Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto
An eerie silence prevailed across the area, the murky waters and foggy atmosphere each helping to disorient Kakashi's senses. The masked man looked overhead, just barely seeing the overcast conditions. He was positive it would not rain but one could never be sure.
After making sure he was alone, Kakashi pulled out a scroll and performed the Kuchiyose no Jutsu to summon Pakkun.
"Of all the places..." the talking dog trailed off as it looked at its summoner. He could barely see him and the mask was not helping.
"Listen, this mission takes precedence over all else right now. I need you to direct me to the village of the Bloody Mist. Usually, it's hard to miss something that big but uh..." he trailed off.
"It doesn't help that you wear a mask," the dog said but he complied as he searched the place with the most variety of scents.
"This place reeks of blood," Pakkun said as he sniffed the surrounding area. Kakashi
nodded as he walked next to the dog.
"They did just have a civil war," he offhandedly commented.
Kakashi would be lying if he said he was unfazed by the events that were unfolding in the elemental nations. It had taken him six days of nonstop travel by sea to get to Water country. He even passed by Nagi island just to conceal his movements. He now saw that it may have been a blunder on his part.
Even though he made sure they did not realize he was coming, he had allowed things to worsen by taking his time. During his journey he had learned that Kiri had blocked off all access to outsiders, completely renouncing all association with other countries, even its past allies. It did not help that Water Country was a giant island surrounded by the ocean. Their tactical position had always proved annoying when at war.
That just meant getting in and obtaining the information he wanted was a whole lot more difficult now. It had been a while since he was forced to think this much on a mission. Mostly because he was sent to kill people and recently, he spent all his time watching kids. Interesting kids, but kids non the less.
All these things passed through his mind as he ran across the expanse of land following Pakkun, the mist working to their advantage. He dreaded to find out what had ended the civil war and who had won.
The leaf had never been close allies with Kiri since the end of the third great shinobi war. If the rebels had won, then perhaps things would change. Still, he was doubtful either way.
Pakkun suddenly stopped, garnering his summoner's attention. "We're here. Go any farther and you'll likely get killed. There are guards all over the place. They're likely there to prevent the likes of you from entering," Kakashi nodded as he put a hand to his chin, trying to calculate his next move.
"Thanks, Pakkun, you've done enough,"
"You don't have to tell me twice," immediately the dog was gone, leaving a dissipating cloud in its place.
Kakashi hid behind a rocky outcrop as he surveyed the surrounding area. Once more the mist had lost his favor. The only visible thing was the giant wall surrounding the very village he wanted to enter.
"This really should have just been tasked to Master Jiraiya," he whined, wishing he was a sensory ninja or at the very least, a master of infiltration like the sannin.
"I hope Yugao is enjoying her new job,"
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Yugao went over the files over and over when she first received them. It was not anything new and yet it all felt so new to her. She had watched these kids before, though only when the Hokage had them do squad rotation. It had been a while and she knew it would be different this time.
Firstly, when she had watched them years ago, they barely knew how to socialize or walk for that matter. And she was positive that these children did not interact. It was always one on their own but things were different now.
They were in the academy and the sandaime was suddenly more interested in them. Each of these kids was special in their own way, she realized once she gave it enough thought.
Now, she simply watched as the kids at the academy took a lunch break. It was probably the best time for them if she thought about it. This particular class was only eight after all.
She blinked as she realized that Himika was not outside and neither was Naruto. Sasuke had also vanished but it was not concerning. She highly doubted that someone would harm the last Uchiha. In the case of any kidnapping attempts, he had other Anbu guarding him. The same went for Naruto and Himika as well.
The only difference between her and the rest was that while all they did was watch over the kids, she had to note down everything they did and report it to the Hokage at the end of the day.
It was honestly ridiculous how much manpower was secretly used to watch these kids. She would admit though, they made her curious. She adjusted her angle to get a look into the classroom to see what Naruto and Himika were doing.
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Himika allowed herself to lean against the window and relax. She closed her eyes, only to furrow her brow as she felt the new presence watching them. She pursed her lips wondering why the sudden change.
She was not too concerned by it in all honesty. This person was not hostile but they weren't as laid back as the previous guy. She was starting to get the hang of how to differentiate gender by chakra, so she was positive this was a female.
"Why do they watch us anyway?" she asked herself as she thought on it. She really could not see why they were so interested in them. She was certain she knew why they followed Sasuke, but why her and Naruto. They obviously knew something she didn't.
