once overhead before heading northeast.
"Okay," she said. Sasuke jumped forward, bringing up his lion mask and also heading northeast. Metsuki followed and Neji brought up the back. Their mission had finally begun.