Hey all. Next chappie. More of a cliffy this time. (I don't think I'm too good at those…)

Review! First person gets glomped and a Kabuto plushie! …Scratch that, I'm the only one who wants that. How about you guys tell me what plushie you want?

Disclaimer: I may love Naruto, but I sure as hell don't own it!

Chapter 12: On a mission

Setting: Konoha

Time: Day after last chapter

Kabuto rolled over slowly as he awoke from his drugged sleep. Cracking open an eyelid, he saw Jin and Toboe still asleep where he had last seen them. Rina was gone; her blanket folded neatly, the boxes of alcohol gone. Kira was gone as well, her blanket thrown over Toboe and the bottle upright by the door. Kabuto sat up slowly, pressing his hand against his pounding head. Struggling to remember what had happened, Kabuto stared off into space as he recalled Jin, Toboe, Rina, and Kira's drunkenness, and Kira's mind-boggling kiss. Standing, he stretched, his arms high above his head and his back arched. He moaned when he heard voices from outside the room, footsteps padding down the hall as people approached the door.

"Nya, did you have to put the stuff in my drink? Jeez, I can't remember the last time I had such a headache. How much did you put in?"

"Not that much, weakling. And the headache would be from drinking, not the powder. As a Tabanachi, you shouldn't get any reaction from it!"

"Uh…I'm not Tabanachi, remember? I got ousted from the family as long time ago. I keep the name as a relic."

"You've got the blood, which includes your Bloodline Limit. Use it sometime."

"I do use it! It's part of my ultimate move, thank you very much. Oh wait-a-minute, damn, did Dad finally find out Mom had a Kekkai Genkai? How'd he react?"

"Actually, it comes from both sides. But no one has ever had it as strongly as you. Your onii-chan has begun using his. I think he likes it. It works well for leaders. But he sucks at the whole shinobi thing. He's terrible at everything but sword and bow."

"Hahahaha, I'm surprised he's lifting a finger to do anything but tattle on people. Nii-san's changed that much, huh."

"You know, he's not half bad as a person goes. I kinda like him."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah. Tell it to someone who cares, why doncha."

Suddenly, the door swung open, revealing the two kunoichi. Rina had her white-blonde hair pulled into a ponytail at the nape of her neck, and she was snacking on gummy worms as she put a small bag down beside Toboe and Jin. Kira was dressed in a pair a black capris and a black Chinese tunic-shirt under her now fitted Chuunin vest. She had her black hair braided in one thick braid that hung down her back. She had a stick a Pocky in her mouth, with the box sticking out of her vest pocket. She walked over to Kabuto, smiled widely, and asked, "So, how'd ya sleep? Any remaining headache, soreness or anything?"

Kabuto felt himself blushing slightly as he replied gruffly, "No. I'm fine. Just a little headache." He couldn't believe he wasn't able to look her in the eye. Didn't she know she had kissed him?

Kira nodded over to Rina, who reached into the bag and tossed a small packet over to Kira. She ripped the top off, and then handed it to Kabuto. "It's the antidote for the drug that Rina used. It will get rid of any effects from the drug, as well as alcohol. But I don't think you had enough alcohol to need that."

Kabuto looked inside the packet to see tons of little brown balls the size of peas. Glancing up at Kira, he waited for an explanation. Seeing the glance, she grinned and said, "Just eat them. I'll tell you what it is when you're done" as she walked away to help Rina wake Toboe and Jin, and give them eki-kyabe.

(A/n Eki-kyabe is a medication for indigestion, commonly used as a cure for hangovers.)

Kabuto smirked, thought 'I'm really going to regret this,' and poured the packet into his mouth. Chewing slowly, he realized that the stuff tasted pretty good! After swallowing with an audible gulp, he stood and walked over to the girls to help them with a struggling Jin, who adamantly insisted that he hadn't been drunk and didn't need the eki-kyabe.

With Kabuto's help, the girls force-fed the medicine to Jin, who kept yelling, "Abuse! This is abuse! I don't need the medicine! Stop abusing me! Agh-" to which Kira would respond, "Yes, you do need it! It's the S-type too! Works extra well!"

(A/N There are two types of eki-kyabe, regular and s-type. S-type is newer, so I assume it works better. This info comes from XXX-Holic, volume 1.)

Finally, Jin gave in and drank the eki-kyabe, grumbling the entire time. Toboe, while the three had fought, had been sitting around waiting for the eki-kyabe to work. Grinning happily, he shouted, "That was fun! Let's do that again sometime!" Everyone else, mostly Kabuto, Kira and Rina, simply groaned and shook their heads, deciding never to let Toboe or Jin near alcohol again.

