Howdy all. I can't believe I just said howdy….

NoCareChakara gets the glomp and a plushie of her choice! And a Konoha headband, I threw that in too…God I sound desperate….

The strategy Kabuto uses in this chapter comes from Protector of the Small: Lady Knight by Tamora Pierce. I hate to say it, but her books rate above any anime or manga for me! Anyways, she rocks my fluffy socks.

Disclaimer: The statement above is part of this. I don't own Naruto, and if you guys think I do, I laugh. The original characters are mine, hence the name original characters.

I think I might do a profile for each of the main characters in this fic…you know, sometime or other.

Sorry if I'm not updating fast enough. I have a ton of summer reading crap to do for school, and stupidly I left all of it until the last two weeks. So sorry!

Chapter 13 (omg, what an unlucky number…): Mission Accomplished!

Setting: Konoha
Time: Just minutes after last chapter.

Kabuto turned to Jin to ask, "Is there any way to contact Toboe and Kira from this far a way?"

Jin seemed stumped and just as he opened his mouth to say no, he shut it again. Kabuto, Imai, and Uotani stared as the redhead closed his eyes tightly, and concentrated on something they didn't know about. After about a minute, his eyes sprung open and he grinned at Kabuto. "I think I have just the solution to this dilemma."

Kabuto waited for Jin to explain, and when he didn't, Kabuto complained, "You know, I need this information now! I don't have all night!" Kabuto shut up when Jin put up his hand, asking for silence. One again, his forehead wrinkled in concentration. The other three waited quietly until suddenly, Jin's eyes opened, revealing red irises in place of his normal brown ones.

When they gasped, Jin grinned to announce quietly, "I've made my connection. Kira says she's awake, that Toboe is getting antsy, and that she wants to kick some enemy ass. What do you want me to tell her, Kabuto?"

Kabuto gaped, trying to understand what was happening. Figuring that he'd get an explanation later, he replied, "Tell Kira that her ass-kicking will have to wait, as she's taking the reports back to the Hokage and Toboe is coming here to meet us. I want her to return as quickly as possible. Don't tell the Hokage that we need reinforcements because we don't. This should be relatively simple, though we'll be out here all night." Jin nodded, and relayed the message.

Kabuto watched as Jin winced, wondering what had happened. He got his answer when Jin informed them that, although Kira was not happy about the arrangement, she completely understood and she would send Toboe to meet them while she went to report. Jin grinned when he said that Kira promised she'd be back by midnight and that if there weren't any ass-kickees left for her, Kabuto had better be prepared. Kabuto shivered slightly, and nodded. Once Jin's eyes were back to normal, Kabuto stated that they would wait for Toboe, and then he'd explain his plan. For now, they were allowed to rest.

After what seemed an eternity, but was only a few minutes, Toboe lightly landed beside Jin, who jumped when the green-eyed boy stole the food from his fingertips. Kabuto waved them all in and then started explaining his plan, all the while watching the camped ninja for any signs that they had noticed that they were being watched.

"Before Orochimaru picked me up, I lived with a Konoha Jonin. He taught me a few things about fighting. One thing I learned pretty quickly was 'when the odds are against you, change the odds.' We don't throw down a log and try to light that for a fire. We whittle it to kindling. That's how we'll treat these ninja. We'll whittle them down to our size. There's about twenty of them, and only five, soon to be six, of us. They're camped down there, and we have the advantage through surprise. Got it?"

Kabuto waited until all four heads nodded, showing their understanding, before he continued. "We rest until the moon comes out, then we start whittling." Kabuto watched as the four dispersed, finding comfortable places to rest until the few hours of sunlight ended, beginning their attack on the foe.

Kabuto sat on a large branch in the trees, thinking about his plan. If they picked off too many of the sentries before the night really set in, the ninja would surely notice. They'd have to wait until midnight, when Kira arrived, to kill the first watches. Kabuto intended to have Imai, and Uotani, who was skilled with weapons, kill the first few, with Kira stopping the sound with her Kekkei Genkai, and Jin using concealment jutsu to hide any evidence of what had occurred. Kabuto figured that Toboe would know some mind-confusing jutsu, which Kabuto wanted to use to stop the sentries from wondering why their friends hadn't woken them up. Anyone who went for water or to empty his bladder wouldn't return to the camp. After dawn, the ninja would find out that they were being followed, and Kabuto hoped there wouldn't be too many left by then. He didn't want a replay of what had happened that day.

