Chapter 4: That Mission
A/N: As of 6/9/2022, I have made minor changes to the chapter, including formatting/grammatical updates as well as added details to the scenery.
The seasons changed swiftly as Jitsuko kept up her duties as a ninja. Months teeming with farming and pet sitting became indistinguishable from the rest. She had barely any time to breathe, let alone think about things like home or her past life. Despite this, every year she found comfort in watching the life of cherry blossoms in the village, fascinated by how they would bloom and wilt, only to come back even stronger every spring.
The Chunin exams came and went and, despite facing the danger and challenge head on, Jitsuko still found herself still at Genin status by the end of it. It was a sore blow to her ego. Almost everyone else was promoted to Chunin immediately. The Third Great Ninja War made it so ninja graduated and promoted easily, so standards were much lower.
That night after the exams, she and Obito were walking to his house to go star gazing, the bag he was holding contained the Leaf's signature green Chunin outfit. The crumpling noise it made while they walked only plunged Jitsuko's thoughts deeper into disappointment. Obito, on the other hand, couldn't have been happier. His smile and excitement never left his face the entire walk home. She was strangely comforted by this.
"I'm finally a Chunin! It took long enough," Obito started with excitement in his voice. "This means that I can start leading teams and go on real missions soon! No more babysitting, or walking dogs or catching cats! It's only danger and real experience from here, Jitsuko!"
Her already weak smile faltered when she realized that Obito was now eligible for C, B, and maybe even A rank missions, while she was stuck with D ones. They have had a couple missions together in the past, but never any that risked their lives. Now not even those would happen anymore. Not while she was still a Genin.
Obito lifted his Chunin jacket in the air in front of him to admire and reflect on the work it took to earn it. His gaze then fell to Jitsuko, where he noticed her head was low and her eyes downcasted. That was when he remembered she was one of the few not immediately promoted to Chunin. He felt like such a huge, pompous jerk for basically throwing his achievement in her face when she couldn't quite share the joy in the exact same way.
"Hey, Jitsuko. Cheer up, okay? I'll tell you what, the next time you take the exams, I'll help you with that one, too."
Jitsuko peered up at Obito skeptically. "How would you even manage that?"
"I don't know, I'll sneak in somehow and give you all the answers on the exam, and I'll protect you in the Forest of Death, too." Obito then smirked and raised his fist in front of him confidently. "Hopefully I'll have my Sharingan by then, so it'll be a piece of cake!"
She giggled at his contagious enthusiasm. "I don't think they'd let me cheat by bringing in a Chunin."
"Now see, the key here is that they don't find out about it," Obito winked. "Besides, they encourage cheating, don't they?"
"That's true, we are ninja, after all. Gotta be sneaky snakes," she said playfully.
"Yeah, you got it! Now you're talking!" he replied with hope and reassurance in his tone.
Hopefully he will be here for the Chunin exams next time. I still need to formulate how I plan to prevent that from happening, Jitsuko thought as the two of them laid down on the rooftops to look at the stars, just as they've done countless times before.
The sun was descending rapidly. Jitsuko had meant to do her shopping earlier but her mission for the day took longer than expected. While passing through the central area of the village, she spotted familiar orange goggles as well as three other forms heading in her direction. Immediately her eyes locked with the dark-haired boy as the two of them exchanged an enthusiastic wave.
"Hey guys!" Jitsuko beamed. "Whatcha up to?"
"We're making a quick stop to grab supplies before heading out on a mission," Minato answered before his eyes traveled to Kakashi. "Kakashi was just promoted to Jonin and will be leading our squad for the first time," he said as Kakashi broke the gaze he had on Jitsuko to look in any other direction but hers.
She didn't notice this, however, as she was focused entirely on her blood running cold. Obito began chattering but everything sounded like a blur, her rapidly increasing breathing was all she could properly hear.
Looking over to Jitsuko, Rin noticed her discomfort with concern in her eyes. "Are you okay, Jitsuko?"
Obito immediately stopped talking and focused on her with concern evident in his face as well. Jitsuko looked at Rin as if she had seen a ghost, recalling what happens to her in only a few days' time.
This is it. It's really happening. All those years of preparation for this.
"Hey, Jitsuko, you're scaring me here," Obito mustered in an attempt to lighten the mood.
Disregarding his comment, she managed to blurt out, "I need to come with you," warranting shock from each member, Minato included.
"Hey that's a great idea! Let her come, Minato-sensei!" Obito commanded. He was thrilled at the prospect of having his best friend join him on a real mission.