Wiping the sweat from his forehead, Kabuto thought, "Okay, I don't think Kira remembers kissing me, and I don't think Rina knows or she'd have told. I should just forget about it. It was a fluke, why waste time worrying about it?"

Turning to Kira, he asked, "So, what was in that stuff? Herbs, sugar, or something?"

She grinned and responded with a cheerful, "I have absolutely no idea!"

Rina and Kira laughed as Kabuto began banging his head against the wall, completely flabbergasted with the fact she'd given him something when she didn't know what it was.

Finally, after cleaning up the room, the group vacated the premises. Kabuto realized that it wasn't that late; in fact it was only around 8:00 in the morning. He suggested that they all go out to breakfast somewhere, to which everyone readily agreed. As they walked, Kira and Rina teased Jin and Toboe about the night before. Kabuto listened silently, trying to deduce exactly what had gone on. All he understood was that they'd played some "risqué" games and only Rina and Kira really remembered them. Only vaguely, but still. Kabuto's attention was drawn to the mentions of secrets, dares, and stuff like that.

Suddenly Rina stopped and slapped her forehead, saying, "Oh my goodness! I completely forgot! I was supposed to report in to the boss! Shoot! See you guys around!" As she ran off, the four remaining shinobi glanced at one another, shrugged, and walked on.

After a filling breakfast, they walked to the bridge and sat, watching the water as they talked. Soon, a messenger calling Kira to the Hokage's office broke the fun. Waving to the three boys, she raced off to meet with Tsunade. Kabuto turned to Toboe and Jin. "What could that be about?"

Jin shrugged. "I hope she didn't find out about the alcohol. If she did, it wasn't Kira's fault."

Toboe shook his head. "Tsunade-sama wouldn't have called Kira to her office to talk about that. She would have come and found us to chew us out. It must be something else."

So, the three waited for their female friend to arrive.

---

Kabuto looked up when he heard Kira's shouts. Seeing the grin on her face, he relaxed, knowing that she wasn't in trouble.

"Guys, I got a mission! I got a mission!" she yelled as she ran over the water towards to group. Panting she quickly explained that it was a simple scouting mission, and she could choose anybody to be in her group. "Please, Toboe, Jin, having you guys would be awesome. We work really well as a team. Kabuto, can you be our medic?"

Kabuto smiled and nodded. "Sure, I think I could handle that. Who else do you want in the group?"

"I was thinking Uotani and Imai-san, but I don't really know if they'd want to be part of it. Do you know where they are so I can ask them?"

Kabuto nodded again. "Uotani's training with his sister at the training grounds. Imai is at his house, helping his mom with taking care of his dad. I think they'd both be happy to help."

Kira grinned and said, "I'll go ask! Be right back!" The three could only watch as she rushed away, dust twirling around her feet as she ran over the dry ground.

Toboe turned to Jin and asked, "Do you think it's okay that we're Chuunin? I don't know if she's allowed to lead us." Jin shrugged, not knowing the answer.

Kabuto chimed in quickly. "I believe Tsunade-sama will allow Kira to have both of you in her group. Besides, if you guys don't care and she doesn't have plans for you, then there's no need to worry. You guys should go tell Tsunade-sama that to make sure she doesn't assign missions to either of you."

They nodded, and got up to leave. Toboe waved cheerfully at Kabuto as they vanished from sight. Kabuto sighed, leaning his head back as he gazed at the clouds above him. 'I wonder what this mission will be about…'

-------

The next day, Kabuto, Jin, Toboe, Imai, Uotani, and Kira met up at the gate. Kira quickly explained what she knew: they were to scout around Konoha for any evidence of intrusion by enemy ninja. Then Kira explained her plan for moving around: Toboe in the front to observe, then Jin to use his concealing techniques to hide the group, then Kabuto to be ready to heal if need be and watch the left area, then Kira to relay orders to the back and front, then Imai to watch the right area, then Uotani to watch their backs. Once everyone understood, the group prepared to move out after checking their equipment; how many kunai each person had, how many shuriken, first aid, wire, stuff like that.

Kabuto watched closely as Jin started his concealment technique, covering the entire group from sight. Kira whispered softly that it was part of a technique passed down in Jin's family. As the group moved, Kabuto could see Toboe watching everything that passed closely. Kabuto stared out over the passing landscape, inspecting everything carefully. He could hear Kira muttering quietly behind him, talking to Imai and Uotani as they too observed everything that passed. Suddenly, Kira whistled the stop sign, and the group landed on the ground. Toboe asked, "What? What is it?"