Soon, the sun set and the moon rose, and the other four returned for orders. Kabuto whispered them quietly, and then the group dispersed again, with only Jin staying close. Kabuto waved him over, and then quietly asked about what had occurred when Kabuto needed a connection.

Jin grinned insolently and whispered, "Well, that would be part of Kira's bloodline limit. She controls sound, if you haven't figured it out. Well, one time, when Kira was just a little girl, maybe seven years old, she was very bored. She decided to play with someone's mind waves. After a while, she accidentally, I don't know, I guess you could call it read the person's mind. It took her about two days to block the link, and by then, Kira was hooked. The first day we were together as a team, she connected her mind to Toboe's with his permission. I was being a little asocial prick like usual and didn't want my mind connected to anyone's. However, after Toboe started using the link, I wanted it too and ever since we've been using it for communication across large distances. However, there are a few drawbacks. The link, when in use, is kind of intimate. You really get the person's thoughts, and feelings. It's somewhat creepy. We decided not to use it unless we were under dire circumstances after Kira heard Toboe thinking about her friend in a very un-friend-like way. She was red for days after that, and couldn't even look at Toboe. It was hilarious." Kabuto stared as Jin grinned happily; reminiscing about the one time he'd seen Kira completely flabbergasted and speechless. Jin shook his head, and continued the explanation. "I haven't used mine for ages, that's why I had so much trouble reaching her. She can re-link very easily though. Once she breaks the wall, it's easy to touch base again. We never told anybody about it. Anyways, as we grew older, all of us grew more self-conscious about our thoughts, so I don't think we've talked mind-to-mind for about two years now. Toboe and I agreed that we never wanted to hear what Kira thought about guys. Ever. Way too freaky an idea to hear your sister thinking about some guy."

Kabuto quirked an eyebrow, confused. "You guys are siblings?"

Jin shook his head. "Nah, but we're so close that we might as well be. Toboe and Kira treat each other like siblings, going over each other's houses all the time. Kira and I weren't as close for a while; I didn't like her because she's a girl and was two years younger than us. Now we're good." Jin turned as though he heard something. "Speak of the devil, here she comes now."

Kabuto turned to see Kira silently making her way towards the group. Landing beside Kabuto, she whispered, "Tsunade-sama appreciated the reports. Gave permission for us to stay out another night. I didn't tell her about the ninja. What's the plan?"

Kabuto quietly explained the plan, and was surprised when she nodded and said, "Sounds good to me. Anything you want me to do specifically, or should I just follow what the others are doing?"

"B-but you're the leader. Aren't you going to take over?"

Kira shook her head. "No, I'm not. You're doing fine, and Hokage-sama already knows that this is your mission now. I said we changed right before I left because the scouting was my mission. This one is yours."

Kabuto groaned internally as he nodded his understanding. Motioning for the other three shinobi to come over, he laid out the plan again carefully and waited for it to be put into action.

(A/N Yes, people, Kira has changed out of her bloody clothes into a different shirt. It's still a black tunic-shirt)

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Kabuto snapped a twig in his fingers, signing that Imai and Uotani could begin their part of the attack. The ninja might think that an animal might make the noise, as Kabuto had seen quite a few critters around the forest, but the two Konoha shinobi would know what it was. Kira had informed him that two ninja were guarding the river and they had taken off their weapons, laying them on the ground as they began to play Sugoroku. (A/N Japanese equivalent of Backgammon) The ninja watching the forest side of the clearing had taken off his weapons and was lying down, sometimes lifting his hand to bite his nails or scratch an itch. Two other ninja were out in the open, their silhouettes outlined by the moon as they played Janken, the whispered chant just reaching Kabuto's ears. (A/N Janken is the Japanese equivalent of "rock, paper, scissors.")