Minato's surprised expression soon morphed into a nervous one. "That's really not a good idea, Obito."
"What do you mean? Jitsuko's a skilled fighter, she can protect all of us!" Obito argued.
"If she were so skilled then she would have been promoted to Chunin like the rest of you," Kakashi spat out while giving Jitsuko a piercing side look that also pierced her spirit.
Obito growled, "You take that back! You're just jealous that Jitsuko is more skilled at Earth Style than you are!"
The two started bickering but she was touched that Obito would go to great lengths to defend her.
"I'm afraid I can't let you go without permission from the Hokage, Jitsuko," Minato interrupted with a sympathetic look on his face, "and seeing how the village is short-staffed, I wouldn't count on him letting you go. Obito, Kakashi and Rin can take care of themselves, you don't have to worry about them," he concluded with an endearing wink.
Jitsuko knew for a fact that they could not take care of themselves, and without another word, she booked it to the Hokage's office as fast as she could.
"You should've let her come with us, Minato-sensei," Obito spouted, but Minato wasn't quite listening. Jitsuko's uncharacteristic reaction intrigued him.
Something didn't feel quite right.
Jitsuko managed to evade all of the guards and administrators in the Hokage Residence. It was an easy task since they didn't think a little Genin girl could be much of a threat. Before she knew it, Jitsuko made her presence known in the Hokage's quarters.
"I need to go with team Minato on their mission!" she demanded bluntly.
Hiruzen looked in her direction unfazed before trailing his eyes back on to the document in front of him. "Team Minato..." he pondered. "As far as I'm aware they are currently fulfilling an S-rank mission. A mission that is far too advanced for a Genin, I'm afraid."
Ignoring his backhanded comment, she persisted. "Please, I want your permission to go. Even if you don't, I-I'm going to help them anyway," Jitsuko admitted. That was probably not the smartest move since she knew full well what the consequences were for disobeying orders and leaving the village unauthorized. At that statement, Hiruzen paused his writing and put down his pen to look directly through her.
"You realize the implications behind your demands, correct?"
It's too late to back down now, she thought as her hands curled into tight fists.
"I do, sir."
Jitsuko turned to leave, eager to catch up with Obito and the others. She reached the doorframe when Hiruzen spoke up once again.
"If you are going to disobey orders then you may as well leave your headband here with me."
She froze at his bluntness. She was expecting to deal with the consequences after she brought everyone home safely. No, her mind was made up. With teeth clenched, Jitsuko clung tightly onto her headband and sprinted out of the building. And never looked back.
"Jitsuko was always a respectable student. To directly disobey the Hokage's orders… she must know something is terribly wrong," Hiruzen mused passively before returning to his work.
That meeting with Lord Third took longer than I thought. Please don't tell me I'm too late! Jitsuko begged to herself, relief immediately washing over her upon spotting the unmistakably tall blond man and his shorter students at the village gate.
Hearing footsteps quickly approaching, Obito turned around and greeted her with a thrilled smile. "Jitsuko! You got permission from Lord Third, didn't you?"
The others turned their attention toward her in anticipation for an answer.
I can't tell them the truth. I'm sorry for lying again but this is too important.
"Of course I did! Persuading him took a while but here I am!" she grinned with her eyes closed. Minato narrowed his eyes subtly in suspicion of her response but didn't question it any further.
"Well alright, we're behind schedule so let's get going," he announced before turning and disappearing into the forest. Jitsuko and Obito exchanged excited looks before leaping into the trees after him, but Jitsuko kept a slight distance between her team members as she contemplated the somber situation she had just put herself in.
Eventually Minato separated from the four of them with Kakashi now taking charge, much to Obito's annoyance. The group traveled for what felt like days, though Jitsuko sighed when she realized that it was probably closer to only a few hours.
"Okay, um, what's your favorite dessert?" she asked Obito while hopping from tree to tree.
"I'd say probably anything from the dango shop, but the ice cream back home is good, too. What's your favorite animal?"
Jitsuko pondered for a moment before chuckling bashfully and muttering the answer under her breath. "P-probably… bunnies…"
Obito raised an eyebrow before stating smugly, "Duh, that's so like you, Jitsuko. I could've totally guessed that!"
"My turn. What's your favorite –"
This game went on for quite some time. She and Obito began doing this randomly one night while looking at the stars. It was an excellent way of getting to know each other, and despite already knowing Obito for years now, the questions and answers he would come up with still surprised her, and vice versa.
