By Airen Hitomi
DISCLAIMER: Very much not mine,unfortunately. If it were mine, Sakura would either become less of a whiny girl and learn to kick ass, or die a painful death; not sure which I'd prefer. XP
Chapter Two: Mission Statement
Hinata had been too afraid to give the scrolls to Gai-sensei personally, afraid the man might try to hug her again. Instead, she gave them to Naruto, asking him to give them to Gai, blushing bright red as she did so. She blushed even more as Naruto grinned at her, promising that Gai would get them immediately. She was so entranced by the blonde's smile that she stood in the middle of the road for a good minute after he had left, not noticing his departure.
Gai was ecstatic at having received the scrolls in which he was sure he'd find the cure to Rock Lee's injury. He thanked Naruto profusely, told the blonde to thank Hinata when he saw her next, and promptly locked himself up in his room to study. He refused to eat for the rest of the day, until the Hokage herself imposed and force-fed him a bowl of miso soup and rice.
He had become slightly dejected by 4am the next morning when he was half-way through the second scroll and had found nothing of use. His head drooped, and he thought to himself five minutes of rest will help him concentrate, and then he would find what he was searching for.
He was woken the next morning by the sun streaming down onto his face, and his eternal rival shaking him lightly on the shoulder. He looked blearily into Kakashi's masked face for a moment, before realizing the time and jumping up, shouting at himself disappointedly for sleeping so long. Rock Lee was depending on him.
"The Hokage wants to see us," Kakashi told him. "Apparently Shizune has some information that will help Lee-san." Gai was gone almost before he could finish his sentence.
Gai was impatient. He and Kakashi were standing in the Hokage's office with Shizune, but Tsunade had not yet arrived. He was pacing, frustrated at having unsuccessfully attempted to get Shizune to tell him the news before the Hokage arrived. His eyes focused on the clock on the wall opposite him, following every movement of the second had that signaled the shortening of Rock Lee's life.
He spun quickly as he heard the door creak. Tsunade was there, looking haggard. Umino Iruka walked with her, in a similar condition. They have been up all night, searching for clues to save Rock Lee.
Once Tsunade was seated, Iruka standing beside her trying hard not to fall asleep where he stood, Shizune began to talk.
There were records of a man in the Earth Country who was like a favourite uncle to the two Izumi children. It was likely that, had the children survived, they would have traveled there if they hadn't stayed in Konoha. Tsunade was going to send Team Seven to the estate where the man resided, with Iruka to accompany them.
Gai protested. Surely he, the Green Beast of Konoha, would be best on this mission. Surely his passion in reviving his beloved Rock Lee would convince the children to return to Konoha immediately. Surely-
He was cut off by the Hokage, who informed him that he was needed in Konoha, and if he needed to feel helpful he could continue to scour the scrolls for a way to heal Lee-san, but she had decided that Team Seven would be the most appropriate group to complete the mission. The Izumi children were no longer children, and Kakashi and Iruka would be most likely able to convince them to return home.
In the face of the Hokage's iron will, Gai relented, but he was pouting as he left the room to meet his students, half an hour late. Kakashi left also, to bring his team in for briefing on the mission.
To say Naruto was kind of excited about the mission was like saying the ocean was kind of wet. He was bouncing around during the entire mission briefing, and when he heard that his beloved Iruka-sensei would be accompanying them, he practically hit his head on the roof.
"All right!" he cried. "Iruka-sensei will finally get to see how good I am on missions. I'll get these healer people back to Konoha within three days, and Rock Lee will get better…" '…and maybe then Sakura-chan will notice how much better I am than Sasuke,' he thought.
Iruka and Kakashi smiled indulgently as Naruto continued his tirade, which was ignored by his two teammates. Iruka was looking forward to a trip away from Konoha, especially with his favourite former student. He wanted to leave as soon as possible, because every second they wasted was a second of Rock Lee's life. Iruka had not taught the Taijutsu expert himself, but the boy's battle against Gaara of the Desert had convinced Iruka that loosing Rock Lee would be a big blow to Konoha's future.
Kakashi was also looking forward to the mission. In the Earth Country, the movie of Icha Icha Paradise was being released a month earlier than in the Fire Country. His eyes sparkled at the thought of disappearing for a few hours to watch it. The kids would be safe with Iruka around.
Sakura and Sasuke were less enthused. Sasuke saw this mission, that involved no real need for ninja skills, as a waste of time he could be spending preparing to kill Itachi. Sakura was becoming annoyed by Naruto's habit of constantly competing with Sasuke when they were on missions, and her two teammates leaving her behind. She was always more aware of how far behind the two boys she was when they were on missions.
Within three days of Rock Lee's failed surgery, Iruka and Team Seven were heading off, prepared to search and recover the potential key to Rock Lee's continued survival. As they departed, Kakashi glimpsed Gai, standing in the Hokage Monument and watching them leave, obviously wishing he was going along. But Tsunade was right…Gai would be needed in Konoha…
TBC...
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Tada, Chapter Two is up. It's a lot shorter than Chapter One, but I couldn't think of what to write. Hopefully, it will become more interesting...tehe, what's going to happen that requires Gai to remain in Konoha? You'll find out in the next installment, if I ever get around to writing it. Please, read and review.