Kabuto felt the stone tap his branch as Imai signaled that they had removed the sentries near the river and Kira and Toboe had removed the ones by the forest and in the open. Kabuto threw his kunai, embedding it into the tree next to Jin's, who awoke from his nap and went to perform the concealment jutsu on the bodies. Kabuto, happy with himself, got comfortable on the branch and fell asleep; proud that everything was going to plan.

---

Kabuto opened his eyes when a hand nudged him. It was Kira. She leaned down close to his ear to whisper, "Ten out of the twenty down. Sentry unit one hidden and their belongings removed. Sentry unit two confused from jutsu and now removed." Kabuto sat up when Kira leaned back, pushing a stray lock of hair behind her ear as she waited for instructions.

Kabuto stretched silently, and then asked, "Have they noticed?"

Kira grinned and shook her head. "All the ninja are accounted for and asleep. They didn't wake up at all. Well, they had help sleeping from Toboe's jutsu, but they don't need to know that. What now, captain?" Kabuto grinned wryly at Kira's salute, and paused to think.

"I don't think it would be very sportsmanlike if we got rid of them in cold blood. However, I'm sure Tsunade-sama would greatly appreciate it if we brought back one, or better two of the ninja."

Kira nodded and vanished to inform the others of his orders. Kabuto waited, and was surprised when Imai and Uotani returned without the other three. "Where are they?" he hissed, trying to be calm but panicking all the same.

Imai sighed and replied, "I think they've done stuff like this before. Kira told us to go back to you and wait here. She said that she, Jin, and Toboe would take care of the rest."

Kabuto cursed under his breath as he rushed to find out what the three were doing. He stopped when he saw Kira sitting Indian style at the edge of the clearing, her eyes closed. He landed beside Toboe who was kneeling a few feet away. "What are you guys doing? I told you to come back!"

Toboe glanced at Kira quickly, and then whispered to Kabuto, "She's manipulating their minds, I think. Getting answers like this is simpler when they're asleep. After she's done, we were going to return and wait for orders. She just wanted to see what she would find."

"Where's Jin?"

"Checking concealing jutsu on the other luggage. He wanted them to be hidden away for a long time so that the ninja wouldn't find them."

Kabuto sighed, wishing that he had more patience. He froze when Kira shifted, opening her red eyes, and stood to walk over to them. He watched closely as she glared at Toboe, who stuck out his tongue and left. Kira turned to Kabuto, who was apprehensive about what she might do.

He definitely didn't expect her to grin and whisper, "I know who they are. Now that I've got the information, you can tell us what to do. By the way, Jin's got the luggage checked and says they'll stay hidden for about a week."

Kabuto left the clearing, Kira following close behind as they returned to the tree where Imai, Uotani, Jin, and Toboe waited. Kabuto turned to Toboe. "Remove the genjutsu. It's okay if the ninja wake up now. We can take them. But let them come to us."

Toboe nodded, and released the jutsu. The six shinobi waited in silence as they heard groans from the stiff ninja, and then shouts when the leader realized what time it was. (It was quite past dawn, if I forgot to mention that…) The six grinned when they heard the demands of the leader, who was ranting to the men about irresponsibility and stupidity. Finally, after the long wait, the six heard a ninja report in, saying that there was no sign of the ten missing ninja, only their weapons (Jin winked gleefully while Kabuto rolled his eyes…). The angry shouts of the leader caused Kira to jump, while the other five shoved their forearms into their mouths to stifle laughter.

Once they heard the shout to "find the people who did this and do it NOW," the six separated into a pre-planned setup to ambush the ninja. The second Kabuto poked Toboe, who poked Jin, who poked Uotani, etc, they all let loose, and the kunai and shuriken flew. Kabuto relished in the soft thunk as kunai met flesh, and grinned at the other five when the six enemy ninja fell without a single shout. They waited for the last four, and when they arrived, the fight began. Kabuto had ordered Kira to sit it out because of her wound, and she had shrugged, showing indifference. Once all of the ninja were down except two, high-fives went around as the six celebrated a success.