Kira nodded to Imai, who quickly pointed out the strange marks on the ground, as if something had been dragged through the dirt. He then pointed out that the patterns drawn in the ground near the river weren't done by Konoha ninja, that there were seals drawn in blood. Kabuto gulped as he glanced around, realizing that Tsunade hadn't just made the mission up to give them something to do. This wasn't a game. The blood, the search, everything. It was real.

(A/N Awesome cliffy here, but I want to get this part of the story out of my mind. It's been driving me crazy…)

---

Kabuto panted as the group moved quickly. Kira was pushing them hard, trying to collect as much information as possible. She had laid out a plan, and it seemed very logical to Kabuto. Work until one hour before sunset, and then go back to Konoha with the information. Meet anyone not from Konoha who can't show identification, kill them or capture them. The blood seals put the mission up to A rank simply because of the implications.

Kabuto's insides twisted when he thought of the seals that were drawn. The seals for destruction and disease had been placed above the river, waiting to be activated. Uotani had rubbed them out, and Jin had placed a concealment charm down to conceal the river. Now, the group was working against time, trying to find the enemy, scout out their camp, and return to Konoha.

Toboe suddenly slammed his feet into the ground, stopping quickly and pulling out two kunai. He signaled to the group that there were people up ahead in the trees, watching the group as they entered the clearing. Just as suddenly, needles rained down from the trees as the ninja began their attack on Kira's team. Kabuto could hear Kira shouting orders to block as many as they could and get into an attack/defense formation. Kabuto quickly drew kunai, preparing himself to face the enemy. Slicing quickly, he cut needles in half as he raced to protect himself.

The sounds of battle echoed around the clearing as Konoha shinobi fought the unmarked ninja. Kabuto could hear the shrieks of the enemy as Jin and Kira cut them down, Imai and Uotani backing them up. Suddenly, Kabuto heard Kira shout, "Toboe, behind you!" Kabuto turned to see Toboe on the ground, wiping blood from his eyes as a black-clad ninja bared down on him, a kunai in hand to stab the defenseless Chuunin.

Blood splattered across the forest floor as kunai met flesh. Kabuto stared as Kira glared up at the towering ninja from her crouch, a kunai sticking out from between her ribs. She had jumped in front of Toboe to save him. Toboe's eyes were huge as he stared as the angry kunoichi. Suddenly, she coughed, blood slipping out of her mouth and over her chin to drip on the soaked ground. Lifting her head, she glared at the offending ninja with glowing red eyes. If looks could kill, Kabuto knew the ninja would be toast. The ninja stepped back and raised a shuriken in one shaking hand to finish her off.

Kabuto gasped and tried to shout out a warning when Kira created a seal with one hand, brought her index finger and middle finger to her mouth, and shrieked. Kabuto stared as he watched the air bend around the sound, sending ripples out to crash into the enemy, throwing them into the trees. Kira swept her hand forward, and Kabuto winced as he heard the bloody sounds of sound knives slamming into bodies. He heard Jin shout as Kira coughed again, blood spurting out of her mouth. She fell to her knees, coughing harder as the kunai's impact began to show. It had punctured her lung.

Kabuto ran over, and carefully laid Kira on her back, ignoring Imai and Uotani's stares. Who cared? He turned to Toboe. "Hand me bandages! Be prepared for more blood than this." Grasping Kira's hand, Kabuto whispered, "You'll be fine! This is going to hurt a lot though. Don't talk and try not to cough, okay?"

Kira nodded weakly, and then winced as she coughed again, blood dripping from her mouth. "U-Uotani, Imai, I want you guys to -cough- find their camp. At least –cough- scout around this area, see if any are left." Pain was etched across her face as she coughed again, blood dribbling over her lips and down her chin. Uotani and Imai nodded and scattered, scouting the area around the clearing for any remaining nin.

Kabuto repeated breathlessly, "Try not to cough. I just need to get the kunai out. And stop talking!" Turning to Toboe, who held a box of bandages and a terrified look on his face, Kabuto instructed, "Get ready. We have to hurry, or Kira will drown in her own blood. Push down hard after I pull the kunai out, okay?" Toboe nodded quickly, and then stared as Kabuto wrapped his bloodstained fingers around the hilt of the kunai and slowly pulled the kunai from Kira's body.

Toboe flinched when Kira coughed more blood, splattering Toboe's hands and clothes. Kabuto shouted, "Don't you dare wimp out on me! Press the bandages on, quickly!" Toboe pressed, sobbing slightly as Kira cried out in pain, the blood decorating his clothes. Kabuto began healing Kira, hurrying to ensure that she wouldn't lose too much blood.

