Baka: Gomen gomen! Osokunate! WAHHH!
Inner Baka: They are most likely confused by your sudden Japanese ness.
Baka: Heh, sorry. "Sorry sorry, I'm late!"
IB: better
....
Disclaimer: As much as I love Naruto, I don't own the manga/show.
.....
At noon Naruto, Sakura and Sasuke entered the Hokage's office. They moved in front of the desk that she worked at and bowed.
"You summoned us, Hokage-sama?" Naruto said politely.
Tsunade looked up surprised. "Huh? What happened to 'old bag'?" She inquired.
Naruto grinned, "The older you are, the more respect you should get, eh you old bag?"
Tsunade laughed, "Cunning as usual, Naruto." She flipped through some papers then looked up. "I have a mission for the three of you."
The three nodded, all positively curious as to why the three of them were chosen.
"You are to escort a man to the water country. I know it sounds simple, but there seems to be something fishy about this." She twirled a lock of hair around her finger, "That's why I chose you three. You all seem capable to work together and are able to get out of strange situations."
Naruto nodded, "But, what do you mean by 'fishy'? What seems off?"
Tsunade smirked, "He didn't give me his name, plus he looks suspicious. I want you three to stay on guard around him and always expect the unexpected."
The three teenagers stood straight, "Yes ma'am!"
"Alright! You are all dismissed for now! Go get ready for an overnight mission and meet back here in an hour!"
They saluted, "Yes ma'am!"
......
-An hour later-
The cloaked man sighed as he studied the three teenagers in front of him. "So, you're the team?"
They nodded in unison.
"Interesting." He walked to the door of the Hokage's office. "Well, off we go!."
The three followed the man quietly. They understood what Tsunade meant by "fishy".
They walked for four hours straight, and no one really said anything. Not even when they stopped to eat quickly.
It was when the man started leading them in a different direction that Sasuke spoke up.
"Hey. The Water country is the other way. Why are we going this way?" he said to the man.
The man stopped and turned around to face them, making them all stop. He pulled down his hood and showed his face. His features were strong and very masculine, but also quite young. He sighed. "It's hard to explain, but, this mission is more than just escorting me home."
Naruto frowned as he felt his stomach tense. "What do you mean?"
The man frowned, "Is it possible to just trust me?"
"Expect the unexpected" Naruto muttered. "Fine, we'll go along, if anything happens, we can probably handle it."
The other two nodded reluctantly and they continued their walk.
Once it got late into the night, they set up camp for the night.
"Sasuke, Sakura, are we sharing a tent?" Naruto asked.
The two others nodded, leaving the strange man to sleep in his own tent.
"Naruto." The man said, "Can I have a word with you?"
Naruto nodded and followed him into a thicket where they could talk privately.
"Listen. This is important." He started. "I feel it's best to tell you what we're up against here."
The blonde blinked. "Is it serious?"
He nodded. "I'm sort of under cover, here." He rubbed the back of his head, "Someone from your village was kidnapped and brought to this place about 50 miles east of where we were originally headed. That's why we are taking this route."
Naruto nodded. "Who was kidnapped? And who kidnapped them?"
The mans eyebrow furrowed. "I don't know his name, but he is a young boy. About 12. From what I gather, you know him."
"Konohamaru?!" Naruto grabbed the mans collar, "What do you mean?!"
The man brushed the young boys' hands off of him. "And I know very little about the people that did it, besides where they are located and what kind of business they do."
Naruto finally realized what's going on. "N-no, It can't be. Not them. Not the ones that-"he choked back a sob.
The man hushed him, "You seem to understand."
Naruto nodded. "We have to hurry."
The man shook his head. "You guys have to rest. Tomorrow we will move faster."
Naruto nodded then headed back to camp, straightening out his emotions.
"By the way, my names Amenochi." The man smiled. "I think its best you know my name."
Naruto grunted in acknowledgement and continued on to camp. Once he got there he crawled into his tent and explained everything to Sasuke and Sakura.
....