Toboe and Kira quickly bound the two ninja, who were speechless at the quick defeat at the hands of "such youngsters." Once the group was on the move, Kabuto congratulated his team and could only laugh when Toboe, Kira, and Jin did their "victory dance", which was mostly shoving each other while they flipped through the air and executed hand-springs off the tree branches. Finally, at around lunchtime, they arrived at the Hokage Tower to check in after a successful mission.

---

Tsunade sat quietly while Kira reported all of the events from the day before and exactly what had occurred during the night. Kabuto winced inwardly when Kira stated that he had been in charge and done an amazing job for the fifth time. Finally, the Hokage sighed loudly and asked Shizune to bring the two captives to the Interrogation Tower. The six waited patiently while Tsunade shuffled through her massive pile of paperwork and pulled out a sheet at the bottom.

"Well, Kira, I'd be much obliged if you would tell Ibiki-san what you learned. Before that, I think I have some things to say."

The group listened quietly as Tsunade began lecturing them about taking on missions that were too much. After much fussing about correct reports and how they could have gotten killed, Tsunade said, "And lastly, I think I have a vest to give out." When she caught the confused, blank stares of the group, she groaned and said, "Kabuto, you have been promoted from genin to Chuunin for your spectacular leadership during this mission." She grinned when Kabuto's jaw fell open and Team Koenma's shouts of congratulations echoed around the room.

Tsunade burst out laughing when the other five shinobi tackled Kabuto, who yelped under their enthusiastic congratulations. She thought to herself, 'Well, looks like he has made a good group of friends. I should believe Shigure-san and Koenma-san more often it seems.'

Clapping her hands to get their attention, Tsunade said, "Well, I think I have something to give you, Kabuto-kun."

Kabuto brushed himself off as she handed him his Chuunin vest. "T-Tsunade-sama, thank you so much!" He grinned happily as he thrust his arms through the holes and patted the vest reverently. Grinning at Tsunade, he waved and walked out of the room, his friends crowding around him. Tsunade shook her head slightly, and slowly got back to her paperwork, hoping that Kira would remember to stop off at the Interrogation Tower to tell them what she knew.

(A/N Wasn't that great? I've been wanting to write that section for weeks, and I definitely like how it turned out.)

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Kabuto grinned as he lay in his bed that night, too excited to sleep. Kira had left the group quickly, going to the Interrogation Tower to relay the information she had gathered. The others had celebrated with him; taking him out to dinner as the loud group laughed about silly things. After dinner, they had gone to the bridge, which seemed like "their" area now because they went there so often. There they had met up with Naruto, Hinata, Shino, Kiba, Ino, Sakura, Shikamaru, Choji, and Team Gai. The group had congratulated him, and then they'd spent most of the night laughing and just being normal teenagers. Finally, because Neji and Hinata left, the group started to disperse. At around one in the morning he had returned to his empty apartment. Still, even though his body was tired, Kabuto couldn't sleep because he was so happy. Finally, after a few hours of grinning crazily in the darkness, Kabuto slept.

(A/N Another funny section to write…)

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The next morning, and for about two weeks after their mission, Jin, Toboe, Kira, Uotani, Imai, and Kabuto wandered around the city, having nothing to do until their next mission. Rina would stop by sometimes, and finally, a week before the full moon, Tsunade sent for all the shinobi to tell them that they needed to be prepared for attacks soon. She had gotten word, through Rina's excellent network; that Orochimaru was on the move and was preparing to attack.

The party was over.

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Am I making this go too fast? The next chapter will start the confrontation if I'm not. It's kinda scary! The fics almost over! (I think…)

The action part of the chapter was soooooo cool to write! I did base a lot of it out of the book I mentioned at that top, but it was still cool.

If people read the author's note, I want you to type in a review: "MONKEY'S ARE CUTE." Yes, in caps and everything. You don't have to write a review, I'm just wondering how many people read the AN. I picked the secret code because I can't imagine anyone typing that in a review…

Thanks TamX2 for beta-ing! Anyone who likes Harry Potter and X-men should read her fic! It's so awesome!

MWAHs to y'all and REVIEW REVIEW!