Hello! First fanfic since 1 short-lived one in middle school. I'm a slow writer, so probably expect once-a-week updates. Doing my best to stay true to the original characters we all love. Our protagonist is Lee's sister. I always imagined he came from an old and traditional civilian family, but he just turned out weird XD He's one of my favorite characters, but he's already at his best with Guy-sensei. And thus, a sister was born. The beautiful relationship between Guy and Lee warms my heart and ignites the fire in my soul, and I believe Kakashi deserves that too. Hope I can make a few people laugh and use this story to get over my perfectionism-induced writer's block. Sorry for rambling!
Rating currently T, mainly for violence and some serious topics. Just ninja things, you know?
Double-posting because this chapter is short and the second one is better. Please read and review!
Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or any of its characters! I just adore it.
Chapter 1: The Cat
"Just these ones, Grandma Hatsu?" the girl asked, wiping the sweat from her brow with a wrist instead of her dirt-dusted hands.
"That will do nicely, young miss. It's so kind of you to come all the way up here to help an old lady like me. I'm afraid my back just isn't what it used to be," the short, old woman laughed with a wrinkly smile.
The girl hefted a basketful of potatoes over to a water pump, knees wobbling under the stress. She strained over the pump for a minute, and then started washing the potatoes in a newly-filled bucket.
"Oh, you don't need to do that, dear. That much I can handle!"
"Don't be silly, Grandma!" the girl smiled, flexing her stiff pink hands. "This old mountain water is as cold as fresh snow. Even out in the sun, you'd catch your death." She replaced the clean potatoes in the basket and stood up, wiping her wet hands on her plain kimono. "Let me pump you a few more buckets for the kitchen before I leave!"
"You really are the hidden treasure of the Leaf, Miss Lee. You're wasted on these mountains and an old hag like me."
"Don't be silly, Grandma," Lee blushed. "I am no treasure. And you are no hag! What I'm really wasted on is my parents and that old shack of theirs with its old rules. My body is young and healthy, and it's put to better use out here. My hands have grown weary of pouring tea and folding napkins. These potatoes though," Lee tossed a few into the air with a joyful laugh, before juggling them around, "Well, they keep my hands guessing."
Grandma Hatsu watched happily, clapping when the young girl made a particularly good save.
The old woman looked up suddenly, as if she heard something.
"Well, now. It's getting dark, dear. Please," she said, taking the potatoes from the girl's hands and placing them in a small basket, "take these with you. And share them with your brother, if he comes around. Quickly now, it's getting dark!" The woman looked nervously into the rapidly darkening woods.
"I know these woods well enough, Grandma Hatsu. But I concede. Father and Mother will be home soon, and I should have the kettle on by now." Lee pulled a ribbon loose, letting her long, black hair tumble down around her face and back, the sweat on her neck and brow already dried from the swiftly cooling air.
"Make haste, child!" the old woman urged, handing the girl the basket and practically shoving her on her way.
"You superstitious old woman! I'm going already!" Lee laughed, waving as she started down a narrow mountain path. As Grandma Hatsu's home faded behind her, the girl felt a chill down her spine. Something was wrong. "My sensu!" She had forgotten her traditional dancing fans in the rush. Mother would kill me if her precious sensu were not on the shelf when she arrived home.
She turned and half-jogged back up the hill to Grandma Hatsu's, holding the skirt of her kimono so she didn't trip. She heard a loud clatter and a splash. 'Grandma must have spilled the water,' she thought guiltily. I should have carried it into the kitchen for her.
"When is that batty old lady gonna realize her cat doesn't want to come back?" groaned Naruto, as he leapt from one tree to the next. "I mean it gets farther and farther away each time, and we keep dragging it back. Isn't that kind of messed up?"
"A mission's a mission, Naruto! Now shut up and focus," Sakura grunted through her headset.
"I hate to say it, but Naruto's not wrong. This is a total waste of time," said Sasuke, glowering.
"See! Even Sasuke agrees! That cat's sick of running away, and I'm sick of chasing it. You'd think the old geezer would start giving us some real missions. I mean, we took down Zabuza for crying out loud!"
"No. Kakashi-sensei took down Zabuza! We might have helped, but we're still just genin. Until we're chuunin, we only expected to do C and D rank missions. That was an anomaly." Sakura sighed. Who am I kidding? I'm sick of this kiddy crap too!
"Still," Sasuke mused, "a D rank mission is so far below our level it's ridiculous. Even a trainee can track down a cat. How is this helping the village?"