Konohamaru stretched as well as he could while being chained up. He noticed a lot of resistance as he got to the limit of his reach, showing how strong the chains were.
The door opened and he turned his head to the door to see a young woman standing there holding a tray, with what looked like food on it.
Konohamaru realized how long it's been since he ate as his stomach growled. He kept his eyes on the woman as she walked up to him silently.
"Here, eat." She muttered and set the tray on the ground in front of him, her pure blue eyes flashing a cold glance towards the boy.
Konohamaru's mouth gaped and he stuttered out a "Thanks" to the woman.
She turned away and grunted, "Tsh, whatever." She crossed her strong arms and turned on her heel, making her medium blonde hair fan out and her long cloak billow. She walked sternly to the door and slammed it behind her, making Konohamaru jump.
He looked down at the tray by his feet and sat beside it. He studied it carefully, unsure of how pure the food was. *Maybe it's poisoned, or drugged.or or.something!*
He reached out and poked the meat like substance (which was beef, silly boy), and picked up some of the juices from it. He noticed it was warm, and the meat had a nice texture to it, showing it was cooked properly.
He licked his finger, and waited a couple of minutes. And since he did not fall over dead, he decided to take a bite.
Suddenly the door opened again and in came the man from before and also the woman that brought the food.
"Kyou-sama, I said I was sorry. Damn it, let me go!" the woman cried.
"Quiet woman, you were rather rude." He pushed her into the room and closed the door. His boots made a thudding sound as he stormed up to his young prisoner. "I'm very sorry if she was rude to you, I brought her here to apologize."
Konohamaru blinked, "U-uh.no no no! It's ok! She wasn't rude."
"Oh, but she was. You see, she doesn't like you and often says that she wants to be rid of you." He frowned. "That's not nice, is it?"
"Kyou, eh? That's your name?" Konohamaru sneered.
Kyou smiled, "Yeah." He looked over at the woman, "Get over here, woman."
The blonde lady walked up beside Kyou and glared at the boy, her icy eyes shooting darts through him.
"Enough of that." As Kyou said that, the woman straightened and softened her glare a bit. "Better. Now, Shinseiko is here to apologize."
Shinseiko bowed slightly, "I am very sorry." She stood and tugged on her tight top, straightening any wrinkles.
"A-a-ah." Konohamaru stammered, "I-It's ok, really." He chuckled nervously.
"That 'a girl!" Kyou said, almost like praising a pet dog, or something. "Anyways. Konohamaru, eat up. Your friends should be here by tomorrow."
The young male nodded as his eyes brightened.
Kyou and Shinseiko turned and headed to the door. But, Shinseiko stopped and turned around, her eyes soft. "Be careful, Konohamaru." She winked and followed her boss out the door.
Konohamaru was confused as he unconsciously ate the food. *Be careful?*
.......
Naruto stepped a little closer to Sasuke, his eyes wide open, he whispered, "S-Sasuke. D-Did'ja hear that?"
The dark haired boy concentrated and heard a slight rustle in the bushes. "Yeah." He focused his chakra in the direction of the sound, and only felt a weak presence, something similar to a small animal.
Naruto clutched onto Sasukes arm when the animal shifted position again. "It wants me!" he sputtered at Sasuke.
Sasuke rubbed his temples. "It's just a small animal, Naruto. If it attacks you for whatever reason, you can surely stop it."
The blonde looked up at Sasuke with tears in his eyes. "I-It's not just that one. It's all of the animals around here." He whimpered and smelled the adrenaline in air. *Since when could I smell that? Why is it I can understand the animals desire suddenly? AND WHY DO THEY WANT TO COME AFTER ME!*
Sasuke felt Narutos weight change and noticed his hand slide away. He turned around when he heard a thud on the ground. "Naruto?"
Sakura turned around, "Is something- " She was cut off by Narutos body sprawled on the ground. "What happened?!" she rushed over to Naruto and kneeled beside Sasuke.
"I-I don't know. He was just walking beside me; he kept on saying things about how the animals were after him, or something." Sasuke reached down and felt his fallen friend's forehead. "Shit, he has a fever."