Lazily, she turned to Naruto who was next to her, seemingly deep in thought. It was an odd sight, for Naruto barely ever sat still. Perhaps he was finally letting it sink in. As if he was just realizing what he possessed.
She was not used to being silent with him. While it was true that she didn't speak the. it was not necessary to her, Naruto could go on for days. Was it that he chose not to today or did he have nothing to say?
"I doubt that," she mentally told herself.
She didn't intend on dwelling on wrong assumptions. This was Naruto, he was unpredictable. She would get a headache trying to discover who and what he was and yet that only seemed to spur her on.
"What are you looking at?" Naruto suddenly asked as he looked at her, captivating gold seeing inquisitive blue.
Oh, she had been staring at him. She blinked and shook her head. Placing her chin in her hand, she looked out the window.
"I never knew your eyes were so blue," she said as she stared outside. He raised an eyebrow at her but shrugged.
"Uh, thanks," he really was not sure what to say to her, not this time. She heard him but have no response that she had. She was not lying when she told him that. She had never seen a shade that blue in someones eyes. Eyes filled with so much emotion.
It made her wonder if her own eyes portrayed somethingand wondered if she should ask Naruto what he could see.
Maybe her eyes told a different story and showed something, anything. It was not a hope but simply thought.
One she immediately put away. She did not intend to blur any lines regarding what she thought.
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Kakashi pulled his glove tightly and clamped down on his hand. A body dropped down next to him, though it was not the only one. There were at least a dozen. This one had one major difference. It was naked.
"This is a tight fit," the copy ninja thought to himself as he looked over his attire. All in all, he thought they looked good in Kiri colors. That or he was just conceited and vain regarding his appearance.
He finished off his new look by placing the hunter mask over his face.
"Let's see what the Mist is hiding," he whispered as he vanished into the foggy terrain.
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Naruto and Himika sat on the yondaime's head as the blonde animatedly retold the story of the fox's defeat at the hands of the fourth Hokage.
She listened, knowing that he was just saying that the teachers had told them previously. She did not remember what day it was anymore but she knew they had had such a lesson.
Naruto was back to speaking once more and that put all her theories down the drain. It looked like he could keep quiet after all.
"He was the best," he said softly.
"Wasn't the first the strongest," she did not phrase it as a question. It was more like she was patronizing him with the way it came out. He didn't seem to notice.
"No way, the fourth was the best,"
"What about the third?"
"Jiji is alright but he is an old man after all," Naruto said in a way that was a matter of fact. Sadly, Himika had to agree. She told herself that it would never happen again.
"Hey, I'm kinda hungry. You?" he asked,
though it made Himika wonder whether he was ever full. She shrugged at his question.
He smiled at her and held out his hand to help her stand up. She remembered what happened the last time and she became curious. Would the same thing happen again? She couldn't stop herself from wondering and so she raised her hand ever so slowly. Naruto, ever impatient, reached out to grab her by her wrist.
The moment he touched her, she recoiled and let out a strangled noise. Her free hand touched the wrist the blonde came into contact with. Had he just frozen her wrist? She frowned at the injury but decided to start thawing away at it with her flames.
"Sorry," she heard Naruto mumble and she looked up. Himika saw how his eyes were covered by his bangs, his expression solemn. He seemed to clench his fists, probably mad with himself.
"It's fine, it was an accident," she told him. She was unsure whether she was trying to convince Naruto or herself. They both hoped she was right.
The next day, Naruto was silent and Himika was sure she knew why. Everyone else at the academy was stumped as to why the blonde menace was quiet all of a sudden.
They turned to her expecting an answer. While she did have one, she had no intention of telling them. Not only was it private but she also saw no need to speak with all of them. She was not the type to gossip or was it that she had not yet reached that age.
As soon as the day was over, Naruto was out. He had not bothered to wait for her to want to leave or coaxed her into leaving with him. She was not peeved per se but the change in her daily routine was not welcome. She did not like sudden changes and that was simply because she was uncertain of how to deal with them.
It was at that moment that she decided to try and make the most of his absence. He would be back, that she knew, so she didn't bother herself by worrying about him. She walked up to Sasuke and stood by his desk as he got up to leave.
"Himika," the was a bit of surprise in his voice and maybe a bit of annoyance at her. Maybe he expected her to be with Naruto at that moment.
"Sasuke, would you walk me home?" she said with a straight face. She was blunt, he realized and he nodded ever so slowly.
"Isn't that Naruto's job?" he found himself asking. The white-haired girl shook her head.