"Really?" Obito whipped his head in her direction. "Your favorite hobby is sleeping?"
"You act so surprised but you see me nap all the time!"
"Well yeah, sure. But you're always the one who's at our meeting spot first," he grumbled. "Figured you'd sleep in a little."
"I do, but you're always busy with old ladies so I don't have to worry about being late," Jitsuko pointed out playfully, earning herself a stern look from Obito.
"Hey, it's not like I really like old ladies or anything, I could stop if I wanted to –"
She began to giggle knowing how needlessly defensive Obito was getting over his 'hobby' of helping others.
"What are you laughing at? If you were an old lady you would want help t –"
Suddenly Obito's speech was cut off, only to be replaced with a loud 'thump' and a pained noise straining from his throat.
"Obito!" Jitsuko yelled. The commotion caused Kakashi and Rin in front of her to stop to see what was going on. Obito was so focused on looking at her to explain his point that he wasn't paying enough attention to the trees in front of him. He ended up smacking right against a branch and fell to the ground with a hard thud. Watching the whole process, Jitsuko gasped heavily until her lungs swelled to the brim with air and hopped down instantly to look over her friend's form in a panic.
"Oh man, oh jeez, oh no. Obito, are you freaking okay?" she asked hysterically with a hint of guilt in her horrified tone. He groaned before his other team members swooped down to check on his status. Receiving an unusual amount of attention, Obito straightened up his back as he feigned confidence. "Yeah, of course. I'm tougher than that, guys!"
Kakashi wasn't impressed. "Keep going, no more distractions. And Obito, quit gawking at Jitsuko and watch where you're heading from now on."
"Wha-? I wasn't gazing at Jitsuko! Don't make things up, Kakashi!"
"I didn't say gazing. I said gawking," he countered in a matter-of-fact tone before returning to the branches above.
"Why you, get back here Kakashi!" Obito followed after him while Jitsuko and Rin left soon after.
Something wasn't right - Obito was having trouble keeping up with Kakashi. Well, that wasn't the surprising part. That was to be expected if she were honest. What was unnerving about this, though, was that Obito quit giving chase way sooner than he usually did. It wasn't like him to give up so easily. That was when she noticed the slight limp in his right foot.
Did he… did he injure his foot from the fall?
"We'll stop here for the night," Kakashi stated, causing everyone to stop in their tracks.
"What? Why here?" Obito said, the irritation clear in his tone. "We only just got past the land's border, we should keep going!"
Kakashi simply stared at him, unblinking. "We are resting here and that's all I'm going to say to you."
Obito huffed in annoyance and leered at Kakashi.
"Jitsuko, back me up here. We can totally keep going, right?" he asked, eagerly turning his attention toward her. She stayed silent for a moment while her eyes trailed down to his foot, which she noticed he was keeping slightly off the ground.
"Obito," Jitsuko ignored the question. "Did something happen to your foot?"
Obito's eyes widened in surprise. He thought that he'd hidden his injury well, at least enough to fool Rin. Kakashi probably knew, but getting him to care was a different issue altogether.
"N-no I just, I…" he paused. Unable to come up with an excuse, Obito sighed in defeat while Rin sat him down to tend to his foot.
"As I said, we're staying here."
"Shut up, 'Bakashi!'"
As the sky grew darker, Jitsuko's teammates began preparing to sleep. It was then she realized in her haste to catch up with the others, she neglected her own essentials – food, sleeping bag, other supplies – she had nothing but her weapons.
Great. At this rate, I'll just be a burden on everyone else.
Suddenly a feminine voice took her out of her thoughts. "Aren't you going to get ready to sleep, Jitsuko?" Rin asked, drawing Obito's attention toward her.
Folding her hands together in anxiousness, Jitsuko stumbled over her words. "Well you see, somebody has to keep watch, so I don't want to bring my sleeping bag out. It'd be too tempting."
"You do love to sleep, after all," Obito smirked.
"R-right, exactly! Don't worry about me. If anything happens, I'll use my Earth Style: Protective Barrier around you."
Satisfied with her answer, everyone turned to their respective sleeping bag and everything went silent.
Hours went by. Usually Jitsuko would have been knocked out in sleep by now, but the chilly air and hunger easily kept her awake, but she was partially thankful for this since it made it easier to keep her word.
The night was silent; the only noise was the occasional shifting of a sleeping bag, but Obito's especially.