The two noticed a dark figure next to them. "What's wrong?"
"I think he collapsed from stress." Sakura mumbled and dug around her bag, "It happens sometimes on big missions, especially with a past like Narutos'." She pulled out a cloth and her water bottle and poured some of the water on it. She rested the cloth on the blonde's head.
"He should be ok after a break." She mumbled.
.........
"Hey.Kiddo" a large voice called out and Naruto opened his eyes. He recognized the place, sort of.
"Where am I?" He mumbled out loud to himself.
He heard some chuckling from up ahead and remembered the place. He got up and ran down the familiar murky tunnel, splashing the water under his feet.
"Hey! Baka Kitsune!" He called to through the bars to the monster behind them. (A/n: baka kitsune means stupid fox. its how Naruto sometimes called the fox demon inside of him.)
A low growl and a rush of foul smelling air passed the boy. "Nice to see you too, Glad you could make it."
Naruto frowned at the monster, "What do you want?" He crossed his arms, showing his impatience.
"You have noticed something, haven't you?" the giant fox growled. "Something strange is happening to you, hey boy?"
"Y-yeah." He uncrossed his arms and looked at the fox. "Do you know what's going on?"
The fox laughed, "Out in the world, you were stressed, very nervous. Jumpy, kinda like fox, hey?"
"Like a fox, you mean." Naruto blinked.
"Yes, boy. I mean due to your stress, you are getting more feral. Your animal instincts are surfacing. And when threatened, boy, there will be nothing stopping you." The fox snorted. "Well, there is one way to stop it, boy. And I'll tell you it, if you so desire."
Naruto nodded, "Tell me."
..................
Baka: DAMNIT, I THINK IT'S STUPID! *shakes head* But I can't help it. I'm sick. Very very sick. And IN PAIN! WAAAHHH!
IB: Shuddup Baka. They don't care.
Baka: Th-they don't? *sniffle* I'M SO UNLOVED!
IB: Tsk tsk, I shoulda kept my mouth shut, eh?
Inner Baka: They are most likely confused by your sudden Japanese ness.
Baka: Heh, sorry. "Sorry sorry, I'm late!"
IB: better
....
Disclaimer: As much as I love Naruto, I don't own the manga/show.
.....
At noon Naruto, Sakura and Sasuke entered the Hokage's office. They moved in front of the desk that she worked at and bowed.
"You summoned us, Hokage-sama?" Naruto said politely.
Tsunade looked up surprised. "Huh? What happened to 'old bag'?" She inquired.
Naruto grinned, "The older you are, the more respect you should get, eh you old bag?"
Tsunade laughed, "Cunning as usual, Naruto." She flipped through some papers then looked up. "I have a mission for the three of you."
The three nodded, all positively curious as to why the three of them were chosen.
"You are to escort a man to the water country. I know it sounds simple, but there seems to be something fishy about this." She twirled a lock of hair around her finger, "That's why I chose you three. You all seem capable to work together and are able to get out of strange situations."
Naruto nodded, "But, what do you mean by 'fishy'? What seems off?"
Tsunade smirked, "He didn't give me his name, plus he looks suspicious. I want you three to stay on guard around him and always expect the unexpected."
The three teenagers stood straight, "Yes ma'am!"
"Alright! You are all dismissed for now! Go get ready for an overnight mission and meet back here in an hour!"
They saluted, "Yes ma'am!"
......
-An hour later-
The cloaked man sighed as he studied the three teenagers in front of him. "So, you're the team?"
They nodded in unison.
"Interesting." He walked to the door of the Hokage's office. "Well, off we go!."
The three followed the man quietly. They understood what Tsunade meant by "fishy".
They walked for four hours straight, and no one really said anything. Not even when they stopped to eat quickly.
It was when the man started leading them in a different direction that Sasuke spoke up.
"Hey. The Water country is the other way. Why are we going this way?" he said to the man.
