Chapter 3: Your Next Mission is…
Naruto got up the next morning and did his daily routine: shower, get dressed, eat breakfast and so on. He left his now messy apartment to find Sakura, and the bone-head Sasuke. It was a typical spring morning in Konoha, birds singing, cherry blossoms blooming, Konohamaru and his friends trying to sneak up on Naruto (they did that a lot!).
The day seemed normal.
"Hey Sakura," Naruto greeted Sakura and ignored Sasuke, "What do we have planed for today?"
"Well we got this mission request, it's to make sure Gabriel gets back to Morelion," Sakura answered showing Naruto a mission form.
"Well, let's do it!" Naruto said heading toward the mission center.
Team 7 and their captive Gabriel were waiting outside for Team 8 and Team 10. Moragar wanted there to be the tightest security on Gabriel. She said he was one of the best escape artists. Just then Team 8 walked to were Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura were waiting. Gabriel was studying the sky with a worried expression.
"The wind blows north east, not a good sign," mumbled the captive.
The six ninja looked at him quizzically.
"Is he going to be alright?" Kiba whispered to Shino worried. Shino shrugged his shoulders.
"Where's Kakashi?" Shino asked looking around.
"He's not coming," Sasuke said leaning against the wall, "He thinks that a couple of chunin can handle this mission without any hassle."
Just then Team 10 walked in.
"Finally, what took you so long?" Sakura asked.
"Choji had to make sure he packed enough food for himself," Ino sighed. Sure enough there was Choji snaking on his usual potato chips.
"So are we all ready to go?" Shikamaru asked the whole group.
"I dunno, are you ready Gabriel?" Naruto asked.
"Huh? Oh, sure, lets go," Gabriel stammered as he tore his eyes away from the sky. And so they began their journey to shadow country
"According to the map, Morelion is north of the land of waves by," Hinata said with her face buried in a world map, "strange that can't be right."
"What?" Choji asked through a mouthful of chips.
"It says that Morelion is in shadow country which is north of the land of waves by 128 miles!" Hinata exclaimed, "Is that right, Gabriel?"
"It's exactly correct," Gabriel said in a dull tone.
"It must be really cold there," said Ino.
Maybe Sasuke and I will have to get really close to stay warm. Blared the inner Sakura, and she blushed.
"Don't worry, once we get under ground it'll get a lot warmer, trust me," assured Gabriel.
"So, Gabriel what kind of family do you have?" Naruto asked.
"Well, there's my wife; Natiana, and my son; Xander," Gabriel answered with a warm smile, "I miss them so much."
"Wait a minute, you're married and have kids!?" Shikamaru said puzzled, "Aren't you a little young?"
"Well by your standards yes. But to my own people it's completely normal," Gabriel said.
"Well how did you meet her?" Ino asked interested.
"Let's see," Gabriel said thoughtfully, "Every child born in the land of shadows is given a special amulet, but the amulet is unique for that persons' soul, and there's only one perfect copy to your amulet. And our people believe that when you have found the person with the perfect match to your amulet then you have found your soul mate. But some people settle for amulets with similarities to their own."
"Is your wife's amulet similar to yours?" Ino asked looking over at Gabriel.
"Nope," Gabriel said with a smile, "ours are exactically the same. In fact this is her amulet, she has mine."
Gabriel pulled out a necklace with an intricate design on the main charm.
"Wow, it's so beautiful," Hinata whispered.
"How old were you when you got married, and had a kid?" Shikamaru asked.
"We got married when I was 15, Natiana was14, and we had Xander a year later," Gabriel answered.
"WHAT, that means you two have been married for two years!" Ino exclaimed.
"Wouldn't you get bored with the same girl?" Shikamaru asked.
"No," Gabriel said flatly, "I love her and Xander with all my heart, and if anything were to happen to them, I would never be able to forgive myself. And that's why I left to inform your country about war!"
Silence fell over the traveling party as they walked their way north. Sunset began to fall and the group decided to set up camp. Naruto, Shino, and Shikamaru left to find firewood. Kiba, Ino, and Sakura set up tents. Hinata and Choji left to find food. That left Sasuke and Gabriel to set a fire.
"Interesting, you're not trying to resist being brought back to Morelion," Sasuke said making a fire pit with Gabriel's help.
"I've done all I could, so no point in staying away from home trying to avoid the inevitable," Gabriel said not looking at Sasuke.
"I see," Sasuke muttered putting the finishing touches on the fire pit.
About half an hour later they all had a fairly good sized dinner cooking over a roaring fire. The group laid out their sleeping bags in a ring around the camp fire. They were told to put shackles on Gabriel so he couldn't escape. Gabriel assured them that it was unesacary to do so but a few of the team mates felt unsure about it. He didn't resist either way.