"Funding, Sasuke. Now quiet down, you three. There's a lot more than runaway cats in these mountains," Kakashi warned.
"Like what? Squirrels?" laughed Naruto.
"Hmm. Well there's bears, mountain lions, giant snakes…"
Giant…snakes? gulped Naruto.
"There've been rumors of bandits. Sometimes rogue shinobi camp out in mountain caves waiting to ambush Leaf shinobi coming in and out of the village," continued Kakashi.
People like us, thought Sakura.
"Oh yeah, and some farmers have reported strange moans during the night. They say the spirits of fallen shinobi wander these woods, trying to find their way back to the village. It's just a rumor though. I wouldn't worry about it!" he said cheerfully.
"S-spirits? What kind of moans?" Naruto asked shakily.
"There's no such thing as spirits, Naruto," Sasuke glared defiantly, though Naruto couldn't see it. He sped up marginally, his eyes lingering on every shadow.
"Were they moans? No, maybe they were cries. Or screams. Yeah," Kakashi nodded to himself, with a smirk, "I think it was screams."
"Heeey. It's getting kind of late, Kakashi-sensei," Naruto said, looking around mid-jump. "Maybe we should call it a night. That cat will probably just turn up in the morning! Right, right! No use looking when it's dark!" Naruto laughed nervously and slowly started turning around.
"Oh, they're just rumors, Naruto. I mean, sure, a few people have died around here—"
DIED!? Sakura stopped jumping and settled on a large branch. Wait. That's—!
"Target sighted. Permission to engage?" Sasuke said, suddenly serious.
"Permission gra—" Clank! There was a crash in the distance. "I'm going to scout ahead. You three watch the target, but maintain distance and remain quiet. I'll signal if I see trouble." Kakashi broke away from their formation and headed toward the sound.
"W-wait! But Sensei, what if it's a—" Naruto lowered his voice, "Sensei, what if it's a spirit?"
"Then you'll be the first one I call for help." He gave a little wave, though only Naruto was close enough to him to notice.
"I don't like this," Naruto grumbled, leaping from one shadowed branch to the next, eyes following the cat. The three slowly pulled closer together around the cat.
"I think we've established that, Naruto," Sasuke said, rolling his eyes.
"Look! It's heading toward where that sound came from," Sakura pointed.
"That's odd," Sasuke wondered, "Most animals run away from loud noises."
"What if the cat's been possessed by the spirit of a vengeful shinobi?" Naruto swallowed nervously.
What an idiot! thought Sasuke, scoffing.
"That's just stupid, Naruto!" Sakura whispered sharply.
"No. Think about it! What if this cat is just letting itself get caught. And every time it escapes, it's bringing intel to the other spirits about how to get into the village!"
"Then why is it getting farther and farther away each time?"
"Sasuke, you're not taking him seriously, are you? And why would spirits need intel? They could just float through walls."
"Naruto?"
"I'm thinking!" Naruto murmured to himself for a minute. "Well, what if that cat didn't want to get caught anymore? What if it already got the information it needs? What if—" A loud scream pierced through the dusk.
"We've got trouble," Kakashi whispered into his headset. "Don't be seen. Don't let that cat out of your sight." The cat disappeared into the growing shadow of a large tree.
"Uh oh."
"What is it, Naruto?" Sakura whispered urgently.
"Do you guys see the cat?" Naruto asked, landing on a particularly large branch.
Sasuke swore under his breath.
"This is your fault, Naruto! If we hadn't been listening to your superstitious nonsense, we would've noticed No wonder we're still getting stuck with D rank missions!" Sakura growled, doing her best to express the extent of her rage without actually raising her voice.
"Shut up and focus," Sasuke ordered. "Naruto, you look to the northwest. That's where that sound came from. Sakura, you take the north. I'll look behind us and to the east, just in case it backtracked."
"Who made you the boss?" Naruto mumbled, but he began the search without further complaint.
The three sped up, scanning the woods systematically.
"There!" exclaimed Naruto, catching sight of the telltale red ribbon in the distance. He took off after it at full speed.
Farther ahead, Kakashi crouched in the brush encircling a clearing.
"I will not allow you to harm this village or any of the people in it!"
A/N: You remember that cat Team 7 chased early on in the series, right?
Fun fact: I technically haven't finished Naruto yet, since I fell out of it early Shippuden because school was a struggle. I've rewatched and I'm currently in the Pain arc. So if I ignore something about a character at some point, that's why!