The man stopped and turned around to face them, making them all stop. He pulled down his hood and showed his face. His features were strong and very masculine, but also quite young. He sighed. "It's hard to explain, but, this mission is more than just escorting me home."
Naruto frowned as he felt his stomach tense. "What do you mean?"
The man frowned, "Is it possible to just trust me?"
"Expect the unexpected" Naruto muttered. "Fine, we'll go along, if anything happens, we can probably handle it."
The other two nodded reluctantly and they continued their walk.
Once it got late into the night, they set up camp for the night.
"Sasuke, Sakura, are we sharing a tent?" Naruto asked.
The two others nodded, leaving the strange man to sleep in his own tent.
"Naruto." The man said, "Can I have a word with you?"
Naruto nodded and followed him into a thicket where they could talk privately.
"Listen. This is important." He started. "I feel it's best to tell you what we're up against here."
The blonde blinked. "Is it serious?"
He nodded. "I'm sort of under cover, here." He rubbed the back of his head, "Someone from your village was kidnapped and brought to this place about 50 miles east of where we were originally headed. That's why we are taking this route."
Naruto nodded. "Who was kidnapped? And who kidnapped them?"
The mans eyebrow furrowed. "I don't know his name, but he is a young boy. About 12. From what I gather, you know him."
"Konohamaru?!" Naruto grabbed the mans collar, "What do you mean?!"
The man brushed the young boys' hands off of him. "And I know very little about the people that did it, besides where they are located and what kind of business they do."
Naruto finally realized what's going on. "N-no, It can't be. Not them. Not the ones that-"he choked back a sob.
The man hushed him, "You seem to understand."
Naruto nodded. "We have to hurry."
The man shook his head. "You guys have to rest. Tomorrow we will move faster."
Naruto nodded then headed back to camp, straightening out his emotions.
"By the way, my names Amenochi." The man smiled. "I think its best you know my name."
Naruto grunted in acknowledgement and continued on to camp. Once he got there he crawled into his tent and explained everything to Sasuke and Sakura.
....
Konohamaru stretched as well as he could while being chained up. He noticed a lot of resistance as he got to the limit of his reach, showing how strong the chains were.
The door opened and he turned his head to the door to see a young woman standing there holding a tray, with what looked like food on it.
Konohamaru realized how long it's been since he ate as his stomach growled. He kept his eyes on the woman as she walked up to him silently.
"Here, eat." She muttered and set the tray on the ground in front of him, her pure blue eyes flashing a cold glance towards the boy.
Konohamaru's mouth gaped and he stuttered out a "Thanks" to the woman.
She turned away and grunted, "Tsh, whatever." She crossed her strong arms and turned on her heel, making her medium blonde hair fan out and her long cloak billow. She walked sternly to the door and slammed it behind her, making Konohamaru jump.
He looked down at the tray by his feet and sat beside it. He studied it carefully, unsure of how pure the food was. *Maybe it's poisoned, or drugged.or or.something!*
He reached out and poked the meat like substance (which was beef, silly boy), and picked up some of the juices from it. He noticed it was warm, and the meat had a nice texture to it, showing it was cooked properly.
He licked his finger, and waited a couple of minutes. And since he did not fall over dead, he decided to take a bite.
Suddenly the door opened again and in came the man from before and also the woman that brought the food.
"Kyou-sama, I said I was sorry. Damn it, let me go!" the woman cried.
"Quiet woman, you were rather rude." He pushed her into the room and closed the door. His boots made a thudding sound as he stormed up to his young prisoner. "I'm very sorry if she was rude to you, I brought her here to apologize."
Konohamaru blinked, "U-uh.no no no! It's ok! She wasn't rude."
"Oh, but she was. You see, she doesn't like you and often says that she wants to be rid of you." He frowned. "That's not nice, is it?"
"Kyou, eh? That's your name?" Konohamaru sneered.
Kyou smiled, "Yeah." He looked over at the woman, "Get over here, woman."
The blonde lady walked up beside Kyou and glared at the boy, her icy eyes shooting darts through him.