He couldn't sleep. It didn't feel right to leave Jitsuko alone out there in the cold. Without any more prompting, Obito crawled out of his sleeping bag and made his way over to her perching spot, where he found her head slumped low with her eyes closed. She would occasionally jerk her head up in an attempt to stay awake, but it was getting increasingly difficult, despite the cold and hunger. Before she knew it, Jitsuko felt a comforting heat at one of her sides.
"Hey," Obito spoke quietly, which jerked her awake with a gasp, and he chuckled. "I guess if we did get attacked, we'd all be doomed, huh?"
"Obito! What are you doing up?"
"I can't sleep."
"How come? Is something troubling you?"
Obito inwardly panicked. He was way too prideful to admit that the reason why he couldn't sleep was because he was worried about her.
"The sleeping bag was getting too hot, is all," he claimed while avoiding eye contact. A faint blush appeared on his cheeks that was thankfully hidden in the dark.
"Well you're always welcome to join me. It's plenty cold over here," Jitsuko noted while her hands held and rhythmically brushed her arms to generate a negligible amount of heat.
Obito's eyes lowered in guilt. She shouldn't be out here in the cold. Come to think of it, he hadn't seen her eat, either. Before Jitsuko could say another word, she heard a quick shifting of clothing and were then immediately wrapped up in the warmth of Obito's jacket. Jitsuko jerked her head in his direction in surprise to see that he wasn't looking at her. She instinctively grasped his jacket with both hands out of a mix of nerves and appreciation of her friend's gesture.
Neither one of them said anything for the longest time; it was just the two of them leaning next to each other on a trunk of a tree. It was peaceful. Eventually Jitsuko looked up, anticipating the view to consist entirely of trees and leaves, but instead, she found something unexpected.
"Obito," she whispered, and he responded just as softly, "Yeah?"
"Look up at the sky. From where we are we can see the stars from over here."
Obito looked up with intrigue.
"Hey, yeah. It looks nice out here."
"Looks like it's a good thing we stopped after all," Jitsuko said with her eyes closed and Obito hummed in response. Not another word was spoken. The two of them spent the rest of the night gazing up at the stars together in deep content, the bitter chill in the air strangely seemed to evaporate under the presence of her best friend.
Sneaking along the foreign land, Jitsuko noticed the ground under her becoming wetter, the area around her looking familiar. Tension was rising. It could happen any time now. Eventually the team reached a spot that looked all-too familiar.
We are near the spot where it happens –
Before Jitsuko could finish her thoughts, logs began falling from the trees in an apparent trap. Obito acted quickly to disable the incoming logs with an intense Fireball Jutsu while Jitsuko and Rin shielded their faces from the flames and falling debris.
NOW - Jitsuko screamed to herself and immediately turned around to grab onto Rin to pull her close to her. As if right on cue, the enemy who originally kidnapped her revealed himself and instead opted a direct attack on the both of them. Rin screamed which caught Obito and Kakashi's attention as they fought off the men in front of them, but stayed back since Jitsuko seemed to have things under control.
This time Rin wasn't kidnapped like she was supposed to be, but rather, she was safe with one of Jitsuko's arms holding onto her, a kunai ready in the other. The man lunged for her but all Jitsuko could think about was protecting Rin. Letting go of her, Jitsuko quickly formed hand signs to unleash an Earth Style: Protective Barrier around her so nobody could get in or out. Occupied with her work, she failed to dodge the attack aimed towards her as his knife embedded itself into Jitsuko's abdomen.
She yelped and fell to the ground in pain, hands slowly and shakily trying to form a hand sign to protect herself as well, her eyes blurred with tears. Not hearing Jitsuko's yelp, Obito and Kakashi were still fighting off the enemies at the front, but something inside told Obito to turn around, only to see her curled up on the ground with the enemy about to strike and finish her off.
"JITSUKO!"Obito screamed as he rushed to protect her. Suddenly everything seemed to pass by in slow motion. Obito assumed it was because of the stress of this dire situation, but he found that his vision began to turn red with a searing heat coming from both eyes. Obito disregarded these odd sensations, as his only focus was on Jitsuko.
Jitsuko waited for the sickening sound of metal piercing flesh, but the sound instead formed a sharp 'SHING' as she gathered that there was another being towering over her form. Obito succeeded in blocking the enemy's blow, their weapons now locked at a stalemate. She managed to gather the strength to look up at Obito, where she saw he had the fiercest, most passionate expression she had ever seen. It was a look that read 'protect her at all costs.'
Dimming in and out of consciousness, Jitsuko also managed to notice the intense crimson color in his eyes.
The Sharingan, she pondered as her vision faded to black.