"Not a job. Naruto simply chooses to accompany me home and I see no problem with it. However, today something came up so I asked you,"
"So I'm your second choice," he was a little peeved. If this girl wanted him to walk her home, he would have preferred to be first in line.
"When it comes to someone I would share a conversation with, yes. But not in this case. I simply asked if you would do it. You chose to compare yourself to Naruto,"
"As if there's anything to compare between myself and that idiot!" he was angry, she saw and she realized she had never seen him with a happy expression.
She absentmindedly rubbed her wrist as she spoke. "You would be surprised,"
"Let's go. Your place is on the way to mine, isn't it?" he queried as he stuffed his hands in his pockets. It wasn't her place but an orphanage. Regardless, she didn't correct him and just walked by him. It was quiet for a while as they walked.
It was different from walking with Naruto, notably so but both were fine to be around. The warmth Naruto brought with him was nullified by the cold aura Sasuke gave off. She looked to her side and saw how Sasuke was not brooding for once.
"You always look like you're stressing over something," she said as she focused forward falling in step with him.
"..."
"Personal," she still was not looking at him.
"...Yes," he finally said. She nodded and stopped. He stopped as well as he watched her.
"Why did you..."
"We're at your house," she quickly cut him off and he closed his mouth. He found it odd that he wanted her to stay. He frowned at himself. That was a stray thought, one he had no intention of following through. Sadly, she seemed to see his internal conflict and solved it for him.
"You can walk me to school tomorrow. Naruto only walks me in the afternoon," she said as she turned. Sasuke nodded and figured that meant he had to wait for her to pass by in the morning. He had barely even been with her for a few minutes and he was already agreeing to everything she said. Maybe it was because she was refreshing, not a fangirl. She didn't pity him.
Himika was intentionally keeping the two boys apart for as long as she could if only to keep studying them separately. There would be a time when she would bring them together to see how they interacted outside of class.
As she walked away, Sasuke watched her retreating form and slowly realized one thing that bothered him about this ordeal.
"I'm sharing her with Naruto,"
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Kakashi sat down on the nearest stool within the establishment he had entered. He didn't bring down his hood as he looked over everything. To him, everything was dubious. He had been here for about a day and he already disliked it.
He had been going around in the shadows asking around but so far, he has nothing.
"Foreigner?" the bartender asked as he looked at Kakashi's order.
The copy ninja narrowed his eyes. "How'd you know?"
"I've been in the business for a while. No one orders cold stuff around here," he said. Kakashi sighed. He really should have tried harder but the stress was getting to him.
"I'm surprised you got in though," the bartender said.
"Why is that?" Kakashi was suddenly interested.
"Well, we are under lockdown," he said offhandedly.
"Tell me, why?"
The man regarded him oddly before answering.
"You're kidding, have you not heard about what's happening around these parts,"
"Why don't you enlighten me?"
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Hiruzen watched as Naruto mowed down on his ramen, though he was slower today. Of course, from Yugao's report, he knew why the boy was so crestfallen.
"Naruto-kun, what's the matter. Is the ramen not to your liking?"
"No," the boy shook his head and looked down forcing the old man to sigh.
"I'm sure it was an accident," he said and Naruto looked up almost immediately.
"How'd you..."
"l am the Hokage. I know everything that goes on in my village," he spouted, and Naruto looked at him oddly.
"Did the people watching us tell you that?" the little boy asked.
"What are you talking about?" the elder man tried to play innocent but he knew it was useless.
"It's just that, Himika says you have people following us around. I guess she was right," Naruto told him as he cast his now empty ramen cup aside.
Sarutobi kept quiet as he regarded Naruto.
"Naruto, these powers of yours..." he started. He knew he had to steer away from the conversation pertaining to why he had people following them. He knew that Naruto would be interested in them.
"...Hurt my friend. I don't like them!" he retorted as he looked at his hands. They seemed normal enough now but he had frozen her arm. She was nonchalant about it but he was sure she had to be a bit mad, right?
"That's simply because you can't control them. Why don't we change that? This way, it will be alright," the aged Hokage said.
Naruto looked up with hopeful eyes. "Really," he whispered and Hiruzen smiled. Ah, young boys this age were so curious and oh so very trusting. He hoped no one took advantage of such a thing lest they follow in Orochimaru's footsteps.
Regardless of that fact, this conversation made Hiruzen realize something. Naruto had become far too attached to this girl and just this afternoon, Sasuke was somehow coerced into walking her home and he would be walking her to school in the mornings. She was influential, manipulative even but for now, she was harmless. He just had to keep her loyal. He could not have her take Naruto and Sasuke with her.