"Enough of that." As Kyou said that, the woman straightened and softened her glare a bit. "Better. Now, Shinseiko is here to apologize."
Shinseiko bowed slightly, "I am very sorry." She stood and tugged on her tight top, straightening any wrinkles.
"A-a-ah." Konohamaru stammered, "I-It's ok, really." He chuckled nervously.
"That 'a girl!" Kyou said, almost like praising a pet dog, or something. "Anyways. Konohamaru, eat up. Your friends should be here by tomorrow."
The young male nodded as his eyes brightened.
Kyou and Shinseiko turned and headed to the door. But, Shinseiko stopped and turned around, her eyes soft. "Be careful, Konohamaru." She winked and followed her boss out the door.
Konohamaru was confused as he unconsciously ate the food. *Be careful?*
.......
Naruto stepped a little closer to Sasuke, his eyes wide open, he whispered, "S-Sasuke. D-Did'ja hear that?"
The dark haired boy concentrated and heard a slight rustle in the bushes. "Yeah." He focused his chakra in the direction of the sound, and only felt a weak presence, something similar to a small animal.
Naruto clutched onto Sasukes arm when the animal shifted position again. "It wants me!" he sputtered at Sasuke.
Sasuke rubbed his temples. "It's just a small animal, Naruto. If it attacks you for whatever reason, you can surely stop it."
The blonde looked up at Sasuke with tears in his eyes. "I-It's not just that one. It's all of the animals around here." He whimpered and smelled the adrenaline in air. *Since when could I smell that? Why is it I can understand the animals desire suddenly? AND WHY DO THEY WANT TO COME AFTER ME!*
Sasuke felt Narutos weight change and noticed his hand slide away. He turned around when he heard a thud on the ground. "Naruto?"
Sakura turned around, "Is something- " She was cut off by Narutos body sprawled on the ground. "What happened?!" she rushed over to Naruto and kneeled beside Sasuke.
"I-I don't know. He was just walking beside me; he kept on saying things about how the animals were after him, or something." Sasuke reached down and felt his fallen friend's forehead. "Shit, he has a fever."
The two noticed a dark figure next to them. "What's wrong?"
"I think he collapsed from stress." Sakura mumbled and dug around her bag, "It happens sometimes on big missions, especially with a past like Narutos'." She pulled out a cloth and her water bottle and poured some of the water on it. She rested the cloth on the blonde's head.
"He should be ok after a break." She mumbled.
.........
"Hey.Kiddo" a large voice called out and Naruto opened his eyes. He recognized the place, sort of.
"Where am I?" He mumbled out loud to himself.
He heard some chuckling from up ahead and remembered the place. He got up and ran down the familiar murky tunnel, splashing the water under his feet.
"Hey! Baka Kitsune!" He called to through the bars to the monster behind them. (A/n: baka kitsune means stupid fox. its how Naruto sometimes called the fox demon inside of him.)
A low growl and a rush of foul smelling air passed the boy. "Nice to see you too, Glad you could make it."
Naruto frowned at the monster, "What do you want?" He crossed his arms, showing his impatience.
"You have noticed something, haven't you?" the giant fox growled. "Something strange is happening to you, hey boy?"
"Y-yeah." He uncrossed his arms and looked at the fox. "Do you know what's going on?"
The fox laughed, "Out in the world, you were stressed, very nervous. Jumpy, kinda like fox, hey?"
"Like a fox, you mean." Naruto blinked.
"Yes, boy. I mean due to your stress, you are getting more feral. Your animal instincts are surfacing. And when threatened, boy, there will be nothing stopping you." The fox snorted. "Well, there is one way to stop it, boy. And I'll tell you it, if you so desire."
Naruto nodded, "Tell me."
..................
Baka: DAMNIT, I THINK IT'S STUPID! *shakes head* But I can't help it. I'm sick. Very very sick. And IN PAIN! WAAAHHH!
IB: Shuddup Baka. They don't care.
Baka: Th-they don't? *sniffle* I'M SO UNLOVED!
IB: Tsk tsk, I shoulda kept my mouth shut, eh?