A/N: I said there'd be more action, but unfortunately it'll have to wait til next chapter. I realized that the first two were fairly long, so rather than update with an even longer chapter, I decided to sort of split it into two smaller bits. If you think the shorter chapters work better, let me know.I can easily revise things. And as always, feedback is appreciated, both good and bad.

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Chapter 3

"Leaving"

Night had come and gone quickly, giving way to another peaceful dawn in Konoha. Though thin gray clouds veiled most of the morning sky, the radiant glow from the sun as it rose from the horizon brightened the village just enough for a feint shadow to slowly appear beside the large youth waiting at Konoha's gates. Anxiously pacing back and forth between the walls at the village entrance, Kintarou muttered to himself every so often. It was sunrise, the time when Takeo had suggested the three of them meet before leaving on their mission. Yet as Kintarou glanced eastward to see the sun just peeking above the high stone walls, he grew angry and impatient at his absent teammates. The mission scroll he held tightly in his hand quickly crumpled as he clenched his fists in frustration. This wasn't how he planned to start his first ANBU mission, though technically it wasn't an official ANBU job. But he knew that didn't matter. He was team leader; he was responsible to make sure the mission was carried out, and yet he couldn't even get his team to simply meet together.

"I knew I should have been more forceful," he muttered to himself. "I should have made the decisions about when and where we meet. That's my responsibility and I let Takeo just brush it aside."

As Kintarou's nervous pace quickened, a familiar figure appeared on the path from the center of town. Kintarou caught sight of her out of the corner of his eye.

"Kaori-san!" he happily greeted her. "I was getting worried."

"Sorry to make you two wait," Kaori apologized as she ran. "My parents heard me leaving and I had to explain why I had a mission so early in the morning. They don't know about ANBU yet, so it took me awhile to straighten things out. I hope I didn't hold us up too long. It's just…wait, where's Takeo-kun?"

Kintarou sighed. "Noppo hasn't come yet. And I'm sure his reasons for being late aren't as understandable as yours, Kaori-san."

"Hmph," Kaori mumbled, crossing her arms. "Baka…why am I not surprised he's late. I know he's laid back about everything, but I thought he'd at least take this seriously. I should have known better."

"It does appear you assumed too much," Kintarou replied. "I knew I should have stopped by his house to wait for him."

Kaori frustratingly tapped her foot on the ground as Kintarou took a few steps towards her.

"I'm glad I can at least count on you, Kaori-san," Kintarou smiled.

"I'm insulted," a voice called out from above.

"Eh?" Kintarou said as both he and Kaori turned their heads up.

"It's nice to see you guys have so much faith in me," Takeo smiled, sitting with his legs dangling over the side of the wall, just a few feet away from the top of the gate.

"Takeo-kun!" Kaori angrily yelled. "Where have you…how long have you been up there?"

"About five minutes longer than Kintarou's been wearing a path in the grass here," he replied, gracefully hopping down to the dusty road in front of the gate.

"You've been here the whole time?" Kintarou exclaimed. "Why didn't you say something?"

"I assumed our brilliant team leader would have sensed I was up there," Takeo quipped. "Guess I assumed too much."

A noticeably irked Kintarou shook his head, while Kaori began to berate their bothersome teammate.

"Hey, I was on time," Takeo said, defending himself from Kaori's verbal onslaught. "Don't get angry at me because you were late."

"You heard my reasons for that," Kaori began, before loud bellowing laughter stopped her.

She and Takeo glanced at one another before looking over to see Kintarou, laughing hysterically. The two exchanged confused looks.

"Oi, Kintarou, you okay?" Takeo inquired.

"I-I'm fine," he managed to reply. "Thanks, Noppo. You're right; I should have noticed you were up there. I guess I was a bit too nervous for my own good. But I'm ready to go now. Let's check this scroll and then head out. Anyone around?

Kaori smiled as Takeo nodded.

"Give me a sec," Takeo replied, focusing for a moment.

Closing his eyes, Takeo concentrated his mind on feeling the chakra flow within him. As he had done many times before, he let it build and materialize within his eyes.

"Katsugan."

The influx of chakra into his eyes and retinas intensified the clarity and range of Takeo's vision. The leaves that rustled in the breeze, the insects that dug into the earth, the shadows that moved in front of him, Takeo could see them all. A bird hopped swiftly along the ground some hundred feet in the distance, thrusting its deadly beak into the soil in search of breakfast. The bits of dirt and debris stuck in its white feathers revealed it had been on the hunt for sometime. After a few more seconds of scanning, Takeo relaxed.

"Anything?" Kintarou asked.

"Nope, all clear," Takeo replied, the bluish tint in his eyes fading.

Kintarou, Takeo, and Kaori gathered around the scroll, which Kintarou carefully unrolled and held open so each of them could read the contents.

The defector is a man named Atsukami Ren. He resides in a small trade village near the Earth Country border called Geyser. Intelligence shows shinobi from the Hidden Stone frequent the area, so any signs revealing you to be from Konoha should be removed prior to crossing the Earth Country border. Ren has been requested to meet with an extraction team exactly two weeks from today at noon in the village square. You will recognize him by the green leaf he will be wearing on his collar. It is imperative his retrieval is swift and discrete. The organizations that he possesses information on would no doubt attempt to intervene if word should spread about his defection to Konoha, so you must be prepared to encounter Chuunin and Jounin level enemies. Ren's safety is your top priority. The information he has may prove vital for the continued safety of the village and its residents.

After the three had read and reread the briefing, Kintarou rolled the scroll back up and took a match from his equipment pouch. Striking it against the forehead protector around his waist, he brought the small flame to the edge of the parchment. As the flame caught the edge and spread, he dropped it to the ground and watched as it slowly burned, until only a pile of ashes remained.

"Two weeks from yesterday," Takeo recalled. "Only thirteen days to make it there, huh? Guess we should get going."

"Agreed," Kintarou nodded. "Shall we?"

"All set," Kaori replied, holding the leather straps to the knapsack around her shoulders.

"Yosh!" Kintarou grinned. "Let's move out, team!"

He hurriedly ran off out of the gates, with a startled Kaori at his heels.

"I hope he's not going to be like this the whole way," Takeo sighed as he chased after the others.