New Allies? The Arrival of the Sand Ninjas!
"Konoha? Why do we have to go there?"
"It's our job, Kurai. The elders don't owe us an explanation."
"You trust them too much, Kohaku."
"And you don't trust anyone."
"Will you two stop arguing? I could've killed you both three times over already with how little you're paying attention," a female voice broke in. The girl stood in the street, staring up at her teammates and shaking her dark-red head of hair. She kept the loose strands long because she loved how the sun shone off them. But she would always tie her hair back before a mission, lest it get in the way. In a flash of fire and a slight breeze, two other teens stood in front of her. The boy leaned against the wall of a building, tossing dark-brown hair out of his matching eyes.
"My apologies, Senjo-chan," he said with a smirk. She shivered and looked away, casting her eyes down. Kurai was a skilled and deadly shinobi, but no one in the Hidden Village of Sand trusted him completely. He had a darkness about him that was always just under the surface. Senjo feared the day when that darkness would be unleashed. The other girl just sighed and began walking away, fixing her dark-brown hair into a ponytail.
"We need to get our gear and leave. Konoha is a fair ways away."
"Kohaku-chan, you do realize they're going to be suspicious of us, right?"
"Whether they trust us or not doesn't matter, Senjo-chan. They need help rebuilding after... The incident. I doubt they'll turn down three Chuunins who were sent as a peace offering." Kurai and Senjo looked at each other and shrugged.
"Think we'll see any action, Kurai-kun?"
"Maybe, Senjo-chan," he said as he patted her head. "I plan on seeing if any new rookies are worth my attention. If the rumors are true, this mission might be fun."
"But Iruka-sensei, why are we accepting their help?" Naruto demanded between bites of ramen. "They tried to destroy Konoha, and they made Gaara-"
"Naruto, we've been over this. The new Kazekage is sending help as a peace gesture. If we had refused… Well, let's just say we're ill-prepared for a full shinobi war." Naruto folded his arms across his chest and frowned.
"I still don't like it." He saw his former teacher sigh and readjust his forehead protector. After a moment, Iruka-sensei said:
"Not many people do. But the Sand Ninjas will be arriving any day, so we have to deal with it.
"But-"
"Naruto, just promise me that you will be careful around them, okay?"
"All right. Bye, Iruka-sensei!" Naruto said as he raced off. Passing by the bridge, he spotted Sakura and Sasuke. "Good morning, Sakura-chan. Hi, Sasuke."
"Hi," they replied in almost the same tone.
"So have you heard?" he asked, sitting on one of the railings.
"About what?" Sasuke asked, looking into the water.
"The new ninjas that are coming."
"Which ones, Naruto?" Sakura prompted. "All our allies sent aid when they heard what had happened."
"I don't consider the Sand Ninjas our allies."
"What did we ever do to you?" an unfamiliar voice asked. The three teammates spun around, and Sasuke mentally cursed himself for not sensing them.
'Damn it, I'm not paying enough attention to what's around me!' The three people in front of them all wore the forehead protectors of the Village of Sand, and were staring at the younger group. One girl was in white shorts and a white shirt withpink lines running from her right shoulder to left hip, and a pink sash was around her waist. Her dark-red hair fell a bit past her shoulders in small waves, shining slightly in the sun. Blue eyes that matched the sky seemed to smile playfully at them. The boy beside her wore tan shorts, a black shirt, and the tan vest of a Sand Chuunin. He had dark hair that fell across his eyes, but he made no move to toss it out of his face. It was as if he liked hiding his eyes. Next to him was another girl in a flower-patterned red and black shirt, red armguards, and black pants. Her dark-brown hair was in a high ponytail, and her matching eyes swept over the group in an assessing sort of way. She alone carried a weapon: A double-bladed staff that she now leaned against.
"I believe I asked you a question," the girl in white said. "I'd appreciate an answer." Naruto was glaring at them, hands clenching and unclenching at his sides. He'd just told Iruka-sensei that he would be careful. But neither Sakura nor Sasuke made a move to answer the girl, and so:
"I, Uzumaki Naruto, who will one day be Hokage, declare that Konoha does not need the help of the allies of Gaara!" While the boy twitched and glared at Naruto, the girls continued to stare at them. Sasuke noted that the brunette girl's gaze kept flicking back and forth between her male teammate and Naruto. Sakura meanwhile yanked Naruto around and shook him roughly.
"What are you doing, idiot? They aren't even here five minutes and you're starting trouble already?"
"I'm not starting anything. They're the evil bastards who wanted to destroy our village and sent that -" Naruto suddenly found himself staring into dark, angry eyes that definitely weren't Sakura's. In fact, if his feet had been on the ground, he would've sworn that Sasuke had him.
