Nine
Sakura was practicing a jutsu in Tsunade's room when a knock at the door was heard.
"Come in."
A certain familar jounin strolled in, he smiled.
"Kakashi-sensei!! Long time no see! How have you been?"
"Ohayo Minna-san (Hello Everyone). Ahh Sakura-chan! Looking lovelier than ever."
Tsunade cleared her throat.
"Hokage-sama!! My, you radiate sheer elegance and grace!!! Oh Konoha is so lucky to have.......'
"Urusai (Shut up ) !! You're late again!!!"
"Gomen. I got lost on the road of life, was at the junction of temptation and wisdom...."
"Okok, enough. I don't need to hear your excuses.
She shook her head in disbelief.
"I called the two of you in here for a reason. A mission actually."
"A mission?" Sakura enquired. It has been a while since she completed any mission, after all, she being the only one left of Team 7.
"Yup, now if you can, lend a hand and go open that closet over there. Get a bag with medical supplies in there while I get the misplaced scroll containing the details from the desk."
Oh no. Kakashi thought to himself. The pile of stuff seemed to have grown in quantity overnight and was looking more intimidating than ever.
Sakura walked over to the closet. As she got closer, he suddenly sensed a presence and flew in front to shield his student from whatever was inside the closet.
The closet door swung open and out flew a familiar blonde in orange suit who grabbed hold of Kakashi.
"Sakura-chan!!!....." He hugged the figure he grabbed.
"Ahhh!!!!! Kakashi-sensei!!!!!" He screamed when he realized who he grabbed and immediately jumped meters from the jounin.
"Naruto?" Kakashi and Sakura said in union.
A hearty laugh came forth from both Tsunade and Jiraiya, who was also hiding in the closet.
"Ha-ha. I envisioned all sorts of scenarios but certainly not that one." Tsunade said.
"Neither did I. I guess some things will never change." Jiraiya agreed.
"What are you doing back in Konoha?" Kakashi asked after the inital surprised has died down.
"Oh we were just passing and decided a visit would be good. The brat misses everyone, especially you-know-who." Jiraiya winked at the pink-haired girl, who didn't know whether to be angry or happy. After all, they haven't seen each other for a good few months. Tears were forming at the corners of her eyes.
"Soka (I see)."
Another knock was heard at the door.
"Just in time. Come in!"
In strolled yet another blonde guy with flashing green eyes and a petite girl with blue eyes.
"Ohayo!" They chorused. These two were always happy somehow, well compared to a certain other two at least. Or rather, maybe just the other girl.
"Allow me to introduce some friends of mine: Konoha's loudest ninja - Naruto, Sakura-chan and Jiraiya. Friends, meet Ishida-kun and Maiko-chan."
"Eh? They are like Kakashi-sensei! They wear masks too!!! Are you trying to hide your fish lips with that mask??"
That blunt outcry of insult was met with good whack at the back of the head by both Kakashi and Sakura.
"Ita!!! That hurts!!!"
"Ha-ha, that's all right. Naruto-kun, I can't vouch for Kakashi-san about the fish lips but I can certainly assure you that we do not have fish lips to hide." Maiko said.
"I don't believe ya."
"Hmmmm..... should we?" Ishida looked at Maiko.
"Why not?"
They both pulled down their elastic coverings and presented bright smiles for their audience.
"Maiko-chan............"
"Yes?"
"You're pretty........'
Naruto was busy drooling at Maiko.
"Oh yeah........ You sure are......." Jiraiya was inching closer and closer to examine in greater detail, her other 'vital statistics'. Well, at least he attempted to until he got whacked by Tsunade to snap out of it.
"Ano, pretty lady and handsome guy, where are you from and what are you doing here?"
The two were highly amused by the situation. A perverted old man and young kid with a loud mouth was a refreshing compared to more somber and conservative others.
"I believe you can ask them about that another time. Right now, I got some issues to discuss with them. So Naruto-kun, why don't you go run along with Sakura-chan. I'm sure you have lots to catch up on."
The young ones bowed and left the place as instructed, with Sakura pulling him out by the ear and leaving a stream of protest trailing their exit.
When the coast was cleared, the mood was set to serious and everyone got seated.
"Ishida, do you know where Kei and Ken have gone to? I was hoping to get everyone here."
He looked at the clock on the wall and sighed.
"Not really. But I can say that at this time of the morning, Kei likes to spend some quiet time alone and Ken is most likely with her."
"I see."
"It's all right. You can tell them the details later." She got up to retrieve a scroll from the desk before sitting down with them.
"As Kakashi would have guessed, Jiraiya and Naruto's visit is no social one. I have received information that the Akatsuki has come into contact with the Black Dragons."
"What?!?!"
"Calm down. I'm not finished yet. It would seem that the new head is striking deals with Akatsuki, of which I regret to say I do not know what."
"Nevertheless, that is bad news in itself."
"Wait a min, you know about Akatsuki?" Kakashi asked.
"Not too much. Kei and Ken would know better since they were just some of the few who survived an exchange with them."
"They have?"
"It was a tragedy that haunts the memory of those who lived; of the lives that were lost and the lives after. A story that was passed down from year to year, it was the catalyst that led to many changes."
FLASHBACK
Beep.
A continuous flow of monotonous tones echoed through the hallways.
Shouts of instructions flew over the chaos as people were wheeled in.
Blood was staining the sterile sheets and equipment.
Sweat was gathering at the temples of medics.
Panic levels were rising steadily.
It was a nightmare unfolding in reality's face.
Beep.
"What happened here? How could this have happened?"
"We were ambushed, sir....."