Finishing, Kabuto leaned back on his haunches, staring as Kira coughed quietly once more, and then passed out from blood loss and the natural effect healing had on her. Kabuto glanced up at Toboe who was staring at his bloodstained hands in horror. Kabuto winced as Toboe turned and swiftly walked to the edge of the clearing in order to puke his guts up. Kabuto jumped when he realized that Jin was just standing there staring at him, Kira, and Toboe. Jin turned quickly and walked softly over to Toboe to pat his back and comfort him.

Kabuto whirled around when Uotani and Imai returned, stating that there weren't any nin around. Imai added that they thought they had found a trail, but decided to return to the clearing before following it. Uotani carefully knelt beside Kabuto while Imai knelt next to Kira, brushing her hair from her face as a single tear slid down her cheek to drip on the ground. Imai cringed, and then quickly wiped the blood from Kira's face.

Uotani squirmed, and then asked, "She'll be okay?"

Kabuto nodded. "Yeah. But healings get her really tired. I think we will have to go back."

Jin and Toboe joined the group, Toboe sitting down next to Kira and slipping his hand into hers. Jin butted in to say, "I think that Kira would want us to continue with the scouting, and then go back to Konoha to report. But we'd need a new leader."

Kabuto sighed as Toboe and Imai nodded, confirming what he already knew. Kabuto knew Kira would want them to continue, to get more information. However, Kabuto didn't expect what came next.

"I nominate Kabuto as the leader!" Toboe announced.

"I second that," Jin agreed.

Kabuto was amazed when Uotani and Imai nodded their heads in complete agreement. Shaking his head quickly, Kabuto stammered, "N-no, I can't do that. I'm not Chuunin, I can't…" Kabuto trailed off as Jin interrupted him.

"You think fast, you're observant, you know how to place us best, you're smart, and you know strategy. What else does one need in a leader?"

Kabuto sighed, and then said, "Fine. I'm leader. Jin and Uotani, I want you guys to find a good place for Kira to wait. Once we get there, Jin, you'll be using a concealment jutsu. Toboe, you'll be watching Kira there while we find those bastards and figure out what they're doing here. Got it?" Everyone nodded, and Jin and Uotani raced off to find the best place to protect Kira. Kabuto scooped her up in his arms, and then placed her on his back to carry her as carefully as he could. He turned to Toboe and Imai. "Keep watch, alright? Make sure no one is out there."

Soon, Jin and Uotani returned, and led the group to a small cave. Kabuto slid Kira off his back and laid her down in the back of the cave. Jin quickly cast the jutsu, and Toboe sat down to wait and watch. The rest of the shinobi left, and raced back to the clearing to start trailing the enemy from there. Jin was in the front, then Kabuto, than Imai and Uotani.

The group raced over the earth, following the broken branches to their prey. Every once in a while, they would stop to check the time, the path, and to reassure themselves that there were no traps. Finally the group caught up to the very reduced host of enemy. Kabuto staked out the clearing where the enemy was resting, checking for traps and sentries. There were none. He quickly planned out an attack, and then told Imai, Uotani, and Jin what to do.

---

Toboe squirmed as he glared out into the forest. He wanted to kill that guy for hurting Kira, the fact that he was already dead put aside for the moment. Glancing over his shoulder as he walked farther into the cave, Toboe hoped that Jin's concealment jutsu would hold out. Toboe knelt beside Kira, checking the bandages to make sure she wasn't bleeding. Toboe glared at the bandages; he knew it wouldn't have happened if it had just been Jin, Kira, and himself out there. They were the best at teamwork in their year, and Koenma had always said it was as though they talked mind-to-mind. Toboe and Kira had decided not to enlighten Koenma about that.

Toboe flinched as one eye opened slightly, the fiery red orb staring up at him. He sighed as she thought, "I really screwed up, didn't I? I should have blocked it better…Thank god you're okay."

Toboe shook his head slowly as he smiled down at the girl who he considered his sister. "Hey, you did good. I didn't even notice him. You really are the best ninja of our group, even though you're a girl."

He laughed as Kira weakly smacked him, teasing, "So now you admit it, huh? Girls totally rule."

---

Wohoo! Next chappie up! How'd y'all like it? It was weird to write. It was so hard to get the picture in mind down on paper…

"Blah" speaking

'Blah' thinking

"Blah"mind link

The scene where Kira gets stabbed is based off of The Langeliers by Steven King. Really bad movie if anyone cares.

PLEASE REVIEW! Press that little blue button! Remember, plushie of your choice. –evil laughter echoes around room-

MWAHs to y'all.