"Not all evil bastards want to destroy your precious village. Some of us have other hobbies," the male Sand ninja said.
"Release him," came Sasuke's voice from the right. He was holding a kunai right near the stranger's side.
"Kurai, that's enough," the other girl finally said. "We didn't come here to fight, remember?" The boy shrugged and set Naruto down, then eyed Sasuke.
"You're pretty good to get into position near me. I'm Hajino Kurai. You are?"
"Uchiha Sasuke."
"I wouldn't mind sparring you in between our assignments here. At least I wouldn't get bored." Sasuke smirked and shrugged.
"If I have time." Kurai and the girl in white nodded at the group and then walked off. Still leaning on her staff, the other girl sighed.
"My apologies for Kurai's reaction. You would be wise to never mention Gaara's name around him again. Not everyone in our village agreed with the views of the former Kazekage. But when you believe your very future is in jeopardy, wouldn't you resort to drastic measures?"
"You're saying there was no alternative?" Sakura asked.
"No, I'm saying that he didn't see anything else working. Konoha is one of the strongest villages around. Sometimes the only way to get on top is to completely eliminate any rivals. But for what it's worth, I am sorry for what happened." She picked up her bladed staff and walked off after her teammates. They watched the three disappear down a bend in the road, and the silence seemed to stretch on for a while. From above them came Kakashi's voice:
"Sorry I'm late. I got lost while watching the butterflies dance." But Team Seven only looked up at him, and neither Sakura nor Naruto called him a liar. Something wasn't right. "Did something happen?"
"We met the Sand Ninjas," Sakura said softly. Kakashi landed next to her and took in Naruto's red face and the kunai in Sasuke's hand.
"Did they attack you?"
"No. Naruto insulted them." Sasuke replied as he put his kunai away. His attention was momentarily caught by the heat shimmers on the road and coming off the water, but he shook his head to clear his thoughts.
"I did not insult them!" Naruto yelled, fists at his side. Sasuke just glared at him, folding his arms over his chest.
"You said they were allies of Gaara. It was obvious from their reactions that they don't even want to be associated with him." Kakashi sighed heavily and motioned his team closer as a slight wind picked up.
"Okay, I want you all to listen carefully: Even though we're currently on good terms with the Village of Sand, that doesn't mean we trust each other. So no one is to mention anything related to that incident around them." His eye flicked to the heat shimmers, and the wind turned to a hot breeze that seemed to only increase the hypnotic waves. "At the same time, keep a close eye on them. If you see anything suspicious, alert someone immediately."
"Okay," they all agreed. With that, Kakashi flashed away and Sakura sighed.
"Honestly Naruto, why did you have to open your big mouth?"
"But Sakura-chan, neither of you were going to answer. I couldn't just stand there looking all broody like Sasuke."
"Maybe you should be more like me. At least then you wouldn't be a target for every foreign ninja we meet."
"That guy seemed more interested in you than what I said," Naruto reminded him. The breeze curled around Sakura, and she shivered in spite of the warm sun.
"He looked dangerous," she said softly.
"Everything looks dangerous to you," Sasuke retorted, walking away. The heat shimmers were starting to annoy him, and he had training to do anyway.
"Sasuke, don't talk like that to Sakura-chan! Come back here!" Naruto yelled as he followed the other boy. The shimmers seemed to come closer, and the breeze raced across the bridge, causing another shiver down Sakura's spine.
"Sasuke-kun…" Turning around, she headed back home with her head down. Once everyone was out of sight, a small whirlwind swirled over the railing as Kurai stretched and made the air calm again. One of the heat shimmers rippled and faded, leaving Senjo and Kohaku visible.
"Interesting. Seems this whole place will be crawling with spies."
"Interesting my ass. The last thing we need is to have the whole village questioning our every move. And what was that stunt when that Jounin was here? I swear he saw us," Senjo said.
"He probably did, but who's to say why he didn't point us out? I think those kids deserve a closer look," Kurai replied nonchalantly, walking along the railing with his hands behind his head.
"They're kids, Kurai-kun. How interesting could they be?"
"We used to be kids too, Senjo-chan. Besides, I heard about a few of the Leaf rookies who took the test. Two of them even went against… Him when he changed."
"The boys, right?"
"Uzumaki Naruto and Uchiha Sasuke. Definitely worth a closer look."
"You two take the boys. I've got little Sakura," Kohaku told them.
"Her? But why?" Senjo asked, a little baffled. She received a weak smile in return as Kohaku flashed away to track her target.
"Because I was her." Kurai looked at the spot where she had stood, shaking his head and exposing his dark-brown eyes, which narrowed slightly.
"She's going to get us in trouble."
"How do you know?"
"One of us always manages to start trouble, one way or another. It's Kohaku's turn this time. And knowing her, it won't take long."