"Ambushed? Impossible!!! You careless fool, how could that possibly happen???"
"Sir, I......"
"Enough." And the head waved the fellow off.
The head, Takekawa Hyata was a distinguished man in his fifties dressed in traditional garb. Grey-hair that flows down his back, he was of the no-nonsense type who had no regard for anyone or anything. He was the overall man in charge, all things to rules and regulations. From the acquiring of the new troops to the business exchanges to experimentations conducted by his team of experts, he ran things military and shrouded in secrecy.
Right now, he was one furious man not to be trifled with.
He was also a man with a sudden spark of inspiration.
He walked over the emergency treatment area to examine one particular individual. The curtains were pushed aside to reveal an unconscious girl of 15. She lay blood-soaked with stains that matched the crown of crimson hair atop her head. Life was slipping away at a gradual pace. Perfect. He smiled at the sheer coincidence in timing and luck.
Extremely good luck, he thought.
"Irashi."
A shadowy figure emerged from the background.
"Hai, Hyata-sama."
"Prepare the research team, we have a subject."
"Hai, Hyata-sama."
History was about to be made.
END OF FLASHBACK
Ishida snapped back to his senses when Maiko elbowed him good in the ribs.
"Ano, and what do you want us to do?"
"I would like you to do some missions; after all, you are living in Konoha now and some contributions would be good for the community." Tsunade smiled knowingly.
Yeah, your threatening voice and lovely blackmail made it a hard offer to refuse.
Another set of knocks was heard at the door and this time, the other two walked in.
"Ken and Kei, your timing is excellent. Unlike a certain individual we know."
Kakashi was oblivious to the sarcasm; he was more preoccupied with watching a certain red head walking towards them. He blushed a little at remembering the incident earlier but soon got over it as the two seated themselves.
'I would like you to meet Jiraiya, an old friend of mine."
"Pleased to meet you." They politely smiled.
"And you two are rather liberal about letting people see your faces." Ken commented in jest.
"Onii-chan, we are living new lives and beside we don't have fish lips to hide." Maiko sniggered.
Stolen glances were made at Kakashi.
Kei only smiled.
If only you knew, of how truth can be seen even without eyes.
"Ha-ha. That's true. We don't." Ken pulled down his coverings. Kei just mused on the light atmosphere in the roombut compelled when encouraged by her teammates.
And Jiraiya was left speechless. He was drooling and nose-bleed can be seen. Tsunade and Kakashi were utterly embarrassed by the lack of tact. Kei just sat there with sweat drops forming at the temple, as he started to ask the lot of them topose for the cover of his new book. He stopped when given the evil eye from Tsunade.
"All right. Let's get to the real business - Your first mission for Konoha is to retrieve Uchiha Sasuke."
"Nani?" Kakashi said in disbelief.
"Hmm….. Ok." Ken said as he took the stroll from her hands. Unrolling it, he found a detailed description of the subject's background history and a portrait of raven-haired handsome kid.
"He is currently contained by a guy named Orochimaru and is being prepared to be his next vessel thus...."
"Nani?!" Ishida and Maiko said in union, whilst looking at their siblings. The other two's expressions had completely changed.
At first, time stood still.
It was followed by a deadly angry aura which stifled the atmosphere.
"You heard of Orochimaru?" Tsunade asked.
Kei smiled. Not her usual sad despondent smile. It was a knowing smile that harbored an underlying blood lust.
"Heard? We have met before. He's an old 'acquaintance' of ours, to which we owe a 'favor' to."
"You have the option to turn down the mission should it prove uncomfortable for you."
"No, no problems at all."
"That is but the first part to the mission. The other part requires you to take Sasuke back and into rehabilitation."
"As you wish, Hokage-sama."
These two are letting their deadly auras leak through their exterior. I wonder if the Hokage is aware of what she is doing. This S class mission sits above the regular Anbu's level; does she really trust them so much? They are strangers who were from an organization that does not breed much loyalty, thought Kakashi.
"What's my mission then?" he asked.
"You are to accompany Kei and Ken on this mission to Hidden Sound Village."
"Erm…. Ano….. What about us? I thought we were on this mission." The younger two puzzled over the details.
"I need you two to assist in some baby-sitting."
"Baby-sitting?!"
"I need you two to assist in training some of the genins and one chuunin, their senseis are a bit busy completing missions for me. I want you to develop their abilities and leadership skills so that they may help to take on some of the more minor missions we have, in view of the shortage of able shinobis in the village."
"Oh."
Why do we get the boring missions? They sighed at the anti-climax. They were looking forward to some traveling and excitement. More importantly, they were more worried about the other two. That look in their eyes was just scary beyond words.
To be more precise, they rarely saw those eyes before.
Especially from Onee-chan.
Author's note:
I finally decided that main characters ought to play a part in his fic and hopefully it will help to add depth to the storyline. The next chapter should be posted soon as I am done with some editing. :) For now, will rest a little and be rid of the flu bug.
To everyone:
Merry Christmas!! And A Happy New year!!!
Cheers!!
Vertigenous: Hey gal, thanks for the review!! Hope to be able to read yours soon ok? ;) Will see ya around soon, meanwhile take care!!
Fallen Fantasist: Hi, thanks for the review. Hopefully as the chapters (look out for chapter 10) go along, you can get to know her a little better as I try to bring out the more humanistic aspects of her. And yes, everyone deserves a little love especially poor Kakashi. : )
Enkie: Thanks for the review!! Hope that you will enjoy the rest of the chapters too!
Rythmic: Thanks thanks! Glad that you are enjoying the story!
